COLUMBUS (WCMH) — US naval forces fired 59 or 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian Air bases Thursday night in retaliation for what authorities said was Sarin Gas attacks on rebel-held areas.

NBC4 spoke with Dr. Peter Mansoor, a retired US Army Colonel and military historian about yesterday’s strikes.

“Clearly the president was affected emotionally by the photos of the dead children, gassed by Sarin Gas by the Assad regime,” said Mansoor, Chair and Professor at OSU’s History Department.

The use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians shocked the world. But should America get heavily involved in another Middle Eastern conflict?

“We do have national security interests at stake in Syria, the destruction of ISIS, the staunching of the flow of refugees into Europe. Some sort of stability in the heart of the Middle East,” Mansoor said.

Could this retaliation lead to a wider conflict with Syria?

“I don’t think this is going to set off a wider conflict, wider than it already is,” said Dr. Mansoor.

What is the reason for the use chemical weapons on civilians?

“This is a terrorist attack, a terrorist attack committed by a government, “Mansoor said. He said using terror to send a clear message that people in the area needed to leave.”

NBC4 covered a ‘Silent Memorial’ on the 100^th anniversary of America’s entrance into World War I, a war where chemical weapons were deployed.

Dr. Monsoor said it is unfortunate that 100 years later a government is still using chemical weapons in a war. “I think the US is doing the right thing standing up and saying using chemical weapons is not right, and we will use force to make sure the prohibition against chemical weapons is upheld.”