President Trump and United States allies bombed chemical weapons facilities in Syria on Friday. The attacks came in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons on his own people. Vox’s Alex Ward explains why the United States escalated its involvement and why the world sees chemical weapons differently from conventional ones.

For an explainer on how Syria got here, check out our previous episode "It's never too late to understand the war in Syria":

https://art19.com/shows/today-explained/episodes/d2c4b553-b2e5-4549-85e3-2de05a45064e

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