美国国家公共电台 NPR In Syria, The News Of U.S. Missile Strike Is Greeted With Ambivalence

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KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

NPR's Alison Meuse is in Beirut. She's been talking to people in Syria who oppose the Assad regime, and she's been asking them about last night's airstrikes.

ALISON MEUSE, BYLINE¹: The barrage² of Tomahawk missiles came as a surprise for many Syrians. This was the first time the U.S. has intentionally³ bombed Syrian government forces over the course of the entire six-year civil war. That might seem like it would be welcomed news for those opposed to Assad, especially in the area where the apparent chemical attack took place, but that's not how it was being talked about today.

Samer al-Hussein lives just a few miles outside of Khan Shaykhun. That's the town that produced the images of children and others choking due to apparent chemical exposure. He spoke⁴ to NPR after attending Friday prayers.

SAMER AL-HUSSEIN: (Through interpreter) The preacher of the mosque⁵ said the American strikes were a joke. They were just to save face. There were strikes that were not fruitful because today Russia is still killing⁶ civilians⁷.

MEUSE: What he means is people are getting killed by conventional airstrikes carried out by Syrian and even more powerful Russian warplanes every day. He says the preacher wasn't even focused on the U.S. strikes. The sermon was about education, urging parents to home-school their children on the many days airstrikes make going to class impossible. Al-Hussein says he and others are skeptical⁸ the U.S. is truly concerned about their plight⁹.

AL-HUSSEIN: (Through interpreter) People are worried that it's just to make some media noise, that this was a one-time U.S. strike on the air base, that they won't strike again, and the reckoning has ended.

MEUSE: Another resident of the area is Muznah al-Jundi. She runs a women's center in the rebel-held northwest, which recently cancelled its programming due to airstrikes that barely got any international attention. Reached by phone, she said people are unsure what to make of the U.S. missile strikes.

MUZNAH AL-JUNDI: (Through interpreter) Honestly, our feelings today are mixed between happiness and sadness.

MEUSE: Jundi says she felt relieved that the airport from which Syrian planes took off to attack Khan Shaykhun had been damaged, but she's also upset over yet more destruction.

JUNDI: (Through interpreter) As Syrians, we never wanted the situation to get to this point. We didn't want it to get to this level where Syria is being destroyed. But, unfortunately, this is where we are today.

MEUSE: She says that for U.S. strikes to be helpful, they need to be part of a full strategy towards Syria, not just a one-time event. The Syrian military, for its part, said the U.S. strikes will only make it harder for the Syrian air force to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups. The airbase the U.S. struck does provide support for Syrian troops fighting ISIS, but Jundi knows that when the government uses the word terrorist, it refers to all of Assad's opponents.

JUNDI: (Through interpreter) The regime made a statement today saying that they're fighting the terrorists. So this makes us more afraid.

MEUSE: She says we're tired inside. We're tired of planes. We want to live a normal life. Alison Meuse, NPR News, Beirut.

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