“I saw with my own eyes the people’s reactions — everyone rushed to the rooftops or watched from the windows of their houses. We expected military action to be much stronger, but it was much less than expected. This is why many people feel sad — when they felt great joy at the start of the strike.” While Americans debate the missile strikes and US policy, in Syria the message is clear: Assad stays in power. Buzzfeed: Syrians Are Worried Trump’s Airstrikes May Actually Cause More Attacks On Civilians.

+ Syria has become a proxy war for many world powers. The Atlantic on How Syria Came to This. “Seven years of horrific twists and turns in the Syrian Civil War make it hard to remember that it all started with a little graffiti.”