iU.S. United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley did not mince words Monday following a reported chemical weapons attack by Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, condemning Assad as a "monster," Iran and Russia as his shameless enablers, and the U.N. Security Council as impotent in its response to Assad's atrocities.
It was only last Wednesday Haley slammed U.N. inction on Syria's chemical weapons use, saying the world was "sliding backward" into a practice long condemned by the entire globe. Haley remarked it was a year ago that she held up pictures of dead Syrian children after a chemical attack and prayed she would never again have to do so.
"That day has come again," she said.
Saturday's attack on the rebel-held suburb of Douma—which Assad and Russia have denied responsibility for—has left dozens dead. President Donald Trump warned of a heavy price to pay and said nothing was off the table with regard to a potential military response.
Describing the horrific deaths and suffering of those affected in the attack, Haley said "only a monster does this."
"Only a monster targets civilians and then ensures that there are no ambulances to transfer the wounded, no hospitals to save their lives, no doctors or medicine to ease their pain," she said. "I could hold up pictures of all of this killing and suffering for the council to see, but what would be the point? The monster who was responsible for these attacks has no conscience."
She added the Russian regime which bolsters Assad and "whose hands are all covered in the blood of Syrian children" could not be shamed by pictures of its victims.
"We must not overlook Russia and Iran's roles in enabling the Assad regime's murderous destruction," Haley said. "Russia and Iran have military advisers at Assad's airfields and operation centers. Russian officials are on the ground helping direct the regime's starve-and-surrender campaign, and Iranian-allied forces do much of the dirty work.
"When the Syrian military pummels civilians, they rely on the military hardware given by Russia. Russia could stop this senseless slaughter if it wanted, but it stands with the Assad regime and supports without any hesitation. What's the point of trying to shame such people? After all, no civilized government would have anything to do with Assad's murderous regime."
The Security Council "has failed to act," Haley said, because Russia has stood in the way each time and been able to "weaken the credibility of the United Nations."
"Now, here we are, confronted with the consequences of giving Russia a pass in the name of unity, a unity that Russia has shown many times before that they don't want," she said. "Here we are in a world where chemical weapons use is becoming normalized, from an Indonesian airport to an English village to the homes and hospitals of Syria."
Haley said there could be no more rationalizations for not acting, noting each country in the Security Council was on record in opposing chemical weapons use. She added the priority must be to help the suffering left behind in Douma and re-establish an impartial mechanism for Syrian chemical attacks
"The United States is determined to see the monster who dropped chemical weapons on the Syrian people held to account," Haley said. "We are beyond showing pictures of dead babies. We are beyond appeals to conscience. We have reached the moment when the world must see justice done."