One day after tweeting, “Get ready Russia, because [missiles] will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!',” President Trump has appeared to back off slightly from his aggressive stance over Syria. This morning, Trump tweeted, “Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!” Trump’s tweet came after he missed a self-imposed deadline of 48 hours to announce “major decisions” on Syria in the wake of an alleged chemical attack in Douma on Saturday. On Wednesday, Pentagon chief James Mattis said the U.S. was still investigating who was responsible.

Defense Secretary James Mattis: “We’re still assessing the intelligence. Ourselves and our allies, we’re still working on this.”

Reporter: “Is the U.S. military ready right now to conduct a retaliatory strike, if ordered?”

Defense Secretary James Mattis: “We stand ready to provide military options, if they’re appropriate, as the president determined.”