Brian Williams. Screenshot/MSNBC MSNBC anchor Brian Williams set off a firestorm online after he called footage of missiles launching into Syria Thursday night "beautiful."

Williams made the comments while speaking with NBC terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance following the news that President Donald Trump ordered strikes at Syrian government targets. Those targets included the airfield where intelligence showed the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical weapons attack from days earlier.

"We see these beautiful pictures at night from the decks of these two US Navy vessels in the eastern Mediterranean," Williams said. "I am tempted to quote the great Leonard Cohen: 'I am guided by the beauty of our weapons.' And, they are beautiful pictures of fierce armaments making, what is for them, a brief flight over to this airfield. What did they hit?"

Williams received criticism on social media after his remarks, which were largely viewed there in a jingoistic light.

Watch the original comments below:

And the criticism that followed: