The message the U.S. gave when President Donald Trump ordered strikes against an air base in Syria on Thursday "needed to be heard," former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton told Fox News' "Hannity" on Friday.
"I think the message that it sent around the world to adversaries, potential adversaries, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, well beyond Syria (was) something that needed to be heard. I think it's going to change a lot of calculations," Bolton said. "I don't think you can underestimate the reverberations that you're going to see from this."
Countries have largely supported the president's missile strike against Syria following a chemical attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier in the week that killed scores in the northern part of the country.
The airstrike also showed "the Obama era for American foreign policy is clearly over," Bolton said, adding that the message of the missile attack was, "when countries violate those commitments, there are going to be consequences."
The attack came during a visit to the U.S. by China's President Xi Jinping, who Bolton said would clearly understand the the broader message the U.S. was sending.
"Xi Jinping knows that, unlike the last eight years, he's talking to somebody who's prepared to take action to protect American national security," Bolton explained.
Bolton said it was living in a "fantasyland" to believe "rogue states" like Iran, Syria or North Korea when they enter into agreements, because they "don't have the slightest intentions of meeting their obligations."
Trump gave Russians advance notice ahead of the Syrian strike, allowing them time to get personnel away from the intended target.
Bolton said he thought the Russians were "embarrassed" by the Syrian president's actions earlier in the week, but would likely "stick with Assad as long as they can, and they would only replace him with somebody that allowed them to stay there."
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