A U.S. cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base may persuade Syria's President Bashar Assad to be more cautious with some of his tactics, but will not deter him and his allies from pressing a full-throttle military campaign to crush rebels.
It was the first time Washington has directly targeted Assad's government in six years of civil war, and has pushed the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump into proclaiming that Washington still wants Assad removed from power.
But the single volley of Tomahawk missiles was of such limited scope that it will reinforce the view held by Damascus and its allies that the United States is no more eager than before to take the sort of strong action needed to defeat him.