Trump says U.S. will decide on response to ‘atrocious’ attack in Syria in 24 to 48 hours

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April 9, 2018 at 7:01 p.m. EDT

President Trump said on April 9 that his administration would make a decision on its response to a chemical attack in Syria "in the next 24 to 48 hours." (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

President Trump vowed Monday that the United States would take swift action in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria, amid hurried diplomacy that signaled allied military strikes may be imminent.

The Trump administration, backed by France and Britain, began making a circumstantial case that Syria and its Russian and Iranian partners bear direct responsibility for the weekend deaths of at least 49 people in the opposition-held town of Douma, outside the Syrian capital, Damascus.