Brian Williams Criticized After Quoting Leonard Cohen To Call Syria Airstrike Missiles 'Beautiful'

MSNBC anchor Brian Williams was facing backlash from social media users after calling the U.S. missiles launched at Syria Thursday night "beautiful." There were 59 Tomahawk missiles launched toward the nation, killing at least six people, the Syrian's Armed Forces General Command announced hours after the invasion.

"We see these beautiful pictures, at night, from the decks of these two U.S. Navy vessels in the eastern Mediterranean," Williams said Thursday evening during his MSNBC program, "The 11th Hour." He then quoted a line from a Leonard Cohen’s 1987 song, "First We Take Manhattan," saying, "I am guided by the beauty of our weapons."

Read: Brian Williams Blames Exaggerations On His Ego In 'Today Show' Interview, But Was It Enough?

Nine others were injured in the attack that was a response to the chemical weapons used on civilians earlier this week, killing at least 70 people, including children, according to CNN.

Williams continued: "They are beautiful pictures of fearsome armaments making what is for them a brief flight over to this airfield." He later asked his guest speaker, "What did they hit?"

Cohen, who died in November at age 82, told the Washington Post in a 1988 interview, the song was "a response to terrorism." "There’s something about terrorism that I’ve always admired," he said.

Here are a few lines from Cohen’s song:

"I’m guided by a signal in the heavens

I’m guided by this birthmark on my skin

I’m guided by the beauty of our weapons

First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin."

Williams, who was removed from NBC "Nightly News" two years ago for making up stories that he reported overseas, has been scrutinized for his comments. See below:

President Donald Trump said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was behind the chemical warfare, although Syria has denied those claims.

"Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched," Trump said Thursday night to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago report in Palm Beach, Florida. "It is in this vital national security of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."

He continued: "There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council. Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically."