Please stop taking pictures of him with President Washington in the background.....it's too upsetting.
4
never mind
5
I think Putin goons intervened and perhaps the manipulation has begun. Trump went all bananas then the Russians perhaps dangled whatever they might have on him and stopped him in his tracks.That is likely what this is especially with Michael Cohen in the tight corner he is in.
Toddler-in-Chief, you're caught between a hard and harder place! *smirk*
You have Mueller/Stormy Daniels/NY State/The Russians. Mr President, you will be in tantrum-mode for a while until...
2
well no, trump walked back on this in the last hour. Yet another administration member made to look like an idiot by mr trump
4
Russia! Please find post the video 35,000 times
3
Oooops, Pootee Poo made a phone call and, voila, no sanctions and anger over the expulsions that have already been announced.
Move on folks, nothing to see here.
Sad, but not surprising.
4
Washington Post is reporting Trump is reversing Haley.
Can you please look into this and update the headline, either way? Thanks
The facts. Air strikes against Russian puppet, sanctions against Russia, more air strikes against Russian puppet, more sanctions against Russia.
Claims by the MSM. Trump and Putin are joined at the hip. Putin must have material on Trump with which he could blackmail the POTUS. Fake gossip.
"I told you before, Donald, I'll get you through two terms, no problem. Just lay low and let my excellent hacker teams in Romania do the work for us. Focus on China, North Korea, and "the Wall" during your first term, and we can set a fresh agenda for the second. It would be good to go easy on the sanctions now, and once you mop up ISIS, please leave asap. Don't worry, I've got your back. I know some days you will have to look tough on Russia. I get it. Just don't worry. Even if things go south with the Mueller report, we have enough Kompromat on everyone in Congress to settle the impeachment issues pretty handily. No worries." -V.P.
2
Amb. Haley announced on Sunday about new sanctions on Russia for Monday by Sec. of the Treasury. President Trump
has not approved them to be enforced yet. Why there is a hold , the bigger question is change of strategy against Russia . If it would hurt Amb. Haley' s credibility , what do you think ?
2
People keep thinking, or believing Trump will do the right thing. I have to wonder how many years those closest to him have been waiting also. And like us being constantly disappointed . Or maybe to them it's acceptable. Thank god we haven't gotten that jaded yet. Which means there will be more times we will know what the outcome will be, neither surprise nor praise will be forthcoming.
1
Wait and watch. It will not happen, never.
It's yet another trump bluff.
Russian sanctions way lead to a flood of resistance or a flood in a video!
2
Stop the presses! We just heard that Nikki Haley "misspoke" AKA President Trump changed his mind, again, about sanctions.
Nikki! It took some time, but now you have joined your colleagues who have been "thrown under the bus" by President Trump. Congratulations!
I hope this puts to rest all the loose talk about President Trump not treating women the way he treats men!
11
I just read that Trump has called off the new sanctions.
5
Sorry, Vlad didn't think it was such a good idea so the President just backtracked.
5
After observing Ambassador Nikki Haley at the UN over many months, it appears to me that she more represents Israel than the U.S.
5
Well Trump talks big but he is completely untrustworthy and changes his mind every few minutes.
Also there is and ,has always been, something dead wrong about his relationship with Russia. Why were the Russian diplomats invited into the Oval Office shortly after the election? No president before this one has ever invited foreign dignitaries into his private office— least of all Russians.
That was a first big tip-off that something was wrong about this president. Since then his wildly inappropriate behavior and constant lies have made him a suspect of traitorous behavior. I have never forgotten the Oval Office Russian Party.
No American should if he values democracy.
The least Trump can do—the very least— is to resign if he wants to save himself and his kids.
4
Haley announced these yesterday. Trump denied them today. The LEFT hand has no idea what the LEFT hand is doing in this administration.
7
Putin has too much dirt on Trump. Sanctions will not be what Congress wanted.
I believe this story has since been redacted by Trump himself who today says no sanctions. I wonder if he got a mysterious package in the mail last night postmarked Moscow from Sender: P.P. Tapov?
2
When will the world impose sanctions on us for selling arms to Saudi Arabia to attack Yemen and cause a devastating famine killing thousands of civilians, many of them children? When? We never here about it because it never fits our narrative. We are hypocrites to the nth degree.
8
More sanctions? Holy cow, this collusion thing is really not working for Putin.
2
More likely the Democrats' collective collusion mania is not working.
This article is already out of date. Today the White House says that the US Ambassador misspoke. There will be no new sanctions. I wonder why...
Don’t worry. Trump said today, we aren’t doing the sanctions. No pee tape today!!
Putin goes down and the pee-pee tapes come out. Trump pardons Michael Cohen and Cohen is free of Trump, keeps all his loot and becomes an American hero by telling all he knows about Trump's doings and by turning all the evidence he has stashed away over to the investigators and cannot be touched by anyone for anything.
Not true!
Cohen will also be tried in NY State, and Trump can do nothing for him there. The criminal penalties are far worse there than they might be in Federal court, with the exception of treason.
Trump, by the way, will also be tried there. Good riddance!
3
And he will welcomed with open arms into the GOP and become President like his buddy Trump as the GOP supporters deny how bad their leaders are and life goes on . I hope not he needs serious jail time and Trump also.
You may have won three Pulitzer prizes, but you're asleep at the switch today. The Washington Post reported some time ago that Trump is rolling back those sanctions. And now they're reporting that Michael Cohen's third client is none other than Fox News' Sean Hannity. I haven't seen that in the Times yet.
40
News at the speed of Trump.
In case those suffering from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) missed it - a coordinated cruise missile strike by the U.S., the U.K., and France blew up the "Trump-Russia Collusion" narrative over the weekend.
3
No. It didn't. The conspiracy and its treason survives all this playing. He told Putin they were coming. He sent nothing against the Russian troops, or Syrian, for that matter. It was a shot into nothing and nowhere that hit no one. Trump is a traitor, irrespective of his current actions. The change to the ukrainian plank in the Republican platform, from giving them more powerful weapons to humanitarian aid, was done by Trump in payment for the coming emails hacked by the Russians, and the rest of their help. And to prove Trump could push the Republicans into aiding his treason. And then there is Flynn's telling Kislyak to have Putin not react to the new sanctions from Obama, in Dec 2016, which Flynn lied about to the FBI. Treason, aiding a foreign power to interfere in the normal processes of the American government.
4
But now Donald has decided that more sanctions might be a step too far. . . . Might offend he who must not be mentioned. Cruise missiles can be targeted to avoid any Russian casualties, Russian sanctions might actually cause some harm.
5
Hardly. The Russians were relieved that the missle attack didn't impede their progress in Syria. Now Trump is walking back the additional economic sanctions that were announced. So, Putin, yet again, yanked the poodle's chain.
9
What about sanctions on our own country for supporting Saudi Arabia's genocide
in Yemen?
3
Trump owns it. Blame him. SA is his buddy, this week. Doesn't he own property there?
2
YES - Trump has several companies in Saudi Arabia that he registered in 2015! CROOK!
1
Why does Bashar al-Assad insist on being difficult? The atrocities would be but a tempest in a teapot if only he murdered his people by conventional means like everyone else. Then we could all get back to speculating what Trump did with the ladies in that Moscow hotel room.
3
Putin will not be happy with POTUS when these Sanctions (long overdue) are implemented. I pray that Mueller can save us from the Kakistocracy that we are living with now.
1
In this country there is a one sided narrative, without historical context, that Asad is out to kill his own people for no reason. In reality, civilians are caught in a civil war. The rebels are the reason there is such a war. Going further, the root cause of this massive tragedy is the U.S. invasion of Iraq that destabilized the region. It led to the emergence of terrorist and rebel groups that rampaged both Iraq and Syria, killing tens of thousands of people and creating a humanitarian / refugee crisis. The U.S. led action of "bomb first, take questions later" is against UN Charter and international law. Now the parties being bombed are being sanctioned? As sovereign nations, it's not abhorrent for Russia, Syria and Iran to form alliances, just as the U.S. has its two little brothers that follows it around for bombing campaigns. It seems that the call for sanctions is a last ditch effort to dish a jab at a game over situation (as opposed to "mission accomplished"). Asad's regime has now liberated virtually all rebel held territories. It is the outcome that favors U.S. interests, but it is in fact what will bring the tragedies of this war to an end.
10
Some of us actually read entire analyses of the issue. The NYT has been great about reporting the whole issue over the years in great detail. Those who get their news from Facebook and Twitter (and FOX) would not know the difference between Shia and Sunni if it hit them smack in the face.
5
I doubt the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia are going to let go of Syria that easily.
Agree on everything, you just forgot from your picture that the rebels that have been waging war against Assad and have plunged the country into ruin and chaos have been financed, trained and armed by the United States. Yes, the same United States that now complain that Assad is killing too many people in this war.
1
As per the Washington Post, it looks like Trump has decided to halt these sanctions. What is he hiding? What does he owe Russia? Could he appear any more guilty???
17
We can keep piling sanctions on Russia but, as Gilbert Doctorow and Lawrence Wikerson affirm, they hurt us more than they hurt Russia and our aggressive stance is pushing us closer to war.
https://almarkowitz.blogspot.com/2018/01/derailing-neocon-train-to-armag...
4
No longer in play. this story needs updating.
22
Its interesting that when last year a bus with children was blown up by terrorists, US regime and pups didn't do anything. No bombs or condemnation. I wonder why this so called "leader of the free world" stands with these rebells/terrorists.
2
I can't imagine that Putin has let his puppet loose. Won't Putin yank that old string about the video tape before Trump does anything? Perhaps Putin will channel a friendly threat through Trump's security advisors (Fox and Friends).
1
Why not ALL Russian companies? Russia is a corporate dictatorship with Putin as its CEO. Weak. Again.
2
OOPS...Never mind.
1
Fake fake sanctions just like the fake deportation of Russian diplomats which Russia can replace as long as they are the the same ones!
2
Trump continues to endear himself to knuckle-headed Democrats and Liberals who yearn to provoke an open-ended confrontation with Russia over its alleged responsibility for Hillary's defeat in 2016. I hope they're finally mollified when the nuclear weapons start flying.
3
Any strike or other military action that leaves Doctor Bashar al-Assad, the Butcher of Damascus, alive is a failure. He has murdered 400,000 of his own citizens, and sent more fleeing into Europe and Jordan, wreaking havoc and misery, prejudices, and economic chaos. We simply lack the will to call it genocide and take all necessary action to stop it. Does it matter that he uses chemical weapons rather than bombs for his murderous actions? Yes, there is a treaty against the use of chemical weapons, but can we sit back and do nothing when he uses bombs instead? Yes, international law protects the sovereignty of nations, but how far does the principle go that allows us to look the other way when a dictator wages war against his own population? So far, too far. It is intolerable. Death to Assad.
8
I agree. It's inconceivable that Assad hasn't been targeted yet.
1
"He has murdered 400,000 of his own citizens"
Oh really? So none of the deaths are attributable to the jihadists that have been armed, trained and financed by the US? So if a foreign power trains an army to start a civil war in the US, all the deaths of that war will be the fault of the US government?
3
Nikki Haley puts Trump in a pickle, doesn't she? Maybe the UN ambassador wants a way out of the administration?
4
Not to worry. Trump has already over-ridden Ms. Haley.
3
Mission accomplished? Yes, on a planet far far away. Rule of thumb,
nothing is ever done in the Middle East. The oldest reference to Israel
in the historical record is a hieroglyph from 3,000 years ago. The
Pharaoh boasted that he had laid waste to Israel and "all its seed."
Not so fast.
1
Am I callous in not feeling sorry for President David Dennison, who may be about to have his worst fears realized as his liege Vladimir Putin loses patience and starts releasing the Kompromat? Ah, schadenfreude!
3
This seems quite selective.... We just made billions in sales of military sales to Saudis to kill in a one sided war... but then sanction Russia ... its about the Benjamins
4
Other news reports say the sanctions Haley talked about have been "walked back" by Trump.
8
On the one hand this looks a lot like "Vlad only pretended to be my friend, but he was only using me. I'll show him!" On the other hand, maybe we should all be glad Trump finally figured it out. Maybe Trump will figure out that Putin was counting on Trumps vision of what "America First" means, to diminish Americas role in the world and allow Russia to expand it s role in our absence. After all, Trump, as he keeps telling everyone, is, like, really smart. We can only hope, right?
Politicians should cease using the expression "sent a message". It is too sloppy.
1
Funny, Trump didn’t have any notions of Putin’s alliance with the long disgraced al-Assad when hostilities broke out during Obama’s term? All the overtures of endearment and deep-heeled respect for Putin’s leadership bordering on treasonous were without knowledge of his anti-West tactics in Syria? Geez, wait until he catches wind of Russia invading Crimea, then Ukraine. But be sure to hold on to your hats when he finds out Russia is behind the downing of a passenger plane.
1
All well and good,Nikki,BUT the real question is will they be implemented or just used to save face and perhaps only when Toddler-in-Chief is in a jam!
2
Now the Donnie is described as being furious about the Nikki saying that there will be more Ruskie sanctions. Leaving aside the lack of coherent planning or communication in the leadership of our nation I must ask if it is normal for a President to be described every other day as furious, outraged, steaming, etc. His emotional presentation seems to be on the level of a hung over coach of a junior high school football team that has just gone 0-8 for the season.
5
What bothers me about this article, is the picture of Trump in front of Washington's portrait. It is a gross obscenity, to publicly portray in the media, any relationship between George Washington and his presidency and Donald Trump and his impersonation of someone playing a bad boy president.
1
Not going to happen. Trump has already pulled back. Anyone surprised?
2
Putin has murdered his opponents at home and abroad.
Putin was "elected" in a one-party state where opposition is not allowed.
Putin's people shot down an airline over Ukraine, murdering hundreds of people.
Putin sponsors the genocide in Syria, including the use of chemical weapons.
Why is Russia being allowed to host the FIFA World Cup, other than because Putin bribed FIFA?
I will not be watching ANY World Cup matches. Boycotting the World Cup would really hurt Putin.
3
He will back off from the prospect of getting Russia punished. I bet on that. He is held by the croch by Mr. Putin.
2
Trump has buyers remorse. The deal with Putin just did not work out. Sanctions only work if you enforce them. Sanctions must take power from the people who profit most from wrong doing. Putin must have assests invested in the West that can be targeted. His oligarchs are pawns who hide Vlad’s riches. Crippling Putin’s finances would be far more effective than what we are doing now.
4
France, Great Britain and the U.S. need to work together to thelp the Syrian People. Hit once and run will not do anything to stop this madness. I'm not beating the War Drum, But the world can not let this continue.
1
This is confusing. If Comey is to be believed--and I do believe him, although I despise what he did to HRC--those compromising tapes from the hotel do exist. I knew Trump had brought them up with Comey, but it seems he not only brought them up but obsessed about them. Since they sound so outlandish on the face of it, I conclude that Trump has a guilty mind, or he would brush the whole thing away. So, I assume that these sanctions are not what they sound like, and that there is some kind of Kabuki going on here behind the scenes. Some people commenting here sound better informed than I am. I'll keep checking back.
2
So where is the proof that DJT implemented ANY of the other sanctions that he so reluctantly signed a long time ago?
Regardless, these new sanctions are just a minor slap-on-the-wrists and take years to take effect. There are also individuals on the sanctions list who are already sanctioned by the U.S., like Oleg Deripaska, and others who are unlikely ever to face sanctions.
And who gave permission for a previously "sanctioned" Russian oligarch to secretly get into the US just a few months ago without penalty?
"Sanctions" is just Trump's new maneuver to appear
"tough" on Russia. Putin probably thought of it.
3
The idea that this very limited missile strike has done anything to stop Assad from using chemical warfare is ludicrous. They had a week to move all the "stuff" so that we could blow up a bunch of empty buildings. And the strike was small enough so as not to annoy the Russians. The truth is no one wants to get involved in the Syrian mess other than the Russians and the Iranians. And each of them has their own agendas that do not include the spread of democracy as we know it. Unless we are willing to wade into the fray full speed ahead and then stay there for as long as it takes to "keep the peace" we will never accomplish anything significant in Syria or any other part of the middle east. We certainly won't get rid of ISIS by leaving. For Trump to suggest otherwise is just another one of his deviations from reality.
1
The people running our foreign policy are putting our lives in danger. Those promoting the bombing of Syria over unproven allegations were not sure Russia would not retaliate. One wrong mishap and that could have triggered WWIII or a nuclear arms exchange. Our foreign policy agenda is not helpful for the American people. And our Congress just goes along.
3
At least our government takes decisive action to protect Syrian children from one kind of weapon and is apparently not afraid of the military superpower Russians. Here at home, our children get gunned down in their classrooms but our government can't act for fear of the NRA and Trump's voter "base." Oh, and when Assad and Russia and Iran and ISIS and all the rebel militia finally quit slaughtering the Syrian people, our government will spend our money rebuilding what they all destroyed so that the Syrian refugees have a home to come to, with new housing, hospitals, clean drinking water, electricity, streets and bridges. While in America, we have homeless families, homeless veterans, 80-year-old widows barely surviving on Social Security, sick people who can't afford to go to the doctor or buy their medicines, toothless working people who can't afford dental care, drug and alcohol addicts who get punishment but can't get adequate treatment, and millions working for wages that don't buy them a basic standard of living. All of that is why I am not much impressed with this administration's show of moral outrage in Syria. It's certainly not "America First."
2
I agree with Nancy .
" Russian companies that have supported Syria’s chemical weapons would be targeted ..."
This is silly and meaningless, but will be believed by Trump supporters. I suppose these companies can be found by googeling
1
Well, Mr. Trump just chimed in, destroyed any remaining believability Ms. Haley and the US had, and said "no new sanctions!" Indeed, Mr. Comey is right in suspecting blackmail. Indeed!
2
While the latest use of chemical weapons is used to justify the sanctions, the reality is that they are for a litany of malevolent behavior by Putin:
The invasions of Ukraine and Georgia, poisoning of Russians in the UK, propping up the murderous Assad regime, allying with Iran, and hacking into elections (even though Trump won't admit this last part publilcly).
1
Trump puts the brakes on Haley's Russian sanctions. Could Comey be right when he says that Trump might be compromised by the Russians?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-puts-the-brake-on-new-russ...
I know why the US is going to put sanctions on Russia for its support for Syria it is because the US is desperate and has lost the oil war. Wake up people this is what this war in Syria is all about it is not about humanitarian reasons at all. America is a greedy country and wants to control all the worlds resources. When someone gets in there way they get angry and now they have met their match with Russia.
2
Anyone else get the feeling that Ms. Haley is positioning herself for a big move up in the world of the GOP? Vice President to President Pence by Christmas or her own campaign in 2020. She's a better politician than anyone the Democrats have so far.
The unstable approach this administration has employed when dealing with Russia removes all credibility when issuing new sanctions. We are all aware that next week the president will most likely schedule a meeting in the Baltics with his friend Vlad and all will be forgiven. There is this thing called consistency in dealing with an adversary that makes them take you seriously.
1
And then, this afternoon, WaPo writes: "Trump puts brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley's announcement." Can we just be honest and call this presidency the Putin Administration?
5
Obviously Russia has "something" on Trump otherwise or he would be getting tough on Russia, such as sanctions and bombing Russia's allies.
2
Very amusing, this calculated and choreographed show of Trump "opposing" Russia working its magic as Vladimir Putin intended, protecting his mole in the greatest intelligence coup in history. Tough talk, pinprick "attacks", change the basic reality not one whit, that the President of the United States is a Russian asset.
1
Once again, it's the "Trump Administration" that is imposing sanctions against Russia. Trump, personally, has said and done next to nothing. In the 15 months he's been president, Trump has made one negative comment about Putin. In that same time he has excoriated every American intelligence agency, hundreds of American officials (many are those that he, himself appointed), and literally hundreds of thousands of American citizens.
If you look at his record, it becomes quite clear that Trump has only two great loves, himself and Putin. The vast majority of Americans don't even rate.
He denigrated our last president to no end. But, Trump never misses an opportunity to kiss the ground Putin walks on.
16
The United States seems to have given over even attempts at diplomacy and this is an historical tragedy.
8
"Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the United Nations, said Russian companies that have supported Syria’s chemical weapons would be targeted on Monday."
I have no idea what this means. The assertion by the Ambassador is conjectural, no more.
5
The NYTs states that Trump tried to be friendly with Putin. A damning accusation in the NYTs world. The false flag chemical attack by jihadists, which the world news media has without evidence claimed to be a Syrian attack, is yet another pretext to sanction Russia.
8
Yes, and as Normon Solomon makes clear, the constant pressure and accusations of "Russiagate" push Trump into increasingly warlike posturing that endangers us all
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-russiagate-produced-the-missile-at...
Is there evidence of a chemical attack by jihadists ?
1
Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Syria on Saturday, but two days later, they still had not reached Douma, the Damascus suburb where about 70 people were killed in the attack on April 7. Syrian and Russian forces have captured the area from rebels.
The inspectors need to go to the scene to take samples and interview people, but “they are currently being prevented from doing so by the regime and the Russians,” Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain said in Parliament on Monday afternoon.
2
The strikes were stupid - moral outrage over approximately 40 deaths out of hundreds of thousands. Endangering the world for a pointless point.
14
No. This war is terrible, however using chemical weapons has been considered unacceptable in conflicts for 100 years.
We cannot revert to this type of warfare. While the use of conventional weapons can cause an equal amount of slaughter, we cannot ignore the fact that Syria is willing to use chemical weapons to poison its own citizens. The message needed to be delivered.
And I am about as anti war as it gets.
2
It was 40 now to test our reaction. If you don't respond, the next one would have been thousands. It's a hairy situation. But of course, we could ignore it's happening and watch Netflix all day.
1
"Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the United Nations, said Russian companies that have supported Syria’s chemical weapons would be targeted on Monday."
After the Syria strikes, additional sanctions on Russia, and the quote above, guess we'll soon find out all the kompromat Putin has on Trump, no?
1
Call me a conspiratorial liberal but Trump's 'raid' resulted in zero casualties and were apparently directed at three emptied buildings after Trump gave Russia and Assad three days after warning them his 'smart' 'new' missiles were going to be coming.
Trump has again this AM indicated he wants to exit Syria ASAP.
He now can spout the meme that he's been tough on Putin.
...Right.
Let's see these 'newest' sanctions the administration is going to propose.
3
This is what I wonder too. How far will these actions against Russia go?
As long as the European nations continue to buy Russian oil and gas, none of these sanctions will have any effect on Russian foreign policy. Follow the real money, and the real money is energy production in Russia.
25
WHile its true that Russia will always survive because of its vast oil and gas reserves and the fact that Europe needs them; the sanctions so far have had a devastating effect on both the Russian economy and its currency.
As more and more people face poverty and starvation, internal issues will arise.
1
What happened to Putin loving Trump?
7
Trump's loyalty TO PUTIN continues...Wash Post reporting this afternoon...
Trump Puts Brakes on New Russia Sanctions, Walking Back Haley’s Remarks
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-puts-the-brake-on-new-russ...
1
Putin never loved Trump. He loves using Trump. He is smarter than Trump.
3
The problem with Russia that the West doesn't understand is that they are used to life being tough; their bar for things going well is really extremely low.
Neither Americans nor Europeans (with the exception of older generations perhaps) can really fully grasp this difference in outlook. The morbid appeal of Russia as the enemy is that they look the same as us, they dress and talk the same as us, they eat and travel the same as us. Yet in reality, they are a grim nation used to hardship and humiliation.
So yeah, sanctions suck, but not as much as their sunless, drab existence.
22
"look the same as us, they dress and talk the same as us" -- would be easier if we would be of the other race, isn't it James?
Surely people get used to any life they have, and we the Russians are no exeption. The real problem with sanctions is that the West doesn't give us any other choice. Many of us may not support Putin's policy, but we can't help seeing that the sanctions are being forced just by the wish of the governments, with no trial and often no real evidence for any wrongdoing. This means there's no guarantee that sanctions will be lifted if something will change. Even if Putin will be replaced and Russia will give up on Syria and Ukraine there's no obligation for the West to cancel the sanctions. We are pushed to the corner, and we really don't have any choice. Will have to endure the drab existence!
"they are a grim nation used to hardship and humiliation." Americans could well get off their IPhone fixation and get "used to hardship and humiliation." We live from headline to headline and have lost our grit.
1
“International inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were in Syria on Sunday to start an investigation of the suspected chemical attack that killed dozens of people in the Damascus suburb of Douma on April 7 and prompted the American-led retaliatory strike.”
Yet the US decided to strike anyway before OPCW could finish their investigation. It is like the invasion of Iraq all over again. With the same group of characters cheerleading for the US to bomb early without all the facts.
25
The same group, US, UK and France destroyed Libya as well. Further, they are supplying arms to the Saudi led humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
1
Given that the inspectors are being blocked while some clean up is being done, I think your wishes are misplaced. If there was no attack, why wouldn't Syria have expedited the inspection to prove its innocence. Occam's razor still applies.
3
Hmm. Let's see now. Bombing Russia's ally twice now. US troops fending off and killing possibly as many as 100 Russian mercenaries attacking US positions in northwest Syria. Imposing tough sanctions on Putin's closest oligarch cronies. Taking measures to stiffen US defenses. And now new sanctions on Russian firms implicated with Assad's chemical weapons capabilities.
Through all this after over two years of investigations and continual leaks from Congress and investigators, the mainstream media including the NY Times and progressives' continue in their breathless faith that Putin put Trump in the White House -- the Grand Collusion Conspiracy -- and controls him as his puppet because Putin supposedly has compromising information on him as stated in the DNC-funded Steele Dossier. Well, if Putin has this supposed blackmail card to play, isn't the time he'd be playing it? Yes? No? If not, Trump-Russia conspiracy mongers will have to explain why Putin has not played it by now, why after two years there still isn't a shred of evidence proving this grand conspiracy, and why people like myself who still believe in the axiom "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof", should not conclude the progressive Left has succumbed to a tulip mania, a non-falsifiable delusion born of abhorrence of Trump and his unfathomable victory over Hillary, or even a mad conspiratorial hysteria worthy of the old John Birch Society.
23
But why are you calling the NYT the "progressive left"? You're mixing up your political categories. While your questions still may stand, your assessment is off. The NYT has long seemed to me a moderate center orientation. The progressive left would never have supported the invasion of Iraq, for instance. It may be "progressive" on some domestic issues such as race and gender (at least in word, difficult to say if in actual policy priorities and practice), but not even on "class" matters. It covers what is chooses. There are many silences in this paper.
JW of New York suggests here that Haley's declarations regarding new sanctions are proof that there is nothing to Trump's alleged collusion with the Russians. He wrote that before Trump walked back the idea of additional sanctions and threw Haley under the bus, saying she had misspoken.
Maybe there's some legitimate policy reason why that would happen - why the US Ambassador to the UN would make unequivocal policy statements to the world, only to be "corrected" 24 hours later. Maybe it's just amateur hour in Trump's gutted foreign policy and national security teams. Alternatively, maybe Trump received some indication from Putin that further sanctions would not be tolerated. Hopefully Mr. Mueller will be able to get to the bottom of it soon and let us know.
1
I'm just still trying to figure out how FOX, all Murdoch's papers, Sinclair Broadcasting, Rushbo and Newsmax, d'Souza and Coulter, somehow aren't mainstream media.
1
"they will go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to assad and chemical weapons use"
So basically no sanctions at all. I have absolutely no doubt that Russia wasn't involved in any direct way in the manufacture of sarin gas for the Assad regime. This would be like putting sanctions on Austrian companies that had personnel at Auschwitz ... amounting to not much more than a gesture in the face of a horrific situation/tragedy.
He could re-open the borders for refugees .... or do anything with even a little substance ...
Instead we get a little hand waving and distraction at an all too convenient time for the Trump administration ... as if we are all suddenly going to forget how he found himself in the white house thanks to some faux aggression towards Russia.
6
Have any of the trump administration sanctions been imposed?
14
No - DJT threw UN Amb Haley under the bus and said she “misspoke”.
So.... Russia and Assad use chemicals to attack 70 people including children.
Trump pretends to care, and attacks Syria with France and Britain.
Attack on Syria increases world oil price for Russia.
Russia improves its financial position.
trump announces Mission Accomplished.
Yeah
17
I don't think he is enforcing the sanctions passed by Congress. So we'll get some more minor sanctions that won't affect Putin and who knows if they'll be enforced.
Macron thought Trump agreed to keeping forces there. Trump tells everyone what they want to hear. What he says is meaningless and I'm surprised Macron doesn't realize it. That makes him impossible to deal with.
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I agree that the US should take action against companies that supply chemical weapons or are complicit in any way with international human rights violations. We should never allow the deaths of innocent civilians to become anyone's profit center.
That, of course, would create a conundrum for the US. Our ally, Saudi Arabis bombs civilians indiscriminately in Yemen. This is well documented, as is their use of American made weapons to carry out these atrocities.
And what do we do about our depleted uranium shells used in Iraq? Thye have produced horrific suffering, especially among newborn children.
When Iraq used chemical weapons against the Iranians and the Kurds, most of those chemicals came from German companies. What do we do about them?
So the real question is whether these measures are being taken to advance the peace mission of the UN, to protect human rights, or just as another play in the bigger picture of geopolitics?
Judging from the past performances of Sec. Haley I suspect it is the later. This administration certainly doesn't want to we upset some of our own companies that have long profited from the international sale of weapons.
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Your mentioning depleted uranium shells in a discussion of chemical weapons is specious, designed to arouse fear and anxiety by implying depleted uranium poses a health risk per se. That is simply false. "Depleted uranium" is metallic uranium whose natural radioactivity -- already very low -- has been reduced by half again, by the process that extracts the radioactive isotope.
It is used in munitions because it is heavier than lead and therefore shells using it have greater penetrating power. Nothing more.
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Yes. This is where we need dogged investigative journalists the most. War profiteers are always active and democratic governments often protect them and politicians personally share in the profits. It should be revealed.
"When Iraq used chemical weapons against the Iranians and the Kurds, most of those chemicals came from German companies."
Hey hey. Lots of selective blindness here. The US gave logistic support to Saddam knowing very well that he was using it to gas Iranians and Kurds. They helped him kill 50000 between soldiers and civilians.
What are we going to do when our erstwhile allies begin imposing sanctions on us? This POTUS keeps acting as if we are top of the heap, while being profligate with our standing. If not now, soon we will be operating from a position of great weakness.
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And what might those sanctions be? We won’t buy any more trump condos?
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This has become a rogue nation. International law means nothing to the Trump administration, not the first one to break international laws either.
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How about enforcing the sanctions on Russia that were approved by congress last year. This is like throwing water on a fire that someone else has put out then taking credit for it.
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