Syrian-Americans respond to U.S. airstrikes in Syria

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - After President Trump announced that the U.S., France and the United Kingdom would launch airstrikes in Syria, Fox 10 spoke with one man who moved to the U.S. from Syria.

And he wants to thank the President for his announcement today, and is now looking to help those in Syria.

When asked what he thought, he immediately said, "Oh my God, thank you, thank you, thank you President Trump. What you did. It was heroic. It was excellent," said Steve Arkaw, who is also the President of the Phoenix Chapter of the Syrian-American Council.

Arkawi grew up in Syria until he was in his 20s. He moved to the U.S. to further his education.

He says President Bashar Al-Assad's father was in office then and it was a scary time. It remains that way now.

"Well his father was the president of Syria, it was brutal. But this guy is more brutal than his father. In that time, you have no freedom. If you do any talk or joke, they put you in jail, you disappear," Arkawi said.

He says he was thrilled to hear Trump say that the U.S., along with the UK and France, launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Al-Assad for the suspected chemical attack against civilians last weekend.

"I have a friend. They witnessed the chemical attack and you can see the people. You can tell it's a chemical attack," Arkawi said.

Arkawi says this decision should have been done many years ago.

"I think the people in Syria will appreciate what the United States did," Arkawi said.

Reports say the chemical attacked killed more than 80 people in northwestern Syria last Wednesday.