The United States, along with France and the United Kingdom, launched missile strikes against Syria on April 7. In a prepared statement, President Trump declared these strikes were a “deterrent” in response to a poison gas attack in Douma, a city a few miles northeast of Damascus, that killed hundreds of civilians. President Trump also stated these attacks were vital to U.S. security. But without a long-term plan, the strikes raise more questions about the United States’ foreign policy strategy than answers. Earlier in April, Trump ordered the removal of troops from Syria, but there is no indication of how the U.S. expects to administer this policy after the strike. Given how little foreign intervention has impacted Syria’s civil war, it is unlikely that these strikes will alter the course of the conflict that has claimed and displaced hundreds of thousands of lives since 2011. It’s much more likely that these high-profile strikes are more effective in shaping the Trump admin