Tony Abbott has said US President Donald Trump has “acted on behalf of us all” in launching the missile against Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons.
Speaking to radio station 2GB on Friday, the former prime minister went further than his much quoted “baddies versus baddies” description of the Syrian conflict.
“I once described the Syrian civil war as baddies versus baddies. It was baddies versus worsies,” he told radio host Ben Fordham.
“To use chemical weapons is a step too far. It is a crime against humanity and I think that the US president has in a sense acted on behalf of all of us in punishing the Syrian regime for what it has done,” he said.
On Friday (Australian time) the US launched 59 tomahawk missiles in a strike against the Syrian airfield it is alleged a chemical weapons attack was initiated earlier in the week by the regime of President Bashar al Assad in the country’s ongoing civil war.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday following the attack that Australia stands in full support of the US’s action against Syria.
When questioned if he thought the Trump administration should have waited for more evidence as to the culpability of the chemical weapons use before taking action, Mr Abbott defended the United States’ swift response.
“When it comes to circumstances like this, if you wait for all the evidence, if you wait for perfect knowledge, you’ll wait forever. And that just allows evil to triumph,” Mr Abbott said.
