President Donald Trump's warning to Russian forces on the ground in Syria last Thursday before 59 Tomahawk missiles leveled the airbase was "really an olive branch" to Moscow, former Navy SEAL Carl Higbie told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"He said: 'Look, I don't want to go to war with you. This is not your beef. I don't want to kill any of your men, destroy any of your planes. So, just a head's up: I'm about to level this area. Get you stuff out of there,'" Higbie told host Bill Tucker on "America Talks Live."
"That was a very clear message that Donald Trump does not want to go to war with Russia — and I think they saw that."
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"He didn't have to do that," Higbie added. "He could have just flattened it and said, 'Well, too bad – so sad.'"
Higbie is author of "Enemies, Foreign & Domestic: A SEAL's Story."
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