Retired Army General Jack Keane said on Friday that President Donald Trump has committed his and the country's credibility when it comes to taking action in Syria.
"I think the president has committed his credibility and America's credibility here," Keane said during an interview with Fox News host Bill Hemmer. "And I think the sooner we get on with doing that, the better it is going to be and hopefully it is decisive."
The U.S. and several allied governments, along with analysts, commentators, and Syrian activist groups, have said the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for a chemical attack last weekend on Syrian civilians.
Hemmer asked Keane if America's response would be delayed, however, since United Nations inspectors have yet to reach the attack site.
"I'm wondering if U.N. inspectors are headed for that town this weekend, does that mean this has been put off for some time?" Hemmer asked.
"The U.N. inspectors–the Russians have cleaned the site, all right? That's number one. That's cleaner than our bathrooms at home, believe me," Keane said. "Number two, there's victims out there certainly. The last inspection by investigators took weeks to complete. I doubt if we're going the wait for that kind of report when we have good reports out of three intelligence services from three countries. We've got enough information to launch a strike."
Hemmer asked if Russian President Vladamir Putin was trying to threaten the United Kingdom, the United States, and France with his decision to send Russian ships from port to the Mediterranean Sea. Keane said Putin is a lot of talk, but ultimately, he is overmatched in the Middle East.
"Putin is absolutely overmatched in the Middle East. We have overwhelming combat power. He doesn't want a conflict with us, and the reason for that is he has got a victory here," Keane said. "He has consolidated Syria with the Iranians, propped up the Assad regime indefinitely."
Keane added that a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis is a "fantasy" because Putin currently has what he wants.
"The thought of peaceful diplomatic solution coming out of Geneva would change out Assad is a fantasy," Keane said.
Trump threatened a "big price to pay" for the attack that occurred last Saturday, but he has since stepped back on whether to carry out a military response to the latest chemical attack by Assad.