The fallout from Tuesday's chemical attack on a rebel stronghold in Syria is nothing short of horrific and thus far the blame is being placed on Bashar al-Assad and his backers Russia and Iran. It should be noted, however, that we do not know for certain that the Assad regime was responsible for the attack. Assad has been in a good position of late and it's unclear why, at this stage, he would risk drawing on himself worldwide condemnation. 

Nonetheless, President Trump condemned the Assad regime in a statement Tuesday. More important, perhaps, Trump accurately noted the attack was a consequence of former President Obama's actions (or rather, inaction) in the region:  

"Today’s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world. These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a “red line” against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable attack.

When it comes to his remarks on Obama, it sounds right to us, but not to the Left, whose condemnation is reserved for Trump alone. 

"Even by the horrors of the Syrian civil war, what happened today will stand out as a crime against humanity," began CBS anchor Scott Pelley during his Evening News report Tuesday. As you can imagine, Pelley insinuated that President Trump is responsible for these crimes.

"The attack came five days after the Trump administration signaled that the Syrian dictator would not be held accountable for the slaughter of his people," Pelley added. 

"The Trump administration said Bashar al-Assad could remain in power, a reversal of Obama-era policy that said Assad had to go."

Is he kidding? Obama ceded our role in Syria over to Russia (the same Russia the Left is presently obsessed with), which, along with Iran,  has propped up the Assad regime. The Left's selective memory is utterly breathtaking. 

Newsbusters provides a summary of the transcript and video of Pelley's report: 

“Despite the appeasing change in his policy, Mr. Trump blamed today's attack on President Obama calling it a ‘Consequence of the past administration's weakness,’” he continued to chide.

Pelley’s claim that the Trump administration was giving a free pass to a murderous monster, had been a common narrative circulating around the liberal media for the past few days. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told reporters that when it came to Assad “Do we think he's a hindrance? Yes … Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No.” But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also stated that the “longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.”

Yet when it came to the efforts of former President Barack Obama, who never made a serious attempt to take out Assad after he crossed the infamous “red line,” CBS defended them from Trump.

“[After the first time Assad gassed his people] President Obama threatened air strikes, but instead, he struck a deal to destroy Syria's chemical weapons,” Pelley recalled, “In 2014, a U.N. agency certified that all of the known weapons had been incinerated, but after today, it would appear that something was left over.” He then scolded Trump for mentioning the facts: “Mr. Trump's reflex, blaming Mr. Obama for today's attack, strikes some even in the Trump administration as misguided.”

Reporter Margaret Brennan of course downplayed Secretary of State Tillerson's strong condemnation of Assad and his sponsors, making it seem as though the Sec. of State was indifferent. 

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson initially declined to comment on the attacks, but then, Scott, late this afternoon, issued a statement that was devoid of domestic politics, which said that both Russia and Iran, quote 'bear great moral responsibility for these deaths.'"  

"While we continue to monitor the terrible situation, it is clear that this is how Bashar al-Assad operates: with brutal, unabashed barbarism," Tillerson said in his statement. 

"Those who defend and support him, including Russia and Iran, should have no illusions about Assad or his intentions. Anyone who uses chemical weapons to attack his own people shows a fundamental disregard for human decency and must be held accountable."

This does not mean, however, that we should be "arming the rebels" as some like Senator John McCain have advocated. Have we learned nothing from our past mistakes? For in this part of the world, when it comes to Islam and its warring factions, the enemy of our enemy does not make a friend.