With Israel already having conducted a trial balloon, or rather trial F-15 airstrike on a Syrian airfield overnight, now comes the US response. And according to Donald Trump, who moments ago was speaking to reporters, he will make a “major decision” on Syria in the next 24-48 hours, subsequently clarifying that the decision will come “very quickly” probably “by the end of today”, adding that nothing is off the table.

“Very concerned, when a thing like that can happen, this is about humanity,” the president told reporters during a Cabinet meeting. “We’re talking about humanity. And it can’t be allowed to happen. So we’ll be looking at that barbaric act and studying what’s going on.”

Taking a page from he Skripal affair, where the UK was recently humiliated for accusing Russia of being behind the attack only for UK chemical weapons experts to say there is zero evidence of this, Trump then also said that Assad is going to pay a price, even though here too there has been no evidence whatsoever that Assad, was actually behind the attack.

• TRUMP SAYS ASSAD IS GOING TO PAY A PRICE

This entire episode of course is a rerun of what happened in February, when Rex Tillerson was the latest to blame Russia for the latest alleged “chemical attack” by the Assad regime, even though he later admitted he doesn’t actually know who did it. It appears that the same thing is taking place now, although Trump’s incentive to deflect from domestic affairs is great enough that the US now appears hell-bent on launching another round of Tomahawk cruise missiles on Syria in the next several days.

And yes, just like in the Scrpal affair, it was once again Putin’s fault:

• TRUMP SAYS PUTIN MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ATTACK IN SYRIA
• TRUMP SAYS EVERYBODY IS GOING TO PAY A PRICE

… just as it apparently is Putin’s fault Trump is now in the White House.