"Smart diplomacy"--The craft that President Trump and his cronies have no doubt thoroughly mastered.
1
I suspect the attack was as tepid as it was -- six MiGs, but we didn't take out the airport -- because we wanted to brush back Putin for not containing Assad. It will be interesting to see if this is actually a policy or merely a reflex.
2
Is It mere coincidence that Trump ordered the attack on Syria while meeting with Xi to discuss, among other things, North Korea and the South China Sea issue?
3
This is a well reasoned piece with the basic premise that smart diplomacy will conquer all problems and win the day. That sounds like a pretty good approach.
But, invoking smart diplomacy in Syria is a little like advising your favorite golfer to score 72 hole-in-ones this weekend to win the Masters. A great strategy, but the tactical problems are a little difficult to overcome.
In fact, sometimes genius diplomacy will not work if one party to the negotiations simply will not negotiate. Assad has shown no inclination to entertain diplomatic entreaties. And, even if a big stick could persuade him to come around to a more reasonable position, it does not ensure that any of the other actors in Syria would be open to diplomacy.
But, invoking smart diplomacy in Syria is a little like advising your favorite golfer to score 72 hole-in-ones this weekend to win the Masters. A great strategy, but the tactical problems are a little difficult to overcome.
In fact, sometimes genius diplomacy will not work if one party to the negotiations simply will not negotiate. Assad has shown no inclination to entertain diplomatic entreaties. And, even if a big stick could persuade him to come around to a more reasonable position, it does not ensure that any of the other actors in Syria would be open to diplomacy.
3
The need for this strike is partly due to the failure of previous attempts to get the Assad regime to honor international agreements aimed at preserving human rights (which he was forced to sign). Generally, this op-ed is pretty accurate with its assessment of the situation and the needs going forward. One problematic assumption in this article is that the Russians are disappointed with the Assad regime and had nothing to do with the strike. The modus operandi of Putin include pushing boundaries and testing his enemies to see how far they will let him push them. I'm not saying Russia necessarily had anything to do with the strike, but there is reason to believe that it is possible.
2
"Owning Syria" would indeed be far more challenging than post-Qaddafi Libya, of which the US and its allies (especially France which instigated our intervention) have washed their bloody hands, letting Italy deal with the flow of refugees who reach its shores without drowning on the way.
3
Adding “smart” to “diplomacy” really doesn’t do that much. In fact, it deludes people into thinking that there is some better way to do things, some final resolution of all conflicts, that has eluded lesser mortals, but diplomat-kings can handle it for us, no sweat.
2
I am distressed by the comments I'm reading. Last night's action was no different in substance from those taken by administrations dating back to JFK's. Readers seem to believe that this was a unilateral decision made by the president with little forethought, that it was a precipitous action to divert attention from Russia related scandals, bad job reports, ad nauseum. Remember, Secretary of Defense Mattis and National Security Advisor McMaster are highly respected professionals in their field. Count on it, each had considerable input. The key now is the diplomatic follow-up: the Department of State cannot be marginalized going forward.
4
"Smart Diplomacy on Syria"?
How about simply functional DIPLOMACY?
You know, the sort where an actual Secretary of State and / or UN Representative -- who actually have SOME clue about diplomatic history and how to work with other nations -- work to further both the US's interests and those of the world?
Hint: Having some nap-loving oil tycoon as Sec of State and a former governor with NO relevant diplomatic experience as UN Rep is NOT the way to get things done diplomatically! (or in any other way!)
How about simply functional DIPLOMACY?
You know, the sort where an actual Secretary of State and / or UN Representative -- who actually have SOME clue about diplomatic history and how to work with other nations -- work to further both the US's interests and those of the world?
Hint: Having some nap-loving oil tycoon as Sec of State and a former governor with NO relevant diplomatic experience as UN Rep is NOT the way to get things done diplomatically! (or in any other way!)
4
One has to wonder if Trump is looking at this tragedy response as an opportunity to distract the country from the mounting Russian collusion scandal. It's hard to dispute having compassion for "little babies". Trump's a big baby looking for whatever he can get.
3
It's unfortunate that Mr. Blinken's longtime associates Winken and Nod were not available for comment.
2
This is nothing but a distraction from what is really going on with him and the Russian investigations, his violation of the constitution and his illegitimate presidency. Where was his concern for the more than 400,000 Syrians and refugees already killed that he decided we can't help. Did he never see pictures of their plight before? And of course we MUST use the military weapons we have sitting around- thanks to donations from defense contractors. I do not buy this at all. And more importantly, what is the end game?
5
I guess advice from a former Obama administration official is useful in that it illustrates a path not to go down. One wonders if those arrogant fools will ever admit their foreign polity failures?
2
We have been seeing horrific images of civilian suffering in Syria for a long time; I don't believe this latest atrocity provoked some sort of "I was wrong" moment for Trump and his hands-off Syria policy. He badly needed a distraction from the chaos and scandal of the first 100 days of his administration and he desperately needed to show he's not Putin's lapdog. There's plenty of moral authority behind Trump's action, but we need to hear his legal justification for it. And where are we going forward? Does his sorrow for the gas attack victims alter his policy on refugees?
3
Can "smart diplomacy" be based on con-man cunning?
Once again, President Trump masterfully handles yet another mess he inherited from the liar Obama. The world, even Hillary and Schumer, agrees that you've done a great job Mr President!!
1
One of the best I have read. Hope Mr Trump sees this. And pays attention.
I disagree with you , Mr. Blinken. Trump's attack was wildly ill-advised. We have no idea what this may have done to potential Russian relations or even to further retaliatory killings in Syria. This was done without an attempt to negotiate or to resolve further abuse of Syrian citizen abuse in Syria where people are killed in all kinds of ways by their own government & have been for years. There's a lot of history that's been ignored vs followed up on in this "shoot first & make a BIG statement" of DJT's. A dangerous and unproductive move!
"the world looks to America to act."
Yes, and it needs to stop.
First of all, there is no basis in international law for the USA bombing Syria.
Second, Trump just spent $94M in one day (64% of the Natl Endowment for the Arts 2016 appropriation). That US Taxpayer money. Very soon there will no doubt be more money, maybe billions. And then we start talking about the lives of young American men and women in our military. How many of them will lose their lives in Syria?
Our allies need to start doing their part, in a big way. We have no business being in Syria AT ALL. Germany is hugely abrogating its role as one of the richest nations. They will do nothing to promote security with regard to Syria, of course. There will be a war. Afterwards Siemens and BMW will show up to rebuild the power plants and sell cars to the new rich.
This whole thing makes me sick.
Yes, and it needs to stop.
First of all, there is no basis in international law for the USA bombing Syria.
Second, Trump just spent $94M in one day (64% of the Natl Endowment for the Arts 2016 appropriation). That US Taxpayer money. Very soon there will no doubt be more money, maybe billions. And then we start talking about the lives of young American men and women in our military. How many of them will lose their lives in Syria?
Our allies need to start doing their part, in a big way. We have no business being in Syria AT ALL. Germany is hugely abrogating its role as one of the richest nations. They will do nothing to promote security with regard to Syria, of course. There will be a war. Afterwards Siemens and BMW will show up to rebuild the power plants and sell cars to the new rich.
This whole thing makes me sick.
Yes, it was so easy for Trump to do it that Obama really couldn't be troubled with such a trivial action. Obama had his eyes fixed on the Iran "deal." However, prevarication and public hand-wringing is the real Obama foreign policy legacy.
Our dealings with Assad over the past few years has been nothing short of horrendous. This butcher has killed over 400,000 of his people and he remains to kill more innocent people including children with chemical gas that was supposedly been removed from his arsenal. Regardless, if he later obtained the weapons from others such as Iran, this animal used them and has to be removed from the face of the earth. There's danger throughout the world but at long last we'll actually have a Foreign Policy to deal with the issues.
Right.... he said dripping with sarcasm.
The idea that Trump can keep all of these strategies straight in his head is comical.
Keep hoping that he can be presidential.
Just wait until the rest of the rogue nations, bad actors, strategic allies, and major powers pile on more hard tests for Trump to deal with in the coming days, weeks, and months.
The idea that Trump can keep all of these strategies straight in his head is comical.
Keep hoping that he can be presidential.
Just wait until the rest of the rogue nations, bad actors, strategic allies, and major powers pile on more hard tests for Trump to deal with in the coming days, weeks, and months.
2
What about smart diplomacy INSTEAD of missiles?
Oops.. too late.
Utter insanity - unless actually starting WWIII
Oops.. too late.
Utter insanity - unless actually starting WWIII
1
Bombing Syria is an act or war!
Would the USA bomb a Russian air base if Russia gassed some Russian rebel citizens living with their families in Russia? Or England? or France?
Why not?
The USA fears retaliation from Russia.
Speak softly or speak loudly, but carry a big stick.
And use that big stick it if they do not obey you.
Do not threaten to punish people who cross the line that you draw in the sand, unless you do indeed punish those that you threaten.
If you do not punish those that you threaten when they do nor obey you, then why should they take your threats seriously?
Would the USA bomb a Russian air base if Russia gassed some Russian rebel citizens living with their families in Russia? Or England? or France?
Why not?
The USA fears retaliation from Russia.
Speak softly or speak loudly, but carry a big stick.
And use that big stick it if they do not obey you.
Do not threaten to punish people who cross the line that you draw in the sand, unless you do indeed punish those that you threaten.
If you do not punish those that you threaten when they do nor obey you, then why should they take your threats seriously?
1
The real question now is, what's going to happen to Assad. His treatment of his own people (torture. disappearances, whole families killed) was what sparked this civil war. And he has continued to show his taste for genocide. He cannot remain in power if there is going to be a real solution.
His continued presence as head of state would continue to fuel ISIS.
I wonder what country would be willing to offer him, his British wife and their 3 kids asylum? I can't imagine that Mrs. Assad ("I wear the pants in this family") would enjoy those cold Moscow winters.
His continued presence as head of state would continue to fuel ISIS.
I wonder what country would be willing to offer him, his British wife and their 3 kids asylum? I can't imagine that Mrs. Assad ("I wear the pants in this family") would enjoy those cold Moscow winters.
1
What we need to Remember is the chemical gassing of the civilians happened at a convenient time for this person. At a time he seems to be headed for a verdict of treason after possibly colluding with Russia and Putin on rigging an election, Money laundering. On the African American radio the news is that he gave a heads-up call to Putin about the strike and that Syria could have possibly moved the weapons he previously used. So what good did it do. This person is still costing the tax payers 3 million per week while he boost his businesses he is still a liar and traitor
2
Dear Mr. Blinken:
Just a note to let you know that despite numerous mentions as such, Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach is not his estate. It is a for-profit functioning private club that he owns, and even non-members can have access for the price of a luncheon ticket. I wish all New York Times writers would get this straight.
Just a note to let you know that despite numerous mentions as such, Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach is not his estate. It is a for-profit functioning private club that he owns, and even non-members can have access for the price of a luncheon ticket. I wish all New York Times writers would get this straight.
3
Ain't happening!!!
We know what smart diplomacy isn't: huffing and puffing and drawing a Red Line in the sand and then sitting on your golf clubs when that line is crossed. The Free World will be suffering and dying from Obama's incompetence for decades to come
2
ya attacking a sovereign nation with absolutely no investigation and without congressional approval is definitely the right thing. "Smart diplomacy"? Are you serious?
So tell me, just who will offer this smart diplomacy schtick?
Exxon?
Jared?
These folks are amateur snowflakes we are relying upon. I'm turning this reality TV show off for a few hours to recharge.
Exxon?
Jared?
These folks are amateur snowflakes we are relying upon. I'm turning this reality TV show off for a few hours to recharge.
The solution isnt diplomacy. Assad will never leave due to politics. Only force. I believe that after this chemical attack the only way forward is to work for his removal.
To do that, we need to provide the Kurds and the SDF with more weapons. We need to give them authorization to carve out their own country in northern Syria. We need to stand up to Turkey, tell them to leave Syria, and then dissolve the Islamist FSA. Then, we need to give the SDF anti-aircraft missles to fight the Russians. After destroying ISIS, the SDF can create a a new country for their hard work and the fact that they have allied with us and helpped us for 40 years while we sold them out over and over again.
After that, we need to assasinate Assad and his major leadership team. Then, we send in UN peacekeepers and undergo a political transition on our terms.
Thats the best way to win this conflict in the shortest time possible without a US invasion. No one will ever do this, but it is the best way to solve the problem.
To do that, we need to provide the Kurds and the SDF with more weapons. We need to give them authorization to carve out their own country in northern Syria. We need to stand up to Turkey, tell them to leave Syria, and then dissolve the Islamist FSA. Then, we need to give the SDF anti-aircraft missles to fight the Russians. After destroying ISIS, the SDF can create a a new country for their hard work and the fact that they have allied with us and helpped us for 40 years while we sold them out over and over again.
After that, we need to assasinate Assad and his major leadership team. Then, we send in UN peacekeepers and undergo a political transition on our terms.
Thats the best way to win this conflict in the shortest time possible without a US invasion. No one will ever do this, but it is the best way to solve the problem.
Is Assad an idiot? Would he knowingly invite an attack from the US which helps those rebels he's been fighting? NO!
Is Trump an idiot? Would he attack the Assad regime to improve his TV ratings? YES!
Is Trump an idiot? Would he attack the Assad regime to improve his TV ratings? YES!
2
Would he, could he, nah, use this to deflect from the current interesting investigation into Russian interference? Really? Remains to be seen since he is the great magician in his thinking. Right thing to do for wrong reason? Possibly.
Assuming the end game of our posture towards Syria is to eventually get rid of Assad, then what? The idea of a stable state in Syria is untenable after Assad is deposed. The two thousand year old dispute between the Suunis and the Shiites cannot be solved in a free Syria. The idealogies of the two sects are incompatible because of the extreme interpretation of the Koran. This is an unsolvable situation unless the two sects can agree to get along. Maybe the best solution is to somehow bring the Imams to a peaceful meeting of the minds. The Imams are the most influential individuals in Islam and therein lies the solution.
He did not do the right thing. A blowhard blows. We did this in 2003 and now we own it. What we should have done is opened the doors for the refugees. The people that are harmed by our interventions in this area.
And then let the rest of these bloodthirsty fools do what they must.
And then let the rest of these bloodthirsty fools do what they must.
8
Trump can never win with the Times readers, right? He takes a real, concrete action to demonstrate that America will protect innocent Syrian civilians (something Obama was too scared to do) and is immediately vilified for "illegal action". Newsflash- no President goes to Congress for approval for military action anymore. Obama was an expert at striking first and informing Congress after. At this point, if Trump managed to cure African poverty and destroyed the North Korean regime, he would somehow be deemed as a Russian puppet. Never mind that Hillary took millions of dollars in order to approve the sale of 20% of our nuclear material to a company dominated by the Russian government- Trump is the one beholden to Russia.
3
The presumption of guilt is astounding, particularly in a country which promotes a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. We must ask not only Trump, but the media, to provide hard evidence.
1
While I don't condemn the missile strike, the next step is a big question. After all, this is not an administration led by someone given to restraint or complex analysis.
And our history of intervention in foreign affairs, at least over the past 60+ years, has been largely inept and occasionally disastrous. The US is so bad at foreign policy that it should really just give up and outsource all foreign policy to people who actually understand the history and culture of other parts of the world and have some talent for applying that understanding.
Iraq 1 was about oil, and President Bush had enough sense to get in, get out, and leave a monster capping a volcano. Iraq 2 was about unseating the monster without a clue about what that would unleash.
That clueless foreign intervention may have made Halliburton a lot of money, but it also gave us the birth of ISIS. Oh, and it bankrupted us as well. And did I forget to mention that we're still stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan?
I'm not saying that the US should just turn it's back on the world, though a plausible argument could be made that we, and everyone else, might be better off in some ways. But we really need to look critically at the consequences of what we have done and actually try to learn from it. Because, we're really, really bad at foreign policy and we continually refuse to face this.
And our history of intervention in foreign affairs, at least over the past 60+ years, has been largely inept and occasionally disastrous. The US is so bad at foreign policy that it should really just give up and outsource all foreign policy to people who actually understand the history and culture of other parts of the world and have some talent for applying that understanding.
Iraq 1 was about oil, and President Bush had enough sense to get in, get out, and leave a monster capping a volcano. Iraq 2 was about unseating the monster without a clue about what that would unleash.
That clueless foreign intervention may have made Halliburton a lot of money, but it also gave us the birth of ISIS. Oh, and it bankrupted us as well. And did I forget to mention that we're still stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan?
I'm not saying that the US should just turn it's back on the world, though a plausible argument could be made that we, and everyone else, might be better off in some ways. But we really need to look critically at the consequences of what we have done and actually try to learn from it. Because, we're really, really bad at foreign policy and we continually refuse to face this.
Trump must seek congressional support for any further military actions against the Assad regime. However, some sort of diplomatic agreement with Russia must be fostered in order avoid direct or incidental collision with Russian forces. Moreover, the United States must engage directly with efforts to bring about peace in Syria.
Most of us would agree that President Trump acted properly last night. Foreign policy decisions and actions can not be based on spur of the moment decisions or on emotion resulting from actually seeing human tragedy. A coherent known policy direction established by the President, emphasized by the Secretary of State and implemented under the Secretary of Defense is critical for stability in all areas of the world. Balance of power throughout the world is essential even if changed from the original George Kenin concept. Peace occurs in the knowledge of the boundaries not merely the borders.
3
"After the missiles, we need smart diplomacy" -- a naive, Chamberlainesque, and lotus-eating response to a rogue state committing a crime against humanity.
The future well-being of the Occident cannot be left in the hands of the indecisive, logorheic, thumb-twiddling European politicians. But to recall, that no war has been won from the air or from a distance, perhaps with the exception of World War II in the Pacific.
The future well-being of the Occident cannot be left in the hands of the indecisive, logorheic, thumb-twiddling European politicians. But to recall, that no war has been won from the air or from a distance, perhaps with the exception of World War II in the Pacific.
Though it goes strongly against the grain I must commend President Trump for his measured, proportional and necessary action to punish the dictator Assad for his atrocious crime.
5
how was assad punished ?
be specific
The author seems to believe this is part of a carefully thought through strategy. It's more likely purpose is to distract us from Trump's problems at home. The U.S. is picking a fight with one of Russia's allies. Russia still has a large and potent military and they don't like being pushed around. This could easily go wrong.
1
"we need smart diplomacy on Syria"? who is going to provide that, the gutted State Department? This administration is betting all its money on the military, where the only diplomacy is Missile Diplomacy, a stepchild of Gunboat Diplomacy.
Unfortunately, this translates into action without direction or an end game.
We already have two wars that attest to the bankruptcy of that philosophy.
Unfortunately, this translates into action without direction or an end game.
We already have two wars that attest to the bankruptcy of that philosophy.
2
But "smart" and "Trump" don't go together. "Chaotic" and "Trump", or "impulsive" and "Trump" - will either of those do? If not, we have a problem.
The problem with this missile attack is that it is a one-off. It has no inhibitory value, because any continued activity by Assad cannot be countered by another strike: all Assad has to do is decorate his air strips with Russian presence or civilians to make collateral damage too expensive.
Grounding Assad's air power entirely will involve dealing with Russia. They seem unlikely to participate, as they could have done so earlier.
In any event, even with air power eliminated, the whole morass is beyond any resolution, being a concatenation of religious wars that history shows have no end. Once ISIS is dealt with, fanatical combat between multiple factions will continue indefinitely until all parties are exhausted and/or decimated.
Grounding Assad's air power entirely will involve dealing with Russia. They seem unlikely to participate, as they could have done so earlier.
In any event, even with air power eliminated, the whole morass is beyond any resolution, being a concatenation of religious wars that history shows have no end. Once ISIS is dealt with, fanatical combat between multiple factions will continue indefinitely until all parties are exhausted and/or decimated.
9
Just last year Sudan used chemical weapons on it's own citizens. Human rights organizations like the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reported that the skin of the victims "fell off."
Where is the intervention there? This is selective and Trump's motives are unclear.
The author is incorrect when he says "we need smart diplomacy" in Syria. Our "smart choices" ended years ago. To suggest that Trump's bombing of Syria is a part of his "moral authority" as our President is false and misleading. This is not a calculated military strategy. Trump said he would fight ISIS and not Assad last week, and now he sends missiles into Syria. And to say "oh yes, he should also allow refugees in" minimizes the positions that Trump has had.
Let's be real. None of us, even experts, at this point know what is going on.
Where is the intervention there? This is selective and Trump's motives are unclear.
The author is incorrect when he says "we need smart diplomacy" in Syria. Our "smart choices" ended years ago. To suggest that Trump's bombing of Syria is a part of his "moral authority" as our President is false and misleading. This is not a calculated military strategy. Trump said he would fight ISIS and not Assad last week, and now he sends missiles into Syria. And to say "oh yes, he should also allow refugees in" minimizes the positions that Trump has had.
Let's be real. None of us, even experts, at this point know what is going on.
14
First of all, Trump doesn't do nuance. Blinken keeps speaking of "smart diplomacy" as if the same man who incited violence at his campaign rallies is now going to carefully weigh his options and test the waters before dropping bombs. As our president (sigh) himself would say, not gonna happen. "Smart" and "diplomatic" are not words one would use to describe anything the man has ever done.
Secondly, something that both Republicans and Democrats have figured out by now is that even when Trump says or does something you approve of it's for a reason you disapprove of. Trump is not on your side and does not think like you think, whoever you are. He only answers to the man in the mirror.
And should we approve of his actions in this case? To me his suddenly firing missiles seems more like evidence of his lack of impulse control, not a statement of solidarity with the victims of Assad's brutality. Blinken is correct that we need smart diplomacy, but he's wrong to think that we'll get there by sowing even more death and destruction. Every person we kill creates another community that hates America, and I doubt that even the victims of the sarin attack are cheering us on now. Even Obama struggled to identify the "good" rebels among the different factions, and he actually cared about getting it right, because he knew the consequences of getting it wrong. We have seen that Trump doesn't care about the potentially devastating consequences of his impulsive actions. We should be worried.
Secondly, something that both Republicans and Democrats have figured out by now is that even when Trump says or does something you approve of it's for a reason you disapprove of. Trump is not on your side and does not think like you think, whoever you are. He only answers to the man in the mirror.
And should we approve of his actions in this case? To me his suddenly firing missiles seems more like evidence of his lack of impulse control, not a statement of solidarity with the victims of Assad's brutality. Blinken is correct that we need smart diplomacy, but he's wrong to think that we'll get there by sowing even more death and destruction. Every person we kill creates another community that hates America, and I doubt that even the victims of the sarin attack are cheering us on now. Even Obama struggled to identify the "good" rebels among the different factions, and he actually cared about getting it right, because he knew the consequences of getting it wrong. We have seen that Trump doesn't care about the potentially devastating consequences of his impulsive actions. We should be worried.
6
Wag the dog!
1
The tail has been wagging the dog!
The tail is the foreign government PACs that are representing foreign governments that control US foreign policy!
The tail is the foreign government PACs that are representing foreign governments that control US foreign policy!
2
After the missiles what ? I say nothing is going to change in. The butchers of Syria will continue to kill innocent civilians who dare to disagree with them or happen to be of a different faiths. Russia will continue using their air force and Hizbollah will use their land forces to pop up Bashar dictatorship.
Donald Trump and his Vice President Pence don't give a darn about Syrians or Syrian children. Never forget what they said in the campaign, not a single refugee from Syria will be allowed in the States. And never forget this so called Christian Pence said as a governor of Indiana: not even a Syrian child is to be allowed to settle in Indiana while he is a the governor.
The whole missiles thing is a political move to show off Donald Trump as a decisive leader and diverge from his and his hooligans complicity with the other butcher Putin.
Donald Trump and his Vice President Pence don't give a darn about Syrians or Syrian children. Never forget what they said in the campaign, not a single refugee from Syria will be allowed in the States. And never forget this so called Christian Pence said as a governor of Indiana: not even a Syrian child is to be allowed to settle in Indiana while he is a the governor.
The whole missiles thing is a political move to show off Donald Trump as a decisive leader and diverge from his and his hooligans complicity with the other butcher Putin.
7
amazing. Trump is sounding like that "nasty woman", Hillary Clinton.
2
Antony J. Blinken,
US foreign policy since WWII has been influenced and (almost) dictated by the professional State Department bureaucrat employees and the elite “DONOR CLASS” and various PAC (foreign and domestic) members who made campaign contributions sufficient to elect our “Established Mainstream Republican” and “Established Mainstream Democrat” officials, who created all of the “Politically Correct” foreign policy and those limited wars since WWII that the USA fought to benefit the foreign nation PACs, MICs, and the other campaign contributors where the USA then tied or lost those wars.
These wars that the USA tied or lost have cost the USA thousands of US lives, created thousands of disabled veterans, and spent trillions of US taxpayer dollars which the taxpayers did not have so the US government increased the National Debt and obligated our children to repay the money that we borrowed and then spent on these wars that BENEFITED NATIONS OTHER THAN THE USA.
Donald Trump's foreign policy could not possibly be any worse than the “Established Mainstream Republicans” and “Established Mainstream Democrats” foreign policy dictated by their elite “DONOR CLASS” campaign contributors plus the foreign and domestic PACs in return for campaign donations and secret cash for the last 70 years.
US foreign policy since WWII has been influenced and (almost) dictated by the professional State Department bureaucrat employees and the elite “DONOR CLASS” and various PAC (foreign and domestic) members who made campaign contributions sufficient to elect our “Established Mainstream Republican” and “Established Mainstream Democrat” officials, who created all of the “Politically Correct” foreign policy and those limited wars since WWII that the USA fought to benefit the foreign nation PACs, MICs, and the other campaign contributors where the USA then tied or lost those wars.
These wars that the USA tied or lost have cost the USA thousands of US lives, created thousands of disabled veterans, and spent trillions of US taxpayer dollars which the taxpayers did not have so the US government increased the National Debt and obligated our children to repay the money that we borrowed and then spent on these wars that BENEFITED NATIONS OTHER THAN THE USA.
Donald Trump's foreign policy could not possibly be any worse than the “Established Mainstream Republicans” and “Established Mainstream Democrats” foreign policy dictated by their elite “DONOR CLASS” campaign contributors plus the foreign and domestic PACs in return for campaign donations and secret cash for the last 70 years.
3
So true. Thank you.
Democracy has been severely compromised by money.
Democracy has been severely compromised by money.
I don't understand why neocons are so eager to start WW III. They seem to be some kind of doomsday cult.
2
McDonald's Take-Out and an evening watching Faux News.
1
Trump's recent actions must seem to his supporters as a win-win.
1. Chemical attack in Syria. Horrifying pictures, as there were with other such attacks over past 6 years.
2. Trump immediately tells the world how terrible that was, and how affected he was by the suffering of the "little babies".
3. The internet goes abuzz about how this shows that Trump is a kind, sensitive and religious man.
4. Trump says that this attack changed whatever views he may previously have had; his epiphany showed him that it was necessary to take military action to demonstrate that the US will not sit idly by in the face of this atrocity.
5. Trump forewarns Russia so that they can get out, and then sends in 59 missiles to a Syrian air base.
6. The hawks love it, and many are now even more convinced that he is a tough man of action.
7. Air strikes cause disruption of all negative Trump media talk, the most serious of which involves collusion with Russia on elections. Media acknowledges that strikes may well have been justified.
8. Russia applies appropriate rhetoric to strongly condemn the US for its actions, despite the fact it was forewarned. Russia is as anxious as Trump to convince the US that it has no special arrangement with Trump, and this attack should definitely help.
9. Trump supporters are now reassured that Trump is no friend of Russia and that any claims of collusion or the like must be bogus.
1. Chemical attack in Syria. Horrifying pictures, as there were with other such attacks over past 6 years.
2. Trump immediately tells the world how terrible that was, and how affected he was by the suffering of the "little babies".
3. The internet goes abuzz about how this shows that Trump is a kind, sensitive and religious man.
4. Trump says that this attack changed whatever views he may previously have had; his epiphany showed him that it was necessary to take military action to demonstrate that the US will not sit idly by in the face of this atrocity.
5. Trump forewarns Russia so that they can get out, and then sends in 59 missiles to a Syrian air base.
6. The hawks love it, and many are now even more convinced that he is a tough man of action.
7. Air strikes cause disruption of all negative Trump media talk, the most serious of which involves collusion with Russia on elections. Media acknowledges that strikes may well have been justified.
8. Russia applies appropriate rhetoric to strongly condemn the US for its actions, despite the fact it was forewarned. Russia is as anxious as Trump to convince the US that it has no special arrangement with Trump, and this attack should definitely help.
9. Trump supporters are now reassured that Trump is no friend of Russia and that any claims of collusion or the like must be bogus.
I don't get why you say he did the right thing! I think he didn't! this is declaring war on Syria without the declaration of congress! this is going to get USA in big trouble I think, with doing this Mr.Trump just started a new war, now Russia and Iran going to get in this war heavier and kill even more people and that means more bombs more distraction more dead children. I'm pretty sure right now Iran and Russia are planing new attacks, also I think USA is planing more too. This act only made things worse, this will make Syria a battlefield for Russia, Iran, USA and allies. It's going to kill more innocent people, and we are not going to have peace soon! And it;s not like Iran is going to back up. Cause Syria is literally their last ally in middle east and they know if they lose it's going to be war in Iran next. I don't get people that think this war is about freedom of people in Syria, it's all about power and money and the fact that USA and Russia want to just have fun in another country!!!! First Iraq and Afghanistan now Syria.... these wars are just to keep people busy and scared, just look at the timing of each, they all happened when the president was doing bad
1
Diplomacy under trump?
Let refugees in?
Help Russia exit?
Sweet dreams...
Let refugees in?
Help Russia exit?
Sweet dreams...
1
There should be an inviolable international rule that all dictators present and future must understand: if you gas your people you die. While taking out the relatively small airbase from which the attack was launched is a good gesture, Assad must die. Only with his death will potential mass murdering dictators take pause. Hopefully, a hit team is already on its way.
3
If only it was that simple. Take 30 seconds and think about what always happens when there is a power vacuum in a Middle Eastern country. Chaos ensues and the extremists win. And we seem to never plan for that....
1
Remember: We warned Russia and Russia warned Syria. In plenty of time. So this was a multi-million dollar publicity stunt. Syria left a few "volunteers" behind to get killed for dramatic effect. Russia can threaten to withdraw from cooperation and go after more rebels now and Trump gets kudos from "the usual suspects", i.e. his intoxicated base. Just waiting for some lackey to say, "Trump became President today", as if he is not encouraged to use military force now. Think our enemies in China, N. Korea, Iran and Russia don't know the deal? And now the fringe media & fake news sites are saying the con man was conned by a sophisticated ruse. Poor world, you are so bruised and abused I hardly recognize you any more.
2
Is this a new oxymoron: thoughtless group think? The unreflectively thoughtless, since they are so many, may be a greater threat to the survival of the species than the thoughtfully vicious, especially since they are so often the tools maximizing the influence of the thoughtfully vicious.
With President Trump, Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell leading there thoughtless GOP, we have entered a Leaden Age of Thoughtless Group Think.
With President Trump, Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell leading there thoughtless GOP, we have entered a Leaden Age of Thoughtless Group Think.
1
You are just plain wrong Mr. Blinken. Syria needs humanitarian aid, not illegal military assault.
3
Diplomacy is back. What makes it so is that, like Reagan, Trump knows when not to draw lines and to "Just do it". America is back on line so Live Free or Die.
3
An Obama administration member should just keep his mouth shut. Their failures led to Tuesday's horror, along with the rest of the horrors in Syria.
2
Anthony,
Your concern about accidentally pulling Russia into a confrontation with America is obvious.Then why commend the action taken by Trump.Russia, Assad & Iran are all at war with Sunni Muslims, They are the Axis of the Middle East.Russia’s response to our attack on the Syrian Airfield was comparable to their response to Turkey after Turkey shot down one of their planes that were attacking Syrian Turks.Like all bullies Putin backs off once you punch him in the nose.After losing over 20 Million people during the Second World War. The last thing the Russian people want is another all out War. If anything the attack on the Syrian Airfield & Russia’s response confirms that Russia has no appetite for a confrontation with America & Nato.It further demonstrated that if Obama had the resolve he could have stopped Russian aggression in the Ukraine, by simply confronting the Russians with a Division of Marines, it would have stopped them in their tracks without firing a shot.
The downside of Trumps Attack is that his collusion with Russia is off the Front Pages.
Your concern about accidentally pulling Russia into a confrontation with America is obvious.Then why commend the action taken by Trump.Russia, Assad & Iran are all at war with Sunni Muslims, They are the Axis of the Middle East.Russia’s response to our attack on the Syrian Airfield was comparable to their response to Turkey after Turkey shot down one of their planes that were attacking Syrian Turks.Like all bullies Putin backs off once you punch him in the nose.After losing over 20 Million people during the Second World War. The last thing the Russian people want is another all out War. If anything the attack on the Syrian Airfield & Russia’s response confirms that Russia has no appetite for a confrontation with America & Nato.It further demonstrated that if Obama had the resolve he could have stopped Russian aggression in the Ukraine, by simply confronting the Russians with a Division of Marines, it would have stopped them in their tracks without firing a shot.
The downside of Trumps Attack is that his collusion with Russia is off the Front Pages.
2
Telling this so called president what he should do is all well and good. And pointless. If he had a coherent policy stuck anywhere in the back alleys of his mind he has forgotten it by now, but I don't think it existed in the first place.
What is really striking about this to me is that he was supposedly so struck emotionally with the pictures of the little dead babies that he needed to rain down missiles on Syria, but the pictures of the little dead baby refugees does not elicit the emotion of wanting to take in some Syrian refugees.
His answer to the death of someone is to insure the death of some else. There is not a shred of human decency about this so called man.
What is really striking about this to me is that he was supposedly so struck emotionally with the pictures of the little dead babies that he needed to rain down missiles on Syria, but the pictures of the little dead baby refugees does not elicit the emotion of wanting to take in some Syrian refugees.
His answer to the death of someone is to insure the death of some else. There is not a shred of human decency about this so called man.
4
Nor does this offer any account for the children killed in Yemen or Afghanistan. Nor will it ever.
Bush's foolish invasion of Iraq has loosed a whirlwind that shows no sign of abating anytime soon. With consequences that have engulfed the Middle East, Europe and even North America.
Bush's foolish invasion of Iraq has loosed a whirlwind that shows no sign of abating anytime soon. With consequences that have engulfed the Middle East, Europe and even North America.
Question:
Would Trump have fired 50 Tomahawk missiles into Rwanda?
Would Trump have fired 50 Tomahawk missiles into Rwanda?
The book will be called: "The Slow, Painful, Reluctant Education of Donald Trump." The visions in his head have always been steaks (with ketchup), skirts and cash. I believe the images of dead, blistered babies are new in his cranium. He is wildly impulsive and dangerous. This bombing of Syrian targets may send the message the brass wants sent, but don't think it signals any careful planning on Trump's part. He is just reacting to the newest thing in his head. I think he has genuine empathy on this, the likes of which we have not witnesses in his bumbling, belligerent history. But it is not the "new" Trump. It is just the old Trump reacting like a simple-celled creature responding to its immediate environment. Our only hope is that the people around him can steer this deeply damaged and sociopathic man in the right directions.
1
Using violence is NEVER the answer. Disgusting.
1
For Trump lives are secondary to TV ratings.
Bu-bu-bu-but Trump is Putin's poodle!! He'd never do ANYTHING to annoy Vlad!! Remember? Remember?
WHAT ????happens if Syria 'shoots back'... do we annihilate the country ???
or is this JUST to get rid of a stockpile of missiles So we can buy more ?????
or is this JUST to get rid of a stockpile of missiles So we can buy more ?????
Excellent viewpoint on this dangerous situation. The only thing I would argue with is the concept of Russia painting our warplanes with their MiGs or air defense system. Making it crystal clear that any painting will be considered an act that will be responded to with immediate destruction. Russia absolutely cannot afford to get into a shooting war with the U.S. First, it doesn't have enough spare parts for any of its' planes. Secondly, risking a total destruction of their forces in Syria would put Putin in a position of such weakness at home, he will be found curiously shot 100 meters from the Kremlin on a Saturday night. No, we call his bluff now and then don't have to worry too much about Ukraine later. Daddy taught me that sometimes you back away and sometimes you punch a bully in the nose. It's time to bloody Putin's nose.
1
So I guess you and your kids will be signing up to go over there and shoot at Russians right?
I doubt that the Trump administration, or any US administration in power in this moment, will be able "to restrain Syria’s air force, stop any use of chemical or biological weapons, implement an effective cease-fire in Syria’s civil war and even move toward a negotiated transition of power."
Put plainly Russia and Iran are winning; no western power or collection of them want to pay the cost in lives to intervene. i certainly will not send my kid to Syria.
Russia will continue to support Assad as long as it profits Putin to do so. A direct military confrontation between the US and Russia in Syria is so foolish that one could hope the Trump administration is not that stupid.
Russia and Iran are paying a price, and their price will increase: they are creating millions who hate them. Yet so far this has not created any consequences for them that have come close to convincing them to get out of Syria.
While Americans might contemplate "Charlie Wilson's War" style responses to increase the costs of Russian and Iranian involvement, the problem is that the rebel forces in Syria are so fractured, and so much of them are likely to bite America in some other way if empowered, that there's little real possibility here.
Put plainly Russia and Iran are winning; no western power or collection of them want to pay the cost in lives to intervene. i certainly will not send my kid to Syria.
Russia will continue to support Assad as long as it profits Putin to do so. A direct military confrontation between the US and Russia in Syria is so foolish that one could hope the Trump administration is not that stupid.
Russia and Iran are paying a price, and their price will increase: they are creating millions who hate them. Yet so far this has not created any consequences for them that have come close to convincing them to get out of Syria.
While Americans might contemplate "Charlie Wilson's War" style responses to increase the costs of Russian and Iranian involvement, the problem is that the rebel forces in Syria are so fractured, and so much of them are likely to bite America in some other way if empowered, that there's little real possibility here.
Trump is not capable of "smart" anything. Nothing this man has said or done gives evidence of any intelligence.
1
In 2003 the Bush administration went to war in Iraq based upon information provided by Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi opposition leader wanting to depose Saddam Hussein. The information was later proven to be false information.
Now in 2017 the Trump administration has attacked Syria based upon information provided by Rami Abdulrahman, a Syrian (SUNNI), head of a one-man-operation in the UK opposing the Assad regime, and relying on information from anti-government activists within Syria. He is the person that pointed the finger at the Assad regime and the air base.
...... shades of Iraq deception.
Now in 2017 the Trump administration has attacked Syria based upon information provided by Rami Abdulrahman, a Syrian (SUNNI), head of a one-man-operation in the UK opposing the Assad regime, and relying on information from anti-government activists within Syria. He is the person that pointed the finger at the Assad regime and the air base.
...... shades of Iraq deception.
1
It is certainly a fond hope that Trump, in his profound ignorance, mendacity and instability, will arrive at "smart diplomacy" without help and urgent prodding from people who are far more capable than he is. He daily demonstrates why he should never have been elected, and he is supported by a party of remarkable cynicism, the Republican Party. Every day since election day last year, the U.S. has demonstrated that its electorate did not know know what it was doing as it elected a government that does not know what it is doing.
2
Trump is being "played". His temperament is well known and this could have been predicted. For him it would have been do nothing or military action-no diplomacy option would have ever been considered. Trump needs to be very careful because once you deal with the sword many more die by it.
What is required to launch some "smart diplomacy" is an acceptance by the US foreign policy establishment that partition into a multi-state framework in both Iraq and Syria should be on the table. The Kurds have pretty much established their autonomy while almost all observers note that some form of governance acceptable to Sunnis in western Iraq and much of Syria is required.
The idea that "genuine peace negotiations" leading to a "transition" to some new power-sharing arrangements in a reconstituted Syria and Iraq is not the only discernible path forward.
The US should ask itself what a successful partition would look like.
The idea that "genuine peace negotiations" leading to a "transition" to some new power-sharing arrangements in a reconstituted Syria and Iraq is not the only discernible path forward.
The US should ask itself what a successful partition would look like.
1
How many times have we been told every military campaign needs an exit strategy. What are the short and long term goals? US forces are in Syria with no cleat definitude of a win. The Assad government is foul and cannot stay in power and foreign fighters are entrenched. A smart president builds a coalition and sets the end game. Simply firing missles is not a strategy; that is a tactic. So, what is the end game?
When will we see what these 59 missiles did to this airfield?
The American people should demand irrefutable evidence that the Assad regime was behind the gas attacks and the reasoning that supports the US missile attack in retribution. If they don't get the evidence and the reasoning, they could end up sending their sons and daughters into another war of choice.
Rex Tillerson saying "there is no doubt in my mind" just doesn't cut it.
Rex Tillerson saying "there is no doubt in my mind" just doesn't cut it.
2
It has been said that, when the Viet Cong wanted the US to shell someplace for it, they just infiltrated a mortar team to be the bullseye.
Greg, look over the last 70 years of repug regimes in the US. Each one has started an overseas war. Korea, Vietnam, ME, ME, ME,.......... They do it so their owners (the rich) can make scads of money selling our military weapons & supplies, at highly inflated prices, & to any other countries our government manages to con into joining us, at even higher prices. Sole reason for these 'police actions'. (They feel better when they are not called 'wars') Now, since *45 is tired of having to wangle things in ways his 'base' will agree with, he will activate the draft, then make sure it is his base who sends their sons to this war (congress has already said it will forbid women in combat, if/when a 'war' starts). This time I doubt he will worry about the bodies coming home, shown on TV. They will be dumped in mass graves wherever they die & never sent home. No bad stories. Parents/wives want the insurance? They better keep their mouths shut. Generals will of course come home with all honors. Other families might get a dog tag, the second one will mysteriously disappear, though it should be with the body. Just in case anyone ever uncovers those graves. He doesn't understand DNA, but, now soldiers leave theirs at base in the US, so they may be identified if only a small piece is found. Of course, a staff member may understand & see that all the DNA records disappear.
The logic here is absurd: because use of chemical weapons violates Int'l norms, Trump violates an even stronger Int'l norm: the right to national sovereignty and to be free from aggression. Sovereignty and nonaggression are the foundation of the Int'l legal system that the US worked hard to create after WWII.
2
But, Tam, many look back on Europe pre WW2 & realize that leaving a country at war with itself, in such a way it is leaking over into other sovereign countries, can easily lead to WW3. Probably non nuclear, cause fallout doesn't respect ANY borders. This time though, there are missiles & planes who can easily reach mainland America, so it would spread here. Unlike WW2, even though Hitler wanted it so badly he could taste it. Even if it was one plane that dropped bombs on DC. Though he did want it to be a fleet of long range, heavy laden, bombers, that could ravage many east coast cities. Once he was dumb enough to declare war on us, just because his (mostly ignored) 'allies' halfway around the world, had attacked Pearl Harbor, he shortly knew he had made a BIG mistake, that could not be rectified. So, we fought 2 major wars at the same time. We had allies on each side, but, the major one (England) bluntly said the Pacific wasn't important. Spend all your money, men, & supplies in Europe, & give us lots more, including food to feed our people. Like fools we did. They never paid for or returned anything we 'lent' them. Now we know that allowing one warmongering country (Syria in this case) to try to destroy a good portion of it's population, leads to war in surrounding areas, then bigger areas. That is what needs to be stopped. We can either help one side, or just obliterate the whole country. Returning all refugees to a destroyed country afterwards, so they can rebuild.
Assad used chemical weapons because he felt so sure of himself.
He had Putin on his side. Assad had Russian MIGs at his disposal. “What can they do to me? I’ve starved my own people-wrong tribe-but STILL Syrians; I’ve destroyed their homes with barrel bombs. I’ve destroyed their homes and they live among rubble.” Trump liked him.
He saw Trump as a weak “America First” who wanted Putin as his friend. Nikki Haley, Trump’s UN ambassador said that Assad was low priority. So Assad kills 80 people including children with Sarin gas.
And Trump has a chance to use his new toys...and send 59 Tomahawk Missiles into a Syrian airfield...but warns Putin first.
Now what? Assad will continue to starve his people. He will continue to drop barrel bombs. Trump WILL CONTINUE TO BAN Syrian refugees to please his base of voracious idiots.
Ground troops next? There HAS to be a plan but does ANYONE here believe he thought through to the next step? Trump can’t play checkers much less even understand chess, understand moves and counter-moves.
Leave his son-in-law Jared over there and send the big game hunters Don Jr and Eric along with “feminist” Ivanka to fight! Because you cannot use our worn out all volunteer army anymore.
Time to put some skin in the game Trump! Put your two sons and daughter into basic training at Ft Benning. That’s what my spouse did and now he is inurned in the National Cemetery for fighting two wars.
What NOW Mr. President!
He had Putin on his side. Assad had Russian MIGs at his disposal. “What can they do to me? I’ve starved my own people-wrong tribe-but STILL Syrians; I’ve destroyed their homes with barrel bombs. I’ve destroyed their homes and they live among rubble.” Trump liked him.
He saw Trump as a weak “America First” who wanted Putin as his friend. Nikki Haley, Trump’s UN ambassador said that Assad was low priority. So Assad kills 80 people including children with Sarin gas.
And Trump has a chance to use his new toys...and send 59 Tomahawk Missiles into a Syrian airfield...but warns Putin first.
Now what? Assad will continue to starve his people. He will continue to drop barrel bombs. Trump WILL CONTINUE TO BAN Syrian refugees to please his base of voracious idiots.
Ground troops next? There HAS to be a plan but does ANYONE here believe he thought through to the next step? Trump can’t play checkers much less even understand chess, understand moves and counter-moves.
Leave his son-in-law Jared over there and send the big game hunters Don Jr and Eric along with “feminist” Ivanka to fight! Because you cannot use our worn out all volunteer army anymore.
Time to put some skin in the game Trump! Put your two sons and daughter into basic training at Ft Benning. That’s what my spouse did and now he is inurned in the National Cemetery for fighting two wars.
What NOW Mr. President!
5
Ground troops next?
=================
The US already has ground troops in Syria. Obama sent them there
=================
The US already has ground troops in Syria. Obama sent them there
Bless you & yours. Your family has given enough.
Just know that Kushner works solely for the Mossad. Who wants us at war with Syria & the rest of the ME. He should, as an American citizen, be tried for Treason, & after being found guilty either traded for several of ours imprisoned in Israel, or if there are not enough, just taken to the Mall in D.C.& hanged. Being a foreign spy when you are a citizen of the country you are spying on, is the worst kind of treason there is. Since I think Ivanka knows, she should be tried & hanged too. Their children should, once it is proven they are Kushner's, sent to Israel, stripped of all US citizenry. With notes in their records that they never be allowed in the US ever.
Trump cares nothing for any American (unless they have lots of money to be conned out of). But, he won't draft "others". He doesn't want them trained as soldiers & armed. That scares him. The rich of course will never send a son. So, since it is the Middle Class that pays most of the taxes, those can't go either. Who's left? His base. The young, white, males. Perfect for the draft, & he already owns them. They will be the bulk who goes. Some middle class to prove what I say isn't true, but, mostly the white trash who voted for him, that he tried to kill off with Trumpcare, that he wants to get rid of, so he can RULE this country. Maybe we should let him. Then Impeach, try, convict, sentence & hang. So the families of these worthless dead know they died in vain.
Just know that Kushner works solely for the Mossad. Who wants us at war with Syria & the rest of the ME. He should, as an American citizen, be tried for Treason, & after being found guilty either traded for several of ours imprisoned in Israel, or if there are not enough, just taken to the Mall in D.C.& hanged. Being a foreign spy when you are a citizen of the country you are spying on, is the worst kind of treason there is. Since I think Ivanka knows, she should be tried & hanged too. Their children should, once it is proven they are Kushner's, sent to Israel, stripped of all US citizenry. With notes in their records that they never be allowed in the US ever.
Trump cares nothing for any American (unless they have lots of money to be conned out of). But, he won't draft "others". He doesn't want them trained as soldiers & armed. That scares him. The rich of course will never send a son. So, since it is the Middle Class that pays most of the taxes, those can't go either. Who's left? His base. The young, white, males. Perfect for the draft, & he already owns them. They will be the bulk who goes. Some middle class to prove what I say isn't true, but, mostly the white trash who voted for him, that he tried to kill off with Trumpcare, that he wants to get rid of, so he can RULE this country. Maybe we should let him. Then Impeach, try, convict, sentence & hang. So the families of these worthless dead know they died in vain.
2
Unending, goalless wars on three fronts battling nebulous terror will be great for the countries with manufacturing economies and their investors. That would be China and Trump. So much for "America First"
Ah, nothing like a little anodyne smart missile attack for the soul after blowing up the Middle East these past 15 years. Just feels so good after the long dry stretch of having not blown up a neighborhood, for what, a few weeks.
After that tonic, now we need a dose of "smart diplomacy"?
Could we have had the diplomacy "missile free" these past 15 years, saved the several trillion to spend on American folks who can't get health care?
Perhaps Mr. Blinken could re-consider the "smart missiles, then smart diplomacy" tactic and just skip the missiles and save the next $ 2 trillion we pour into the sands of the Mid East.
After that tonic, now we need a dose of "smart diplomacy"?
Could we have had the diplomacy "missile free" these past 15 years, saved the several trillion to spend on American folks who can't get health care?
Perhaps Mr. Blinken could re-consider the "smart missiles, then smart diplomacy" tactic and just skip the missiles and save the next $ 2 trillion we pour into the sands of the Mid East.
Being so against Trump's policies inside USA... I'm also very supportive on his reaction to the atrocities of Bashar al-Assad.
I guess a strongman like him is needed to strike back when crazy adults cross the line and kill innocent women and children.
Trump just did the right thing indeed.
I guess a strongman like him is needed to strike back when crazy adults cross the line and kill innocent women and children.
Trump just did the right thing indeed.
Mr. Trump doesn't have the education, background or assets to follow up his missile attack with the diplomacy that is required. He and Mr. Tillerson will sit on their hands now. They are inexperienced and inadequate to the task of delicate diplomatic discussions.
1
Where is the smart diplomacy coming from?
The commander-in-chief doesn't know the meaning of the word.
His State Department has been gutted and deprived of experience and institutional memory.
I doubt if this nation still has the capacity even for dumb diplomacy.
The commander-in-chief doesn't know the meaning of the word.
His State Department has been gutted and deprived of experience and institutional memory.
I doubt if this nation still has the capacity even for dumb diplomacy.
4
Mr. Blinken seems to think the Trump administration understands how to move Syria toward a negotiated transition of power. But he does not offer any evidence that there is a body capable of governing Syria to whom power would be transposed.
For any number of reasons, Trump's Syrian strike, unpreceded by any warnings to Syria of his's change of affections, smacks of something even more incompetent than Bush's insistence that we invade Iraq. But the notion that the action is the first step in a 'negotiated transition of power' with not the slightest notion of how that would proceed and who else is there to govern Syria makes the situation look more like Lybia than Iraq, and grievously more ominous.
For any number of reasons, Trump's Syrian strike, unpreceded by any warnings to Syria of his's change of affections, smacks of something even more incompetent than Bush's insistence that we invade Iraq. But the notion that the action is the first step in a 'negotiated transition of power' with not the slightest notion of how that would proceed and who else is there to govern Syria makes the situation look more like Lybia than Iraq, and grievously more ominous.
I'm afraid that the kind of diplomacy Mr. Blinken is talking about is beyond President Trump's abilities. Bullies don't engage in diplomacy; they use their fists. Our only hope is that Mr. Trump will hand this problem over to people who know what they are doing.
6
To paraphrase the wrongly maligned Alexander Haig's brilliant words:
Our policy on Syria must be of a carefully constructed ambiguity lest the Syrians have no doubt of the range and severity of our responses.
We in Obama's and Nixon's explicit words had trapped ourselves into either not responding or responding under the most unfavorable times and conditions.
For instance, Haiphong after they had time to set up their air defenses with SAMs, during bad weather, and a politically inopportune time.
Clearly, for once, we have not talked too much yet have acted quickly and decisively, leaving no doubt on the range and severity of our responses to chemical warfare.
Let us pray that we have acquired, and will continue such wisdom in our foreign policy.
Our policy on Syria must be of a carefully constructed ambiguity lest the Syrians have no doubt of the range and severity of our responses.
We in Obama's and Nixon's explicit words had trapped ourselves into either not responding or responding under the most unfavorable times and conditions.
For instance, Haiphong after they had time to set up their air defenses with SAMs, during bad weather, and a politically inopportune time.
Clearly, for once, we have not talked too much yet have acted quickly and decisively, leaving no doubt on the range and severity of our responses to chemical warfare.
Let us pray that we have acquired, and will continue such wisdom in our foreign policy.
2
This is a good article in that it lays out the options, as Mr. Blinken sees them, in going forward. Two observations though: First i was under the impression the chemical attack in 2013 was carried out with the knowledge of the Russians before hand, as a strategy to buy time for Assad. Their interest is a naval base in Syria/the Mediterranean. With the taking of Crimea, our response should have been blocking this or closing off the Dardanelles. The propaganda piece from Putin which appeared in the Times at the time, extolling American "exceptionalism" and pretending at extended Democracy in Russia, had all the earmarks of a well planned apology (buying time) in advance. Sending Assad to The Hague: Putin still hasn't accepted responsibility for the downing of the Malaysian airliner and restitution for the families. This was a war crime.
Second, there is no mention of the part the Europeans will play here. In Libya, it appeared to be that they were establishing a needed rapid deployment force to immediately handle conflicts affecting their borders and security. There was no follow through (with us also) in Libya, and Nothing in Syria, now directly reflected in their refugee situation. Add drought in the southern Sahara to this. We will act through NATO with them, but they should take the initiative in acting to protect their borders in both the Mideast and Baltic States.
In Syria and W. Iraq, draw some borders and protect them; diplomacy with Turkey and Kurdistan.
Second, there is no mention of the part the Europeans will play here. In Libya, it appeared to be that they were establishing a needed rapid deployment force to immediately handle conflicts affecting their borders and security. There was no follow through (with us also) in Libya, and Nothing in Syria, now directly reflected in their refugee situation. Add drought in the southern Sahara to this. We will act through NATO with them, but they should take the initiative in acting to protect their borders in both the Mideast and Baltic States.
In Syria and W. Iraq, draw some borders and protect them; diplomacy with Turkey and Kurdistan.
1
We love even more this wonderful country when we read the wise words of Mr. Blinken.
1
The sudden decision to attack Syria may be a visual for Xi to indicate Trump's possible action for N Korea. Of course, this is nothing like the scale of an attack to incapacitate nuclear development in N Korea, but Syria provides a psychological datum for Xi to consider. And for the rest of us too!
2
Rash and impulsive is an understatement to King Trump's reaction. The Generals clearly won out during their little get together. This is why we should have cooler heads and why the President is the Commander in Chief. We did not declare War, we just bombed a nation that is in a civil war without law. King Trump and Court has trampled over our laws and with his executive orders has tested the courts. Now he crosses international law that the U. S. has painstakingly worked for years to be part of the U. N.. If Putin or any other dictator pushes that we violated international law because we did not declare War, we will be the Rogue Nation we have sought to bring down. This has gone far enough. We are now the nation that dictates like a bully using our morals as justification to kill civilians or anyone. Granted we all agree Assad has to go but we need to "all" agree and play by the rules we made.
If King Trump's morals were true we would gain support from many nations. This is King Trump grandiose gesture that he is boss and can take action without any thoughts. King Trump is the very President the founding fathers feared and we should do well to limit his powers before he starts WWIII.
If King Trump's morals were true we would gain support from many nations. This is King Trump grandiose gesture that he is boss and can take action without any thoughts. King Trump is the very President the founding fathers feared and we should do well to limit his powers before he starts WWIII.
1
Right now all we know is Trump saw horrific pictures on TV, felt badly and as President launched an attack to pot mark an air field. Are we going to let the survivors of those attacks in the U.S. are we going get the Russians to help remove Assad? Are we going to arm Syrian rebels?
2
Thanks for this great article. Leaving aside the murky business of war powers in American law, it seems to me that the best we can do is thrash Mr. Assad but definitely leave him in power. I don't see any advantage to regime change in Syria because I think the country would lapse into "Libya-style" chaos. As long as ISIS exists and fights and Iraq is -- ummmm -- in its adolescence, both Russia and the USA need a relatively contained Syria -- Russia especially.
t-rump doesn't know how to speak to the people nor does he have a mission. Hopefully there are some reasonable folks in the room to make decisions here and now.
Yes, Trump needs to be diplomatic or he'll never get those golf resorts built in Russia.
1
Help me here Antony, who said that "the world looks to America to act"?
Call me old-fashioned, but in my world one cannot do "the right thing" when what one does lacks any basis in law.
If one opposes dictatorship then one opposes it regardless of the temporary sentiment that may inspire it to do "the right thing."
If one opposes dictatorship then one opposes it regardless of the temporary sentiment that may inspire it to do "the right thing."
1
Trump has now single-handedly squeezed the toothpaste out of the tube. Whatever happens from here on in is his to own. If Assad capitulates and becomes a reformed benevolent leader of his people all praise to the great Trump. A much different scenario may also be the result of Trump's impetuous actions. Assad may well portray the missile attack as an illegal and unilateral form of aggression. Trump may back down for fear of provoking the Russian protective forces within Syria. The verbal support being expressed today by nations allied with United States may turn out to be just that: only talk.
Since the toothpaste cannot be put back into the tube the only thing we and the rest of the world can do now is wait and see what Trump's actions will produce.
Since the toothpaste cannot be put back into the tube the only thing we and the rest of the world can do now is wait and see what Trump's actions will produce.
Bomb Syria's six remaining military airbases into rubble (with shock and awe leftovers), giving the Russians a 15-minute head's up for their people to clear the area, of course. Thereafter, establish a no-fly zone over Syria. That will de-fang and de-claw the soon-to-be-ousted Assad regime and will cause other leaders to pause before ordering chemical attacks.
1
What is the next move? If Assad wants to continue, he launches from an airstrip with Russian presence so any middle attack has to take out some Russian activity. Does Trump go there? If Assad goes back to barrel-bombing rebel civilians and hospitals, is that OK, or do middles rain down? If Assad moves a few civilians onto his airstrips, do they become collateral damage?
The problem with this middle strike is that it is not part of a plan. It is a one-off with no crucible back up. Just a $60 million plus venting of frustration.
The problem with this middle strike is that it is not part of a plan. It is a one-off with no crucible back up. Just a $60 million plus venting of frustration.
2
We should not ignore that the Trump Administration precipitated Assad's use of chemical weapons when SOS Tillerson intimated he could stay in power. Assad thought he had a free hand. Not unlike when April Gillespie implied that Saddam could take Kuwait. This is what happens when you let amateurs pull the levers of state. Obama was not weak. He drew a red line, threatened airstrikes, and Syria and the Russians agreed to negate the use of chemical weapons. Trump and Tillerson blurred the red line, and chemical weapons were used. Then they used missile strikes to hopefully neutralize the airstrip from which the attack originated. I support Trump in this step but I do not ignore that his and his administration's stupidity might have enabled the attack to begin with, even while he thumps his chest. Shame on the republicans.
4
I'm not in a position to second-guess Mr. Blinken's obvious expertise, here, and let us confess, his legitimate defense of various aspects of President Obama's approach. But I'm at a loss to comprehend how we achieve anything with a President who has helped damage the EU, NATO, the UN and all the other international fora of cooperation, without which there will be NO solution of anything in the Middle East. Oh, yes, and some firm limits to Israel's ceaseless intrigues and posturing.
3
An outside agent cannot end a civil war, it must play out on its own.
3
You can't have a Civil War if most of the population does not participate & many try to flee, & others expect foreigners to protect them & treat their injuries. We should allow women with small children & children into this country as refugees. We have many empty military bases that could easily be outfitted to house & care fore these noncombatants. Keeping them safe, but, looking forward to sending them home to a safe Syria when the war is over. No need to learn English or hold any job outside the base. The adult men 16 & over, would be allowed to go to camps set up to train them as fighters. Then armed, with plenty of supplies they would be returned to Syria to fight how & who they would. Eventually either one side or the other will win. Or possibly no one will win & Syria will cease to exist. Surrounding nations would probably all take pieces. The women & children could be sent back to refugee camps in their own (former) country to try to find their male family members, if any survived. They would be allowed to go to whatever part of the country they wished, under any surrounding country they choose.
The women would not need to have a male with them, so the men can choose whether to come train, or just join one of the militias in Syria. Women without children would be advised to go fight with the men. Old women would also be allowed. Old men should fight or if majorly disabled rule the men in the camps learning to be fighters. In both camps the elders would run things.
The women would not need to have a male with them, so the men can choose whether to come train, or just join one of the militias in Syria. Women without children would be advised to go fight with the men. Old women would also be allowed. Old men should fight or if majorly disabled rule the men in the camps learning to be fighters. In both camps the elders would run things.
This strike was a signal not just to Syria and the Russians, but to North Korea and China and any other country that tries to step over the line (as fuzzy as those lines are). I think this was the Trump administration saying, "We're not afraid to react militarily." How many times this will be necessary, and against whom, no one can say. And whether this yields any solution to Syria, no one can say.
2
The assumption that President Trump was "smart" to attack rests on the likely false assumption that his motives reflected a genuine compassionate, humanitarian world view. Nothing in Trump's words or prior actions indicate that he has any empathy for others. Instead, like his tweets, this is more likely to be yet another attempt to distract from the charges of collusion with Russia in the 2016 election and to raise his tanking popularity. This is a man desperate to change the conversation and perception that he really is "Putin's puppet." A very limited strike where Russia was given advance word is just more likely another cynical con.
4
Our government, by which I mean the Executive and Legislative branches, have no clue what they are doing. There is no coherent policy, there is no plan (and never has been) for what to do next, and they care nothing for what the American people want. They are opportunists feathering their nests while seeking favorable photo ops. What we need in this country is an entirely new way of thinking about government. We need a government of good managers, not politicians. The poet David Whyte told me once that "government workers carry the buckets for the rest of us." None of the people in the present administration would every think of carrying a bucket.
1
Perhaps Assad was not merely stupid.
Chemical weapons were Assad's WMD deterrent. It is nowhere near as good a deterrent as nuclear, but he had it, and Israel is especially sensitive to it, so it was enough.
When he gave up his deterrent, he became like Gaddafi, and we often say that the North Koreans are more of a problem because of the lesson they take from Gaddafi making himself vulnerable.
If Assad used Sarin gas in this attack, that shows he's got his old deterrent, when everyone had though he'd given it up.
What does he get from having his deterrent back?
Israel was getting more aggressive in air attacks, and recently made diplomatic suggestions for zones to be carved out of Syrian territory taking yet more of the Golan. He might feel the need for his deterrent to further expansion of such aggressive ideas.
Also, when he's re-establishing himself as the effective government is exactly the time he'd want to make the statement, "and I've got a deterrent too."
Does Russia WANT him to have his own deterrent? That reduces his reliance on them. They gave it to him, so they could be more hands off. Perhaps they are reconsidering being so hands on as they are now.
So if Assad did this, it may be far more complex than anything I've seen analyzed in our press so far.
Chemical weapons were Assad's WMD deterrent. It is nowhere near as good a deterrent as nuclear, but he had it, and Israel is especially sensitive to it, so it was enough.
When he gave up his deterrent, he became like Gaddafi, and we often say that the North Koreans are more of a problem because of the lesson they take from Gaddafi making himself vulnerable.
If Assad used Sarin gas in this attack, that shows he's got his old deterrent, when everyone had though he'd given it up.
What does he get from having his deterrent back?
Israel was getting more aggressive in air attacks, and recently made diplomatic suggestions for zones to be carved out of Syrian territory taking yet more of the Golan. He might feel the need for his deterrent to further expansion of such aggressive ideas.
Also, when he's re-establishing himself as the effective government is exactly the time he'd want to make the statement, "and I've got a deterrent too."
Does Russia WANT him to have his own deterrent? That reduces his reliance on them. They gave it to him, so they could be more hands off. Perhaps they are reconsidering being so hands on as they are now.
So if Assad did this, it may be far more complex than anything I've seen analyzed in our press so far.
This was the right move and should have done long time ago by the Obama administration. Such a blatant violation of the international order cannot stand. Chemical weapons have been deemed so barbaric that even Hitler refused to use them in World War 2 (except against the Jews in gas chambers). America needs to show that it is ready to use its firepower to preserve civilization. And of course, it is largely a symbolic gesture - but diplomacy depends on symbolic gestures. Now the important thing is to make sure that chemical weapons wont fall into the hands of ISIS. The horrifying terrorist act in Russia and the current news about another one in Stockholm show that it won't hesitate to use them against the West it it can. How to defeat ISIS without deposing Assad and starting a wholesale genocide of Allawites, Christians and Kurds? I hope somebody knows how to square this circle.
1
Do you remember when George W. Bush invaded Iraq saying that Saddam Hussein had weapon of mass destruction ?
Do you remember when Lyndon Johnson invaded Vietnam with the false incident of Tonchino Gulf? Four millions of civilians have been killed with napalm .
Do you remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki ?
Do you remember when Lyndon Johnson invaded Vietnam with the false incident of Tonchino Gulf? Four millions of civilians have been killed with napalm .
Do you remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki ?
2
Do you remember Hitler & Mussolini? I don't give any Italian or German the right to speak on war or humanitarianism for at least 200 more years. Then we will see if you have evolved (or should we have made more nuclear bombs & obliterated you when we had the chance? You & your 'kind' just like your hands on obliteration of peoples better.
Smart diplomacy on Syria?
You've got to be kidding.
A cretin for president, and a Secretary of State in name only.
It doesn't get any worse than this.
God save us all.
You've got to be kidding.
A cretin for president, and a Secretary of State in name only.
It doesn't get any worse than this.
God save us all.
Nope He won't. He gave us ALL 1 brain each & free will. He expects us to use them. Since we won't, we can destroy ourselves & save Him the trouble.
Next species to steward this planet? The cockroach. Much better equipped.
Oh, you don't have to believe in Him to be wiped off the face of the earth by Him.
Next species to steward this planet? The cockroach. Much better equipped.
Oh, you don't have to believe in Him to be wiped off the face of the earth by Him.
Wolfe. Well said, well said indeed.
To paraphrase Mencken, Nobody any lost any money betting on the boo-rah of the American people. And so Trump has.
A guy who would let climate change and lack of health insurance ruin the lives of untold children blows about $100m US tax dollars to put some holes in an airport, blathers on nervously about children's lives, and America, including liberal America, is satisfied. We've led. We are great again.
It's hogwash, the totality of the story does not make sense and we can't trust the media to flesh it out reasonably. Boo rah.
A guy who would let climate change and lack of health insurance ruin the lives of untold children blows about $100m US tax dollars to put some holes in an airport, blathers on nervously about children's lives, and America, including liberal America, is satisfied. We've led. We are great again.
It's hogwash, the totality of the story does not make sense and we can't trust the media to flesh it out reasonably. Boo rah.
7
Honestly, Mr. Blinken, let's look a what happened.
Trump at last spotted a softball toss, and with the help of ex-Gen. McMasters, managed a weak grounder up the middle for a lucky single. At the cost of $100 million dollars in Tomahawks. Putin bemused, Erdogan encouraged, even Assad entertained.
Any of your recommended diplomatic capitalization on this "brilliant" play would seriously outstrip the vision and the competence of anyone in the current administration.
I appreciate your chipper outlook, but your analysis is Pollyannish under the circumstances.
Regards,
JV
Trump at last spotted a softball toss, and with the help of ex-Gen. McMasters, managed a weak grounder up the middle for a lucky single. At the cost of $100 million dollars in Tomahawks. Putin bemused, Erdogan encouraged, even Assad entertained.
Any of your recommended diplomatic capitalization on this "brilliant" play would seriously outstrip the vision and the competence of anyone in the current administration.
I appreciate your chipper outlook, but your analysis is Pollyannish under the circumstances.
Regards,
JV
Truth about Syrian missile strike. Donald's POLL NUMBERS.....35-40% favorable polling and all the investigations is what made trump act .
Over 10,000 Syrian children have been murdered .....shot ,bombed , starved to death and gassed.........and slim bucket Donald after years of demanding we stay out of Syria all of a sudden makes the latest 25 children the most atrocious event in modern history. Wake up folks the 35 % poll numbers are what drove this idiot with no follow up plan to execute a poorly planned strike. his comments were a play on good people's souls...“My fellow Americans, on Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians,” Trump said. “Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many — even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.” My goodness the "beautiful babies" comment made me cringe ! Impeach this unqualified creep !
Over 10,000 Syrian children have been murdered .....shot ,bombed , starved to death and gassed.........and slim bucket Donald after years of demanding we stay out of Syria all of a sudden makes the latest 25 children the most atrocious event in modern history. Wake up folks the 35 % poll numbers are what drove this idiot with no follow up plan to execute a poorly planned strike. his comments were a play on good people's souls...“My fellow Americans, on Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians,” Trump said. “Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many — even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.” My goodness the "beautiful babies" comment made me cringe ! Impeach this unqualified creep !
5
Libel, the beautiful babies part instantly made me wonder if it is ok with *45 to gas ugly babies?
1
Does the NYT ("Trump's Heart Came First") seriously think this attack was motivated by a sudden awakening of empathy? It's a wag-the-dog scenario, a distraction from the Russia investigation, an effort to raise ranking in the polls among the "hey, hey, USA" voters. There's also the bad acting--fake tears and suppressed sobs--as well as the paternalistic and culturally biased references to God's children. Re: smart diplomacy, yes, one expects strategy. No commentary from the NYT on why the US acted alone, either, nor of the possible scenarios of Trump's motives (change of heart being the least logical).
5
President Trump did not do the right thing. But what he did do was cave in to the conventional Washington playbook that had been trying to spread more war in the Middle East.
Bomb Iran was the first refrain. This after killing nearly a million Iraqi's died based on lies and manipulations by President Bush. Then we unilaterally bombed Libya, destroying the country when there was no real evidence of any humanitarian crisis. Now there is such a crisis because be have effectively dismembered the country and turned it into a haven for jihadists.
Then the call to attack Syria. Assad is an authoritarian dictator, but so was Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Assad attacked peaceful demonstrators, but so did General Sissi in Egypt. Opposition leaders have been jailed in Syria and Egypt, but so have opposition leaders in Israel/Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
We do not attack based on international human rights principles or international law. The US became involved in the Syrian civil war because Assad refused to accept a gas pipeline from our allies in the Gulf States and instead agreed to one that favored Iran and Russia.
This is yet another oil war and the Times knows it, but like the rest of Washington hides behind the rational of protecting civilians. Do a story on the number of children killed in Yemen under a rain of US bombs dropped by the Saudi's. But no oil or gas there, so no human rights problems. What hypocrisy.
Bomb Iran was the first refrain. This after killing nearly a million Iraqi's died based on lies and manipulations by President Bush. Then we unilaterally bombed Libya, destroying the country when there was no real evidence of any humanitarian crisis. Now there is such a crisis because be have effectively dismembered the country and turned it into a haven for jihadists.
Then the call to attack Syria. Assad is an authoritarian dictator, but so was Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Assad attacked peaceful demonstrators, but so did General Sissi in Egypt. Opposition leaders have been jailed in Syria and Egypt, but so have opposition leaders in Israel/Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
We do not attack based on international human rights principles or international law. The US became involved in the Syrian civil war because Assad refused to accept a gas pipeline from our allies in the Gulf States and instead agreed to one that favored Iran and Russia.
This is yet another oil war and the Times knows it, but like the rest of Washington hides behind the rational of protecting civilians. Do a story on the number of children killed in Yemen under a rain of US bombs dropped by the Saudi's. But no oil or gas there, so no human rights problems. What hypocrisy.
3
Wht do we need to take advice from a member of a failed administration
Just what we need. Someone from Obama's State Department crew that dithered for years over Syria telling the Trump administration what to do. The advice may well be good, but it's 4 years too late.
Well, we've just finished up eight years of incompetence in the foreign policy arena, so everyone is shocked that we actually took action. Thank goodness it was only chemical weapons we were after, can you imagine if we were faced with something like bathroom rights that has embroiled us here in the US? Then maybe Obama would have done something!
2
Zero evidence of Syrian chemical attacks. ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE IS EVIDENCE ABSENCE.
1
Not denying you are right, but, what about the pictures not only all over the media, but, all over the internet? Explain them away, or go back to selling your sister to tourists.
And why are those Syrian babies now so important to the man who has shut the door in the faces of so many Syrian families trying to flee from the horrific carnage in their own country? His 6 country Muslim ban includes Syria, and he has impacted the plans and hopes of many Syrian refugee families looking to legally come to the US. I doubt the man even realizes Syria is on his list or that dead children in Idlib might have been able to be safe here. Gee, he saw them on television....now their situations are real?!
3
Only women with small children & boys under the age of 16 should be allowed in as refugees. Not to become citizens down the road, but, to be kept safe until their war is over. Set up old unused military bases as refuges for them. Let the Women, including old women take care of all the children, no need to learn English, or have a job outside camp. They will go home someday. Adult males should be booted back into play. Any male (of a patriarchal country) who doesn't fight for it during a Civil War is a coward. In a democratic country any adult (including women without small children) who don't fight in a Civil War in their country are not worth saving. They too are cowards. We could, if we wished, offer military training to the men, equip them with arms & supplies then boot them back into play. I would also suggest to all NGOs in Syria to leave. They say they are there to 'help the civilians'. However in a Civil War there are no civilians. Everyone either has a side or it really isn't their country.
Why do Shittes & Sunni's hate each other? Are they not children of the same God? Maybe these people don't actually hate each other and prefer to live in harmony, but their leaders divide them against each other in order to maintain their power & enrich themselves. A common theme in the course of human events.
This hatred goes back to Mohammad's death. First you need to know, that when Allah(God in Arabic) dictated the Koran to him, it was with one ironclad rule, it was NEVER to be written down, just memorized. This was at a time that most were still illiterate & memories much better than today, when we have trouble remembering what was for supper last night. Everyone was supposed to be come their own Koran, & would know if anyone changed so much as one word of it.
When Mohammad died there were 2 groups around him. One was made up of family members, one of those who had followed him closely from the beginning. Both thought they should be the sole leaders of all Muslims. I don't remember which was Sunni, & which Shite, doesn't matter. Because both sides immediately sat down & wrote down the Koran. It as been rewritten so many times no one knows exactly what was in it originally. So, both sides have been fighting about it (not splintering like Christians did, but, each still demanding sole control), for going on 2000 years. Which tells me why Allah said do not write this down. Once they did, they could easily tweak it to say whatever they wanted. Probably only took a couple generations until NO ONE had it totally memorized, learning it from someone who had it totally memorized, & back to when Mohammad memorized it as Allah spoke it, went home & recited it to his followers to memorize. Neither side feels they can give up, it would be blasphemy.
When Mohammad died there were 2 groups around him. One was made up of family members, one of those who had followed him closely from the beginning. Both thought they should be the sole leaders of all Muslims. I don't remember which was Sunni, & which Shite, doesn't matter. Because both sides immediately sat down & wrote down the Koran. It as been rewritten so many times no one knows exactly what was in it originally. So, both sides have been fighting about it (not splintering like Christians did, but, each still demanding sole control), for going on 2000 years. Which tells me why Allah said do not write this down. Once they did, they could easily tweak it to say whatever they wanted. Probably only took a couple generations until NO ONE had it totally memorized, learning it from someone who had it totally memorized, & back to when Mohammad memorized it as Allah spoke it, went home & recited it to his followers to memorize. Neither side feels they can give up, it would be blasphemy.
Old refrain, Tim. That moment is long, gone!
Just a few days before the horrible chemical attack on civilians, Trump and Tillerson declared they would not work for regime change in Syria.
During his press conference with King Abdullah II, #45 said he was horrified by be pictures of innocent babies, babies, babies and changed his mind about Syria.
Many of the children and babies in Syria had fathers who died fighting the brutal butcher of Syria.
Nevertheless they and their mothers were not allowed safe haven as refugees inside this country, because every single little Syrian kid coming to these shores might have an explosive device in their diapers, or grow up to became a jihadist.
The hypocrisy of Mr. Trump's crocodile tears is almost as breathtaking as the one of the sarin gas.
During his press conference with King Abdullah II, #45 said he was horrified by be pictures of innocent babies, babies, babies and changed his mind about Syria.
Many of the children and babies in Syria had fathers who died fighting the brutal butcher of Syria.
Nevertheless they and their mothers were not allowed safe haven as refugees inside this country, because every single little Syrian kid coming to these shores might have an explosive device in their diapers, or grow up to became a jihadist.
The hypocrisy of Mr. Trump's crocodile tears is almost as breathtaking as the one of the sarin gas.
Think about how many lives we could have saved if we provided refuge to the dead victims of this attack. Make no mistake. This was a hail mary and a 50/50 shot to improve his approval rating. Not showing strength is a great way to lose support. Also bombing Syria without consulting congressional support is something he spoke out against (like so many other things). People never took him seriously during his campaign and now we are all going to suffer the consequences.
1
What better way to Impress your Foreign Dinner Guest at Mar-a-largo.
At least President Trump is acting! Ordering missile strikes against Syria and Bashar al Assad's tyrannical and murderous 17 year dictatorship. Mollifying Putin is another kettle of fish. Trump, after his military strike against Syria is in desperate need of intelligent diplomacy and counseling - not the Svengali/ /Rasputin kind of evil political maneuvering that brought down the Romanov royals in 1918. Russia's dictator Vlad Putin is interested in Syria as it is his only chance at present for him to have a port on the Mediterranean Sea. His hegemon on the Pacific isn't huge enough, and only through mowing down the Baltic democracies (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia - all members of NATO, the EU, Eurozone and OECD) would he have ports on the Atlantic. Intelligent diplomacy (not an oxymoron, which President Obama practiced during his two-term administration) will be Trump's ticket to ride, now that US fuel is in the Syrian fire.
How can there be ''smart'' diplomacy when the fix is in ?
Assad\Syria are just puppets to Russia\Putin. There is nothing that is allowed, unless it has the blessing of Putin. so the nerve gas was administered by Russia. ( not Syria )
There are many that say that this administration is now just a puppet to Russia as well, so like I said ; the fix is in.
Russia\Syria attacked the ''babies'', so this administration could look tough, swoop in, and somehow be statesmanlike.
This is what you voted for people. ( at least a clear minority of you )
Assad\Syria are just puppets to Russia\Putin. There is nothing that is allowed, unless it has the blessing of Putin. so the nerve gas was administered by Russia. ( not Syria )
There are many that say that this administration is now just a puppet to Russia as well, so like I said ; the fix is in.
Russia\Syria attacked the ''babies'', so this administration could look tough, swoop in, and somehow be statesmanlike.
This is what you voted for people. ( at least a clear minority of you )
1
When nation states crumble we often hear the calls for military intervention and diplomacy. From Somalia to the Congo to Syria to Libya we are told that firm military action to suppress bad guys and a swift round of international diplomacy will solve this and let us bring the troops home by Christmas. On a few rare occasions that has even worked, but in those cases the 'bad guys' are more or less one group.
In many other cases the chaos persists for decades.
This is the Arrogance of Good Intentions. It presumes that fanatics, thieves, and narcos will learn by being reprimanded sharply, with the grown-ups then deciding what is best for the naughty boys and their victims. It is Colonialist thinking. This raid may confine Assad to killing and maiming his people by conventional means, as if that were OK. Let's remember to check back in a year and see how it is working out before planning our vacations to Palmyra.
In many other cases the chaos persists for decades.
This is the Arrogance of Good Intentions. It presumes that fanatics, thieves, and narcos will learn by being reprimanded sharply, with the grown-ups then deciding what is best for the naughty boys and their victims. It is Colonialist thinking. This raid may confine Assad to killing and maiming his people by conventional means, as if that were OK. Let's remember to check back in a year and see how it is working out before planning our vacations to Palmyra.
We should be skeptical about the military industrial establishment's assertions that Assad was responsible for the gas attack.
It strains credulity that he would invite the US to attack his forces just when they seem to be tamping down the rebels and recapturing territory.
Killing 80 civilians does not seem to serve any strategic purpose. The convoluted theory published in the NY Times is not convincing.
Standards of evidence have not been applied by those approving the missile strikes. Neither the US story that Assad is simply a Sarin slinging war criminal nor the Russian/Iranian story that the gas release was the unintended result of bombing a warehouse are convincing. The fog of war obscures understanding and renders quick judgement dubious.
The only evident positive result of the missile strike is the additional profit made by the manufacturers of the Tomahawks who will resupply the Navy.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." Eisenhower
It strains credulity that he would invite the US to attack his forces just when they seem to be tamping down the rebels and recapturing territory.
Killing 80 civilians does not seem to serve any strategic purpose. The convoluted theory published in the NY Times is not convincing.
Standards of evidence have not been applied by those approving the missile strikes. Neither the US story that Assad is simply a Sarin slinging war criminal nor the Russian/Iranian story that the gas release was the unintended result of bombing a warehouse are convincing. The fog of war obscures understanding and renders quick judgement dubious.
The only evident positive result of the missile strike is the additional profit made by the manufacturers of the Tomahawks who will resupply the Navy.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." Eisenhower
2
If Trump's bible is the defunct "Project for the New American Century" then we are all in for more decades of wasted blood and treasure. God save America!
3
Dear Donald, THIS is Reality TV. Shocking, isn't it? And complex. "Who knew..."?
2
After commending Trump for his Syrian action, I disagree totally with Mr. Blinken’s call for “smart diplomacy.”
Everyone who is not a Trump supporter has to announce it before Trump can be given a “solid.” I only wish that President Obama would have done something similar once he “drew a line in the sand.”
When I was a kid, we had self-appointed “enforcers” who prevented playground bullies from making play seem unfair. They wouldn’t fight your fight against a bully—that was your job—they only let the bully know that fear, intimidation and anything unfair was off the table. That was enough to either make the bully go away or give you what you needed to fight back.
Trump has said what he—not necessarily speaking for the US—won’t tolerate. Assad, with the help of Russia and some Islamist's, has destroyed Syria. Not even an Obama-styled diplomacy can stop the carnage or repair the dam-age; it’s gone too far.
Perhaps the Syrian freedom fighters need only to know that the fighting will have rules—and a referee.
Everyone who is not a Trump supporter has to announce it before Trump can be given a “solid.” I only wish that President Obama would have done something similar once he “drew a line in the sand.”
When I was a kid, we had self-appointed “enforcers” who prevented playground bullies from making play seem unfair. They wouldn’t fight your fight against a bully—that was your job—they only let the bully know that fear, intimidation and anything unfair was off the table. That was enough to either make the bully go away or give you what you needed to fight back.
Trump has said what he—not necessarily speaking for the US—won’t tolerate. Assad, with the help of Russia and some Islamist's, has destroyed Syria. Not even an Obama-styled diplomacy can stop the carnage or repair the dam-age; it’s gone too far.
Perhaps the Syrian freedom fighters need only to know that the fighting will have rules—and a referee.
1
Like anyone I'm utterly horrified by the idea of humans being exposed to that horrible Sarin, shocked to my core.
I have zero aptitude for militaristic strategic warmongering tactics or international law, nor have I read everything I could find about this shocking escalation, vast sudden expenditure of armaments in the 10's of millions when basic domestic needs are being targeted for cuts.
But if someone could please explain the legal & credibility aspects of all this:
Trump has discredited the intelligence community when it implicated Russian attempts to influence the election, saying these are the same people who said there were WMD's in Iraq. Suddenly he's taking their word about who's responsible for this round of WMD's?
Are we at war with Syria? Is it legal to go launching missiles, or wise, considering the other super-nuclear power involved? & what happened to the supposed friendship between Putin & Tillerson/Trump, anyone suspect this may have been staged to deflect investigation into the Manchurian Election?
Not to go down rabbit holes this early, but for all we know that could have been Russian Sarin.
In any case, before we go bombing airports, it seems we should at least get the staged satellite photos with Tillerson standing in for Colin Powell in a convincing presentation to Congress, a made-up myth about aluminum tubes & yellow-cake, & the outing of any agents who migt dissent the party line, before we go half-cocked launching missiles.
I have zero aptitude for militaristic strategic warmongering tactics or international law, nor have I read everything I could find about this shocking escalation, vast sudden expenditure of armaments in the 10's of millions when basic domestic needs are being targeted for cuts.
But if someone could please explain the legal & credibility aspects of all this:
Trump has discredited the intelligence community when it implicated Russian attempts to influence the election, saying these are the same people who said there were WMD's in Iraq. Suddenly he's taking their word about who's responsible for this round of WMD's?
Are we at war with Syria? Is it legal to go launching missiles, or wise, considering the other super-nuclear power involved? & what happened to the supposed friendship between Putin & Tillerson/Trump, anyone suspect this may have been staged to deflect investigation into the Manchurian Election?
Not to go down rabbit holes this early, but for all we know that could have been Russian Sarin.
In any case, before we go bombing airports, it seems we should at least get the staged satellite photos with Tillerson standing in for Colin Powell in a convincing presentation to Congress, a made-up myth about aluminum tubes & yellow-cake, & the outing of any agents who migt dissent the party line, before we go half-cocked launching missiles.
3
When the New York Times praises a Republican, you know he did the wrong thing.
2
First of all why is the NYT referring to Mar a Lago as the Trump estate? It is a club, hotel for the elite, he created and owns and his status as president enhances the value. Why are the President and Vice President not subject to conflict of interest laws? As for the Syria attack the Russians were warned of the impending missiles by the Pentagon in order to avoid military and civilian deaths. Tillerson said Putin wasn't informed? A more accurate statement would be Putin wasn't directly informed. Russians refer to the entire fiasco as a botched job. The Russian appeal to the UN will most likely include a threat of retaliation if the sanctions are not lifted. Tillerson as former Exxon executive will get what he wants, Trumps kids can expand the name brand in the Russian market. Most of all the orchestrated muscle Trump flexed with take the heat off his Russian connections during the elections. We have fake news, now a fake attack.
3
Still, regime change as a policy is usually a bad idea. Attack the wrong doing not the wrong doer.
This justifies the air-strike, however...
Assad's generals may have done this on their own. Who knows what worse monster would come to power if Assad were to escape to Russia or be killed. Remember Saddam Hussein?
This justifies the air-strike, however...
Assad's generals may have done this on their own. Who knows what worse monster would come to power if Assad were to escape to Russia or be killed. Remember Saddam Hussein?
2
This is heady stuff, to much for a Bannon!
I worry that the Syrian effort is a sideshow intended to impress a certain visitor to Mar-a-Lago whose support of North Korea is being called into question. Assad deserved what he got, but so does Kim. Does Mr. Xi see the parallels?
1
This had nothing to do with Syria. This was a brilliant setup to purposely enrage Russia who in turn will release the dirt on Trump who will in turn claim it is fake news that is only released as a result of the bombing. Hence, the Russia distraction goes away and he can get back to MAGA. Well done Mr. President. That's my conspiracy theory and I'm sticking to it.
2
Mr. Binken doesn't get it! Trump, finding it necessary to divert attention from the Russian problem, doesn't desire diplomacy. The Syrian thing is merely a warm up for the real war lurking backstage. As with Iraq, against American military superiority, Syria will be a pushover. Unless, of course, the Russians get into the act. "A warmonger is a man who is always ready to lay down your life for his country." (anon)
1
The missile attack against a military target in Syria coincides(?) with Xi Jinping visit to the US.
Is president Trump playing a Doctor Strangelove character in order to intimidate Putin, Xi Jiping, and Kim Jong-un? in addition, boosting his low approval ratings?
I can't wait for Trump's tweeters on the subject.
Is president Trump playing a Doctor Strangelove character in order to intimidate Putin, Xi Jiping, and Kim Jong-un? in addition, boosting his low approval ratings?
I can't wait for Trump's tweeters on the subject.
3
I am certainly no expert on this type of matter--in fact just a high school dropout American citizen. Absolutely no credentials for what I am about to say. But it seems to me that here is a golden opportunity for the U.S. not to mention Trump administration to put to rest any underground Russia connection to the U.S. In other words, diplomacy should not get too complex and instead the U.S. should keep up the hard power whether Syria or Russia likes it or not. Just press forward. Does that sound crazy? Well, apparently Russia and Syria feel the U.S. will do little more than missile strikes and then turn to diplomacy. Why not just step up the power? Continue firing away until Assad is driven from power or dead. It seems to me time to draw the line in the sand between especially Russia and the U.S. If you need me to back words by going there to die first, call NY Times for my number. I guess my response here is in category "emotional", but I'm having difficulty seeing the clear path by the courses people far more expert than me seem to be laying out in op-eds in newspapers. Either convince me of your sensible, rational, best course, or just step up the hard power and dislodge Assad from power whether anyone likes it or not, whether Russia and Iran or whomever starts to gripe about it.
A sign of the apocalypse - The NYTs praising President Trump!
So bombing yet another country in the Middle East, what a shocker. No actual proof the Assad's government was responsible for gassing those poor people but no matter. Trump desperate needed a strong positive gesture to counter the image of the 200 people we blew away in Mosul a few weeks ago so this supposed Assad atrocity was made to order. And once again as with WMD in Iraq the NYT's beats the war drum, offering seemingly logical reasons for acts of war against countries who are no existential threat to the US. A million dead Iraqi's later and seems you've learned little.
1
The blood if the dead Syrian innocents is on the hands of Former President Obama and his cast of political hacks from Valerie Jarrett on down. BHO policies led directly to the events if the past week.
Question which all journalists seem to be leaving unasked ?
Where did the weapons come from?
I thought the chemical and biological weapons were removed from Syria?
Where did the weapons come from?
I thought the chemical and biological weapons were removed from Syria?
Trump's recent actions must seem to him and his supporters as a win-win.
1. Chemical attack in Syria. Horrifying pictures, as there were with other such attacks over past 6 years.
2. Trump immediately tells the world how terrible that was, and how affected he was by the suffering of the "little babies".
3. The internet goes abuzz about how this shows that Trump is a kind, sensitive and religious man.
4. Trump says that this attack changed whatever views he may previously have had; his epiphany showed him that it was necessary to take military action to demonstrate that the US will not sit idly by in the face of this atrocity.
5. Trump forewarns Russia so that they can get out, and then sends in 59 missiles to a Syrian air base.
6. The hawks love it, and many are now even more convinced that he is a tough man of action.
7. Air strikes cause disruption of all negative Trump media talk, the most serious of which involves collusion with Russia on elections. Media acknowledges that strikes may well have been justified.
8. Russia applies appropriate rhetoric to strongly condemn the US for its actions, despite the fact it was forewarned, and suffered no damage. Russia is as anxious as Trump to convince the US that it has no special arrangement with Trump, and this attack should definitely help.
9. Trump supporters are now reassured that Trump is no friend of Russia and that any claims of collusion or the like must be bogus.
1. Chemical attack in Syria. Horrifying pictures, as there were with other such attacks over past 6 years.
2. Trump immediately tells the world how terrible that was, and how affected he was by the suffering of the "little babies".
3. The internet goes abuzz about how this shows that Trump is a kind, sensitive and religious man.
4. Trump says that this attack changed whatever views he may previously have had; his epiphany showed him that it was necessary to take military action to demonstrate that the US will not sit idly by in the face of this atrocity.
5. Trump forewarns Russia so that they can get out, and then sends in 59 missiles to a Syrian air base.
6. The hawks love it, and many are now even more convinced that he is a tough man of action.
7. Air strikes cause disruption of all negative Trump media talk, the most serious of which involves collusion with Russia on elections. Media acknowledges that strikes may well have been justified.
8. Russia applies appropriate rhetoric to strongly condemn the US for its actions, despite the fact it was forewarned, and suffered no damage. Russia is as anxious as Trump to convince the US that it has no special arrangement with Trump, and this attack should definitely help.
9. Trump supporters are now reassured that Trump is no friend of Russia and that any claims of collusion or the like must be bogus.
It's bad enough living with Trump. To have the Times cheering the bombing and recommending "Smart Diplomacy" with Assad and Putin is just unbearably depressing. By Whom? Our Secretary of State (Tillerson) who doesn't like people to look him in the eyes?? By Trump's 36 year old son-in-law who wouldn't be able to pick out Syria on a globe?
Next the Times will be saying the World needs another Neville Chamberlain. Lord, if you exist, it is time for another Plague.
Next the Times will be saying the World needs another Neville Chamberlain. Lord, if you exist, it is time for another Plague.
There is no military solution to the ethnic sectarian Syrian civil war. And the only military that we have includes the 0.75% of Americans who have volunteered to wear an American military uniform since 9/11/01. Killing your own people is the definition of civil war. Most of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian war dead have not succumbed to chemical gas attacks.
Assad has not attacked nor threatened to attack the American homeland. Assad is not fighting against America in the Middle East. America and Syria are supposed to have the same ISIS Sunni Muslim Arab enemy.
Assad's Alawite Muslim minority is a Shia Muslim sect allied with the Syrian Christian community and Iran. Syria is Russia's only Arab Muslim ally. None of America's Sunni Muslim Arab allies are democracies.
The Islamic threat to peace in the Middle East rests primarily within the Sunni Muslim Arab community. The Shia Muslim Arab majority of Iraq along with Shia Muslim Persian majority of Iran along with the Sunni Muslim Kurds and Turks are natural key allies. Along with the moderate Sunni Muslim Arabs there is potential motivated coalition for diplomacy.
While we may need some smart diplomacy no one has ever mistaken Donald Trump for a diplomat. If we get rid of Assad can we expect anything better than what followed in the wake of toppling Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi? Stupid diplomacy aka Sykes-Picot made this mess.
Assad has not attacked nor threatened to attack the American homeland. Assad is not fighting against America in the Middle East. America and Syria are supposed to have the same ISIS Sunni Muslim Arab enemy.
Assad's Alawite Muslim minority is a Shia Muslim sect allied with the Syrian Christian community and Iran. Syria is Russia's only Arab Muslim ally. None of America's Sunni Muslim Arab allies are democracies.
The Islamic threat to peace in the Middle East rests primarily within the Sunni Muslim Arab community. The Shia Muslim Arab majority of Iraq along with Shia Muslim Persian majority of Iran along with the Sunni Muslim Kurds and Turks are natural key allies. Along with the moderate Sunni Muslim Arabs there is potential motivated coalition for diplomacy.
While we may need some smart diplomacy no one has ever mistaken Donald Trump for a diplomat. If we get rid of Assad can we expect anything better than what followed in the wake of toppling Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi? Stupid diplomacy aka Sykes-Picot made this mess.
2
I commend Trump as well, despite my broader assessment of him. This attack may have been a test for the Trump presidency, a cruel and cynical feeler. What does Assad care if a few dozen children die a slow and painful death? Assad may have been very well testing the limits of Trump's isolationism with this limited chemical attack. If Trump hadn't reacted, it's easy to imagine Assad thinking he has the green light for something bigger.
6
What's bigger than leveling Aleppo and killing 400,000? Only the big one is bigger, and fortunately Assad doesn't have that one.
"President Donald J. Trump was right to strike at the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using a weapon of mass destruction, the nerve agent sarin, against its own people."
Except for the fact that Assad didn't do it. The investigation hasn't even begun yet, and Assad gave up his chemical arsenal to the USA in 2013, at Obama's request. Besides, why would he do that? He is on the verge of winning the war against ISIS et al-Nusra.
The fact that, from all countries, it was precisely Turkey and Israel which showed support for Trump in the aftermath of the event (again, before any investigation was conducted) shows it is very likely it was either an accident, caused by the bombing of a terrorist hidden arsenal by the SAA, or an outright false flag attack by ISIS/al-Nusra. Let's remember it was Erdogan who did the first false flag chemical attack, the one that almost triggered an American invasion of Syria.
Except for the fact that Assad didn't do it. The investigation hasn't even begun yet, and Assad gave up his chemical arsenal to the USA in 2013, at Obama's request. Besides, why would he do that? He is on the verge of winning the war against ISIS et al-Nusra.
The fact that, from all countries, it was precisely Turkey and Israel which showed support for Trump in the aftermath of the event (again, before any investigation was conducted) shows it is very likely it was either an accident, caused by the bombing of a terrorist hidden arsenal by the SAA, or an outright false flag attack by ISIS/al-Nusra. Let's remember it was Erdogan who did the first false flag chemical attack, the one that almost triggered an American invasion of Syria.
1
There needs to be international condemnation of Russia and Iran support of
the criminal act of Assad...TODAY....
Emphasis and condemnation ....of Putin and Iran...now.....at the United Nations.
This is the correct path for our allies.
This is the work of General Mattis...and Trump should ...just shut up and listen
to these career military experts who know who should lead the dipolimacy.
Trump is their "leader" but not in anyway capable of anything but babble.
The sooner Trump is dismissed for mental illness the better...
sic. Letter to The Editors NYT...by Professor of Psychiatry at Harvar.
read the Letter...dated 2/13/17...
LIsten to the generals....they know that they have a fool for President..but
they have dealt with fools before.
the criminal act of Assad...TODAY....
Emphasis and condemnation ....of Putin and Iran...now.....at the United Nations.
This is the correct path for our allies.
This is the work of General Mattis...and Trump should ...just shut up and listen
to these career military experts who know who should lead the dipolimacy.
Trump is their "leader" but not in anyway capable of anything but babble.
The sooner Trump is dismissed for mental illness the better...
sic. Letter to The Editors NYT...by Professor of Psychiatry at Harvar.
read the Letter...dated 2/13/17...
LIsten to the generals....they know that they have a fool for President..but
they have dealt with fools before.
Really, Mr. Blinken, do you really believe that Trump and his "team" is capable of implementing any of the diplomatic maneuvers you are suggesting? We have an Oval Office filled with sycophants, a state department filled with no body, a military filled with confused generals, and a President filled with Fox News alerts. All Trump has at his command his shock and awe (remember how well that worked out), but no strategy and diplomacy.
1
"President Donald Trump was right to strike at the regime ... for using a weapon of mass destruction."
Finally the Dems wake up. Where was this sentiment in 2013 when Assad killed hundreds more children?
It is still completely incomprehensible to me that thousands of Times readers (as I saw in the comments) actually believed that Assad would give up his nerve agents and Russia would broker a ban. How delusional can one be? You have a crazy dictator who uses sarin gas to poison kids. You trust him to give that up?!?
Well, we've seen the consequences - more kids poisoned and China and Russia and N.Korea and Iran laughing at us.
No longer. Thank God for Trump.
Finally the Dems wake up. Where was this sentiment in 2013 when Assad killed hundreds more children?
It is still completely incomprehensible to me that thousands of Times readers (as I saw in the comments) actually believed that Assad would give up his nerve agents and Russia would broker a ban. How delusional can one be? You have a crazy dictator who uses sarin gas to poison kids. You trust him to give that up?!?
Well, we've seen the consequences - more kids poisoned and China and Russia and N.Korea and Iran laughing at us.
No longer. Thank God for Trump.
3
You mean when Trump Tweeted that Obama should not only NOT attack Syria but must get Congressional approval to do so - which Trump did not get prior to his attacks yesterday?
I'll tell you where he was, Jay. He was asking Congress for approval to take military action on Syria after those attacks, and Congress said NO.
K?
These are serious matters. Care enough to be informed, at the very least.
I'll tell you where he was, Jay. He was asking Congress for approval to take military action on Syria after those attacks, and Congress said NO.
K?
These are serious matters. Care enough to be informed, at the very least.
Reply to Aurace Rengifo: I think you're absolutely right. Trump will undoubtedly experience a very significant improvement in his job approval ratings, heretofore abysmally low. The "Do something! Anything!" impulse in much of American culture will see to that.
That may not have been his dominant underlying purpose, but once he sees the effect on his approval ratings, it's to be feared that his impulsive nature will be validated in his mind... leading to who-knows-what in the future.
We already know from his campaign style that once he discovers a "hot button" that appeals to his audience, he repeats it, enhances it and exploits it. Whether or not that tendency extends into his performance as CINC remains to be seen, but I'm not sanguine about it.
That may not have been his dominant underlying purpose, but once he sees the effect on his approval ratings, it's to be feared that his impulsive nature will be validated in his mind... leading to who-knows-what in the future.
We already know from his campaign style that once he discovers a "hot button" that appeals to his audience, he repeats it, enhances it and exploits it. Whether or not that tendency extends into his performance as CINC remains to be seen, but I'm not sanguine about it.
Look at who stands to benefit from US targeting Assad;
US military industrialists
US right-wing hawks
Syrian rebels
ISIS and Al Qaeda
...... certainly not Assad
..... certainly not the American people.
US military industrialists
US right-wing hawks
Syrian rebels
ISIS and Al Qaeda
...... certainly not Assad
..... certainly not the American people.
2
I remember when the NYT became a cheerleader for Bush II's war in Iraq. Not again?
Ah, yes...let's all wait for Godot! I will make coffee to keep us sharp and cozy as we sit. "Smart diplomacy" from the Trump team should be arriving any moment now. Would anyone care for a sugar cookie?
Syria has been killing its own people for a long time. Bashar al-Assad has been using gas as a terror tool on his subjects regularly for years. The Russians have been helping him for as long as he's been in power. This most recent attack was not so much of an event as the downbeat in the rock-steady rhythm of sadism laid down by the Assad dynasty.
But, Oh! How this week's attack surprised (relieved) the Trump Administration!
Couldn't have come at a better time.
Syria has been killing its own people for a long time. Bashar al-Assad has been using gas as a terror tool on his subjects regularly for years. The Russians have been helping him for as long as he's been in power. This most recent attack was not so much of an event as the downbeat in the rock-steady rhythm of sadism laid down by the Assad dynasty.
But, Oh! How this week's attack surprised (relieved) the Trump Administration!
Couldn't have come at a better time.
1
The attack is useless because there is no political plan for Syria. What is the political endgame? Remove Assad? Then what? Who is going to take over Syria? Will the civil war intensify if Assad is removed? Will it be a repeat of what happened in Iraq and Libya? i.e. continued civil wars. In the end the "controlanization" of the Middle East after England and France colonized Middle East has served only one purpose and that is to protect the oil supply. Honestly America is not seen as an honest broker in this part of the world and may be America and the rest of the world have to understand that the problems in the Middle East have to be solved by the people who live there?
"Mr. Trump must speak directly to the American people about the country’s mission and its objectives,"
Does Mr. Trump even know or understand what the objectives are?
Does Mr. Trump even know or understand what the objectives are?
Trump is starting a war in Syria without a Declaration from Congress, as required by the US Constitution. Impeach him immediately.
1
Someone tell Trump and his supporters, those people attacked by Sarin are the people they called terrorists and refused to give sanctuary to here in the US, based on Trump's bogus assertion that refugees aren't vetted.
I hope this grotesque attack changes his, and their, stance on Syrian refugees. Don't say you're a Christian; ACT like one.
I hope this grotesque attack changes his, and their, stance on Syrian refugees. Don't say you're a Christian; ACT like one.
2
$90 million wasted while having dinner with the guy funding it. Five decades of involvement in an area of the world that awakes every morning to the pleasures of death however violent. What's down the road?? This whole world outrage of children gassed will merit a U.N. rebuke against the Israelis and the Americans. "If only Israel will give up territory than all will be peaceful." Google Einstein and word catch: repeat, mistakes, outcomes. This is Russia's turn to wade into the swamp. They'll find soon enough that it isn't an army to fight, but a philosophy thriving on death and destruction. We can assist to the sequel, "Black Hawk Down."
The first half million Syrian casualties did not move us to do this. The first 20 million refugees and displaced Syrians did not move us to do this. The Russians, Turks, Kurds, Israelis, Iranians, Daesh, Saudis, Iraqis, Hesbollah all praying to their own gods, scratching for their own square meter of turf did not move us to do this. Barrel bombs, cluster bombs, artillery barrages, previous chemical attacks no not then. An incompetent with an approval rating of only 40% stages an incoherent news conference where the picture of a gassed child lets his oxytocin down, and suddenly with simian scream the big stick starts swinging. Did he see the dead child washed up on the beach? Did he see the child covered in the blood and dust of Aleppo? Pulling the trigger is never the first strong option, it validates how truly insecure Trump is. He might at least have asked BFF Putin to deliver a quick polonium cure. Reaching for a military adventure to bolster this retched regime was always feared; but getting there in the first hundred days is truly shocking and sad. Very sad.
1
Yes; After The Missiles, diplomacy please. Because....I don't think I can stomach another obscene commentary by the likes of MSNBC's Brian Williams, waxing poetic about "Our BEAUTIFUL Weapons" while flashing pictures of the destruction of our BEAUTIFUL Military Power.
1
This is political opportunism. Does anyone think Trump really cares? This makes him look like he is doing something against the Russians, with virtually no consequence (who is pro-chemical weapons?). Impeach this impetuous fool ASAP. This is a dangerous world and we need real leadership!
1
Did you include this editorial to see if the NYT readers are awake and reading or was the choice of this done in the middle of the night by a very weary editor?
Seems that many of the readers really read and responded with the incredulity it deserved.
Seems that many of the readers really read and responded with the incredulity it deserved.
Do any of you thousands of self-righteous idiots who pontificated through television and newspaper outlets for months now on how unsettled you were with this "unstable President" holding the nuclear codes of this great nation, want to retract or restate your concerns today?
How about those who condemned a man for his lack of humanity towards the plight of Syrian people due to protecting our borders by banning refugees?
Maybe it's time to hush a bit and learn?
How about those who condemned a man for his lack of humanity towards the plight of Syrian people due to protecting our borders by banning refugees?
Maybe it's time to hush a bit and learn?
2
Diplomacy? Wishful thinking! You cannot expect brain from the all brawn Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, he does'nt know Newton's third law of motion - every action has an equal and opposite reaction! Now we can wait for the reaction with a chill, running down our spine.
One has to wonder why the Assad regime would use a toxic gas attack in such a limited way and on such a small target with the world watching. Strategically, the only reason it might have been done was to provoke Trump and, thereby, test the new administration. Now, we need to figure out whether Trump passed or failed the test.
We attacked another country without a declaration of war. That is illegal. Another notch in Trump's belt of crimes. As for the commentator who cites her worry that everything Trump does is slap at Obama, let's think for a moment how dangerous that is. Obama backed the Paris Climate accords, so Trump pulls the country out, so the planet goes up in flames. Obama backed Affordable Care, so millions are left to wither and die.
The Obama taunts are dog whistles for the alt-right. They spell--TFBPWB:
Taunted for being President while Black.
The Obama taunts are dog whistles for the alt-right. They spell--TFBPWB:
Taunted for being President while Black.
I too care about the humanitarian crisis in Syria, it breaks my heart to see those children and I wonder how the missile attack helps them in their days of dire need.
Frankly I would have made my primary objective to agree with the Russians and Assad to get medical and food aid to those in need , to open our hearts and borders to bring refugees from this attack to our country.
Thereafter I would have developed a strategy with Russia to rid Syria of Assad and to form an interim Government To bring Russia to the table I would have in my back pocket a comprehensive list of sanctions.
Any one could have ordered the missile attack , it does not confer Trump with any heroic status .
Only Great leaders are true to humanity if they directly help those in need.
Military Attacks should be the last resort
Frankly I would have made my primary objective to agree with the Russians and Assad to get medical and food aid to those in need , to open our hearts and borders to bring refugees from this attack to our country.
Thereafter I would have developed a strategy with Russia to rid Syria of Assad and to form an interim Government To bring Russia to the table I would have in my back pocket a comprehensive list of sanctions.
Any one could have ordered the missile attack , it does not confer Trump with any heroic status .
Only Great leaders are true to humanity if they directly help those in need.
Military Attacks should be the last resort
2
How much informed diplomatic perspective did Trump receive on top of militaristic solution perspective?
Latest reports say that nine civilians including four children were killed in the American missile strike. This is unfortunate as the US always tries to avoid civilian casualties especially children.
What we know for sure at this point is that Assad has been weakened and Isis has been strengthened as a result of the US missile strike.
What we know for sure at this point is that Assad has been weakened and Isis has been strengthened as a result of the US missile strike.
1
Smart diplomacy is definitely needed. But we're not going to get it from a so-called president who has left hundreds of State Department positions unfilled, who wants to cut a third of State's budget and whose Secretary of State doesn't seem to mind this gutting of soft power. Only a day before the Tomahawk strikes that selfsame Secretary of State was saying Assad's future "will be decided by the Syrian people," who aren't in a position to decide anything when they're being gassed to death by their president.
Could it be that our president stopped and listened to good advice on this one? I think it was the right decision, and applaud him for letting it happen. Here in Europe he'll find partners willing to hold the syrien regime accountable vis à vis Assad's use of chemical warfare against the syrien people. It's time to be tough with Assas.
"Smart Diplomacy" should be a breeze from the President with "A Good Brain".
1
When can we expect President Trump to don his over-sized flight suit and swoop down onto an aircraft carrier at safe distance from the Syrian coast line and declare "Mission Accomplished"?
If wishes and nuts....If only. While this seems like good advice, can you imagine the reaction of President Trump's opening America's door for the Syrian victims - the little babies - of this awful civil war? Can you imagine President Trump speaking to the American people about mission and objectives and clarifying the legal basis for further strategic attacks when Assad and Russian an Iran choose to push the envelope again? I am trying to imagine it, I am trying. But I cannot help but ask - can this be done through tweets?
In a Kremlin statement, President Putin has viewed the U.S. strikes on Syria as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law." Putin has well understood the terminology and mastered it. The United Nations official General Assembly in March, 2014 called Putin's Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea a violation of "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." The maxim stands: It takes one to know one.
Nothing like tossing a few bombs to try and divert attention from the fact that Trump's entire time as President has been a complete bomb. No Mr. Trump, this doesn't make you look tough, it makes you look really stupid because it shows you have no clue what you are doing. It won't change a thing, except make it all the more difficult to actually change anything.
2
What a pile of empty platitudes, Mr. Blinken. "Hold Russia accountable." How? Maybe we should impose sanctions. Oops, did that and it didn't make any difference. Putin "embarrassed" by Assad. Who do you think you're talking about? Nothing on earth could embarrass that thug -- or our thug either. One of the mistakes of the foreign policy establishment continues to be thinking that we're dealing with civilized men here.
1
My wife and I wondered how long into his presidency Trump would find a reason to launch a unilateral attack on some country. Roughly eleven weeks. Shame on NYT Editorial Board condoning this attack.
2
Teddy Roosevelt famously said "Walk softly and Carry a Big Stick". Wise words that once more are ignored by a country that sees overt military action as the only way to carry a message. Had we not eviscerated our State Department and elected a nincompoop for president, a quiet, but firm, warning via diplomacy might have achieved the same result as 50 Tomahawk missiles. Perhaps more. We never learn in this, a country that has given itself over to a military mind-set. I frankly see nothing in this action that will affect Assad's continuation of the civil war that rages. I think this was more a political move on Trump's part to bolster his sagging popularity than to intimidate Assad. The Syrian people have suffered greatly over the last few years and we bear a great degree of responsibility thanks to George W. and the neocon's actions in the middle East but this last action will not improve their lot. I must say, too, that Clinton's comments on denying the Syrian's use of their airbases would have meant an even more dangerous escalation because it would have brought us face to face with the Russian SAM sites and warplanes. Stupid is as stupid does.
Good luck with THAT. Old Rex is still in the oil business, and Donald is in the family business. Who's in charge??? That, ladies and gentlemen, is THE question of the day. EVERYDAY.
2
Where's OUR refugees, Donald??? I'll take a family.
3
I find practically everything Trump has attempted to do since he became president appalling but not the reaction to Assad's use of sarin. That atrocity required a response and much as one would wish the response to be a coordinated international one, only the US has the means to act quickly n a carefully calibrated way. Those who believe that Assad may not have been responsible for the gassing of his own people have not taken a realistic measure of the man and/or are willing to swallow the clumsy Russian attempt to protect their client.
It was not a massive out of proportion response, rather a warning shot to Assad and Putin that there are limits to what can be tolerated. What happens next will indeed depend on whether this administration is capable of more than clumsy diplomacy.
It was not a massive out of proportion response, rather a warning shot to Assad and Putin that there are limits to what can be tolerated. What happens next will indeed depend on whether this administration is capable of more than clumsy diplomacy.
2
Is it possible that Trump struck Syria now to divert attention from the weak employment numbers?
3
Obama tried "smart" diplomacy for long eight years and he was an abysmal FAILURE. We need a fresh approach to get results here.
2
As long as EVERYONE keeps pretending that all this mess is just about politics and has NOTHING to do with religion is basically spitting into the wind and then calling it "rain". Ignoring the fact that religion is playing a FUNDAMENTAL role won't make it go away.
1
I'll believe these kinds of tactics are valuable exercises in something other than vanity when Congress is informed and forced to vote. It's beginning to feel like WWIII started years ago in the ME- but no one ever declared it. Unless we are under attack or there is an imminent threat, I believe Congress needs to weigh in and sign off on these actions. It's like 9/11 erased this aspect of our Constitution from institutional memory.
2
This all sounds so rational... the problem is, it seems unlikely that Trump can manage to wrap his head around even one of these complex, tangled strategies. His was a classic Trump reaction: Always hit back. That worked this time in so far as Assad 'deserves' this in the eyes of the world; however, it was done in a vacuum and I doubt there has been any strategic planning where the ME is concerned. For that matter, until a day ago, Trump was decidedly uninterested in Syria. The reaction was 'gut,' but I doubt it was as emotional as he was coached to make it seem. That may sound cynical- but Trump's own words and previous actions speak volumes about his 'empathy' for war victims. It's hard to imagine that the 'vanity factor' didn't play into his decision (bold military move = more public support = distraction from other disasters); what happens next is just lots of complicated, hard work- not Donald's strength.
3
Not to rain on Trumps parade here, but...Assad's own generals may have mounted the gas attacksvinnorder to have outside forces remove Assad from power, for them. Once gone, they can safely obtain to leadership roles.
Societies seem to hold the warrior in high regard, but less so the peacemaker. So now some (ALL on Fox News) feel a little better this morning that Trump whacked the brute Assad, and tend to downplay Obama's attempts at peace through diplomacy. This brings me to a thought that I've held for a while, that heroin is not the world's most dangerous drug - testosterone is, whether delivered to our cerebral cortex through the bloodstream or pheromone-ally through news propaganda.
3
While I also commend the President's response, it also demonstrates the dangers in a Trump presidency. While some may see his immediate action as strength, I see the same Donald Trump who reacts emotionally and impulsively to events. This could have real consequences in a larger crisis, particularly if it involves Americans. His sudden epiphany on Syria just points out how uninformed he was about the situation beforehand, having reduced the entire middle east to a sound bite about the bogeyman ISIS, crafted for his rallies. knowledge seemed to be
2
A feel good moment for Trump and all the gunnies, a moment to take the heat off the investigation about Treason. However, what does this actually accomplish apart from feeling good about America's ability to fight another unwinnable war. It is even possible that Putin, Rex's great friend, agreed to this tokenism to help take the pressure off of his pick for Prez.
1
Why did Assad use a chemical weapon against innocents when he knew there would likely be a popularly supported military response by Trump? My first thought, based on Trump's dreadful performance so far and his self created diversions causing us to look away from his incompetence, was that this sure came along at the right time. It is an opportunity for Trump to look like a strong and decisive leader instead of a bumbling fool. It's dispiriting to have been conditioned to first think that the timing and viciousness of the chemical attack was conspired by Assad, Putin and Iran to make Trump look strong and competent.
3
Is it a coincidence that oil prices are up today?
1
The hard part should have come first. Negotiation remains the only way to end the suffering in Syria. This has always been the case. And then, Assad can be transported to the International Criminal Court, where he has belonged for a very long time.
1
Or America could help divide Syria into two states: and Alawite one and a Sunni one. The Alawites ( whom no one likes much though their beliefs are closer to the Shia beliefs) would be on the side of Russia and Iran. The Sunni state would possibly form a coalition with Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Sunni countries which would make a tighter geographical block of countries: 'New Syria', Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, to cooperate in the war against radical Islam, with American support.
If Trump doesn't destroy America first, he might just bumble into something better for the Middle East and the world.
If Trump doesn't destroy America first, he might just bumble into something better for the Middle East and the world.
1
The author assumes a lot: that Trump thought things through, to the extent outlined here, or at all. It could have been just tweet plus, 140 characters and 50 missiles.
What, my popularity ratings are where?...Jared, what should I do?
1
That the American people should blindly accept the words spoken by a person of Mr. Trump's character (proven lier) is absolutely amazing and utterly frightening .....shades of the deception of the American people in the lead up to the Iraq war.
In the name of the American people, Trump has ordered an attack on another sovereign nation, and he did so without going though Congress. His decision puts the lives of American military personnel at risk.
The situation demands that Trump reports his actions to Congress and provides irrefutable evidence that the Assad regime was behind the gas attack.
In the name of the American people, Trump has ordered an attack on another sovereign nation, and he did so without going though Congress. His decision puts the lives of American military personnel at risk.
The situation demands that Trump reports his actions to Congress and provides irrefutable evidence that the Assad regime was behind the gas attack.
Donald Trump launches cruise missiles with no more thought than he launches tweets. 25th Amendment.
1
In the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980's the U.S. supported Iraq (with weapons). It seems that Iraq used chemical weapons extensively during that conflict but Iran didn't use them. So why does Iran support Syria if it is using chemical weapons? Possible of course, but in general the whole story smells.
I condemn the president's action in Syria. This is a direct attack on a sovereign state without the approval of Congress. Only Congress has the right to declare war.
1
The key statement in Mr. Blinken's essay is that he supported the attack on Libya. What was its context? The attack was unprovoked. It was a surprise attack. We were not at war with Libya. Following the attack and the destruction of Libya's government, political order disintegrated. Today, conditions in Libya are chaotic.
Are conditions and the context in Syria that much different? Many more people have been killed, and many more are refugees. But is President's Trump's assertion that the gassing of civilians by Assad threatens our vital national interests?
Was the cruise missile attack a one-off or will the United States be drawn into a new conflict in the middle east? What will be our response if Iran sends more soldiers into Iraq? Or if Hezbollah steps up its activities?
Are conditions and the context in Syria that much different? Many more people have been killed, and many more are refugees. But is President's Trump's assertion that the gassing of civilians by Assad threatens our vital national interests?
Was the cruise missile attack a one-off or will the United States be drawn into a new conflict in the middle east? What will be our response if Iran sends more soldiers into Iraq? Or if Hezbollah steps up its activities?
This was a futile attempt to show that we are doing "something." Russia now will make it next to impossible to know where they are operating and we won't risk killing Russian troops and starting a war.
I absolutely agree that "Mr. Trump must speak directly about the country's mission and it;s objective, thoroughly brief Congress and seek its support, and make clear the legal basis for United States actions." Does he have the emotional maturity to do this? Will he simply let his generals conduct the war without civilian control? Yes, I fear "mission creep" will be the biggest danger from this day forward.
What lesson does anyone draw from this? That Trump is an impulsive child - with an army -- whose views can be changed quickly and easily . This "smart" attack came after Trump discovered via a photo that Assad hurts children. Who knew? apparently the thousands of other stories and photos of dead children didn't get his attention.
Military action can and should be part of a comprehensive strategy, not a whim. Bombing Syria may well be a good thing to do. Bombing Syria on a whim is most certainly not.
Military action can and should be part of a comprehensive strategy, not a whim. Bombing Syria may well be a good thing to do. Bombing Syria on a whim is most certainly not.
Now if we could show the same repulsion when the U.S. and its allies bomb civilians in pursuit of ISIS, and stop callling it "collateral damage" we might get somewhere. You cannot get disgusted when our enemies kill innocent civilians and then shrug it off when we "accidentally" kill women, children, old people, and anyone standing in the way of victory. And then, maybe we can stop villifying all Muslims by targeting them for deportation, insisting they be kept out of our country, etc. etc. and then claim to be saving them from their own despot. So if DT is really appalled by seeing dead children, he should go to the refugee camps and see how many mothers are losing their children to war, to famine or is a slow death better than a quick one via bombs and chemical weapons? Let's be consistent in holding ourselves accountable as we hold others accountable, and then then perhaps the world can truly create lasting peace.
Isn't a situation like this what the U N was created for? Where is the humanity?
Why should we assume that Russia is furious with Assad? If they did anything to try to curtail his use of chemical weapons in recent days, they did a lousy job of it. Russians were on the ground at the airport that was bombed. What were they doing there? How much did they know about or support Assad's actions? Russia has turned a blind eye, or participated itself, in the bombing of hospitals to help prop up his regime. Putin has supported Assad without any reservation up to this point, no matter how brutal his actions towards his own people have been.
Fury? Irritation, at the most regret, not because babies died, but because Trump was provoked into action, may be more appropriate words to describe what the Russians are likely feeling.
Fury? Irritation, at the most regret, not because babies died, but because Trump was provoked into action, may be more appropriate words to describe what the Russians are likely feeling.
1
I doubt that Obama's actions 4 years ago caused this attack. Much more likely is the Trump administration's comment that what happens in Syria is up to the Syrian people. Obama and Putin thought Syria got rid of its chemical weapons so Assad wasn't honest with either.
Let's see what Trump does next. He seems to be listening to his military advisors. I don't think he cares about the children there. This is a man accused of raping a 13 year old girl. I don't know if he's capable of growing up. So far he hasn't.
Let's see what Trump does next. He seems to be listening to his military advisors. I don't think he cares about the children there. This is a man accused of raping a 13 year old girl. I don't know if he's capable of growing up. So far he hasn't.
I applaud the US military's actions on this matter. However, much of what has been written about Mr. Trump assumes he has some intelligent and coherent policy. I have seen nothing that leads me to believe this is true. Last nights actions were merely chest thumping by a narcissitic bully. Remember, even a broken clock is right twice a day. I hope Mr. Trump's administration can follow the advice offered int his column. But I doubt it.
Which of the numerous rebel groups will take over after we bomb Assad away?
And do we know yet how many rebel groups there are?
And who they are friendly with?
And who finances them?
And do we know yet how many rebel groups there are?
And who they are friendly with?
And who finances them?
Logic and diplomacy are just words. Fighter jets, tomahawk missiles, troops on the ground, Abrams tanks - these are things we can see on TV and make the president feel strong, even raise his approval ratings.
Just like our culture, this is govern-by-instant gratification. We're done for.
Just like our culture, this is govern-by-instant gratification. We're done for.
1
Why are people catering to their own intellectual/emotional prejudices and being so dishonest?
NO ONE KNOWS what the best course of action in Syria is, for the Syrian people, for the Middle East, or for the world.
Libya had not turned out so great.
And President Obama did not dither. He had a change of heart about military action after the gassing in 2013, acceded to the wishes of the American people and Congress not to become entangled in another war, and figured out a way with diplomacy to disarm the Syrians from their chemical weapons. The chlorine and sarin they have recently used is just as likely to have come from resupply by Russia or Iran as from surreptitiously sequestered stockpile.
NO ONE KNOWS what the best course of action in Syria is, for the Syrian people, for the Middle East, or for the world.
Libya had not turned out so great.
And President Obama did not dither. He had a change of heart about military action after the gassing in 2013, acceded to the wishes of the American people and Congress not to become entangled in another war, and figured out a way with diplomacy to disarm the Syrians from their chemical weapons. The chlorine and sarin they have recently used is just as likely to have come from resupply by Russia or Iran as from surreptitiously sequestered stockpile.
2
One thing I will say, though I support the use of force, is that leaders tend to increase their popularity by going to war. People get nationalistic and the Leader's approval ratings rise. Trump's popularity is at historically low levels. If this escalates and he sees his numbers go up as people rally around the flag in wartime, that might be worrying, in that it could incentivize such a vain and narcissistic person to take actions that are not necessitated by events and that are profoundly unwise. "Hey, look at my numbers!"
Way too intricate. Putin is an ally of Assad, Trump sees things in black and white and Assad is a criminal.
The ideas here would require rational actors in place. We don't have that, and if we did I'm not sure it would solve anything. Positions are too entrenched, and the the volatile mix of other factions involved assures continued conflict.
The inconvenient truth is that there is no solution to the Mideast in sight for a long, long time. In that morass, it would be good to somehow alleviate the refugee and humanitarian crises, which may be somewhat possible, but not definitively.
Advanced scenarios, such as the one here, are often disconnected from reality and, equally discouraging, don't happen. Here's another inconvenient truth: the refugee flow is a rearranging of the world population, a phenomenon that has immense precedent and historical weight. There aren't enough Tomahawk misses to reverse that, and Westerners who wish it would just go away will not find satisfaction.
The ideas here would require rational actors in place. We don't have that, and if we did I'm not sure it would solve anything. Positions are too entrenched, and the the volatile mix of other factions involved assures continued conflict.
The inconvenient truth is that there is no solution to the Mideast in sight for a long, long time. In that morass, it would be good to somehow alleviate the refugee and humanitarian crises, which may be somewhat possible, but not definitively.
Advanced scenarios, such as the one here, are often disconnected from reality and, equally discouraging, don't happen. Here's another inconvenient truth: the refugee flow is a rearranging of the world population, a phenomenon that has immense precedent and historical weight. There aren't enough Tomahawk misses to reverse that, and Westerners who wish it would just go away will not find satisfaction.
Many of us including those who did not vote for Mr. Trump are very proud of his swift and measured response to the horror unleashed by Assad. He should indeed be commended for his action.
Perhaps too, Russia, Iran, ISIS and North Korea should take notice of how Mr. Trump reacted to the use of a WMD by Assad. Trump did not issue vague threats. The unilateral action, limited (thus far) as it is, should make other tyrants and would be trouble makers think twice about the President Trumps ability and willingness to act decisively.
What I am most satisfied about is not the attack but the feelings that Mr. Trump expressed for the victims of the Syrian Civil War especially for the child victims of the war. We have a president with empathy, compassion and understanding.
Hopefully Mr. Trump's action will give pause to Iran, North Korea, Russia and China. Hamas, ISIS, Al Quade, Hezbollah, Al Nusra et. al. should also view Mr. Trump's response with great trepidation.
Thank you President Trump for your willingness to send a strong message to our friends and allies as well as our enemies. We are still the leader of the free world. America will not allow the use of WMD to go unchallenged.
Perhaps too, Russia, Iran, ISIS and North Korea should take notice of how Mr. Trump reacted to the use of a WMD by Assad. Trump did not issue vague threats. The unilateral action, limited (thus far) as it is, should make other tyrants and would be trouble makers think twice about the President Trumps ability and willingness to act decisively.
What I am most satisfied about is not the attack but the feelings that Mr. Trump expressed for the victims of the Syrian Civil War especially for the child victims of the war. We have a president with empathy, compassion and understanding.
Hopefully Mr. Trump's action will give pause to Iran, North Korea, Russia and China. Hamas, ISIS, Al Quade, Hezbollah, Al Nusra et. al. should also view Mr. Trump's response with great trepidation.
Thank you President Trump for your willingness to send a strong message to our friends and allies as well as our enemies. We are still the leader of the free world. America will not allow the use of WMD to go unchallenged.
1
OK, so we fired some missiles, and destroyed an air base, what is next? Also,was the chairman of China impressed? Does this mean that Trump is now "presidential", or just shooting from the hip with nothing else in the plan? Why didn't Trump try to get other countries to work with US, to force out Assad? Since Russia was supposedly in charge of getting rid of the chemical weapons in Syria, why not ask them to go in and finish the job? We now have a humanitarian force on the ground to aid the injured? Did Trump ride in on white horse to save Syria, or does he have a plan for what comes next
1
Would Trump have sent 50 cruise missiles into Rwanda?
Dear Greg,
You ask and interesting question. I have a questions as well. What would have been the target in Rwanda?
You ask and interesting question. I have a questions as well. What would have been the target in Rwanda?
While I agree with much of what you say, this language is unfortunate.
"The administration should make clear to Moscow that it will hold it accountable for Mr. Assad’s actions going forward, rally others to do the same and launch more strikes if necessary. "
It carries signs of American arrogance which Russia might not like. Did THEY "hold us accountable" for that strike on the hospital in Kunduz when 90 people died?
The language should not be "we will hold you accountable" but "let us work on this together (if McCain will let us)".
"The administration should make clear to Moscow that it will hold it accountable for Mr. Assad’s actions going forward, rally others to do the same and launch more strikes if necessary. "
It carries signs of American arrogance which Russia might not like. Did THEY "hold us accountable" for that strike on the hospital in Kunduz when 90 people died?
The language should not be "we will hold you accountable" but "let us work on this together (if McCain will let us)".
1
With five hundred thousand dead it's time to send in the smart diplomats? Maybe they can explain why nerve gas was used to kill 100 while conventional artillery does that every day in Syria.
When has Trump done "smart" anything?
After the "Mar A Lago Dinner Party Missile Bonanza" it took all of Trump's focus just to give his embarrassing, halting statement. He could not be more out of his depth. The complex responses that you advocate are beyond the capability of Trump's thinking.
This strike, like everything Trump has done, was an act of impulse. In his mind, he probably thinks it makes him look tough, makes him appear no-nonsense in front of the Chinese, and also conveniently takes the media off of his Russian scandal which grows more insidious and undeniable by the day.
He has no clue what he is doing from one moment to the next. How can you expect him to have a coherent and consistent foreign policy?
Nobody knew international relations could be so hard!
After the "Mar A Lago Dinner Party Missile Bonanza" it took all of Trump's focus just to give his embarrassing, halting statement. He could not be more out of his depth. The complex responses that you advocate are beyond the capability of Trump's thinking.
This strike, like everything Trump has done, was an act of impulse. In his mind, he probably thinks it makes him look tough, makes him appear no-nonsense in front of the Chinese, and also conveniently takes the media off of his Russian scandal which grows more insidious and undeniable by the day.
He has no clue what he is doing from one moment to the next. How can you expect him to have a coherent and consistent foreign policy?
Nobody knew international relations could be so hard!
Before congratulating 45 for having done the right thing (really?) the question must be asked: to whom does this crime benefit? Why would Assad put his Russian protector in embarrassment by exposing its failed control over him? On the other hand, Daesh (or ISIS, if you want) can only gain from a weakening of the Syrian regime (great plan Donny Boy) and they are known to be experts at manipulating public opinion. Trump being the ultimate sucker for reacting impulsively and without proper critical thinking ("babies, beautiful babies..." what a strong argument for policy in one of the world's hottest hot spots!)
45 hasn't shown resolve he has just exposed another motive for us all to fear the fact he has his finger on the buttons.
45 hasn't shown resolve he has just exposed another motive for us all to fear the fact he has his finger on the buttons.
The strikes to remove the evil Syrian regime will eliminate the Islamic State: Once the Islamic State has become the Legitimate Government of Syria, it will no longer be the Islamic State. Problem solved.
In a masterplan to sow chaos and distraction into the world "order" so that Russia can rebuild unrestrained, step one is to eliminate coherent leadership in America (check) and step two is to give what remains something to look at other than what Russia is about to do (check).
OK sounds like a crazy theory. But I cannot see the upside for Assad in this gas attack, but I can see one for Putin: Syria might be just what he needs.
OK sounds like a crazy theory. But I cannot see the upside for Assad in this gas attack, but I can see one for Putin: Syria might be just what he needs.
This is a terrible moment for all Americans. This reminds me of George Bush and Iraq expect trump makes Bush look smart. The country can not live through another macho man president starting something that will never be over.
2
Yes, an outstanding op-ed that reminds us of the competent, thoughtful and restrained government we enjoyed under President Obama.
But that was then and this is now. The current President is dangerous precisely because he can change a stated position by simply watching a cable news program. No discussion, no study, no coordination, not with Cabinet members not with Congress. So even if launching SCUDs was a sound tactic here, it remains unrelated to a strategy and overall foreign policy approach. For the Trump Doctrine has the attention span of -- SQUIRREL.
But that was then and this is now. The current President is dangerous precisely because he can change a stated position by simply watching a cable news program. No discussion, no study, no coordination, not with Cabinet members not with Congress. So even if launching SCUDs was a sound tactic here, it remains unrelated to a strategy and overall foreign policy approach. For the Trump Doctrine has the attention span of -- SQUIRREL.
Sidling up to dictators like Assisi, directed, and putinesca, gave Assad the green light for the chemical attack. Trumps professed love of dictators makes him share in the guilt for the Chen attack.
1
Trump has been failing daily as President. This attack was solely to boast his ego, show the world how powerful he is and had nothing to do with dying children. It certainly does not make peace in Syria any more likely. As for diplomacy, you must be suffering from whiplash after the rapidly changing US policy towards Assad, all in less than one week! There is no plan going forward, we have no competent diplomats. We do have generals and North Korea is the next target. The world will never be the same. Now it is our Children that are in danger from our own government.
Can the world trust Trump's reasons for the attack. With his constant mendacity will his reasons be seen as fake to cover his low level of support. We are in dangerous waters.
2
President Vladimir Putin was right to use the nerve agent sarin on Bashar al-Assad's people in Syria, because this decision neatly advanced all of his game pieces across the board in exactly the tactical fashion he had envisioned in order to foment his strategic agenda of fully securing a warm water port in the Mediterranean. His lackeys have played-along beautifully. Military strategists and advisers in the United States of America are all scratching their heads and saying, "Doh!"
So, did the President impress the President of China? Will Trump now be seen as the great deal maker, someone to fear? What is next, will send in humanitarian aid? Or, is Trump, the man with no plan for tomorrow, but is happy today?
President Donald Trump sent missiles to Syria, it seems to me, much in the same way he discussed North Korea the President of Japan at dinner. He gave little thought to consequences of his actions. Did not consult with leaders in Congress. Did not ask Russia to go in and get the chemical weapons that did not retrieve as they were supposed to do. What was so urgent that friends and allies of the United States could not be consulted?
Maybe, President Trump had good intentions, but right now to me, this was not well thought out, and in the long run will not be seen as effective.
President Donald Trump sent missiles to Syria, it seems to me, much in the same way he discussed North Korea the President of Japan at dinner. He gave little thought to consequences of his actions. Did not consult with leaders in Congress. Did not ask Russia to go in and get the chemical weapons that did not retrieve as they were supposed to do. What was so urgent that friends and allies of the United States could not be consulted?
Maybe, President Trump had good intentions, but right now to me, this was not well thought out, and in the long run will not be seen as effective.
Why not sever ties with Russia, shut the door in its face, and ask our Allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia to join America in putting an end to the Regime of Assad? Leave Putin out in the cold, and Iran alone.
Iraq has been left in ruins, Syria is just about finished, and we are compromised and culpable as witnesses to the eradication and devastation of an ancient civilization and culture. UNICEF estimates that more than 20 million children in the world are displaced and wandering, searching for a way to live.
Assad may have a price that he is dictating to the United States in return for peaceful negotiations with the rebels but we are not hostage to his regime. Start by severing ties with Putin. Perhaps Trump is not in a position to do so. But it is the word 'Treason' that comes to mind. This administration grows more separate, divided and dissolute by the day and it is impacting on The People of the Free World.
Iraq has been left in ruins, Syria is just about finished, and we are compromised and culpable as witnesses to the eradication and devastation of an ancient civilization and culture. UNICEF estimates that more than 20 million children in the world are displaced and wandering, searching for a way to live.
Assad may have a price that he is dictating to the United States in return for peaceful negotiations with the rebels but we are not hostage to his regime. Start by severing ties with Putin. Perhaps Trump is not in a position to do so. But it is the word 'Treason' that comes to mind. This administration grows more separate, divided and dissolute by the day and it is impacting on The People of the Free World.
2
Before considering Diplomacy, Donald Trump needs to be rein ed-in. He is not the Emperor, and America is still a Democracy--not an Autocracy. What he did would have worked in Russia or China; but, according to our Constitution, only there U. S. Congress can Declare Ware--or authorize such a militant action.
Whether we agree or not, Syria is a sovereign nation, and last night's attack amounted to an Act of War. Yew, the field commanders made a good move; but, this is why our Military is supposedly controlled by the Civilian Government. This is why a military officer is not supposed to be nominated as the Secretary of Defense (within seven years of their service), and the National Security Council is also supposed to provide another layer of civilian oversight.
Might last night's military action on Syria defuse any efforts, in Japan, to convert its Self-Defense Force into an active Military. The Allies required that, post WWII, Germany and Japan only be authorized to maintain Self-Defense Forces.
Last night's attack was a good tactical move; however, how does it fit into our overall Strategic (Big Picture) Pal in Syria, surrounding nations, the Middle East, in general? Might civilians, Russian or Iranians forces been killed on, or near, those bases?
Was Trump's intent to wipe-out any and all of President Obama's accomplishments also have been behind last night' move. But Donald, either way, today's Jobs Report was atrocious!
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
Whether we agree or not, Syria is a sovereign nation, and last night's attack amounted to an Act of War. Yew, the field commanders made a good move; but, this is why our Military is supposedly controlled by the Civilian Government. This is why a military officer is not supposed to be nominated as the Secretary of Defense (within seven years of their service), and the National Security Council is also supposed to provide another layer of civilian oversight.
Might last night's military action on Syria defuse any efforts, in Japan, to convert its Self-Defense Force into an active Military. The Allies required that, post WWII, Germany and Japan only be authorized to maintain Self-Defense Forces.
Last night's attack was a good tactical move; however, how does it fit into our overall Strategic (Big Picture) Pal in Syria, surrounding nations, the Middle East, in general? Might civilians, Russian or Iranians forces been killed on, or near, those bases?
Was Trump's intent to wipe-out any and all of President Obama's accomplishments also have been behind last night' move. But Donald, either way, today's Jobs Report was atrocious!
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
1
Somehow I feel that this is just another reflexive Trumpian payback for Obama making fun of him at the WH correspondents dinner.
Everything he does is doing the opposite of Obama.
Really pathetic and dangerous.
Everything he does is doing the opposite of Obama.
Really pathetic and dangerous.
2
I am not convinced that this military response was the right thing to do. It seems to be an action lacking a strategy or a plan. I am open to the idea that maybe it helped.
What concerns me is Trump's bizarre announcement of the attack last night. He seemed unhinged. His reaction was clearly grounded solely in emotion that he felt at that moment. Its not Roosevelt. He gave no hint of a context or future moves. In this case like one comment has said even a stopped clock is right twice a day. He may be right in this moment but what about in the Korean peninsula or with Iran or the South China Sea? ...God bless the whole world? Where did that come from? and his attack is out of the Hillary Clinton playbook not his. Does he know that? I don't think so.
Does he want Assad out? In? He doesn't know. Will beautiful Syrian babies be met at JFK by Trump Trudeau style? Probably not.
He's not competent to be President of the United States.
What concerns me is Trump's bizarre announcement of the attack last night. He seemed unhinged. His reaction was clearly grounded solely in emotion that he felt at that moment. Its not Roosevelt. He gave no hint of a context or future moves. In this case like one comment has said even a stopped clock is right twice a day. He may be right in this moment but what about in the Korean peninsula or with Iran or the South China Sea? ...God bless the whole world? Where did that come from? and his attack is out of the Hillary Clinton playbook not his. Does he know that? I don't think so.
Does he want Assad out? In? He doesn't know. Will beautiful Syrian babies be met at JFK by Trump Trudeau style? Probably not.
He's not competent to be President of the United States.
1
Looks like the President just violated Article II of the US Constitution. Let's see if he follows up by seeking consent and approval of the Congress.
1
Fairly easy to push the button. America is now at war with Syria.
Pulling it all neatly together after the bravado seem far beyond the capabilities of the Trump Presidency as thus far revealed.
Pulling it all neatly together after the bravado seem far beyond the capabilities of the Trump Presidency as thus far revealed.
2
The President has made his 1st move -a dangerous one-is a highly complex chess game. Russia and Iran have already condemned the attack. We cannot nor should we be the "Globalcops." That would be a grievous error.
Move one must be followed by others. Its time to hire experts. You can address a challenge this complex with a skeletal crew.
It's a plus that Mr. America First realized that to make that case--America must act globally and do so wisely. Jared Kushner may be a sounding board you trust but he doesn't have the skills to do most of the tasks you've assigned him. If you continue down this path, America's will lose their lives because you choose not to be inform. Cease it now!
Move one must be followed by others. Its time to hire experts. You can address a challenge this complex with a skeletal crew.
It's a plus that Mr. America First realized that to make that case--America must act globally and do so wisely. Jared Kushner may be a sounding board you trust but he doesn't have the skills to do most of the tasks you've assigned him. If you continue down this path, America's will lose their lives because you choose not to be inform. Cease it now!
One thing has been put to bed for me at this juncture. The Russians do not have anything to use for blackmail on President Trump. Yes, there still may be some inappropriate contact with Russians by Trump associates but nothing like the accusation of President Trump being compromised by Putin.
This does not mean I voted for Trump. I did not. But I do feel that we need to drop the Trump-Putin connection matter and get on with the associate matter to its end.
This does not mean I voted for Trump. I did not. But I do feel that we need to drop the Trump-Putin connection matter and get on with the associate matter to its end.
The US based it's attack on Iraq on the word of an Iraqi opposition leader, who was later exposed for providing false information.
Now the US has attacked Syria based on the word a Syrian opposition leader, who pointed his finger at the Assad regime. Rami Abdulrahman is a Syrian Sunni Muslim who was imprisoned three times in Syria before fleeing to the United Kingdom. Abdulrahman's "Observatory"organization is a one-man-operation relying on information from 4 men inside Syria who are fed information from more than 230 Syrian activists.
And the op-ed says Trump did the right thing? ....... shades of Iraq!
Now the US has attacked Syria based on the word a Syrian opposition leader, who pointed his finger at the Assad regime. Rami Abdulrahman is a Syrian Sunni Muslim who was imprisoned three times in Syria before fleeing to the United Kingdom. Abdulrahman's "Observatory"organization is a one-man-operation relying on information from 4 men inside Syria who are fed information from more than 230 Syrian activists.
And the op-ed says Trump did the right thing? ....... shades of Iraq!
There is immense sadness seeing the results of the gassing up close and personal, a father carrying his two lifeless nine month old babies to the mass grave ditch delegated to hold the remains of his children, their mother and twenty plus other relatives. But is the tragedy any less were they to have been killed by a bomb? Is the tragedy any less, were they to have drowned in an overloaded boat hoping to establish a safer life elsewhere? Trump looks for simplistic answers. There are none.
1
"a preview of things to come if Moscow does not begin to extricate itself from the Syrian morass...."
.... just in time for Mr. Trump to embed the US more deeply in that morass.
.... just in time for Mr. Trump to embed the US more deeply in that morass.
Now Trump is dismayed by murder of little children by gas . . . when the many times in the past thatthis same occurred he wasn't? How about the following even worse possibility--that Putin (with or without US collaboration) arranged the gas attack to make Trump and his "strong" *seemingly* anti-Russian, "proportional" retaliatory attack look good? Impossible? Think again!
As with everything that Trump does, this sudden Thursday night missile strikes are attempt to shift media focus. There is no foreign policy or military strategy at play here folks. Trump does not think long term.
If anyone is waiting for a follow up strategy on how Trump admin plans to win against Assad, you're wasting your time.
Trump only wanted to shift media focus from the abysmal March job report of 98k jobs (lowest of any March report since 2011) which he had already been briefed by Wednesday and he knew that would be the focus of the media from Friday morning through the weekend shows.
So, Thursday night, he created a bigger story for the media by lunching air strikes on Thursday night, contrary to his own advise to Obama in 2011 after a much worse chemical attacks.
By the way, this is the third chemical attacks since Trump became president. So, the idea that this suddenly changed his mind and had to hurriedly lunch strikes on Thursday night is another lie from this administration.
This particular distraction worked! Not a single media outlet focused on the abysmal job report (not even CNBC spent much time on job report). The question is how many Syrian lives became collateral damage for this Trump's media manipulation. We may know the casualty number.
If anyone is waiting for a follow up strategy on how Trump admin plans to win against Assad, you're wasting your time.
Trump only wanted to shift media focus from the abysmal March job report of 98k jobs (lowest of any March report since 2011) which he had already been briefed by Wednesday and he knew that would be the focus of the media from Friday morning through the weekend shows.
So, Thursday night, he created a bigger story for the media by lunching air strikes on Thursday night, contrary to his own advise to Obama in 2011 after a much worse chemical attacks.
By the way, this is the third chemical attacks since Trump became president. So, the idea that this suddenly changed his mind and had to hurriedly lunch strikes on Thursday night is another lie from this administration.
This particular distraction worked! Not a single media outlet focused on the abysmal job report (not even CNBC spent much time on job report). The question is how many Syrian lives became collateral damage for this Trump's media manipulation. We may know the casualty number.
21
You are explicitly correct. One of Trump's severe personality problems is Sociopathy (see DSM5) and Sociopaths do not care about victims. Clearly Trump never has.
Again, there's a major risk in hoping that someone you think is incompetent (and if Blinken doesn't think Trump is incompetent, he should) tries something difficult that you support in general. A failed Syrian intervention is worse than no intervention. So why trust someone who's such a failure, morally, politically, intellectually, and for all we know even in business?
Also, striking military targets is an act of war. It's hard to see how that action in itself is a step toward the bargaining table. I get the motivation for striking as a deterrent to future chemical weapons use, but I don't see how it's going to get Assad to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.
Also, as much as Putin might be concerned with blowback from supporting Assad (because he really cares about his own human rights record, right?), he's probably more concerned with turning what the Russian public sees as a military success in Syria into a military retreat. So while I don't think Russia and the US will come into military conflict over this (supposing it doesn't escalate for some other reason), I also don't see why Putin is going to take this as an opportunity to back off gracefully.
Also, striking military targets is an act of war. It's hard to see how that action in itself is a step toward the bargaining table. I get the motivation for striking as a deterrent to future chemical weapons use, but I don't see how it's going to get Assad to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.
Also, as much as Putin might be concerned with blowback from supporting Assad (because he really cares about his own human rights record, right?), he's probably more concerned with turning what the Russian public sees as a military success in Syria into a military retreat. So while I don't think Russia and the US will come into military conflict over this (supposing it doesn't escalate for some other reason), I also don't see why Putin is going to take this as an opportunity to back off gracefully.
3
I am not sure what the objective of this military strike was.
It didn't disable the use of chemical weapons. It didn't put the Syrians or Russia on notice of our future intentions (because even we don't know what they are). It didn't put the Russians or Syrians on notice of our capabilities, since they already know these. At most it was a slap on the hand for Syria and Russia.
Trump, Putin and their respective billionaire friends could buy Assad a desert somewhere, build a lavish resort and move him, his family and friends into it at a much cheaper price than the cost of the missiles lobbed. Get Assad out of Syria, install a UN protectorate. Crisis over. Come on Trump, put your money where your mouth is.
It didn't disable the use of chemical weapons. It didn't put the Syrians or Russia on notice of our future intentions (because even we don't know what they are). It didn't put the Russians or Syrians on notice of our capabilities, since they already know these. At most it was a slap on the hand for Syria and Russia.
Trump, Putin and their respective billionaire friends could buy Assad a desert somewhere, build a lavish resort and move him, his family and friends into it at a much cheaper price than the cost of the missiles lobbed. Get Assad out of Syria, install a UN protectorate. Crisis over. Come on Trump, put your money where your mouth is.
4
I suspect that The Donald's missile attack was simply intended as a one-off. He was reluctant to get this country involved in Syria until someone showed him those photos of "beautiful little babies" exposed to Sarin gas to which he reacted as anyone with even half a human heart would. So long as Bashar-the-Butcher-Son-of-a-Butcher doesn't repeat this mistake, our feckless leader can go back to ignoring the rest of the world while trying to make America great again (i.e., keeping Trump Incorporated rolling in profits). I'm also guessing that he's already told his pal Vlad that he'll compensate for any Russian losses in Syria by building a casino in St. Petersburg at our taxpayers' expense.
7
Trump is a blustering bully, the antithesis of a diplomat.
9
So Washington called Moscow. And no runways were broken. So did Assad swap out state of the art planes for junkers at the last minute so Trump could claim something without actual damage occurring.
Why were runways not damaged? What was the negotiation with Russia that went on?
Why were runways not damaged? What was the negotiation with Russia that went on?
49
Do you want a shooting war with Russia? If so, the quickest way to get one started is by not giving them the opportunity to pull their personnel out of the target area. Do you want to make it even more difficult to get medical supplies and other forms of humanitarian support into Syria? If so, destroy the runways. Do you want Iran, ISIS, Assad, Russia and all of the other players to continue to think that the current POTUS is all words and no action like his predecessor? If so, just do nothing but talk...
1
What a contrast when comparing this military blow of a Syrian airport (presumably, from which the planes took off to bomb Assad's own people with chemical weapons), and his refusal to welcome desperate Syrian refugees, fleeing chaos and carnage.
3
Having the read the New York Times initial press release and the ensuing comments last night, I'm deeply concerned by how many liberals on here are ok with the degradation of civilian life through chemical warfare. And some how, incredibly, I see quite of few "it's Russia's fault" in here. There are some very, very ill people commenting in this publication. Entirely blinded with their singular hate for Trump, many have deposed their decency. This New York Times comment section, just wow.
3
The Left often tells us -- selectively, erroneously -- how immoral, how horrid, how counterproductive our foreign policy has been: CIA coups, supporting dictators, Vietnam, Iraq, etc. But they rarely see what the world would look like in the ABSENCE of the United States. Allow me to enlighten them: bellum omnium contra omnes.
Read Phyllis Bennis in The Nation on choosing diplomacy over war. This is what progressives will bring the world. Truly remarkable. Dictators don't care about appeals to their humanity. Force is the language they understand. We tried diplomacy without force; now, with. The Russians, who have a state-of-the-art air defense system in Syria, knew these strikes were coming and did nothing. We can and should take out Assad's air power altogether.
There must be safe zones for civilians. We can build a new anti-Assad coalition if we must. The support for rebels came late and was feeble; and now those rebels are dominated by Islamists. Leftists entirely ignore the fact that Assad murdered protesters like dogs in the streets, instead portraying the war as an insurgency cooked up by the West. Their irrational anti-Americanism keeps them from seeing America has anything but a bad actor.
Syria violated its 2013 chemical-weapons agreement. How is the world more secure if WMD users go unpunished? And this signals that we're serious. In Pyongyang, Beijing, Tehran, in Moscow, they're paying attention. We should've stopped the killing long ago. Better late than never.
Read Phyllis Bennis in The Nation on choosing diplomacy over war. This is what progressives will bring the world. Truly remarkable. Dictators don't care about appeals to their humanity. Force is the language they understand. We tried diplomacy without force; now, with. The Russians, who have a state-of-the-art air defense system in Syria, knew these strikes were coming and did nothing. We can and should take out Assad's air power altogether.
There must be safe zones for civilians. We can build a new anti-Assad coalition if we must. The support for rebels came late and was feeble; and now those rebels are dominated by Islamists. Leftists entirely ignore the fact that Assad murdered protesters like dogs in the streets, instead portraying the war as an insurgency cooked up by the West. Their irrational anti-Americanism keeps them from seeing America has anything but a bad actor.
Syria violated its 2013 chemical-weapons agreement. How is the world more secure if WMD users go unpunished? And this signals that we're serious. In Pyongyang, Beijing, Tehran, in Moscow, they're paying attention. We should've stopped the killing long ago. Better late than never.
1
Whoopie, we shot some missiles at an airbase. Who knows where they landed or how much of Assad's capabilities were compromised. I'm pretty sure Syria still has an air force and plenty of chemical weapons. Heck, they have Russian military right there for back up. The big question is "what next?", and for an ADD president like Trump, the answer is probably, "nothing." Without a clear vision of can be done to help the Syrian people, all we got a is fireworks show. Hope you enjoyed it, folks.
2
Trump said that no child of God such suffer such horror.
If I am not mistaken God said something along the line that vengeance was His.
Let us leave the vengeance to God. Or least to Syria's close neighbors. We do not want to stand in their way of cleaning up the neighborhood.
Community involvement is the key.
If I am not mistaken God said something along the line that vengeance was His.
Let us leave the vengeance to God. Or least to Syria's close neighbors. We do not want to stand in their way of cleaning up the neighborhood.
Community involvement is the key.
1
The time for "smart diplomacy" is before the missiles. There is no reason to expect "smart" to emerge after Mr. Trump's rash action.
3
I'm thinking a missile strike may do more to get Assad's attention than a mythical red line in the sand. And yes, "smart diplomacy" isn't a bad idea. I wish I had thought of that.
1
Excellent analysis, very Lincolnesque.....
However, we are dealing with a demagogue like Trump. This one correct move does not make up for his previous app. 600 days of bigoted, rabble rousing, sexual predator acts, ego maniac rantings.
However, remember, if he ever does something right in the future like this decision support him but oppose him on the other 99% of things he demagogued.
However, we are dealing with a demagogue like Trump. This one correct move does not make up for his previous app. 600 days of bigoted, rabble rousing, sexual predator acts, ego maniac rantings.
However, remember, if he ever does something right in the future like this decision support him but oppose him on the other 99% of things he demagogued.
1
Well, this all sounds pretty simple and straightforward. The solutions are tweetable. No doubt Trump will be thumbing up details soon.
1
It interesting to see this op ed and also read the comments section lecture Trump on what needs to be done next. I can almost guarantee you that he will not do what was suggested here and why should he. That approach has not worked in the past and is unlikely to work in the future. He instead will do will what he truly good at, he'll make deals, with the Russians, with the Arab nations in the region and ultimately with Assad. Save your condescending advice and patronizing judgements and wait and see what he will do next. He surprised you this time, he might surprise you again.
3
What is the difference between barrel bombs that kill indiscriminately and chemical weapons?
The result is the same.
The result is the same.
4
This editorial shows how complex the situation is in Syria, and issues the warning of how a mission to protect civilians in Libya turned into a responsibility for the country. What it did not say was how the American penchant for partisan investigation, vicious backbiting, and amateurish second guessing further complicates the situation, injecting a hyper-partisan emotional hijacking. I personally long for those days in the past when we had a centrist government, bipartisan consensus and respect, and a true majority rule. We would make better decisions, stabilize so much in the world, prevent deaths, and generally have more positive outcomes. Isn't it time to jettison the crazy primary system that brings out only the most ideological voters to choose the candidates?
2
The truth of the matter is that no matter how much the US wishes to withdraw from global involvement it is simply impossible.
So for us the choices boil down to two. Either we continue to lead as we have done since WWII or we will have to settle for being led by someone else.
I personally don't think we are ready to be second fiddles.
So for us the choices boil down to two. Either we continue to lead as we have done since WWII or we will have to settle for being led by someone else.
I personally don't think we are ready to be second fiddles.
4
Given the Trump administration's long history of blatant deception and lying, why do we suddenly accept the story that Assad used weapons of mass destruction without question? Shades of Bush and Iraq? What possible reason could Assad have for conducting a Sarin gas attack? Was Trump's initial statement that he would leave Assad alone enough to embolden Assad to attack. Might that not have led Assad to act in moderation? And, why did a president who is so concerned about ISIS move against someone who has, in spite of heinous war crimes, been a force against the Islamic State? There is a strong odor of fish here. I expect the Times to do some serious investigative reporting.
3
I couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion that Trump will follow up this macho air strike with anything resembling "smart diplomacy." That would require an intelligence and patience non-existent in this administration. This strike, however justified, will be the first of many, and is the beginning of U.S. involvement in a ground war in Syria. Unless Assad is removed, nothing will change there. He is so desperate to cling to power that he will continue to slaughter his own people indiscriminately until forced to flee or die, which will only be accomplished on the ground. Whether Czar Putin is livid with him or not, the soft-spoken savage psychopath in Damascus will not relinquish power until he is at gunpoint. "Smart diplomacy" from Trump? Now that IS funny.
9
This article promotes / praises the attack launched by the President but leaves a multitude of unanswered questions. Instead of seeking consensus with other Nations and allies, we chose to strike. What will be the ramifications? As usual, we are in this one alone…..so much for the President’s isolationist ideas.
Former President Bush started this wicked chain reaction by attacking Iraq under the guise of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and ‘attack on the WTC’ which is rarely talked about by the GOP; costing thousands of American lives. Now President Trump is following suit with this attack which will cost even more American lives including those of Syrians and he is being portrayed as a humanitarian……give me a break.
This bombing is not about the Syrian people and saving lives; there are hidden agendas here which may reveal themselves in time. A humanitarian does not put his Country, its people or others at risk. This attack will inevitably cost more American lives if anything else but why would the President or GOP care….their lives aren’t in danger; they are not the ones in battle.
These are definitely uncertain and scary times with a President having no clue of how to run the country let alone a war. My biggest fear is that this President represents the demised of our country should he be allowed to continue on his treacherous path of incompetence and destruction.
Former President Bush started this wicked chain reaction by attacking Iraq under the guise of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and ‘attack on the WTC’ which is rarely talked about by the GOP; costing thousands of American lives. Now President Trump is following suit with this attack which will cost even more American lives including those of Syrians and he is being portrayed as a humanitarian……give me a break.
This bombing is not about the Syrian people and saving lives; there are hidden agendas here which may reveal themselves in time. A humanitarian does not put his Country, its people or others at risk. This attack will inevitably cost more American lives if anything else but why would the President or GOP care….their lives aren’t in danger; they are not the ones in battle.
These are definitely uncertain and scary times with a President having no clue of how to run the country let alone a war. My biggest fear is that this President represents the demised of our country should he be allowed to continue on his treacherous path of incompetence and destruction.
11
Trump, without the benefit of any coherent idea of exactly what the goal is and what the plan is, has been manipulated into being Trump. What a surprise. Tomorrow, or today, when North Korea pulls his chain or Russia rolls further into the Ukraine, we now know what this unprepared and unqualified man will do.
7
Does anyone have any faith that the Trump administration could pull this off? Much the same as the start of the Afghan war - the intention may be right but I have zero faith in the administration in power to play a smart long game. Hopefully I am wrong but the last few months have not been reassuring.
7
Maybe the gas was used by the rebels on their own people to get us to attack Assad's forces? Where is the proof that Assad used the chemicals and are we to believe what Trump says about anything? Assad must go but to do that means boots on the ground. Does Trump have the knowledge or intelligence to conduct war when all he believes in is his gut? He doesn't believe his intelligence agencies so I guess Fox and Brietbart will be conducting Trump's wars?
18
Please pardon my cynicism -- but as horrific as the images of the Syrian gassed children are -- and they are unspeakably horrific -- where is the outrage from our country at the images and stories of the starving and dying babies in the South Sudan due to the famine?? Or outrage over the ten thousand child soldiers who have been brutalized there.
Pictures do have the result of crystallizing the mind, but they are always there for people who truly want to see them. . .
Jeffrey Gettleman's article three days ago in the New York Times told the heartbreaking story of one such child, Duop, who has somehow lived through that horror, but his childhood is certainly gone, he has lost most of his hearing from the beatings and isn't speaking due to the trauma he has endured.
Our outrage seems to be highly selective. . .
Pictures do have the result of crystallizing the mind, but they are always there for people who truly want to see them. . .
Jeffrey Gettleman's article three days ago in the New York Times told the heartbreaking story of one such child, Duop, who has somehow lived through that horror, but his childhood is certainly gone, he has lost most of his hearing from the beatings and isn't speaking due to the trauma he has endured.
Our outrage seems to be highly selective. . .
46
Does not lend itself to a one-time spasm of penetration into alien territory.
1
First of all, Trump doesn't do nuance. Blinken keeps speaking of "smart diplomacy" as if the same man who incited violence at his campaign rallies is now going to carefully weigh his options and test the waters before dropping bombs. As our president (sigh) himself would say, not gonna happen. "Smart" and "diplomatic" are not words one would use to describe anything the man has ever done.
Secondly, something that both Republicans and Democrats have figured out by now is that even when Trump says or does something you approve of it's for a reason you disapprove of. Trump is not on your side and does not think like you think, whoever you are. He only answers to the man in the mirror.
And should we approve of his actions in this case? To me his suddenly firing missiles seems more like evidence of his lack of impulse control, not a statement of solidarity with the victims of Assad's brutality. Blinken is correct that we need smart diplomacy, but he's wrong to think that we'll get there by sowing even more death and destruction. Every person we kill creates another community that hates America, and I doubt that even the victims of the sarin attack are cheering us on now. Even Obama struggled to identify the "good" rebels among the different factions, and he actually cared about getting it right, because he knew the consequences of getting it wrong. We have seen that Trump doesn't care about the potentially devastating consequences of his impulsive actions. We should be worried.
Secondly, something that both Republicans and Democrats have figured out by now is that even when Trump says or does something you approve of it's for a reason you disapprove of. Trump is not on your side and does not think like you think, whoever you are. He only answers to the man in the mirror.
And should we approve of his actions in this case? To me his suddenly firing missiles seems more like evidence of his lack of impulse control, not a statement of solidarity with the victims of Assad's brutality. Blinken is correct that we need smart diplomacy, but he's wrong to think that we'll get there by sowing even more death and destruction. Every person we kill creates another community that hates America, and I doubt that even the victims of the sarin attack are cheering us on now. Even Obama struggled to identify the "good" rebels among the different factions, and he actually cared about getting it right, because he knew the consequences of getting it wrong. We have seen that Trump doesn't care about the potentially devastating consequences of his impulsive actions. We should be worried.
2
It's pretty hard to believe that Assad's reason for this attack was to test Trump, based on his "Hands off Syria" rhetoric.
What a sick world we live in. What a bizarre trio - Trump/Assad/Putin. And those poor people, including those children, the victims of their games, bluster, and sociopathy.
What a sick world we live in. What a bizarre trio - Trump/Assad/Putin. And those poor people, including those children, the victims of their games, bluster, and sociopathy.
1
Trump did a deal with Putin. You gas some kids. We photograph it. Then we will go in gungho and Bomb some limited target. And that will be the end of it. I promise. You Putin pretend to be upset.
Then the press will not pursue the conspiracy between the two of us to get Hilary out. And that will be the end of it. I promise. I will pay you back triple for that shonky loan for the last real estate deal.
Sounds farfetched? Not at all - read your Quiet American. This is classic distraction tactics.
Then the press will not pursue the conspiracy between the two of us to get Hilary out. And that will be the end of it. I promise. I will pay you back triple for that shonky loan for the last real estate deal.
Sounds farfetched? Not at all - read your Quiet American. This is classic distraction tactics.
4
Dear scientella,
I bet you also believe that the Bilderbergers, Rothschild's, the Illuminati and the Masons control the world money supply and therefore all world leaders. I think this groups next meeting is in Rijswijk, next Tuesday, where they will discuss the next brilliant move Mr. Trump should make.
I bet you also believe that the Bilderbergers, Rothschild's, the Illuminati and the Masons control the world money supply and therefore all world leaders. I think this groups next meeting is in Rijswijk, next Tuesday, where they will discuss the next brilliant move Mr. Trump should make.
There is no evidence of a Syrian chemical attack, nor was there evidence to support a first use of chemical weapons by Assad. Pictures video narrative talking heads repeated thousands of times is not evidence. But it is propaganda.
Trump made a huge mistake bombing Syria. Not only that, but this act of aggression is illegal under international law. Hopefully, Trump and his henchmen end up in The Hague'court of international justice and get prosecuted as war criminals.
1
Here Grey Lady journalists, One thing for sure is that the Russian reporter, who reported Putin's take on this, will not commit suicide like so many of his opposite minded peers by having shot themselves 6 times in the back of the head. Then President Obama had you folks as ardent supporters; so Assad had no real enemies except children.
The Great Satan ain't real smart but we are consistent in our efforts to make more in the Middle East hate our guts.
2
The missile attack changes nothing. Makes us feel good that we did something. The international community must come together and remove the butcher Assad. This has the potential of bringing real change to Syria.
1
Well said, Mr. Blinken. This Administration needs genuine diplomats like you, The strike already happened. Now it would be best - having gotten its attention - to get the international community to team with us in follow-up actions. While we can't be sure that the decision to strike considered even your brief outline of complexities, we can hope that the next steps will be well-planned.
Rather than bomb the brutal regime's airfield at a price tag of $14,570,000 in missiles alone (Yahoo Finance), why don't we allow innocent victims of Syria's 6-year civil war into our country? $14.57M in refugee assistance would go a long way.
Having a president who says that no child of God should die by chemical gassing as we saw in Syria Tuesday, yet refusing similar children and families entry into the U.S. is unconscionable.
Having a president who says that no child of God should die by chemical gassing as we saw in Syria Tuesday, yet refusing similar children and families entry into the U.S. is unconscionable.
11
Everybody's dropping their drawers because Trump fired a few missiles.
This whole thing is a charade.
Mark my words, nothing will change in Syria. We don't have close to the political will or the skill to even begin to try to resolve what is going on over there.
The fact that President Obama wanted nothing to do with that mess tells you all you need to know. To believe Trump and his crack staff are going to come up with a way forward there is preposterous and laughable.
Trump decided to fire a few missiles between his appetizer and the main course at his meeting with the Chinese leader.
Wow, I'm impressed.
This whole thing is a charade.
Mark my words, nothing will change in Syria. We don't have close to the political will or the skill to even begin to try to resolve what is going on over there.
The fact that President Obama wanted nothing to do with that mess tells you all you need to know. To believe Trump and his crack staff are going to come up with a way forward there is preposterous and laughable.
Trump decided to fire a few missiles between his appetizer and the main course at his meeting with the Chinese leader.
Wow, I'm impressed.
2
this is insightful, thank you. What scares me is that trump did not get congressional approval and if he does not need it, Korea is next. There has to be checks and balances. the idea that Trump can attack whenever he wants scares people. the fact he sends Jared on missions is scary as well. Why he was sent ahead of Tillerson is questionable. Tillerson must feel like a second hand body. If Trump does not need congress, why are they there? He might as well have no one on the hill for decisions of this magnitude. Why wasn't he in the situation room, again, for this attack? He heads to florid and his playroom instead of facing the music he started.
1
I agree entirely with Mr. Blinken on the need for diplomacy regarding Syria. But will be smart diplomacy? In fact what defines “smart” diplomacy? Keep in mind, Mr. Blinken served in the State Department under the Obama Administration which caste ISIS as the “J.V.” That should indicate to the reader the perspective of Mr. Blinken when it comes to Middle Eastern affairs.
With the departure of Stephen Bannon from the Principles Committee of the NSC, the development of a smart diplomatic approach to Syria will lack a key component. It would lack the perennial wisdom, or perennial philosophy, of the Traditionalist School which Bannon would provide. Without perennial wisdom, which acknowledges primordial and universal truths of good and evil, the diplomatic approach will be flawed.
At any rate, the US must pursue diplomacy but, at the same time, it must keep military options open and must not be afraid to use them. Because the only perennial wisdom Assad and others like him understand and respect is military force. Thank you.
With the departure of Stephen Bannon from the Principles Committee of the NSC, the development of a smart diplomatic approach to Syria will lack a key component. It would lack the perennial wisdom, or perennial philosophy, of the Traditionalist School which Bannon would provide. Without perennial wisdom, which acknowledges primordial and universal truths of good and evil, the diplomatic approach will be flawed.
At any rate, the US must pursue diplomacy but, at the same time, it must keep military options open and must not be afraid to use them. Because the only perennial wisdom Assad and others like him understand and respect is military force. Thank you.
1
Let's get real. Does anyone think that Trump attacked Syria without advising Russia in advance? The last thing he would want would be to provoke an incident by destroying Russian planes and killing Russian "advisors" who may have otherwise been in the line of fire. And does anyone think that Russia did not advise its ally Syria of the attack so that they could minimize any real damage. Where are the before and after photos that the US Military always released previously on such missions?
This is another Trump distraction, folks.
This is another Trump distraction, folks.
3
The president is in a no-win situation, if he attacks Syria everyone complains, if he does nothing, everyone complains.
This board, specifically, is the height of ignorance and illustrates why we needed such a change from the last eight years of failure.
I, and many Americans, believe that the United States should be exercising our military might more often, what Bradley and more decisively to push back the rising tide of maniacs and psychopaths around the world.
No one has been frightened of our military in a long time, it's time to change that and make an example of a few countries as to just how much havoc and destruction we can wreak if they don't fall into line.
This attack was great news to wake up to, hope there's more.
This board, specifically, is the height of ignorance and illustrates why we needed such a change from the last eight years of failure.
I, and many Americans, believe that the United States should be exercising our military might more often, what Bradley and more decisively to push back the rising tide of maniacs and psychopaths around the world.
No one has been frightened of our military in a long time, it's time to change that and make an example of a few countries as to just how much havoc and destruction we can wreak if they don't fall into line.
This attack was great news to wake up to, hope there's more.
1
Bombs today, troops tomorrow, more bombs, more troops a little diplomacy here a little diplomacy there. A lot of death and destruction everywhere. Oh well, we tried so let move on to the next hotel and golf course deal. The middle-east has been at war with itself and the outside world since the beginning of time will continue until the end of time. As someone once said, "If', if's and an's were cherries and nuts what a wonderful Christmas we would have." That old football metaphor holds true for the situation in Syria and the results that is to come.
1
It is ludicrous to believe that Assad ordered the gas attack. The world was no longer demanding his removal. He was winning the civil war. Why on earth would he risk throwing that all away?
It is far more believable that persons still hell-bent on regime change are behind the attack. But the Trump administration makes a decision without clear evidence, a decision which could lead the world into yet another disastrous war.
It is far more believable that persons still hell-bent on regime change are behind the attack. But the Trump administration makes a decision without clear evidence, a decision which could lead the world into yet another disastrous war.
3
Regime change, Mr. Blinken, are you on the same planet? Assad will never concede unless he is physically removed from his position by rebel forces. Assad has the lesson of Qaddafi clearly foregrounded in his mind. This article makes diplomacy in this messy unpredictable situation sound like chess; if you move x, then y and z will follow. This critically dangerous situation calls for experience and well-thought-out action, neither of which Mr. Trump has in ample supply. As another reader astutely stated in this Comment section, "We had enough of that under the last Republican debacle."
1
Tony's article is well written and thought out. It is sad that under Obama no real action was taken.
We can not be hot on subject one day and cold the next.
Russia is only a bit player the Iranians funded by settlement are real backers of Assad and most probably supplier of gas bombs used in attack!
We can not be hot on subject one day and cold the next.
Russia is only a bit player the Iranians funded by settlement are real backers of Assad and most probably supplier of gas bombs used in attack!
1
We need a better policy than putting small branches into the fire of the Syrian civil war which now appears to be the only continuity from Obama to Trump.
The Obama administration was paralyzed by fear of Republican's denouncing any policy which led to a half baked strategy for Syria that probably caused more harm than it mitigated. The manic response by Trump will, for once, be about par for course when it comes to Syria.
The US needs to realize that one cannot lob a few cruise missiles at a problem, or just provide some minor weapons to acceptable opposition. This is a failed strategy and it will continue to be.
The Obama administration was paralyzed by fear of Republican's denouncing any policy which led to a half baked strategy for Syria that probably caused more harm than it mitigated. The manic response by Trump will, for once, be about par for course when it comes to Syria.
The US needs to realize that one cannot lob a few cruise missiles at a problem, or just provide some minor weapons to acceptable opposition. This is a failed strategy and it will continue to be.
We are on the brink of a war that no one wants if Donald Trump's advisers don't go about this in a very intelligent way. While I think what he did yesterday was the right move, I also must remind everyone that just a week ago, his Secretary of State pretty much said that the Syrian people should work things out with Assad. Yea; Right!
I really don't feel comfortable with someone as erratic as Donald Trump with his hands on the proverbial trigger. It takes great restraint to make wise and well thought out decisions regarding the use of power; something that so far, Donald hasn't shown he has. What happens in the next few days or weeks will be a big test on his administration and for that matter, the entire world. Let's hope I'm wrong as to what I think he'll do.
I really don't feel comfortable with someone as erratic as Donald Trump with his hands on the proverbial trigger. It takes great restraint to make wise and well thought out decisions regarding the use of power; something that so far, Donald hasn't shown he has. What happens in the next few days or weeks will be a big test on his administration and for that matter, the entire world. Let's hope I'm wrong as to what I think he'll do.
21
Just another Drumpfian distraction carried out in the typical schizophrenic fashion we've come to expect from the mentally-challenged fuehrer, and the regime.
And obviously, it works. Now that cruise missles slice the air, don't we feel whole again? Like maybe our "president" is really a president after all???
Right.
This piece, and the subsequent commentary in this forum are but just a couple examples of the, once again, psychotic preoccupation with bombs bursting in air our resident flag wavers need in order to feel "American" in this country. How pathetically weak of both mind and conviction.
Never mind on the very same day we delivered $100,000,000 worth of runway pock holes and damaged hardware to a base in Syria, the constitutional intent of checks and balances was invaded and violently raped by home-grown extremism. Whittling away, little by little---while we just sit idly by, watching it happen.
Let's at least get honest with ourselves before we start pretending.........again. Revolutions have to start within before they can manifest collectively. And the remarkable ignorance displayed in this country for not only the last 2, but the last 37 years, is nothing short of astounding.
And obviously, it works. Now that cruise missles slice the air, don't we feel whole again? Like maybe our "president" is really a president after all???
Right.
This piece, and the subsequent commentary in this forum are but just a couple examples of the, once again, psychotic preoccupation with bombs bursting in air our resident flag wavers need in order to feel "American" in this country. How pathetically weak of both mind and conviction.
Never mind on the very same day we delivered $100,000,000 worth of runway pock holes and damaged hardware to a base in Syria, the constitutional intent of checks and balances was invaded and violently raped by home-grown extremism. Whittling away, little by little---while we just sit idly by, watching it happen.
Let's at least get honest with ourselves before we start pretending.........again. Revolutions have to start within before they can manifest collectively. And the remarkable ignorance displayed in this country for not only the last 2, but the last 37 years, is nothing short of astounding.
1
Donald Trump is a dangerous, idiotic, malevolent liar who is willing to use military force to legitimize himself as president. Presidents usually don't do this because they haven't lost the popular vote and are under a shadow of hijacking an election with the aid of the Russian dictator.
Trump's only been in office 100 days and has already used military force after his administration claimed a week ago it was okay for Assad to stay in power. Trump has no policies, no stable ideology, no knowledge of foreign affairs. Trump is the very last person who should be turning his policy on a dime and bombing somewhere because he saw something on tv that upset him.
We need to impeach this crackpot for the safety of our country.
He knew McCain and Graham would get on board if he used military force. Those guys love war and bombing.
It just became much much more difficult to investigate and remove Trump from office - at the very moment we should be terrified of his bad judgement and be clamoring to get rid of him.
Trump's only been in office 100 days and has already used military force after his administration claimed a week ago it was okay for Assad to stay in power. Trump has no policies, no stable ideology, no knowledge of foreign affairs. Trump is the very last person who should be turning his policy on a dime and bombing somewhere because he saw something on tv that upset him.
We need to impeach this crackpot for the safety of our country.
He knew McCain and Graham would get on board if he used military force. Those guys love war and bombing.
It just became much much more difficult to investigate and remove Trump from office - at the very moment we should be terrified of his bad judgement and be clamoring to get rid of him.
2
This 'gas attack' bears all the hallmarks of a false flag operation. Lost in the rush to yet another war is the claim on the Syrian side that they bombed a chemical plant where rebels were making munitions. Gas from the plant may have been what caused the civilian deaths.
Is this credible? We will never know because Trump opted for war rather than diplomacy. In 2013 we heard the same stories about Assad using sarin on his own people. When the final UN arms inspection report was issued their conclusion was that the gas was used by the rebels, our so called allies.
But of course there was no mention of that report over the last few days, just as the UN arms inspection team was silenced in the media in the run up to the invasion of Iraq.
Assad had for the first time in this civil war achieved a level of decisive military advantage. So why risk US intervention by launching a totally unnecessary gas attack that everyone knew would generate world wide condemnation. Also, why do this on the eve of a conference in Europe to discussion a ceasefire in Syria?
Who had everything to loose from this attack? And who had everything to gain? Questions that we will have to look to other media for answers because rather than real reporting, the Times has simply given us the Washington consensus, just as they did with Judith Miller and the WMD stories.
This was an illegal act on top of other illegal acts and I believe we have been lied to by the Trump administration.
Is this credible? We will never know because Trump opted for war rather than diplomacy. In 2013 we heard the same stories about Assad using sarin on his own people. When the final UN arms inspection report was issued their conclusion was that the gas was used by the rebels, our so called allies.
But of course there was no mention of that report over the last few days, just as the UN arms inspection team was silenced in the media in the run up to the invasion of Iraq.
Assad had for the first time in this civil war achieved a level of decisive military advantage. So why risk US intervention by launching a totally unnecessary gas attack that everyone knew would generate world wide condemnation. Also, why do this on the eve of a conference in Europe to discussion a ceasefire in Syria?
Who had everything to loose from this attack? And who had everything to gain? Questions that we will have to look to other media for answers because rather than real reporting, the Times has simply given us the Washington consensus, just as they did with Judith Miller and the WMD stories.
This was an illegal act on top of other illegal acts and I believe we have been lied to by the Trump administration.
1
Much as I hate this intervention, it's the one thing we can confidently say would have been the bad policy regardless of whether Hillary or Trump won the election.
A thought and a prayer the Democrats can muster someone reasonable, responsible, tactful, and electable in 2020.
A thought and a prayer the Democrats can muster someone reasonable, responsible, tactful, and electable in 2020.
1
The response to Assad was appropriate, up to a point. As they say, "Even a blind hog will find an acorn occasionally" However, as is pointed out, what does he do next? What is worrisome is in trying for an encore to his performance we may end up in a war again. (Pardon the mixed metaphors)
1
Trump's quick military response was most likely calculated to do enough damage to make a symbolic and political statement, without moving the needle, in regard to an adverse Russian response. It's too early to figure out why, what military people describe as a "stand back" response was all that was done (see Christopher Steele dossier). Might have been coordinated with Russia.
1
For a man who is still counting his electoral votes and hasn't filled the majority of positions in his administration that require senate approval, that is a frighteningly large and complex to-do list. With tremendous consequences for a lot of innocent people.
3
Hmmph, here I thought all those Syrian refugees were terrorists that we wouldn't allow on our soil. Now we are spending millions to protect those same people on their own soil. I am really not sure if the airstrikes were a good idea or not. But in general, no plan carried out by idiots goes well. I really just hope we all live through this Archie Bunker presidency.
1
This whole episode is troubling and eerily familiar - a president way over his head with a lack of intellectual and analytical capacity portrays himself as "tough". His approval ratings are in the tank and every press conference is an exhibit of his emptiness. A world crisis appears and the Tomahawk misses are launched. Over night the perception changes as we are now at war. I've seen this movie once before.
1
It can be saddening to encounter yet another author who fantasizes about offering Donald Trump policy advice. Advice regarding personnel. Behavioral advice. Any advice at all.
Mr. Blinken argues that Trump must now practice detailed, prudent, international diplomacy. He suggests that Trump consider Putin's challenging interactions with angry, potentially violent Muslims from Turkey, or those allied with Chechnya (what? who?). That Trump be prepared to negotiate with Iran (huh? where?). That Trump welcome more Syrian refugees into the US now that he spoken a couple of lines expressing apparent sympathy for the victims (those little children) of the poison gas attack.
Donald Trump has already proven that he doesn't like to mess with details, such as policy briefings, or troublesome facts. Or the names of Middle Eastern and African nations that don't host any of his golf courses or towers.
And we all know that that line about the poor little Syrian dead children was written by an assistant. And that Syrian refugees had best not hold their breath, waiting for an entry pass to Trump country.
There's just one reason we sent all those (expensive) missiles to bomb a Syrian air base. It's because Donald Trump has been frustrated lately ... he gets frustrated, then infuriated, quickly ... and he wanted to prove that he's a real man's man, more manly than that wimp from Kenya, Barack Obama.
Which country will he bomb next when the mood hits him?
Mr. Blinken argues that Trump must now practice detailed, prudent, international diplomacy. He suggests that Trump consider Putin's challenging interactions with angry, potentially violent Muslims from Turkey, or those allied with Chechnya (what? who?). That Trump be prepared to negotiate with Iran (huh? where?). That Trump welcome more Syrian refugees into the US now that he spoken a couple of lines expressing apparent sympathy for the victims (those little children) of the poison gas attack.
Donald Trump has already proven that he doesn't like to mess with details, such as policy briefings, or troublesome facts. Or the names of Middle Eastern and African nations that don't host any of his golf courses or towers.
And we all know that that line about the poor little Syrian dead children was written by an assistant. And that Syrian refugees had best not hold their breath, waiting for an entry pass to Trump country.
There's just one reason we sent all those (expensive) missiles to bomb a Syrian air base. It's because Donald Trump has been frustrated lately ... he gets frustrated, then infuriated, quickly ... and he wanted to prove that he's a real man's man, more manly than that wimp from Kenya, Barack Obama.
Which country will he bomb next when the mood hits him?
1
Shoot, fire, aim.
That appears to be the operating mode of the new president.
He doesn't seek Congress' approval to wage war.
I don't agree that we needed to take this action.
The president has not qualifications to evaulate th situation and has surrounded himself with like minded people.
This should have been a UN sanctioned action.
That appears to be the operating mode of the new president.
He doesn't seek Congress' approval to wage war.
I don't agree that we needed to take this action.
The president has not qualifications to evaulate th situation and has surrounded himself with like minded people.
This should have been a UN sanctioned action.
2
nice to see the times print something that does not excoriate the president...for this aging progressive though, there's too much "the administration should..." speculation, especially from a source connected to our past failures...
in the emergency of real time, real events, operations, the grand frames of speculation do not hold up or, at least, are not reliable guides to next steps...a tactical strike like this one has its purpose and if it turns out to be accurate, if the gas was launched by the assad government from the airfield hit by the mssiles as we claim it proves our intelligence and our rapid repsonse capability, sending a message to that government that leaves them to speculate and react while we watch for the results of that..then we can counter the counter, if you will, as opposed to preaching and crowing...even with moscow we don't need to make anything any clearer than the strike...now we should only wait to see what the russians do in the way of "rein(ing) in the assad regime..." of course we can abet and inflect through our own humint and cyber initiative but laying out our hand only weakens our play, which was a tactical move that still allows us to develop and keep our strategy close to our vest.
in the emergency of real time, real events, operations, the grand frames of speculation do not hold up or, at least, are not reliable guides to next steps...a tactical strike like this one has its purpose and if it turns out to be accurate, if the gas was launched by the assad government from the airfield hit by the mssiles as we claim it proves our intelligence and our rapid repsonse capability, sending a message to that government that leaves them to speculate and react while we watch for the results of that..then we can counter the counter, if you will, as opposed to preaching and crowing...even with moscow we don't need to make anything any clearer than the strike...now we should only wait to see what the russians do in the way of "rein(ing) in the assad regime..." of course we can abet and inflect through our own humint and cyber initiative but laying out our hand only weakens our play, which was a tactical move that still allows us to develop and keep our strategy close to our vest.
I want to believe this is on the up and up, but I just can't. 45's sudden change of heart over the distressing scenes of children killed in the attack. Haley's impassioned speech at the UN complete with pictures she held up to illustrate her points. Russia's blocking of any UN Security Council action against Syria. The attack. The overblown set speech released on tape. Russia's condemnation of our actions. And all of this just on the heels of Devin Nunes's recusal of himself from the House Intelligence Russia investigation. The CIA's revelation that it has had evidence on the Russian influence for months going back before the election. The unmasking outrage aimed at Susan Rice wasn't getting the traction that they wanted and neither was Bannon's removal from the Security Council, so voila, we got an attack. I could chalk this all up to coincidence but there's just too much there there. We're dealing with a really different animal in the White House.
1
The evidence supporting the attack is of the same standard as that used in the justification of the Spanish-American War. Remember the Maine, which was not sunk by a mine. It was sunk from an internal explosion.
Too many unanswered questions.
Too many unanswered questions.
I wish I believed Trump's claims of moral outrage as a justification for attacking Syria. I wish I believed that the strike was a thoughtfully considered initiative that took into account both immediate and far-reaching consequences and not an impetuous and self-serving reaction, to say nothing of a distraction from Trump's previous comments about the Assad regime and Obama's handling of the issue. Unfortunately, Trump's vindictive tweets, his rash responses to anything or anyone who challenges his opinion or authority, his attempts to discredit
his predecessor, his lies, his cruel budget and health plans and immigration bans that leave one to wonder how much he cares about "beautiful babies" or the suffering of others , and his lack of knowledge and foresight have all so undercut his credibility as a leader, that it is hard to believe that this action reflects strength, competent consideration, and moral rectitude.
his predecessor, his lies, his cruel budget and health plans and immigration bans that leave one to wonder how much he cares about "beautiful babies" or the suffering of others , and his lack of knowledge and foresight have all so undercut his credibility as a leader, that it is hard to believe that this action reflects strength, competent consideration, and moral rectitude.
3
While Trump was right to react to the blatant use of nerve gas on civilians, it should be remarked that his prior statements on Syria regarding Assad and Russia may well have been seen by Assad as a sign that the U.S. under Trump was no longer concerned about seeing him removed from power. (Echoes of George H.W. Bush giving Saddam Hussein the impression going into Kuwait wouldn't be a problem? Oops.)
It would be possible to have more confidence in Trump going forward on this if A) his administration hadn't been built so heavily around the military, and B) he hadn't done his best to leave the State Department understaffed and adrift under Tillerson, who has no real background in diplomacy.
Was this a considered response, part of a larger strategy - or was it just a gut reaction with no bigger picture in mind? Given what we've seen of Trump as president so far, the question going forward is likely to turn on WWJD - What Will Javanka Do?
It would be possible to have more confidence in Trump going forward on this if A) his administration hadn't been built so heavily around the military, and B) he hadn't done his best to leave the State Department understaffed and adrift under Tillerson, who has no real background in diplomacy.
Was this a considered response, part of a larger strategy - or was it just a gut reaction with no bigger picture in mind? Given what we've seen of Trump as president so far, the question going forward is likely to turn on WWJD - What Will Javanka Do?
While these strikes satisfy some visceral need in all of us who watched that horror this week, I'm very afraid that Trump needs a war more than he needs to do the right thing. Such a war has been predicted by various people with expertise in rise of dictatorships.
2
How is this action legal or constitutional?
The United States was not attacked. The US military or embassy was not attacked.
The alleged / probable use of nerve gas is indeed horrible, but the President of the US does not get to lash with the US Military because he is offended by another government's actions. This is the act of a dictator, an absolute monarch, or a tyrant.
Once again, the mental stability of DJT is in question, and the legality of the chain of command following the order is also in question.
The United States was not attacked. The US military or embassy was not attacked.
The alleged / probable use of nerve gas is indeed horrible, but the President of the US does not get to lash with the US Military because he is offended by another government's actions. This is the act of a dictator, an absolute monarch, or a tyrant.
Once again, the mental stability of DJT is in question, and the legality of the chain of command following the order is also in question.
7
From the halls of the Kremlin to every mud hut in Afghanistan the message has been sent that there has been a paradigm shift in American foreign policy. Missile strikes aren't the solution to every problem and Trump's foreign policy success (or failure) is far from assured. It was the appropriate thing to do yesterday and sets a tone going forward.
11
If the "tone" is US world domination, there are billions on this planet who are tone deaf.
It was the right thing to do but for the wrong reason. It was right because it was done in the interest of civilians -- regardless of their nationality or religion -- who are victims of a brutal dictator. It is wrong because it seems to be done on a whim. Trump sees something that upsets him so he presses the bomb button -- and it worked. What happens next week when he reads about the Rohingya or South Sudanese, or some other place where women and children are suffering no less than the Syrians in places Trump never heard of until he sees their pictures in the morning paper. Maybe he might start to understand why the State Dept and a robust press is actually important. The most interesting and encouraging part of his statement was his closing, "May god bless the United States and the rest of the World." This is not the "America First" Trump of yore.
15
"Cynics might conclude the fix is in: The United States quietly warns the Russians, they give Mr. Assad a heads-up and tell him not to react, and everyone calls it a day. More likely, the administration wanted to make sure Moscow knew exactly what we were doing so that Moscow would not overreact or leave its forces in harm’s way."
Cynics might even say this: USA, Russians and Assad Regime quietly orchestrated the chemical attack and the US Reaction beforehand. And it has worked very well so far. Suddenly, in US no one is talking about Trump campaign team and Russian collusion; the counter attack has united government, people and the press, including the free press, against the evil in the world. Assad had killed 500.000 people before this week attack with no reaction; US and Russia play the enemy game further distracting the free press and suggesting that Russia has no leverage on Trump; Assad sent a message to the rebels and dissidents and the US strikes hit empty space in Syria, destroying nothing. Win, win, win situation. This is all speculation of course, but, I ask, did not something similar happened before?
Cynics might even say this: USA, Russians and Assad Regime quietly orchestrated the chemical attack and the US Reaction beforehand. And it has worked very well so far. Suddenly, in US no one is talking about Trump campaign team and Russian collusion; the counter attack has united government, people and the press, including the free press, against the evil in the world. Assad had killed 500.000 people before this week attack with no reaction; US and Russia play the enemy game further distracting the free press and suggesting that Russia has no leverage on Trump; Assad sent a message to the rebels and dissidents and the US strikes hit empty space in Syria, destroying nothing. Win, win, win situation. This is all speculation of course, but, I ask, did not something similar happened before?
One thing that's missing from Mr Blinken's thinking is that the Russians don't want Assad gone because he gives them a Mediterranean port for Putin's warships to restock and refuel in. If Assad were toppled by those he's fighting against in Syria, the Russians would be gone overnight and the massacre of pro-Assad people that would follow would make the recent 100 killed by Sarin attacks look like a minor league effort in comparison.
By his 59-missile, $100 million attack, our so-called president has opened a can of worms that may lead us into a proxy war with Russia and that could ultimately lead to WW3.
This would be bad enough except that Drumph's activities at home look like a de facto attempt to dismantle all that we've built since 1930 and the Senate has just been turned into a rubber stamp for all the crazy ideas the Alt right have been pushing for.
I truly fear for the future of the USA; if we survive as a nation, it will take a long long time to dig ourselves out of this mess.
By his 59-missile, $100 million attack, our so-called president has opened a can of worms that may lead us into a proxy war with Russia and that could ultimately lead to WW3.
This would be bad enough except that Drumph's activities at home look like a de facto attempt to dismantle all that we've built since 1930 and the Senate has just been turned into a rubber stamp for all the crazy ideas the Alt right have been pushing for.
I truly fear for the future of the USA; if we survive as a nation, it will take a long long time to dig ourselves out of this mess.
Disagree completely! You failed to point out foreign wars and intervention are a staple of failing national leaders. Trump and his gang are under investigation at home while displaying historic low public support numbers. You are being played ala' the Iraq invasion.
Trump has asked why have weapons of mass destruction if you do not intend to use them. He wants more modern weapons of mass destruction. The Trump gang signaled Assad would likely stay.
Until Trump saw 'little babies' suffering (note: they have been suffering and dying every day since he became president even in Mosul where he ordered them bombed.) This editorial displays why foreign adventurism works so well for weak leaders
Trump has asked why have weapons of mass destruction if you do not intend to use them. He wants more modern weapons of mass destruction. The Trump gang signaled Assad would likely stay.
Until Trump saw 'little babies' suffering (note: they have been suffering and dying every day since he became president even in Mosul where he ordered them bombed.) This editorial displays why foreign adventurism works so well for weak leaders
1
It's a nice daydream to think that a strategy exists to follow up these air strikes with some sort of diplomatic effort, or that this administration is even capable of conceiving of or executing such a strategy. Alas, we know who this president is and how his White House operates. It's going to be a mess.
The Trump regime is to blame for the use of chemical weapons. Just several days ago it denounced regime chance as a US policy objective in Syria. Assad and the rebels took note. It gave both sides the motivation to ramp up the brutality. We do not know who used the Sarin gas, we assign the blame conveniently to the Assad regime, but we have no proof. The best strategy remains: to stay out of a civil war at all costs.
1
Why is it the U.S.'s job to Police the world? Why didn't and doesn't the UN, Germany, France, the U.K. step in? Smart measures were taken by Obama, but, they weren't good enough for the GOP and the war machine. No, we have to go back to the shock and awe strategy of W's regime. There isn't a thing that instills confidence in me that Trump is remotely capable of smart diplomacy. He gave Syria a clear signal that he wasn't looking to get rid of Bashar and some the resulting chemical strike was an invitation. There isn't a thing Trump's done to show any real concern for humanity. Recognizing that we must be more open to taking in Syrian refugees while working with other nations to solve this problem, might be a real start. Instead we go some heavily ladened 'pseudo-religious' speech against the evils of the Syrian empire that demand action in the name of victims that Trump hasn't shown an inkling of interest in rescuing before this event or now.
Absent independent evidence of the nature and source of a chemical attack, the US government, cheered on by the Times and the war-at-any-cost hawks, assumes Syria's government is guilty until proven innocent. Despite the fact that the use of chemical weapons only serves the purposes of the extremists and terrorists, the regime changers, and their backers. It is a desperate attempt to reverse their growing losses. Acting as prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner the US, 5% of the population, decides the fate of the world. The Times banks on the well-known diplomatic skills of one Donald J. Trump to keep the lid on a global explosion, a potential nuclear confrontation. Insane. And monstrous.
1
Trump's missile strike of a Syrian government airfield accomplished nothing. Assad has been killing Syrians with bombs and bullets for several years now, including children. Trump believes these same Syrians are a security risk for America. Hence, his efforts to stop Syrian refugees from entering the US. Why are these deaths, caused by sarin gas, different than the thousands of other deaths caused by Assad? Where was the moral outrage before? As important, if the use of sarin gas in Syria poses a security risk to America, how does this strike change anything? It doesn't. And the sarin attack didn't change our security profile one bit. Sarin gas, and many other chemical weapons, are plentiful worldwide. The problem with using them is distribution. In other words, it's extremely difficult for terrorists to actually use them in a mass-destruction way. So, go ahead and thump your chest, President Trump, but you acted out of emotion, and have started us down another thorny path of military involvement that lacks a cogent mission or upside.
After reading this column, which outlines the intricate web of diplomacy that must come next after the missile strike, one should turn and read David Brooks sober assessment of the Trump presidency to date. OK, I know it wasn't intended to be a sober assessment, but living in a post-factual world also casts us into a post-satire world. Here, I am deeply, deeply conflicted. On the one hand, I do believe some retaliation on behalf of the innocent was necessary, but on the other hand, I have no faith, none whatsoever, that the current administration is competent to handle the question, "OK, so now what?" If the "smart diplomacy starts with Russia," it is questionable whether this administration can really "make clear to Moscow that it will hold it accountable," and even if we do "make it clear," one wonders whether "genuine peace negotiations with [the] rebels" is even possible, particularly when those negotiations must include the Russians. I see nothing good coming from turning a blind eye toward the atrocity of Assad, but I also see nothing good coming from the missile strike except escalation, more "collateral damage," more "radicalization," more of everything except peace and good will. Perhaps smart diplomacy begins with christian charity, open arms welcoming those crucified in the cross fire, and we should use our military prowess to protect those humanitarian efforts at evacuation. Am I being satirical when I say that? Tough to tell.
There is no doubt that the missile strike against Syria was multiply determined. The civilians in Syria suffered a horrible atrocity. However, they had suffered horrific violence and genocide at the hands of Assad before when Trump expressed no sympathy for the refugees of that country. Trump's self proclamation as international defender of war ravaged children is disingenuous. He has flip flopped about whether the U.S. should intervene militarily but been strident about criticizing Obama as "weak." His seemingly moralized pretext for military action allows him to appear momentarily humane. However, the narcissist-in-chief is desperate to appear to be "winning" something and to look more sympathetic to people. Trump has no regard of any children but his own.
Additionally, Trump just got his first taste of blood as President. The relatively easy removal of souls makes it easier for him to do so with haste and impunity again. Understandably, this is part of the job description of the leader of the world's superpower. But, the judicious, reasoned, and humane application of lethal force calls for stability, intelligence, and sanity. These are not characteristics of this administration or it's chief. The "sneak attack", "sucker punch" aspect of this action was forecast in Trump's campaign rhetoric. Expect more shock and awe in the night while the news cycles are sleeping.
Is doing the "right thing" for the wrong reasons still the right thing?
Additionally, Trump just got his first taste of blood as President. The relatively easy removal of souls makes it easier for him to do so with haste and impunity again. Understandably, this is part of the job description of the leader of the world's superpower. But, the judicious, reasoned, and humane application of lethal force calls for stability, intelligence, and sanity. These are not characteristics of this administration or it's chief. The "sneak attack", "sucker punch" aspect of this action was forecast in Trump's campaign rhetoric. Expect more shock and awe in the night while the news cycles are sleeping.
Is doing the "right thing" for the wrong reasons still the right thing?
1
It's amazing the way the human mind works. Trump prove multiple times he is unstable moron with no moral values. But when he gives the most basic expected speech that he condemn the act in Syria people say he showed his decent side. Few more tomahawks maybe a little war and 95% of the public think he is the best president ever. As I always said 1-2 terror attacks, especially from one of the 7 countries which were targeted by the ban, and we have the best strong moral and courageous leader ever.
The use of sarin gas was enough to goad the US into the exact response Russia may have wanted bringing more hate, from the extreme hate-full countries of Iran and Iraq, onto the US. Increasing our enemies is useful to Russia. Distracting the US into action in civil wars while building technology offenses that we'll be unprepared to defend against is likely the plan. The US should have demanded that Russia react to the sarin attack. Vocally, and with the backing of other UN nations, stated that Russia must respond to such a heinous act rather than jumping in ourselves. Smart diplomacy and smart military decisions may not come from the Mar-a-lago resort. It takes the best intelligence, diplomatic, and military minds to see the intent of an attack using sarin gas and properly respond. Of course the US wanted to act - but this isn't the kindergarten sandbox. Smart diplomacy? Smart military action! Smart leadership! Please.
Why not smart diplomacy prior to missile strikes? Granted Assad is a brutal dictator, however, he is firmly aligned with Russia and this limited military action is unlikely to change that dynamic. I understand the present domestic political climate regarding Russia will call into question any Trump outreach to the Putin government, but engaging in any de facto war against the current Syrian regime is likely to deepen our involvement in this armed conflict.
As odious as it may be, we need to work in cooperation with the Russians regarding Syria unless we are fully prepared shed American blood in Syria as well as risk an even wider conflict.
As odious as it may be, we need to work in cooperation with the Russians regarding Syria unless we are fully prepared shed American blood in Syria as well as risk an even wider conflict.
Smart diplomacy is impossible. We sent a message to Russia in a speech backed up with targeted violence. I don't believe we are the world's policeman but would like a peaceful resolution of this issue. That is impossible, so why run around trying to make something happen that is impossible. Now if he uses such weapons again maybe several more air bases will need to disappear.
Mr Trump's seemingly genuine concern for the children of Syria was indeed touching. Now, if he would but exhibit the same level of compassion for the people of his own country by not stripping away their health care, human rights, arts, clean environment efforts, a reasonable justice for the Supreme Court, etc., I might believe there is a genuine caring human being in the White House.
Judge Gorsuch is a champion of the spiritual connection between Natural Law and our constitution. President Trump is a convert to the pro-life movement. The President is expanding his instincts by recognizing that survival of the fittest includes protecting the lives of the most venerable. His attack on the Syrian airfield used to deliver poison gas was a message to both President Assad and President Putin who assured the world years ago, that these weapons would be destroyed by 2014. At 11:30 AM today, the Senate will use launch the nuclear option to end the fifty-year Democratic assault on life and freedom in the U.S.
1
The "bomb something!" ploy is a smart political move that covers a mountain of ineptitude. We're sure to see an upswing in Trump's approval ratings. Remember the wild popularity of Bush's "shock and awe" followed by his premature "mission accomplished"? That was 2003, and we're still fighting in Iraq, by the way!
So, what now?
Shall we prolong the bloody civil war in Syria by harassing Hassad and bickering with Russia? Or, shall we tacitly support the more humane Russian policy of hastening a conclusion to the war by supporting the Hassad regime? Or, shall we continue the futile search for an alternative?
Civil wars are ended when all factions, but one, are defeated. Assad's government is the only viable faction left standing. Shouldn't we do nothing to impede the inevitable Assad victory, and hope to exert a positive influence in the reconstruction of Syria?
So, what now?
Shall we prolong the bloody civil war in Syria by harassing Hassad and bickering with Russia? Or, shall we tacitly support the more humane Russian policy of hastening a conclusion to the war by supporting the Hassad regime? Or, shall we continue the futile search for an alternative?
Civil wars are ended when all factions, but one, are defeated. Assad's government is the only viable faction left standing. Shouldn't we do nothing to impede the inevitable Assad victory, and hope to exert a positive influence in the reconstruction of Syria?
The smart diplomacy now is to further drive a wedge between Assad and his supporters in Russia and Iran. Assad is now permanently stained with the brush of genocidal dictator and cannot be allowed to remain in power, even if his subordinates were complicit. He is the face of this genocidal act, on multiple occasions, and the US cannot allow its brand to be tarnished by any deal which allows him to remain in power. The US needs to forcefully, and regularly, articulate that both Russia and Iran were and are
complicit in this genocide and create an environment wherein for their own world standing and credibility they work to replace Assad with someone else.
complicit in this genocide and create an environment wherein for their own world standing and credibility they work to replace Assad with someone else.
2
How touching. Two things: If Mr. Trump is so concerned about human life and the health of children, the elderly and other innocents, why is his administration fighting against healthcare for all Americans, slashing funding for meals for the elderly, putting an end to school lunch programs, defunding women's health programs, ripping into an EPA that keeps corporations from dumping poisons (some as toxic as sarin) into the air we breath and the water we drink, arming up domestic police forces in urban areas, wiping his feet on the written and unwritten Constitution?
The guess here is that Mr. Trump is using the same tactics past presidents who find themselves embroiled in domestic scandal and low approval numbers have done: Start a war to rally the uneducated masses behind him. Hey, it worked for George W. Bush.
The guess here is that Mr. Trump is using the same tactics past presidents who find themselves embroiled in domestic scandal and low approval numbers have done: Start a war to rally the uneducated masses behind him. Hey, it worked for George W. Bush.
If Russia were livid with Assad for the use of sarin gas, the opportunity to get Russia to remove Assad was before launching 59 missiles, not after. Now, Putin can't take action without appearing weak. Of course, the opportunity might not have amounted to much because no one knows if Putin would have decided to act after the gas attack and before the missile counterattack.
My guess is that Trump took the least risky and least effective of military options presented to him by Mattis. If so, Russia and China know that and will continue to assume that Trump is all talk, and the new toughness of Trump is for our domestic consumption.
The best thing that comes out of this "forceful" response by the US is that it means that Trump won't reprise Tillerson's sorry performance with the Chinese where he used code works about partnership that signaled to Asia that China could proceed to take over without fear of US opposition. And Trump's decision to launch the missiles pushes Putin away. When you have dolt for a leader, this is about as good an outcome as you can expect.
My guess is that Trump took the least risky and least effective of military options presented to him by Mattis. If so, Russia and China know that and will continue to assume that Trump is all talk, and the new toughness of Trump is for our domestic consumption.
The best thing that comes out of this "forceful" response by the US is that it means that Trump won't reprise Tillerson's sorry performance with the Chinese where he used code works about partnership that signaled to Asia that China could proceed to take over without fear of US opposition. And Trump's decision to launch the missiles pushes Putin away. When you have dolt for a leader, this is about as good an outcome as you can expect.
The only thing certain is that the role of America as a watchdog is complicated. Regardless of prognostications over the possible outcome of this action, no one knows what will occur. It's simple to sit back and cast judgement after the fact, as was done with Obama in 2013. Who knows what our current situation would be had he not asked Congress for authorization and launched strikes in response to the deaths of 1,400 men women and children caused by the chemical attack by Assad at the time.
It may have been predictable that the deal with Russia to assure all chemical weapons of the Assad regime were destroyed would not pan out, but Obama and the republican Congress, by not responding to his request to authorize military action, own our part of the outcome.
My fear is that this shows a tendency of Trump to act on impulse, which may have far more disastrous consequences when dealing with North Korea. He needs to understand that he's not the new sheriff in town, and that the involvement of Congress is a requirement.
It may have been predictable that the deal with Russia to assure all chemical weapons of the Assad regime were destroyed would not pan out, but Obama and the republican Congress, by not responding to his request to authorize military action, own our part of the outcome.
My fear is that this shows a tendency of Trump to act on impulse, which may have far more disastrous consequences when dealing with North Korea. He needs to understand that he's not the new sheriff in town, and that the involvement of Congress is a requirement.
1
President Trump fired some missiles not as a result of a well thought out strategy to stop Assad and bring peace to Syria. The military response was due to his understandable anger at seeing pictures of dead children. It was an emotional response. Trump has shown no inclinaction or ability to think about the consequences of actions. Mr. Blinken is knowledgeable and has clearly thought about how the US might turn the tide in Syria. But the complexity of his ideas, not to mention all the things that could go wrong, are far beyond the Trump administration's ability to implement, or even understand.
1
It is hard to evaluate that the President Elect (purposeful reference) picked the correct alternative for action without know the others presented by his staff. Assad's actions were what I have been fearful since the election, the testing of the administration by countries we cannot trust and are real threats to world peace. It is enlightening to see the reaction by other experienced US representatives and former leaders, along with staunch supporters of the current administration. I hope the best alternative was selected and he follows through with actions in a manner that we have yet to see. I continue to feel that the birth of the ISIS movement, along with actions of Assad and Kim Jong Un, all relates to opportunities from the US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. I attribute the groundswell of actions such as the Arab Spring to malevalent dictators and the advent of digital communications that enable formation of their opponents to fight back. The current dilema facing mr. trump will hopefully prompt an awakening that he cannot lead the country like he did his businesses and truthful communication with elected representatives, the American people, and the media is required.
I am no fan of this president but I strongly support his decision to strike Syria. I also overwhelmingly disagree with the notion that we must now engage in diplomacy.
Because there is no honest player here. Syria is aligned with Russia and Iran. I.e., two forces that I would talk to only under extremely guarded circumstances and without an iota of trust. The only people who understand Assad is Israel, and know how to deal with him (very effectively indeed). I see no point in requesting our only ally in the region to assist - they are dealing with an existential crisis of their own (and I do support arming them heavily).
I humbly, respectfully urge pace loving Islamic world to show us that they indeed are a religion of peace (this is a religious war, Shia, Alawaites, Sunnis).
Because this one infidel is content with our president (with whom I agree on almost nothing) when he sends some missiles to deter further slaughter of innocents. No one should confuse this action as an attempt to solve a problem. This is just a simple punishment - is all.
Yes it is absolutely ungodly and awful on the ground, Assad is indeed a monster, and I am absolutely sure we can do nothing to really help anyone in that part of the world (or for that matter, in any part of the Islamic world). I wish the keepers of all things holy, including the Saudis, the Iranians, and the Pakistani cannon fodder - much success in taking care of this one.
Kalidan
Because there is no honest player here. Syria is aligned with Russia and Iran. I.e., two forces that I would talk to only under extremely guarded circumstances and without an iota of trust. The only people who understand Assad is Israel, and know how to deal with him (very effectively indeed). I see no point in requesting our only ally in the region to assist - they are dealing with an existential crisis of their own (and I do support arming them heavily).
I humbly, respectfully urge pace loving Islamic world to show us that they indeed are a religion of peace (this is a religious war, Shia, Alawaites, Sunnis).
Because this one infidel is content with our president (with whom I agree on almost nothing) when he sends some missiles to deter further slaughter of innocents. No one should confuse this action as an attempt to solve a problem. This is just a simple punishment - is all.
Yes it is absolutely ungodly and awful on the ground, Assad is indeed a monster, and I am absolutely sure we can do nothing to really help anyone in that part of the world (or for that matter, in any part of the Islamic world). I wish the keepers of all things holy, including the Saudis, the Iranians, and the Pakistani cannon fodder - much success in taking care of this one.
Kalidan
Trump's apprenticeship is over. Welcome to Obama's world. Words do matter. Actions matter even more.
Physics teaches us that for every action there is a reaction. Except in the Middle East, the reaction is rarely opposite and equal. The dominoes will now begin to fall and no one knows where.
If we had a State Department staffed with career professionals, I would be more confident that Trump will be able to navigate this morass. But we don't need those deep state people anymore. We don't need the administrative state anymore. Just more bombs, planes and ships.
This attack was necessary. I fear this won't be the end of such actions. It will just be the beginning. The swamp just sucked Trump in and he doesn't have a canoe.
Physics teaches us that for every action there is a reaction. Except in the Middle East, the reaction is rarely opposite and equal. The dominoes will now begin to fall and no one knows where.
If we had a State Department staffed with career professionals, I would be more confident that Trump will be able to navigate this morass. But we don't need those deep state people anymore. We don't need the administrative state anymore. Just more bombs, planes and ships.
This attack was necessary. I fear this won't be the end of such actions. It will just be the beginning. The swamp just sucked Trump in and he doesn't have a canoe.
2
Pardon me for wondering if Trump's act was not based on "human reaction to the gassing" of innocents. The evidence of Assad's war crimes have been there for all to see for a long time. The death, misery, and rising refugee crisis have been graphically portrayed in the news. Trump has never before allowed humanity to get in the way of his agenda.
It would be far more in keeping with Trump to strike Syria: (1) to distract from the newest revelations that his son-in-law lied by omission on his security clearance form about key meetings with Russian officials and also that the CIA knew last summer that the Russians were not just meddling, but were actually trying to throw the election for Trump, and/or (2) to show President Xi of China with whom Trump is meeting that he is a big, tough man to be reckoned with.
It would be far more in keeping with Trump to strike Syria: (1) to distract from the newest revelations that his son-in-law lied by omission on his security clearance form about key meetings with Russian officials and also that the CIA knew last summer that the Russians were not just meddling, but were actually trying to throw the election for Trump, and/or (2) to show President Xi of China with whom Trump is meeting that he is a big, tough man to be reckoned with.
26
Best to encourage a good course of action, no matter what the motives!
1
Just to add to your list of distractions: THE MARCH JOB REPORT showed 98k jobs created, far short of 175k expected range.
This, I think more than anything else explains the sudden change of strategy from "removal of Assad not being top priority" on Teusday to "crossing many lines" on Wednesday and within the next 24 hours missiles being launched on Thursday night, without any strategy on what the end game is. As with almost everything Trump does, this is simply another attempt to shift media focus and he has achieved his short term because none of the major is focusing on the abysmal job report (not even CNBC).
This, I think more than anything else explains the sudden change of strategy from "removal of Assad not being top priority" on Teusday to "crossing many lines" on Wednesday and within the next 24 hours missiles being launched on Thursday night, without any strategy on what the end game is. As with almost everything Trump does, this is simply another attempt to shift media focus and he has achieved his short term because none of the major is focusing on the abysmal job report (not even CNBC).
Regardless of your murky speculating on "why" now attack, Pres. Trump did the RIGHT THING for the world finally after 8 yrs of weak knee scardy cat approaches by Obama. The world IS a dangerous place and he did the right thing and might have prevented a world war. The world needs American strength now more than ever...and I'm thankful he's in the office! Watching him talk about the children gassed in Syria was moving. He's not an eloquent speaker but it was a real human moment of pulling back an emotional curtain. His supporters might not all be thrilled, but as an Independent, I am and I support him totally! Thank you Mr
President!!!
President!!!
The retaliation came just two days after the heinous use of chemical weapons on civilians. Trump said the graphic images of gased children and babies had an impact on him, and he responded quickly. But we also have to keep an eye on his proclivity for being emotional and impetuous.
The missile strike did take the world by surprise. Apart from sending a political message to China's protégé in North Korea, Iran or whoever, it deflected attention away from many challenges Trump faces, and earned praise from Israel and the Sunnis in the Middle East, but it will not end the fighting in Syria, because it hasn't decimated Assad's military capabilities. Now Trump owes the public and Congress what his objectives are. Defending humanitarian values is imperative, but the US shouldn't let itself be dragged deeper into military quagmires again.
"Smart diplomacy" is a supplement to hard power. Perhaps Trump should reconsider slashing jobs at the State Department and hire career diplomats to conduct foreign policy.
The missile strike did take the world by surprise. Apart from sending a political message to China's protégé in North Korea, Iran or whoever, it deflected attention away from many challenges Trump faces, and earned praise from Israel and the Sunnis in the Middle East, but it will not end the fighting in Syria, because it hasn't decimated Assad's military capabilities. Now Trump owes the public and Congress what his objectives are. Defending humanitarian values is imperative, but the US shouldn't let itself be dragged deeper into military quagmires again.
"Smart diplomacy" is a supplement to hard power. Perhaps Trump should reconsider slashing jobs at the State Department and hire career diplomats to conduct foreign policy.
10
As the missiles flew, they are a deflection and cover-up of Trump's glaring flaws: a tsunami of inconsistency (repeatedly demanding in 2012/13, Obama take no action; Trump's own recent words and actions—silence, then blame; a decline to take action, then a reversal, a base bombed with the Chinese President on American soil). The bombing triggered by compassion for photographs, a compassion not evoked by earlier images of bodies of children wrapped in shrouds—or of the dead children (one American girl, 8) his SEAL team-ordered raid left in a Yemeni village.
Like all things Trump, the outside decisions attract public glare. But the inside is weak and failing: Trump builds events, not structures. No one is available to plan, review or approve manpower, mission goals, or material support; teams are missing because the Defense Department has only a single filled seat.
Any business person knows the way to bungle a project is to fly solo (the Navy launched not one missile, but fifty-nine!). Trump insists in this singular way of failure as he basks temporarily in bright lights. What he leaves behind reflects his immoral void.
Again, Trump is using the deaths of innocents (as he has used those killed by community violence and undocumented residents), politicizing their grief for a shining moment. It is the same shameless narcissism of anger and opportunity. Only the greater horror of Assad hides the core of Trump's false and equally cruel beliefs.
Like all things Trump, the outside decisions attract public glare. But the inside is weak and failing: Trump builds events, not structures. No one is available to plan, review or approve manpower, mission goals, or material support; teams are missing because the Defense Department has only a single filled seat.
Any business person knows the way to bungle a project is to fly solo (the Navy launched not one missile, but fifty-nine!). Trump insists in this singular way of failure as he basks temporarily in bright lights. What he leaves behind reflects his immoral void.
Again, Trump is using the deaths of innocents (as he has used those killed by community violence and undocumented residents), politicizing their grief for a shining moment. It is the same shameless narcissism of anger and opportunity. Only the greater horror of Assad hides the core of Trump's false and equally cruel beliefs.
29
" And while he’s at it, he should reopen the door he has tried to slam shut on Syrian refugees. The president’s human reaction to the suffering of those gassed by the Assad regime should extend to all the victims of Syria’s civil war, including those fleeing its violence."
For me, this is the most important paragraph of this column. Our denunciation of human rights violations had gone missing until sarin hit. Then we initiate a proper response. But two days earlier, the President sits down with President Sisi, a dictator who also brutalizes his people.
The way I see it, military engagement is used for our own country's defense, and second, as in Syria, to show the world that an attack on human values, the brutal gassing of children, won't be tolerated. America has always for its values--sometimes wrongly in trying to export democracy--but we're the one country that stands up to evil.
Sending in the Tomahawks is easy. Helping resettle suffering people from war torn Syria is hard, particularly when the president ran on a campaign to expel and bar entry of refugees from Muslim nations.
Donald Trump's ugly campaign rhetoric, and now, his Muslim ban, puts him in a tough spot. His neglect of the State Department puts him in an even tough spot, So far, Rex Tillerson roams widely and freely with no support staff, meeting leaders, but never having to do anything tough: like use diplomacy over Tomahawks.
I hope Mr. Trump and Mr. Tillerson are up for this tough job.
For me, this is the most important paragraph of this column. Our denunciation of human rights violations had gone missing until sarin hit. Then we initiate a proper response. But two days earlier, the President sits down with President Sisi, a dictator who also brutalizes his people.
The way I see it, military engagement is used for our own country's defense, and second, as in Syria, to show the world that an attack on human values, the brutal gassing of children, won't be tolerated. America has always for its values--sometimes wrongly in trying to export democracy--but we're the one country that stands up to evil.
Sending in the Tomahawks is easy. Helping resettle suffering people from war torn Syria is hard, particularly when the president ran on a campaign to expel and bar entry of refugees from Muslim nations.
Donald Trump's ugly campaign rhetoric, and now, his Muslim ban, puts him in a tough spot. His neglect of the State Department puts him in an even tough spot, So far, Rex Tillerson roams widely and freely with no support staff, meeting leaders, but never having to do anything tough: like use diplomacy over Tomahawks.
I hope Mr. Trump and Mr. Tillerson are up for this tough job.
18
We now have diplomacy and leadership in the White House. It's refreshing. We are not apologizing for the United States any more. America is back stronger than ever leading with its diplomacy and negotiation and rejection of terrorist behavior.
5
"We are not apologizing for the United States any more."
Where does this idea even come from?
Where does this idea even come from?
Launching cruise missiles hardly constitutes diplomacy, and if you truly believe military aggression is a necessary component for a stronger America, I recommend you contact your congressional representatives and demand they reinstate the draft.
Trump and smart diplomacy is an oxymoron. Not only is Trump himself totally devoid of any diplomatic experience or appreciation for diplomacy, he has surrounded himself with ideologues, generals and others who have no more diplomatic experience than he. Who's going to lead that diplomacy? Tillerson? Kushner?
There can be no smart diplomacy without smart diplomats, and so far Trump has refused to hire (or any approached have refused to serve) any of those.
There can be no smart diplomacy without smart diplomats, and so far Trump has refused to hire (or any approached have refused to serve) any of those.
20
It's hard not to view Trump's response as being for political show. He was perfectly satisfied for years to let thousands of those same children drown or starve or be killed by traditional weapons, but saw an opportunity to flex American muscle and distract from his domestic failures. What's next? Another bout of regime change?
Some kind of response "feels" warranted, but I hope the administration has given some thought to what comes next. I'm not sure it's as simple as launching missiles at a country with which you're not at war and then walking away.
Some kind of response "feels" warranted, but I hope the administration has given some thought to what comes next. I'm not sure it's as simple as launching missiles at a country with which you're not at war and then walking away.
15
Will Putin show buyer's remorse by releasing damaging info on Trump?
7
There are an awful lot of really hard things that the author wants the Trump administration to do in order thread the policy needle in Syria. The administration must convince Russia to do this, the Assad regime to do that, and Iran to do a third thing. Why in god's name does the author believe these actors, all hostile to the US, are persuadable?
Lots of people, including civilians, have been getting killed in Syria for years. Whether you kill people with chemical weapons or barrel bombs or some other kind of ordnance, they're still dead. The idea that we must step in to right a situation marked by anarchy and religious and ethnic hatred is basically a false notion. We are once again starting down a road that has no end.
I cannot overstate how sick and tired I am of national security "intellectuals" urging the people of the United States to employ their blood and treasure in hopeless situations that, in reality, have no effect on our survival and prosperity. We've now heard from Blinken. When will Winken and Nod be posting pieces here?
Lots of people, including civilians, have been getting killed in Syria for years. Whether you kill people with chemical weapons or barrel bombs or some other kind of ordnance, they're still dead. The idea that we must step in to right a situation marked by anarchy and religious and ethnic hatred is basically a false notion. We are once again starting down a road that has no end.
I cannot overstate how sick and tired I am of national security "intellectuals" urging the people of the United States to employ their blood and treasure in hopeless situations that, in reality, have no effect on our survival and prosperity. We've now heard from Blinken. When will Winken and Nod be posting pieces here?
26
There are times when cold political calculations and partisan politics are not relevant This was one such case.A weapon of mass destruction was used against children and civilians by the Assad regime .It was an despicable act.Kudos to Mr Trump for acting so forcefully and showing that America still matters
5
Note: Acting forcefully usually doesn't involve warning the enemy in advance so they can get out of the way. Oh and now that he's "acted forcefully" what next?
How do you know who used the Sarin gas?
I don't know what Hillary would have done in response to Assad's use of chemical weapons, but if our former Secretary of State were going to slap Syria on the wrist with missiles, I believe she would take longer to think it through, get the support of congress first, and proceed indeed with diplomacy.
Instead, we're stuck living in Trump terror.
This morning more than any other since the election, I wish we could wake up on November 9th and be relieved to realize the election was all just a very bad dream. (I'm having deja vu now -- I think I may have written that comment before.)
Instead, we're stuck living in Trump terror.
This morning more than any other since the election, I wish we could wake up on November 9th and be relieved to realize the election was all just a very bad dream. (I'm having deja vu now -- I think I may have written that comment before.)
26
HRC's response would've been the same as her former boss, nothing, handwringing and finger-pointing with no action.
Dear Mr. Blinken,
Well, you are right about one thing; describing Syria as a "morass" .
Now that we fired missiles at one of Assad's bases, what next?
Your analysis seems to treat the area as if "logic" prevailed versus the various religious and ethnic sects that predominate the conflict in Syria. Talk to this guy, get that guy involved, be sure our pilots are not harassed, etc. with a late mention of "mission creep", the politically correct term for American soldiers having limbs blown off or killed, and all for what?
That Assad is a brutal dictator is well known but not a good enough reason to commit troops to this mess where allies become enemies as soon as ones back is turned.
I guess losing 5,000 American lives in Iraq for dubious results toppling a different dictator isn't enough so let's run off to Syria and do it all over again. Please tell me why dying from gas is different than dying from a bullet to the stomach? Or being blown to pieces by a fragmentation bomb?
As terrible as it sounds, at least it isn't American young lives being ruined by a never ending conflict.
If Mr. Putin wants this particular arena, he can have it. It seems with our current batch of leaders worldwide, history has taught them nothing and the "chicken hawks" are still trying to play war with somebody else's lives.
Well, you are right about one thing; describing Syria as a "morass" .
Now that we fired missiles at one of Assad's bases, what next?
Your analysis seems to treat the area as if "logic" prevailed versus the various religious and ethnic sects that predominate the conflict in Syria. Talk to this guy, get that guy involved, be sure our pilots are not harassed, etc. with a late mention of "mission creep", the politically correct term for American soldiers having limbs blown off or killed, and all for what?
That Assad is a brutal dictator is well known but not a good enough reason to commit troops to this mess where allies become enemies as soon as ones back is turned.
I guess losing 5,000 American lives in Iraq for dubious results toppling a different dictator isn't enough so let's run off to Syria and do it all over again. Please tell me why dying from gas is different than dying from a bullet to the stomach? Or being blown to pieces by a fragmentation bomb?
As terrible as it sounds, at least it isn't American young lives being ruined by a never ending conflict.
If Mr. Putin wants this particular arena, he can have it. It seems with our current batch of leaders worldwide, history has taught them nothing and the "chicken hawks" are still trying to play war with somebody else's lives.
22
My thinking is aligned in this way but I am not an expert on any of this. While using chemical weapons is considered beyond the pale, I cannot seem to find any reasons why killing people no matter how you do it is killing, plain and simple.
I noted yesterday that the war in Iraq( and Afghanistsn) killed hundreds of thousands of people. Aren't most of those people "the innocent"? Why is that not considered beyond the pale? Weren't many children?
As someone noted earlier you can't stop violence with violence. I don't have an answer except somehow this all reminds me of Iraq. And understanding how the US responded in that situation can hopefully teach us something. But maybe it's too late. Human beings seem to learn very slow how they get in their own way. I know I do. This process of not learning from past actions evidences the power of instinct and feelings and multigenerational patterns of responding to threat.
I noted yesterday that the war in Iraq( and Afghanistsn) killed hundreds of thousands of people. Aren't most of those people "the innocent"? Why is that not considered beyond the pale? Weren't many children?
As someone noted earlier you can't stop violence with violence. I don't have an answer except somehow this all reminds me of Iraq. And understanding how the US responded in that situation can hopefully teach us something. But maybe it's too late. Human beings seem to learn very slow how they get in their own way. I know I do. This process of not learning from past actions evidences the power of instinct and feelings and multigenerational patterns of responding to threat.
1
Ratings bump here we come ... While pleased so see a "presidential act" I don't discount the Trumpian calculus for improved approval.
10
Broken clocks get the time right twice a day.
But they still need fixing or getting rid of.
But they still need fixing or getting rid of.
7
We were all so sure that Iraq had WMD.
11
With all due respect, I categorically disagree. Yes, "the world looks to America to act." It does not, however, look to America to act like a school yard bully lobbing missiles – without due consideration, without congressional approval, without a clear plan for follow up – into an already inflamed war zone. That is what "Mr. Trump did, and for that he should [NOT[ be commended." The Syrian internal conflict and its devastating effects on the region and, indeed, the whole world, call for intelligent, forthright, and forceful diplomacy. Like all bullies, Trump understands force, but intelligence and forthrightness are way down the list of his attributes and skills – in fact, they aren't on that list at all! For that reason, he will fail the "real test" that "comes next" and the Syrian and American people will be the worse for it.
26
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn.
19
This article, and the many responses below, all miss the single and most fundamental point: WAR IS OBSOLETE! Conventional war. Civil war. Nuclear war. All war. Every time we, or any nation, try to resolve conflict with violence, we only work to correct symptoms, and thus make zero progress dealing with root cause. There are many, many alternatives to war. These must be understood, implemented and sustained NOW, so that these atrocities do not continue. Alternatives are relationship-based, preventative and have nothing to do with missiles, bombs, ordinance, rounds, troops or boots on the ground.
Think I'm wrong? Light a grocery bag of garbage on fire, and then light a second bag of garbage on fire and try to use it to put the first one out.
WAR IS OBSOLETE! Conventional war. Civil war. Nuclear war. All war.
Think I'm wrong? Light a grocery bag of garbage on fire, and then light a second bag of garbage on fire and try to use it to put the first one out.
WAR IS OBSOLETE! Conventional war. Civil war. Nuclear war. All war.
37
How come Trump cares about Syrian children when he finds out they were victims of chemical warfare from Assad, but not about the ones who are trying to come here because they are victims of normal warfare from the same guy?
103
How come this incompetent man/child cares about Syrian children who were victims of chemical warfare from Assad, but not poor American children from having NO healthcare in the richest country in the so-called civilised world?
2
Answer: he doesn't really care, but the "think of the children" ploy as worked quite well since 9/11. His statements "Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror....We ask for God's wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed" are so false as to be nauseating.
He doesn't care about either the children or God.
He doesn't care about either the children or God.
2
Gee, maybe its because (now i need you to try really hard to be aware there are two separate things happening here) economic migrants are not the same as children hemorrhaging their internal organs as they lie twisted, their nerves seizing as they die in slow agony, parents desperately attempting to save them as they die themselves, watching the tail of a Syrian government plane return to base for a reload before it harvests another crop of terror...
But yeah. No one could possibly care about the second group of kids more than the first. You'd have to be a racist monster to do that.
But yeah. No one could possibly care about the second group of kids more than the first. You'd have to be a racist monster to do that.
Even a clock that's stopped is right twice a day. So let's see what Trump does for the next 11 hours and 59 minutes...
22
Didn't vote for trump but you should accept the fact that Obama was dead wrong for 8 straight years on foreign policy so trump is already an improvement...
What worries me about Trump is that everything he does and says seems to be couched in deep resentment of Obama. If Obama did it, he won't; if Obama didn't do it, he will. And actually, in 2013, Trump said we should not take any military action in response to Assad's sarin attacks then, and now he's attacking Obama for "not doing anything" (which is false).
I have never seen it work out well when a person in a leadership position is obsessed with and motivated by resentment toward another. Trump can't seem to get over Obama's WHCD speech. Even as he seems to be slowly waking up to the fact that the reality of the job doesn't at all match his campaign rhetoric, he can't seem to apply that fact to the job itself, including for Pres. Obama, and instead continues to project his bizarre and disturbing resentment of Obama onto everything, including a horrific Sarin attack on people.
I have never seen it work out well when a person in a leadership position is obsessed with and motivated by resentment toward another. Trump can't seem to get over Obama's WHCD speech. Even as he seems to be slowly waking up to the fact that the reality of the job doesn't at all match his campaign rhetoric, he can't seem to apply that fact to the job itself, including for Pres. Obama, and instead continues to project his bizarre and disturbing resentment of Obama onto everything, including a horrific Sarin attack on people.
53
As always, Trump's favourite game is deflection defense mechanism. He now blames President Obama for the 'mess' that is Syria, while forgetting that his predecessor didn't want to start another shooting war is the Middle East inside Syria without Congressional approval.
Congress turned that request down because the American people had become war-weary.
Congress turned that request down because the American people had become war-weary.
1
I have no qualm of the U.S. striking Syrian military targets to send Assad and the World a message if this is not staged.
To begin with, dropping 59 tomahawks on 1 airfield is like leveling the same building several times over. It makes no sense.
Then, why did the U.S. pre-warn Russia. To let Putin have a chance to call Assad?
Then came the mixed message of SoS Tillerson to Russia. It is obvious Russia is complicit of the Sarin gas attack by its failure to remove chemical weapons from Syria per 2013 agreement. Yet, while Tillerson talked tough at one moment, he & Trump give Putin a pass in the end.
Still, it is a message to both President Xi and N Korea.
So now Trump has established his street creed in world politics, nothing much has changed. If keeping the rest of the world off balance, he has achieved the objective. However, if it is the plan, the world feels no safer, but worse.
Time to re-watch Dr Strangelove? Maybe
To begin with, dropping 59 tomahawks on 1 airfield is like leveling the same building several times over. It makes no sense.
Then, why did the U.S. pre-warn Russia. To let Putin have a chance to call Assad?
Then came the mixed message of SoS Tillerson to Russia. It is obvious Russia is complicit of the Sarin gas attack by its failure to remove chemical weapons from Syria per 2013 agreement. Yet, while Tillerson talked tough at one moment, he & Trump give Putin a pass in the end.
Still, it is a message to both President Xi and N Korea.
So now Trump has established his street creed in world politics, nothing much has changed. If keeping the rest of the world off balance, he has achieved the objective. However, if it is the plan, the world feels no safer, but worse.
Time to re-watch Dr Strangelove? Maybe
13
It seemed like almost overnight Trump's primary stated goal of fighting ISIS in Syria changed after he watched the gruesome pictures of Assad's chemical attack on his own people (or so early intelligence seems to indicate). The whole thrust of his campaign was built on the logic that the USA could join forces with Russia, Iran, and Assad to rid the ISIS scourge from that part of the world.
Now the ever impulsive Trump has turned that goal on its head.
Trump is not a deep thinker. He has been in the process of decimating the State Department. To now think that he will now follow this attack with smart long term diplomacy is wishful thinking of the highest order.
Now the ever impulsive Trump has turned that goal on its head.
Trump is not a deep thinker. He has been in the process of decimating the State Department. To now think that he will now follow this attack with smart long term diplomacy is wishful thinking of the highest order.
35
"All this will require something in which the administration has shown little interest: smart diplomacy."
This is a judgment we can legitimately make after 100 days?
First, Trump is a den of incompetent billionaires (being wealthy makes you suspicious like going to Yale or Harvard does not...). Then we are making declarations that all policies are undermining the voters that Trump still rallies once a week.
I guess it makes sense to attack his diplomatic record.
Carry on.
This is a judgment we can legitimately make after 100 days?
First, Trump is a den of incompetent billionaires (being wealthy makes you suspicious like going to Yale or Harvard does not...). Then we are making declarations that all policies are undermining the voters that Trump still rallies once a week.
I guess it makes sense to attack his diplomatic record.
Carry on.
3
Trump's move has a side effect that may be more practically important than the punishment of Assad's Syria. It is a clear warning to the North Koreans of the possible consequences of overstepping the line.
6
It also may divert attention from the russian connection (during the election campaign).
5
ONE MORE REASON TO SHED OUR ADDICTION TO FOSSIL FUELS!!
If it weren't for the oil there, no one would give a rat's patootie about all this tribal and religious enmity in the Middle East. The folks there could kill each other in the name of whatever, and the rest of the world could go about its business.
If it weren't for the oil there, no one would give a rat's patootie about all this tribal and religious enmity in the Middle East. The folks there could kill each other in the name of whatever, and the rest of the world could go about its business.
9
Mr. Blinken, this administration will absolutely not hold Vladimir Putin accountable for anything. As for "smart diplomacy", good luck with that. But miracles never cease. With Jared Kushner as a seasoned and knowledgeable diplomat who's the de facto secretary of state, anything's possible. And no, this president's hatred for Arab states and his fake concern for the suffering of children who were chemically attacked in Syria does not signal a conciliatory tone and approach in his attitude towards Islamic countries.
15
Huh, whaaat?? An Obama guy nodding approval, then lecturing what Trump must (3 mentions) and should (9 mentions) do? No mention of past lines in sand? Please sir, spare us your nerve gas, and start taking notes. This is how you guys should have played it rom the get-go.
2
Very interesting analysis. Totally contrary to what Trump was saying at the time about how Obama should not have interacted with Syria. Trump changes positions on these things like I change my underwear
5
The only end goal in play for our involvement in the Middle East is to convert a portion of the world used to either a dictator or a Caliphate into a democracy.
That will never happen. Therefore we should get out and stay out.
It is up to those involved to deal with their own problems.
It would help if the press got out as well and did not broadcast the atrocities - gassing and beheadings and throwing of roofs.
History has shown that any intervention by us in that part of the world has created chaos and resentment there and blood and treasure here.
That will never happen. Therefore we should get out and stay out.
It is up to those involved to deal with their own problems.
It would help if the press got out as well and did not broadcast the atrocities - gassing and beheadings and throwing of roofs.
History has shown that any intervention by us in that part of the world has created chaos and resentment there and blood and treasure here.
4
Trump has not addressed the possibility that his own laissez-faire attitude to Assad, as expressed this week, gave that brutal man encouragement to commit the atrocity in Syria. Would those children still be alive if Trump had been a firmer or more principled leader?
Don't overlook the pesky little detail of UN and Congressional approval, as Trump apparently did (and as Obama did not). Lawyers are pointing out that the airstrikes, while morally justified and no doubt gratifying to Trump's desire to bomb Muslims - any Muslims - in the name of "beautiful babies," are not in accord with international or national law. Trump, once again, cheapens a truly somber tragedy, a terrible human loss, by his cynical use of the deaths of others for political purposes.
Don't overlook the pesky little detail of UN and Congressional approval, as Trump apparently did (and as Obama did not). Lawyers are pointing out that the airstrikes, while morally justified and no doubt gratifying to Trump's desire to bomb Muslims - any Muslims - in the name of "beautiful babies," are not in accord with international or national law. Trump, once again, cheapens a truly somber tragedy, a terrible human loss, by his cynical use of the deaths of others for political purposes.
180
That is an incorrect analysis. First of all, Trump has never endorsed Assad and it is uniformed biased conjecture to suggest his reluctance to publicly disavow Assad led to this tragedy. That's just plain silly talk. Second, you ignore 7 years of fecklessness by the Obama administration. Do you really think such an attack was planned and executed within a couple of days after the comments of Tillerson last week? That's just ignorance. This was planned and carried out for weeks in advance, if not months, with all kinds of calculus by the Assad government. Which is why I think this strike was more symbolic than effective at destroying stockpiles. They were gone. I would also suggest that Russia knew, without being told, of the Assad decision and is using this as a proxy to test Pres. Trump's national security behavior without being directly involved. Lastly, this was completely legal under both US law, which drives US policy, as well as International law because of the potential imminent risk to US based personnel in the region the use of these WMD weapons represented. We don't yet know if the Administration consulted with the leaders of Congress, but my guess is they did. That is all that is required and I see no leader of either party raising this issue, which tells me they were informed and consulted. The Constitution doesn't require getting a vote for these types of actions and query every single member of congress to get their input.
So far theasre is no proof that the chemical attack was really conducted by the Assad-Regime. There was no tim for a thorough investigation. Still the author of this article takes it for granted and states that Trump did the right thing. I am not sure if it is right that the US is violating international laws on a regular basis like they did since the Kosovo war in 1999. (Iraq war, drone killings, Syria) How long can we continue to do this until we start losing our allies. Actually I am not sure if we still have one.
14
" I am not sure if it is right that the US is violating international laws on a regular basis"
When it comes to major powers, there has been no such thing as international law for decades. Who would enforce it? The UN??? Maybe they occasionally drag in a couple machete Armed African leaders in their dotage for show, but when all our major powers are for all practical purposes criminal organizations, we basically are living in an era of honor-amongst-thieves Theocracies of many different God's, none more refuted than another.
When it comes to major powers, there has been no such thing as international law for decades. Who would enforce it? The UN??? Maybe they occasionally drag in a couple machete Armed African leaders in their dotage for show, but when all our major powers are for all practical purposes criminal organizations, we basically are living in an era of honor-amongst-thieves Theocracies of many different God's, none more refuted than another.
Trump is in over his head. That is dangerous for America.
The timing of this is suspicious. Trump has been trying desperately, unsuccessfully, to distract from the investigation into his economic and political ties to Russia. He also needed to show China that he could act boldly and decisively. I'm sure Trump hopes that this action will achieve both of those ends, and I'm sure that he hasn't considered much beyond that.
There is much more to this than we know, but we do know that the man behind the curtain here is Putin, the man who holds the strings on both Assad and Trump. How much of this was his doing?
Why did Assad use his chemical weapons. now? What did that gain him? Nothing. The Tomahawk retaliation was aimed at a non-strategic target, a rarely used,airstrip that didn't have many of Assad's Russian-supplied weaponry. So Trump's retaliation didn't hurt him much either.
I'm not much of one for conspiracy theories, but the entirety of the Trump Presidency has a bad smell to it.
It reeks of Putin.
The timing of this is suspicious. Trump has been trying desperately, unsuccessfully, to distract from the investigation into his economic and political ties to Russia. He also needed to show China that he could act boldly and decisively. I'm sure Trump hopes that this action will achieve both of those ends, and I'm sure that he hasn't considered much beyond that.
There is much more to this than we know, but we do know that the man behind the curtain here is Putin, the man who holds the strings on both Assad and Trump. How much of this was his doing?
Why did Assad use his chemical weapons. now? What did that gain him? Nothing. The Tomahawk retaliation was aimed at a non-strategic target, a rarely used,airstrip that didn't have many of Assad's Russian-supplied weaponry. So Trump's retaliation didn't hurt him much either.
I'm not much of one for conspiracy theories, but the entirety of the Trump Presidency has a bad smell to it.
It reeks of Putin.
21
We won't take their women and children refugees but we'll bomb 'em. He couldn't even announce this attack without looking up from a TelePrompTer.
Good luck with smart diplomacy.
Good luck with smart diplomacy.
10
Smart diplomacy and Donald trump do not
go together in the same sentence.
If we survive this " presidency " by the fake
unelected hate monger in chief, we will be lucky .
In the meantime every single morning brings the
promise of more anxiety and despair as we watch
what the buffoon 's most recent attack on civil
society is. Beam me up Scotty!
go together in the same sentence.
If we survive this " presidency " by the fake
unelected hate monger in chief, we will be lucky .
In the meantime every single morning brings the
promise of more anxiety and despair as we watch
what the buffoon 's most recent attack on civil
society is. Beam me up Scotty!
8
It will be a very bad thing if trump sees a bump in his poll numbers on account of this bombing. I just know he's feeling like king of the world right now: the world is applauding him and he did something he thinks Obama was too "weak" to do.
I fear Assad will now have to re-assert his power and it'll be more barrel bombs. And if he does so, what then? Trump ups the ante?
I don't see Putin backing down; he's calling it a war crime; does not accept Assad dropped the chemicals...and Russia has and will continue to make billions in supplying Syria with new armaments. Maybe if America lifts sanctions in compensation, Putin might play at putting pressure on Assad, but he'll never give him up.
I fear Assad will now have to re-assert his power and it'll be more barrel bombs. And if he does so, what then? Trump ups the ante?
I don't see Putin backing down; he's calling it a war crime; does not accept Assad dropped the chemicals...and Russia has and will continue to make billions in supplying Syria with new armaments. Maybe if America lifts sanctions in compensation, Putin might play at putting pressure on Assad, but he'll never give him up.
3
What happened to the US Constitution? The President unilaterally orders a military attack on a sovereign nation without consent of Congress? Did Trump even inform congressional leaders beforehand? He told the Russians.
Who takes responsibility now for what comes next? Are we, on our own, ready to ask our soldiers to shed blood, again, to invade and then occupy yet another Middle East nation? Are we going to throw open our doors to Syrian refugees?
Gassing human beings is horrible and must be answered.
And we are a nation of laws. At least we used to be.
Who takes responsibility now for what comes next? Are we, on our own, ready to ask our soldiers to shed blood, again, to invade and then occupy yet another Middle East nation? Are we going to throw open our doors to Syrian refugees?
Gassing human beings is horrible and must be answered.
And we are a nation of laws. At least we used to be.
158
As far as I could ascertain, he did not get the consent of Congress, Congress that was too busy celebrating the "other" nuclear option...
1
Only send troops who families voted for this incompetent man/child.
1
The Nation is navigating without a 'President' and Laws that were instilled after the Holocaust are being ignored. America is becoming insular and we are watching the closing of our borders, while Humanity shudders.
1
After the Missiles, We Need Smart Diplomacy?
No, after this illegal attack you need to get rid of Trump immediately and put him in a court for Crimes against Humanity.
Trump has started an illegal attack and an illegal war as he has no UN mandate and that qualifies as a war crime and a crime against humanity for which he needs to be held responsible in a court.
Something he has denied the real perpetrators of the Sarin attack which still have to be identified.
Trump is following the footsteps of another "great leader" who "shot back since 0545" and started a global war.
No, after this illegal attack you need to get rid of Trump immediately and put him in a court for Crimes against Humanity.
Trump has started an illegal attack and an illegal war as he has no UN mandate and that qualifies as a war crime and a crime against humanity for which he needs to be held responsible in a court.
Something he has denied the real perpetrators of the Sarin attack which still have to be identified.
Trump is following the footsteps of another "great leader" who "shot back since 0545" and started a global war.
7
Until Mr. Trump proves that he is capable of, and has the discipline to carry out, a long term strategy on anything, I will believe the most likely scenario for these attacks is that Mr. Trump was looking to divert attention from his myriad problems at home, and to flex his muscles abroad.
Maybe Trump was trying to warn the North Koreans that he means business and could strike them as well. Maybe he was trying to gain leverage with the Chinese while President Xi is at Mar-a-Lago. But Mr. Trump has never shown he understands anything but raw power and dominance, and military attacks are the best way, in his mind, of conveying power and dominance. But this was a limited strike which will not slow down Assad's chemical weapons capability very much.
If diplomacy were central to Mr. Trump's thinking the State Department would not be seriously understaffed, and more competent people (not family members or political hacks) would be in his administration.
In other words, I doubt there will be any diplomatic follow through or even that there is a well thought out strategy. Time will tell.
Maybe Trump was trying to warn the North Koreans that he means business and could strike them as well. Maybe he was trying to gain leverage with the Chinese while President Xi is at Mar-a-Lago. But Mr. Trump has never shown he understands anything but raw power and dominance, and military attacks are the best way, in his mind, of conveying power and dominance. But this was a limited strike which will not slow down Assad's chemical weapons capability very much.
If diplomacy were central to Mr. Trump's thinking the State Department would not be seriously understaffed, and more competent people (not family members or political hacks) would be in his administration.
In other words, I doubt there will be any diplomatic follow through or even that there is a well thought out strategy. Time will tell.
7
Iraq, we removed Hussein and destabilized the government and region with no real plan on what comes next. We are still an occupying force in Iraq way more than a decade later. U.S. soldiers died and came home wounded for nothing.
Afghanistan, we destabilized the government and setup a mockery of a democratic government and still more than a decade later we are an occupying force with no real plan on what comes next. Our original mission in Afghanistan was long ago accomplished; why are we still there?
Libya, we destabilized the government, helped remove Gaddafi and Libya remains destabilized with no real plan on what comes next. Libya is now the training a top ground for terrorists.
Syria, while Assad is a war criminal and the Russians are war criminal enablers, are we going to once again destabilize the government, remove Assad and then what? Removing Assad with no real follow up plan will be just another Iraq, a failure and will further destabilize the region.
How many times are we going to repeat the same failed policies? How many more U.S. soldiers are going to die or come home wounded from this region, having fought and died for nothing?
Afghanistan, we destabilized the government and setup a mockery of a democratic government and still more than a decade later we are an occupying force with no real plan on what comes next. Our original mission in Afghanistan was long ago accomplished; why are we still there?
Libya, we destabilized the government, helped remove Gaddafi and Libya remains destabilized with no real plan on what comes next. Libya is now the training a top ground for terrorists.
Syria, while Assad is a war criminal and the Russians are war criminal enablers, are we going to once again destabilize the government, remove Assad and then what? Removing Assad with no real follow up plan will be just another Iraq, a failure and will further destabilize the region.
How many times are we going to repeat the same failed policies? How many more U.S. soldiers are going to die or come home wounded from this region, having fought and died for nothing?
17
Here we go again. How soon we forget Mideast sand turns to quicksand.
20
So the US feels better for lobbing some missiles at some second tier military target. Assad is still in power and will stay that way. (Given the alternative that might not be so bad.) What have we, the world or the Syrian people gained? Nothing.
Now lets see the consequences. A coherent, comprehensive and globally accepted strategy is needed. Not the tough guy actions of the boy-king. We had enough of that under the last Republican debacle.
Now lets see the consequences. A coherent, comprehensive and globally accepted strategy is needed. Not the tough guy actions of the boy-king. We had enough of that under the last Republican debacle.
118
The only certainty the United States can expect from the Tomahawk cruise missile attack on the Syrian airbase, is that there will be some unforeseen, negative externality for the United States. That is the iron law of U.S. Middle East intervention.
9
It was the right thing. I am afraid for the wrong reasons. I do not believe Trump had a change of mind in 24 hours because of the horrible genocide conducted by Bashar al-Assad, with a mass destruction weapon.
I think that Trump needed an urgent distraction to stop the public focus on the investigations of his campaign affairs with Putin and, he found a huge distraction that would bother Putin. Accomplished the distraction plus "evidence" that Putin does not own him. We will see.
I will wait for the smart diplomacy and will certainly commend him then.
I think that Trump needed an urgent distraction to stop the public focus on the investigations of his campaign affairs with Putin and, he found a huge distraction that would bother Putin. Accomplished the distraction plus "evidence" that Putin does not own him. We will see.
I will wait for the smart diplomacy and will certainly commend him then.
186
Don't hold your breath.
Operation Distraction commenced and we will see how effective it was in hitting its target: Congressional investigation of the Russian connection in the US election. A $100,000,000 show bombing for publicity - I'm sure the base is having orgasms.
There is no outrage, there should be grim determination. Assad and his henchmen will pay.
1
And once again the tar baby that is the Middle East sucks in yet another POTUS. I get that a statement had to be made by someone. I get it. I do. The slaughter of innocence demands punishment.
But where is the rest of the international community in this? The United States has been in the middle of this mess for well over a half century at this point. We don't seem to get it. It's a tar baby and it keeps growing arms, as the prior colonial empires of the UK and France can attest. There can be no solution that does not come from the Middle East citizenry themselves. Anything else is simply enabling them to continue with their monkey back-biting ways.
As an American I say get us OUT of the Middle East. You want an enforcer? Make it a strong, international, one.
John~
American Net'Zen
But where is the rest of the international community in this? The United States has been in the middle of this mess for well over a half century at this point. We don't seem to get it. It's a tar baby and it keeps growing arms, as the prior colonial empires of the UK and France can attest. There can be no solution that does not come from the Middle East citizenry themselves. Anything else is simply enabling them to continue with their monkey back-biting ways.
As an American I say get us OUT of the Middle East. You want an enforcer? Make it a strong, international, one.
John~
American Net'Zen
2
Being 74, and reading this opinion it is not much different than others I've read in years past. After hostile action is taken we then start to talk about diplomacy. Always the cart before the horse.
This missile attack is just another example of our current "out of control" President. Shoot first ask questions later. Just like one we had when this whole mess started years ago in the mideast. "W".
Things are just going to get worse as we now have our country on a fast track to the abyss with this President and his Generals.
This missile attack is just another example of our current "out of control" President. Shoot first ask questions later. Just like one we had when this whole mess started years ago in the mideast. "W".
Things are just going to get worse as we now have our country on a fast track to the abyss with this President and his Generals.
7
In the article "Moscow and Iran Condemn Attacks," a spokesman for Putin denies that Assad used chemical weapons —which he of course did. But it is striking how similar our country has become to an autocracy. Trump and his spokespeople have no regard for the truth either and lie as bluntly and as often.
4
Smart diplomacy? Trump didn't even try to get a resolution adopted by the UN. His evidence is shaky at best. His actions were a clear violation of international law.
This is banditism and you can only expect that more and more countries will start to treat the US as a terrorist entity.
Once upon a time gunboat diplomacy was considered normal. Nowadays it risk to get us in World War III.
This is banditism and you can only expect that more and more countries will start to treat the US as a terrorist entity.
Once upon a time gunboat diplomacy was considered normal. Nowadays it risk to get us in World War III.
6
International laws declaring gas a "weapon of mass destruction" were meant to stop its usage against military troops, not civilians. No one really cared what happened to civilians and they certainly did not care what happened inside national boundaries. Nothing has changed. The world stands idly by while hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of them "little babies" are slaughtered. Is a child washing up on the beaches of Greece any different than a child gassed to death in Syria? Until leaders around the world realize that Civilian Lives Matter just as much as military ones, there will be no peace.
2
Mr. Blinken's piece is a good outline of what should happen. But I have little confidence in this president and administration in carrying any of it out.
Just last week Sec. Tilleson signaled that since the Syrian people should decide their own fate that he and the president where effectively green lighting anything that Butcher Assad wanted to do. Given the ongoing investigation into just how deeply obligated this president and many of his people are to the Russian Oligarchs and their Klepto Czar there is ample reason for skepticism as to the presidents ability to generate and sustain a coherent policy.
It's emotionally satisfying to see the U.S. take a poke at Assad. But that's the easy part. We will just have to wait and see what comes next.
And where is Congress going to fit in to all of this? They did not support Obama in 13 when he asked for authority to do the same thing. And the public's attention and support for commitment to long term action in Syria is finite at this point.
And what about the money? You know the reactionary party is fond of making war while throwing another tax break for the rich.
Just remember that this president is very ignorant on most issues and most decided so on Foreign Policy issues. Wait and see and be prepared to keep resisting.
Just last week Sec. Tilleson signaled that since the Syrian people should decide their own fate that he and the president where effectively green lighting anything that Butcher Assad wanted to do. Given the ongoing investigation into just how deeply obligated this president and many of his people are to the Russian Oligarchs and their Klepto Czar there is ample reason for skepticism as to the presidents ability to generate and sustain a coherent policy.
It's emotionally satisfying to see the U.S. take a poke at Assad. But that's the easy part. We will just have to wait and see what comes next.
And where is Congress going to fit in to all of this? They did not support Obama in 13 when he asked for authority to do the same thing. And the public's attention and support for commitment to long term action in Syria is finite at this point.
And what about the money? You know the reactionary party is fond of making war while throwing another tax break for the rich.
Just remember that this president is very ignorant on most issues and most decided so on Foreign Policy issues. Wait and see and be prepared to keep resisting.
4
Although I agree with all of the moves you site in advocating smart diplomacy, I can't help but feel you are playing three dimensional chess while one of the boards is obscured from sight. Donald Trump has provided no basis on which the American people can continue to trust him, so I don't know that we can expect any foreign country to take him at his word. The whole basis of diplomacy is based on trust or, at least, a logical understanding that the "powers that be" will act in the best interests of their country. Trump has proven, already, that he only acts in the best interests of Trump.
5
After months of negativity, it is good to be able to say that the Trump administration has done something positive. By retaliating against a heinous and barbaric act, he struck a blow for humanity and will certainly cause Assad to think twice before doing it again. There however is huge dangers going forward and the key is for the President to come up with a clear strategy - just sending his son-in-law into the middle East to sort things out won't work.
The administration needs to get over its distrust of experts and call in sufficient numbers of them to produce an over-arching strategy. Too frequently in the past, the US has found itself sucked into a foreign morass without any real idea of how it got there. Trump himself is the master of the tactical approach, but that is the one with the most danger now. We can but hope that he can be persuaded to move from reactive tactics to pursuing a longer term strategy that has some chance of a positive outcome - for the US and the Middle East.
The administration needs to get over its distrust of experts and call in sufficient numbers of them to produce an over-arching strategy. Too frequently in the past, the US has found itself sucked into a foreign morass without any real idea of how it got there. Trump himself is the master of the tactical approach, but that is the one with the most danger now. We can but hope that he can be persuaded to move from reactive tactics to pursuing a longer term strategy that has some chance of a positive outcome - for the US and the Middle East.
2
While there are justifications that are valid to deter the war criminal in Damascus, another concern arises: Could this attack be the ultimate, distracting tweet?
5
We can't continue be the world's police force and conscience. Anger and revenge may seem justified in response to the horrors we've seen in the news, but it runs the risk of escalating out of control if there's no longer view plan. Why is it we have a feckless U.N? We need to change how it operates which means changing or eliminating the Security Council. This action will do nothing to simplify the cauldron we've come to know as the Middle-east.
How much of Trump's pro Putin rhetoric emboldened Assad to use chemical weapons? Perhaps smart diplomacy before missiles might have been the better approach, and saved innocent lives.
2
There is plenty of work to do in support of our foreign policy outside of missile strikes. Just as health is not just the absence of disease, peace is not just the absence of war.
For the executive branch: Nominate candidates to in-fill ALL the executive decisions requiring Senate confirmation today. However skilled he is, SecState Tillerson cannot do everything, especially with complex negotiations.
For the Senate: Vote these nominees up or down expeditiously. If you leave our government with only a military capability, it will be used exclusively.
For all of us: Let's accept a responsibility for the survival of all the world's children. For Alan Kurdi, the dead child on the Turkish beach, for the children fleeing chaos in Central America, for the dying children in South Sudan and Yemen dying of hunger. For all of them. We can create an immediate safe zone for each one of them. Montana is nice. I have been to Montana and there are very few people there. Also Wyoming, Nebraska and all over this great country. Either we stop the claptrap about terrorists creeping into our country or we need to prepare for more US military deaths abroad.
For the executive branch: Nominate candidates to in-fill ALL the executive decisions requiring Senate confirmation today. However skilled he is, SecState Tillerson cannot do everything, especially with complex negotiations.
For the Senate: Vote these nominees up or down expeditiously. If you leave our government with only a military capability, it will be used exclusively.
For all of us: Let's accept a responsibility for the survival of all the world's children. For Alan Kurdi, the dead child on the Turkish beach, for the children fleeing chaos in Central America, for the dying children in South Sudan and Yemen dying of hunger. For all of them. We can create an immediate safe zone for each one of them. Montana is nice. I have been to Montana and there are very few people there. Also Wyoming, Nebraska and all over this great country. Either we stop the claptrap about terrorists creeping into our country or we need to prepare for more US military deaths abroad.
1
If you think he was right, how do you feel about the possibility of retaliatory responses.
For example, should we declare war if Iran decides to block the straits of Hormuz, and cutoff oil shipments?
Should we reinstate the draft since Trump stated we are protecting the vital interests of the US, and if so, how long do think Americans will support our military intervention?
Do you even understand how past American foreign policy has shaped the current situation in the Middle East? And I am not referring entirely to the Bush fiasco; our foreign policy debacles regarding the Mid-East, date back to the end of WWI, when we implicitly endorsed Western colonialism.
Do you also not understand that the beneficiary of our continued involvement in the Mid-East will most likely be China, who can stand on the sidelines and pick up the pieces?
Also please explain to me how our expansion of NATO, and our inept middle eastern policies are any different from the Soviet Union's overreach in the 80's, which we know where that led.
Finally, we failed in Libya, as you acknowledged in your article, why would you think, under our most ignorant president in history, the outcome in the middle east would be anything less than disastrous.
For example, should we declare war if Iran decides to block the straits of Hormuz, and cutoff oil shipments?
Should we reinstate the draft since Trump stated we are protecting the vital interests of the US, and if so, how long do think Americans will support our military intervention?
Do you even understand how past American foreign policy has shaped the current situation in the Middle East? And I am not referring entirely to the Bush fiasco; our foreign policy debacles regarding the Mid-East, date back to the end of WWI, when we implicitly endorsed Western colonialism.
Do you also not understand that the beneficiary of our continued involvement in the Mid-East will most likely be China, who can stand on the sidelines and pick up the pieces?
Also please explain to me how our expansion of NATO, and our inept middle eastern policies are any different from the Soviet Union's overreach in the 80's, which we know where that led.
Finally, we failed in Libya, as you acknowledged in your article, why would you think, under our most ignorant president in history, the outcome in the middle east would be anything less than disastrous.
2
Smart diplomacy by the Trump administration, is that going to happen?
In the world of international diplomacy words spoken have special meanings. They will be interpreted by all listening and the president and the administration, but especially the president, has so far shown the world that they do not understand this. And they have sacked or ar not listening to those in the administration that knows.
In the world of international diplomacy words spoken have special meanings. They will be interpreted by all listening and the president and the administration, but especially the president, has so far shown the world that they do not understand this. And they have sacked or ar not listening to those in the administration that knows.
The smart diplomacy which the author advocates will have to be planned and executed by a team working behind President Trump, who is not even capable of reading prepared statements without revealing that the words are not his own and the thoughts are over his head.
In all the sentences beginning, "He will have to...", substitute "They" for "He". Then suppose that Trump knows what's good for him and will consent to be a head of state without trying to run things or even pretend that he's doing so apart from formally overseeing the work of his team. That much, of course, is required of the president as head of government.
President Trump can't expect so much credit as he'd undoubtedly like to get, but what he needs to focus on is limiting discredit.
http://thefamilyproperty.blogspot.jp/
In all the sentences beginning, "He will have to...", substitute "They" for "He". Then suppose that Trump knows what's good for him and will consent to be a head of state without trying to run things or even pretend that he's doing so apart from formally overseeing the work of his team. That much, of course, is required of the president as head of government.
President Trump can't expect so much credit as he'd undoubtedly like to get, but what he needs to focus on is limiting discredit.
http://thefamilyproperty.blogspot.jp/
EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS Antony J. Blinken's excellent article is a handy compendium of sophisticated, well planned actions that US diplomacy needs to follow up with the cruise missile strikes launched from US naval vessels near Syria. Jared Kushner needs to be the point person along with Rex Mattis, as Trump's memory function is so limited that he reportedly follows the advice of the last person he's spoken with. To follow the complex agenda outlined by Blinken, the person leading must have focus, concentration and determination to follow the rocky road ahead. Trump's 140 character memory, his impulsivity and refusal to participate in daily security briefings will not cut it. Pence has no background in international affairs. Jared Kushner seems to be a quick study. So the job of managing the follow up must go to Mattis, who is a seasoned, knowledgeable military expert. Trump did well in limiting his comments about US intentions to "I'm going to do something." Such neutral, opaque comments will suffice. They are far more suitable and effective than Trump's dumps from the wee, wee hours from his golden throne with his 140 character pronouncements as King of the Twat-Twit-Tweet-o-Sphere. Tillerson can also be part of the team. It would help if Trump would appoint capable experts to staff the Department of State. Filling it up with pigs, alligators and snakes will not get the job done. This is no time to dole out political favors.
1
I'll let it play out before I compliment this president ... hail to our generals tho! Certainly more competent than the rest of the circus.
One point though ... I find it impossible to believe Putin wasn't aware of Assad's plan to gas Syrians.
One point though ... I find it impossible to believe Putin wasn't aware of Assad's plan to gas Syrians.
2
Why is NATO not once mentioned?
The core principles of the organization - the protection of freedom, human rights, the rule of law and democracy - are all at stake with the unraveling of Syria and its inexorable surrender to criminal extremism (both government & terrorist sponsored). The tragedies of Syria are not limited to Syria itself, but to the region and the world. It is in large measure due to the refugee crisis that the hard swing to populism gained traction resulting in the depressing change to the world order.
If the West has any interest in protecting, let alone perpetuating, the ascent of democracy and freedom, so hard-earned during the last century, it must use the tools at its disposal to do so.
Trump has made it clear that he intends to put America first, a naive and unworkable proposition. Now, he claims, America will go it alone to rid the world of its tyrants, another foolish and shallow statement.
Now he has a golden opportunity to act like a statesman, restore respect to American leadership, and repair the bridges he has blown in a mere 77 days. By mobilizing NATO he can restore western alliances and attempt to bring a lasting and meaningful peace to the Middle East.
This means, of course, going head to head with Russia (who wish for NATO's demise) and is why we urgently need to understand the leverage Putin holds over Trump.
The core principles of the organization - the protection of freedom, human rights, the rule of law and democracy - are all at stake with the unraveling of Syria and its inexorable surrender to criminal extremism (both government & terrorist sponsored). The tragedies of Syria are not limited to Syria itself, but to the region and the world. It is in large measure due to the refugee crisis that the hard swing to populism gained traction resulting in the depressing change to the world order.
If the West has any interest in protecting, let alone perpetuating, the ascent of democracy and freedom, so hard-earned during the last century, it must use the tools at its disposal to do so.
Trump has made it clear that he intends to put America first, a naive and unworkable proposition. Now, he claims, America will go it alone to rid the world of its tyrants, another foolish and shallow statement.
Now he has a golden opportunity to act like a statesman, restore respect to American leadership, and repair the bridges he has blown in a mere 77 days. By mobilizing NATO he can restore western alliances and attempt to bring a lasting and meaningful peace to the Middle East.
This means, of course, going head to head with Russia (who wish for NATO's demise) and is why we urgently need to understand the leverage Putin holds over Trump.
4
The estimated number of deaths in Syria since this conflict began is over 400,000, plus who knows how many serious injuries, and has caused an immense refugee crisis, and has provided a base of operations for ISIS, Despite all this America has stayed out of it. But now this chemical weapons attack, which has resulted in a few hundred more deaths, has prompted Trump to jump in with lightning speed, directing missiles at an airfield where there were no Russians, and no civilians, probably with no long range plan.
So what does this mean? Trump wants to demonstrate that he is a tough guy, not to be messed with, capable of quick action, mercurial. He has assumed the role of the cop, willing to actually engage in the conflict to enforce compliance with the rules of war, if not to help either side. He may have destroyed some expensive equipment and infrastructure, cost Assad some money. But does he have any idea what to do next? If there is no more use of chemical weapons, is that the end of the engagement? If another 100 children are killed but not through chemical attacks, does that that matter?
One senses that Putin knew what he was doing going into Syria, but Trump does not.
Tillerson is going to Russia, so i guess we see what happens.
So what does this mean? Trump wants to demonstrate that he is a tough guy, not to be messed with, capable of quick action, mercurial. He has assumed the role of the cop, willing to actually engage in the conflict to enforce compliance with the rules of war, if not to help either side. He may have destroyed some expensive equipment and infrastructure, cost Assad some money. But does he have any idea what to do next? If there is no more use of chemical weapons, is that the end of the engagement? If another 100 children are killed but not through chemical attacks, does that that matter?
One senses that Putin knew what he was doing going into Syria, but Trump does not.
Tillerson is going to Russia, so i guess we see what happens.
1
Actually the "hard part" was making the decision to bomb the airbase. If it was so easy then the Obama administration would have done this long ago, and the Syrian people would have been spared from the chemical attack.
And before diplomacy we need to wait and hear the response from China and Iraq.
And before diplomacy we need to wait and hear the response from China and Iraq.
1
More likely this was an arrangement with Russia to convince us all that Trump and Putin aren't in cahoots. A few chess pieces in the game get moved and nobody is the wiser.
For the frightened and the dead in Syria, gas attacks kill just like bombs and guns. For Trump, though, the bombs will help his loser approval ratings and distract from multiple scandals. Now he and Putin can go back to dividing up the world and its oil.
For the frightened and the dead in Syria, gas attacks kill just like bombs and guns. For Trump, though, the bombs will help his loser approval ratings and distract from multiple scandals. Now he and Putin can go back to dividing up the world and its oil.
2
The majority of the respondents here seem to be content with intellectual dithering and rationalizations supporting the unsatisfactory status quo in the Middle East, while human beings are gassed. Say what you will about President Trump, he was capable of action in response to this horror, in stark contrast to the intellectual vacillation we saw with President Obama.
31
No. In stark contrast to his own position in 2013 (take no military action) and his campaign rhetoric (let Syria go it alone. US shouldn't bother with it).
One might also recall the steep criticism lobbed at Pres. Obama for offering mere backup in Libya to prevent am imminent slaughter of Libyans who'd risen up to overthrow Qaddafi by Obama, which was successful, btw. Forget Obama. Cons and Trump will only find ways to criticize him (recall they even criticized him over his assassination of Osama bin Laden!).
I am deeply cynical about Trump's true motives here. His language doesn't add up. I think he saw this as a way to distract from the Russia probe and his vile accusation of Obama wiretapping Trump Tower and being told that his approval numbers are very low and this would cause them to rise. Trump is a narcissist and a sociopath. That is clear. And narcissists and sociopaths do not change and suddenly get empathetic overnight....over a lifetime, in fact. If Trump's approval was at 55% and he was not plagued by the Russia investigations, would he have taken this action? Hard to know. His position on Syria has hands off, until the other day, and that included after a prior Sarin attack by Assad.
One might also recall the steep criticism lobbed at Pres. Obama for offering mere backup in Libya to prevent am imminent slaughter of Libyans who'd risen up to overthrow Qaddafi by Obama, which was successful, btw. Forget Obama. Cons and Trump will only find ways to criticize him (recall they even criticized him over his assassination of Osama bin Laden!).
I am deeply cynical about Trump's true motives here. His language doesn't add up. I think he saw this as a way to distract from the Russia probe and his vile accusation of Obama wiretapping Trump Tower and being told that his approval numbers are very low and this would cause them to rise. Trump is a narcissist and a sociopath. That is clear. And narcissists and sociopaths do not change and suddenly get empathetic overnight....over a lifetime, in fact. If Trump's approval was at 55% and he was not plagued by the Russia investigations, would he have taken this action? Hard to know. His position on Syria has hands off, until the other day, and that included after a prior Sarin attack by Assad.
Intellectual vacillation (the red line?) that resulted in the US and Russia verifying the destruction of the vast majority of Syria's chemical munitions (one of the world's largest stockpiles)?
Responding now with limited military action seems correct - it does give Assad future pause in further atrocities, which are likely motivated not by strategy but a need for psychological impact.
However, the intellectual dithering you are referring to is important - does our Constitution allow unilateral presidential action? Shouldn't the POTUS have to solicit Congressional approval/consent? What happens after you hit a hornet nest? These aren't dumb questions, they're thoughtful and mature conversations that our nation and our representative government must consider moving forward.
Responding now with limited military action seems correct - it does give Assad future pause in further atrocities, which are likely motivated not by strategy but a need for psychological impact.
However, the intellectual dithering you are referring to is important - does our Constitution allow unilateral presidential action? Shouldn't the POTUS have to solicit Congressional approval/consent? What happens after you hit a hornet nest? These aren't dumb questions, they're thoughtful and mature conversations that our nation and our representative government must consider moving forward.
1
If changing the status quo is your rationale for justifying an attack in the Mideast then you must have been elated when we attacked Iraq.
Moreover, if you believe the horror in Syria warranted American military intervention I am guessing you are outraged by our inaction over the Sudanese Civil War, or our inability to prevent the Rwandan mass genocide.
Finally, if you truly believe we need decisive leaders to launch military attacks, I will repeat my recommendation that you contact your congressional representatives and demand that the draft be reinstated.
Moreover, if you believe the horror in Syria warranted American military intervention I am guessing you are outraged by our inaction over the Sudanese Civil War, or our inability to prevent the Rwandan mass genocide.
Finally, if you truly believe we need decisive leaders to launch military attacks, I will repeat my recommendation that you contact your congressional representatives and demand that the draft be reinstated.
So we in the West who pride ourselves on the rule of law now must admire actions that have no legal validity? Trump who was suspected of being a Putin puppet now behaves like George W Bush and believes that a few missiles can solve anything. Or maybe he wants to deflect the suspicions that he is a Russia stooge. An odious crime was committed, a UN investigation was planned and then, boom bang bomb, end of story "we" (Trump acting for so-called civilized people) punish the guy but warn Russians we are going to attack! Trump's action is adding war to war and solving nothing.
In the end only diplomacy may have a chance to put an end to the carnage that all the groups involved in the many wars in Syria contribute to. (civil war, proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, proxy war between the West and Russia, war between Turkey and the Kurds...). Or maybe now Trump has become the puppet of the military-industrial complex he derided, aligned with McCain of "bomb, bomb Iran" fame. The US and the world cannot afford Iraq redux, military hotheads are a threat and they do not stop vicious crimes. Neither a Russian puppet nor a Cold War hawk can deal effectively with this most serious crisis which could escalate into a hot war with Russia involved.
In the end only diplomacy may have a chance to put an end to the carnage that all the groups involved in the many wars in Syria contribute to. (civil war, proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, proxy war between the West and Russia, war between Turkey and the Kurds...). Or maybe now Trump has become the puppet of the military-industrial complex he derided, aligned with McCain of "bomb, bomb Iran" fame. The US and the world cannot afford Iraq redux, military hotheads are a threat and they do not stop vicious crimes. Neither a Russian puppet nor a Cold War hawk can deal effectively with this most serious crisis which could escalate into a hot war with Russia involved.
110
Has anyone considered this was OK with Putin, OK to shore up Trump's fight to not be indicted for Treason, ok to change the optics. And has the author considered the past that is empirical prologue regarding America's regime changes. Pick one - Iran or Iraq - or whatever your favorite.
None of the Times articles so far have raised the issue of the legality of our strikes against the Syrian airfield—what measures were taken to ensure that we had legal cover. What Assad did was certainly illegal, by multinational and formal agreements. We are now acting as the de facto policeman of the world against Assad's, and presumably others', criminal behavior. No one asked us to do this—we are acting on our own initiative and assumption of responsibility. Under what authority? I am not saying we should not have done this—I am only suggesting that the legality issue needs carefully to be addressed.
8
the U.S. historically speaking has always intervened militarily in other nations and have behaved as the policeman of the world. Did forget; Manifest Destiny? Hiroshima? The agent Orange in Vietnam? Indeed, nobody else besides the US can't use such weapons of mass destruction, not Iran, not Irak, not Hitler...
Ultimately, this action would have been the same under Hillary Cinton.
However, lets see what is the next move from Russia toward the US without forgetting about North Corea too. This can actually trigger even a WW3 which is exactly what many analysts, war historians and even few prophesies have stated that Syria will be the starting point of the next wold war. This administration has shown a weak political diplomacy experienced and more of a physical retaliation without thinking into the future personality.
Ultimately, this action would have been the same under Hillary Cinton.
However, lets see what is the next move from Russia toward the US without forgetting about North Corea too. This can actually trigger even a WW3 which is exactly what many analysts, war historians and even few prophesies have stated that Syria will be the starting point of the next wold war. This administration has shown a weak political diplomacy experienced and more of a physical retaliation without thinking into the future personality.
2
"In for a penny, in for a pound" --- Trump's response to the use of sarin gas that killed dozens is a missile attack that killed, well, a few, more or less... and now glib Tony, whose trigger finger must have been itching during the Obama years, provides us with his diplomatic advice following Trump's use of military hardware on unsuspecting people -- .a gift of gratuitous death from the people of the United States..." that'll learn you, Assad. God help us.
8
"The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), found Isis killed 119 civilians in Syria in March, including 19 children and 7 women, with Russian forces believed to have killed 224 civilians in the same month, including 51 children and 42 women.
The SNHR found the international coalition forces, led by the US, killed 260 civilians, including 70 children and 34 women."
Obama should have annihilated the Syrian Air Force, its' Air Defenses. Too late now, most in the USA ESPECIALLY Trump were opposed. Only McCain (for Trump no war hero because he was shot down) and generally very objectionable Sen Graham supported.
Astonishing, that our sole "alleged" democratic ally in the Middle East who has all the coordinates for destroying the Syrian Air Force is again utterly useless while we gift them another $38 Billion.
The SNHR found the international coalition forces, led by the US, killed 260 civilians, including 70 children and 34 women."
Obama should have annihilated the Syrian Air Force, its' Air Defenses. Too late now, most in the USA ESPECIALLY Trump were opposed. Only McCain (for Trump no war hero because he was shot down) and generally very objectionable Sen Graham supported.
Astonishing, that our sole "alleged" democratic ally in the Middle East who has all the coordinates for destroying the Syrian Air Force is again utterly useless while we gift them another $38 Billion.
5
Israel is not our paid mercenary. They were not attacked so why should they respond. Syria cannot respond to our assault but they could surely use gas on Israel. of course they would respond to that but do we need to, yet again, drag others into this horror show?
1
Another opinion, that can be reduced to a 'blablabla ... make a smart move'. But i see no proposition. Are you pundits just to afraid to admit, that you have no ideas, that does not involve potential unwanted backlashes ?
What exactly should the president do next ?
Take in more refugees ? To a nation that is already at odds with preserving a distinct identity and will use violence until it has sorted that out ?
Oust Assad ? And than ? There is hardly any positive next option, but a lot of potential very bad consequences.
Complaining is cheap, and it had been smart of Obama, not to get his fingers sticky. But either you embrace this ignorance, or you come up with some ideas. Everything else you may feed to the trolls.
What exactly should the president do next ?
Take in more refugees ? To a nation that is already at odds with preserving a distinct identity and will use violence until it has sorted that out ?
Oust Assad ? And than ? There is hardly any positive next option, but a lot of potential very bad consequences.
Complaining is cheap, and it had been smart of Obama, not to get his fingers sticky. But either you embrace this ignorance, or you come up with some ideas. Everything else you may feed to the trolls.
5
Did I really see "smart diplomacy" and "Donald Trump" in the same editorial?
Welcome, DT, to the bowl of spaghetti known as the Middle East. Good luck navigating its contents.
Welcome, DT, to the bowl of spaghetti known as the Middle East. Good luck navigating its contents.
5
"He (Trump) will have to warn ..... Iran, not to retaliate by unleashing its militia in Iraq against U.S. troops."
Silly me, I thought Shi'ite Iran was actually protecting the mainly Shi'ite Iraqi regime that was put in place by the U.S.. After all, Iran's Revolutionary Guards did send troops to prevent Baghdad from being overrun by ISIS.
Silly me, I thought Shi'ite Iran and the U.S. were de facto allies in the battle against the Sunni Taleban, Sunni Al Qaeda, Sunni ISIS and global Sunni Islamic terrorism, since not a single Shi'ite was involved in 9/11, Mumbai, Bali, Nice, San Bernardino, London, Madrid, Paris or any other terrorist act since and including 9/11.
I must have it all back to front: Judging by U.S. media, it seems the Saudi Wahhabis are the 'good guys' and Shi'ite Iran is the "world's state sponsor of global terrorism". (?)
And before I receive the usual spate of sarcastic remarks about Iran's support of Hizbollah and Hamas, they are both legitimate, democratically elected parties, irrespective of whether Israel likes this fact or not.
Silly me, I thought Shi'ite Iran was actually protecting the mainly Shi'ite Iraqi regime that was put in place by the U.S.. After all, Iran's Revolutionary Guards did send troops to prevent Baghdad from being overrun by ISIS.
Silly me, I thought Shi'ite Iran and the U.S. were de facto allies in the battle against the Sunni Taleban, Sunni Al Qaeda, Sunni ISIS and global Sunni Islamic terrorism, since not a single Shi'ite was involved in 9/11, Mumbai, Bali, Nice, San Bernardino, London, Madrid, Paris or any other terrorist act since and including 9/11.
I must have it all back to front: Judging by U.S. media, it seems the Saudi Wahhabis are the 'good guys' and Shi'ite Iran is the "world's state sponsor of global terrorism". (?)
And before I receive the usual spate of sarcastic remarks about Iran's support of Hizbollah and Hamas, they are both legitimate, democratically elected parties, irrespective of whether Israel likes this fact or not.
8
Dear Mr. Hamid Varzi,
As I mentioned in an earlier post I am not enthusiastic about the missile attack yesterday evening; however, since Iran is trying to protect the Shi'ite world wide could they perhaps ask those they are protecting not to gas their opponents with Sarin gas. Surely, you have some influence in Damascus, but probably since Suni's were gassed you could care less.
As I mentioned in an earlier post I am not enthusiastic about the missile attack yesterday evening; however, since Iran is trying to protect the Shi'ite world wide could they perhaps ask those they are protecting not to gas their opponents with Sarin gas. Surely, you have some influence in Damascus, but probably since Suni's were gassed you could care less.
The attack on Syria is yet another shining object ( 52nd shining object lobbed on to public since November and someone is counting ).... Just imagine a scenario that the FBI gets closer and closer to the Russian connection with the present administration and Russia wants to save the puppet. The only way that Russia can do it is to paint itself red by asking Assad to bomb with chemical agent, a crime so reprehensible that the president can pivot and show that there is distance between the current administration and the Russians ( who are supporting Assad.....a huge distance. And the media and the public laps up the shining object. Can I ask....why would Assad bomb his own people with the chemical agent when he had both the Russians and the Americans on his side. Think about it. Its all Russia. It was always KGB. To Save the US president from impeachment. Thats the ultimate prize, to hold on to.
8
What Mr. Blinken counsels Mr. Trump is what the world wanted and expected Mr. Obama to do, instead of doing nothing or letting himself and Mr. Kerry get bamboozled my the Russians.
Is Mr. Trump up to all that Mr. Blinken wants him to do?
I doubt that there is a human being alive on this earth who could fit the bill and do what is suggested here.
Mr. Trump would now be better advised to increase humanitarian relief in Syria (!) and to vastly increase support of rebel groups whose ideology the US can live with, i.e ironically to do much more of what Mr. Obama did halfheartedly.
Is Mr. Trump up to all that Mr. Blinken wants him to do?
I doubt that there is a human being alive on this earth who could fit the bill and do what is suggested here.
Mr. Trump would now be better advised to increase humanitarian relief in Syria (!) and to vastly increase support of rebel groups whose ideology the US can live with, i.e ironically to do much more of what Mr. Obama did halfheartedly.
1
Where is the evidence that the Syrian government ordered the gas weapons attack?
The US militarily attacked another country with which it is not at war.
Which goals does the US pursue in the Middle East? If the US weakens the legitimate Syrian government, it will only help IS. Obama had good reasons why he kept out of the Syrian troubles.
The emotional and unconcerned decision of President Trump to fire missiles on a Syrian airbase is dangerous and short-sighted. Will he next time order to fire nuclear missiles on Russia and thus risk a nuclear war, after he watched photos on TV he doesn't like?
His emotional instability makes Trump dangerous to the world.
The US militarily attacked another country with which it is not at war.
Which goals does the US pursue in the Middle East? If the US weakens the legitimate Syrian government, it will only help IS. Obama had good reasons why he kept out of the Syrian troubles.
The emotional and unconcerned decision of President Trump to fire missiles on a Syrian airbase is dangerous and short-sighted. Will he next time order to fire nuclear missiles on Russia and thus risk a nuclear war, after he watched photos on TV he doesn't like?
His emotional instability makes Trump dangerous to the world.
143
But in this case, in a complete departure from his campaign rants, President Trump has said the US is acting in support of international law. If that turns out to be consistent US Administration policy, it will be an enormous relief to the rest of the world. And should be to the US people and nation, who are immense beneficiaries of the international rule of law.
Carsten, this is the first time since his election that Trump got something right. Had we done the same thing in 2013, the recent nerve gas attack likely would not have happened and Russian involvement probably would have taken a different turn. I am a loyal supporter of President Obama, but foreign policy was not his strong suit.
Much as I detest Trump, this measured attack to counter the inhumane treatment of a population is much more palatable than our invasion of another country under George W. Bush.
Much as I detest Trump, this measured attack to counter the inhumane treatment of a population is much more palatable than our invasion of another country under George W. Bush.
1
George W. Bush, who also lost the popular vote to his Democratic opponent, was ridiculed until he invaded Iraq based on lies and deceptions. Suddenly, it's no longer "Donald" in the media but "President Trump."
3
Many commentators have warned that soon America's enemies will start pushing Trump's buttons to see if they can contribute to the chaos that is America today. The Sarin attack was just the first of many provocations to come.
Watch Putin play Trump like a balalaika...
Watch Putin play Trump like a balalaika...
3
What Trump did right was strike a military airport that was the hub that sent the chemical gases. He did not attack the Syrian Army or the Russians. There are mixed reports about what the Russians knew ahead of time. This was not the kind of attack to inspire war or even further carnage, but it was an attack to let Assad and the Russians know we are no longer going to just stand aside from the out of control slaughter of innocents going on there. I have been a vocal and prolific critic of almost everything domestic Trump has done. I have found his madman executive orders repugnant, inhumane, cruel and destructive to our planet. I have found him stubbornly uninformed and almost ignorant. I have despised his reliance on Bannon, Flynn (earlier) and Miller and the whole fake news contingent. I am not sure if this change is permanent but it seems that the man who clearly declared he did not want to be President of the world, may actually be forming into President of the World. Of course it will take a long time for this possibility to unfold --if it unfolds at all. But in the seventy-seven or so days that he has been President ,it is the very first day I have had ANY hope for Trump. (Now if only he would reverse all those horrific domestic decisions....but I dream)
67
I don't know why, but after reading your post Credence Clearwater's "Fortunate Son" came to mind. It certainly seems that American military action is the glue that holds our nation together, but I wonder how strong that glue will be if our children or grandchildren's lives are on the line.
Agreed!
1
and where did you get ALL this info.... I seem to have missed that copy of hannity et al
The self-congratulatory hurrahs should be saved until the last shot is fired. It has not been fired in Afghanistan or Iraq and certainly not in Syria. The very last shot will be heard by anyone who's left. If anyone is.
48
“The administration should play on the likelihood that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin is livid with Mr. Assad.” As it turned out, not surprisingly, Putin is livid with Mr. Trump, terming the attack as “an aggression against sovereign nation” based on a “made-up pretext” and as a “cynical attempt” to distract the world from the American collateral-damage in Iraq. It should be added that on the background of the anti-Russian “liberal” campaign, and backed by the Times editors calls to get tough on Moscow, President Trump didn’t feel the need to get a congressional authorization for the same military act that the Obama administration felt a congressional seal is necessary for.
“And the president will have to control for mission creep. If Mr. Assad persists in the use of chemical or biological weapons, it will take extraordinary discipline to avoid falling into an escalation trap that leads from justified punitive strikes to a broader, and riskier, United States intervention.” Though President Trump isn’t renowned for his “extraordinary discipline”, it’s still unlikely that there’ll be more American unilateral attacks on the Syrian Army endangering Russian personnel and arms. But the mission will have its effects -- what is near-certain now is that any hope there was for a diplomatic settlement, as precarious as it may be, in Syria was obliterated by the shrieks of the humanitarian Tomahawks.
“And the president will have to control for mission creep. If Mr. Assad persists in the use of chemical or biological weapons, it will take extraordinary discipline to avoid falling into an escalation trap that leads from justified punitive strikes to a broader, and riskier, United States intervention.” Though President Trump isn’t renowned for his “extraordinary discipline”, it’s still unlikely that there’ll be more American unilateral attacks on the Syrian Army endangering Russian personnel and arms. But the mission will have its effects -- what is near-certain now is that any hope there was for a diplomatic settlement, as precarious as it may be, in Syria was obliterated by the shrieks of the humanitarian Tomahawks.
7
Where is the condemnation from the mans of Assad's inhumanity? Where are the NYT articles covering response from muslim communities and organizations, both here and abroad, condemning Assad's war crimes?
7
Re: "The real test for Mr. Trump is what comes next. He has shown a total disinterest [sic] in working to end Syria’s civil war. "
Has it come to this? What Trump had show is lack of interest, not disinterest. "Disinterested" means "impartial", not "uninterested".
Has it come to this? What Trump had show is lack of interest, not disinterest. "Disinterested" means "impartial", not "uninterested".
6
Mr. Blinken, the factors, players, and outcomes you've mentioned here describe a rat's nest of potential outcomes--none of which is truly limited, contained, fully understood, predictable, or controllable in this complex environment. The most worrisome element is that a novice president, both dependent on "his generals" for advice and in a boyish state of hero-worship for them, is UNILATERALLY projecting the U.S. into a volatile theater of conflict. This has many possible sequelae--most of them requiring, or even dictating, further violent confrontation. Your little essay seems to welcome this blind lurch forward as a good way to end restraint of the prior administration--injecting an administration that is on record as disbelieving the work of the "intelligence community," and which is woefully unprepared to assess the situation thoroughly. I, for one, don't buy the rationale or the necessity for any of this, and think that our amateur president would be best advised to educate himself on the management of complex problems before actually getting ensnared in one.
49
..."blind lurch", yes, but "forward", no. Mr. Trump's reasons, as well as his raison d'être, might better be called "backward", for a simplistic response (sending in the weaponry) to a provocative act is a literal "reaction", a pulling back of the weaponized fist before a thrust of it into the face. Unfortunately, the face receiving the thrust was, as it usually is in acts of belligerence, made up of at least 80 ordinary Syrians. This amateur president (good term, meaning literally one who is enamored by the job) has seen his "approval rating" drop of late, and what better way to give it a spike can there be besides giving a strike at another far-away land?
2
It looks like WMD all over again, followed by a rush to war, well in the name of my grandson, thanks a lot.
I have read no evidence that Syrian/Iranian/Russian forces carried out the gas attack.
First thoughts-I have seen photos on the net that some of the 'white helmets were wearing gas masks but no protective clothes/gloves, by a suspected Sarin attack protective clothing is a must.
Instead of rushing like headless chickens into war, my first thought is how cirtain is the available information to warrant the media headlines that Assad was responsible.
ISIL and al Qaeda have been busy these last few months killing civilians ( St Petersburg, Nice, Berlin, London) show that these people wouldn't hesitate for one second to kill innocents
Until proof is given my first thought is- common sense tells us ISIL or al Qaeda were responsible, they know the media will blame Assad without needing proof.
I have read no evidence that Syrian/Iranian/Russian forces carried out the gas attack.
First thoughts-I have seen photos on the net that some of the 'white helmets were wearing gas masks but no protective clothes/gloves, by a suspected Sarin attack protective clothing is a must.
Instead of rushing like headless chickens into war, my first thought is how cirtain is the available information to warrant the media headlines that Assad was responsible.
ISIL and al Qaeda have been busy these last few months killing civilians ( St Petersburg, Nice, Berlin, London) show that these people wouldn't hesitate for one second to kill innocents
Until proof is given my first thought is- common sense tells us ISIL or al Qaeda were responsible, they know the media will blame Assad without needing proof.
7
What a great idea to "hold it (Moscow) accountable for Mr. Assad's actions going forward", but how about some reciprocity? How about the global community's holding the U.S.A. accountable for blindly supporting and arming the origin of this entire mess, namely, the Saudi regime which is now salivating at the prospect of U.S. bombings that directly support and embolden its would-be Wahhabi caliphate?
Yes, Assad is a dictator, but did Obama consider what dictators do when faced with a foreign invasion? Did Obama not know that the Assad opposition consisted largely of Saudi financed and trained terrorists? Did Obama think the opposition consisted of Gandhi and Mandela clones?
And now, today, will Trump's sudden decision to attack foreign targets, on a matter of basic principle, extend to punishing the most backward, brutal and terrorist-breeding dictatorship regime on this planet, namely, Saudi Arabia?
I doubt it. U.S. foreign policy long ago constituted selective principle and selective warfare. Mercantilism rules.
Yes, Assad is a dictator, but did Obama consider what dictators do when faced with a foreign invasion? Did Obama not know that the Assad opposition consisted largely of Saudi financed and trained terrorists? Did Obama think the opposition consisted of Gandhi and Mandela clones?
And now, today, will Trump's sudden decision to attack foreign targets, on a matter of basic principle, extend to punishing the most backward, brutal and terrorist-breeding dictatorship regime on this planet, namely, Saudi Arabia?
I doubt it. U.S. foreign policy long ago constituted selective principle and selective warfare. Mercantilism rules.
8
Dear Mr. Hamid Varzi,
While I am not enthusiastic over the intervention via Tomahawk missiles last night, I do have to ask you what is Iran's motive for supporting Mr. Assad? Mercantilism?
While I am not enthusiastic over the intervention via Tomahawk missiles last night, I do have to ask you what is Iran's motive for supporting Mr. Assad? Mercantilism?
1
Its important for us to tell Assad that if he uses chemical weapons we are going to punish him but for the sake of not getting into another Iraq we have to leave it at that.
Its far too tempting to become the police force but that has potential nuclear consequences so I hope Trump does not succumb to those who have already started the drum roll.
Its far too tempting to become the police force but that has potential nuclear consequences so I hope Trump does not succumb to those who have already started the drum roll.
2
Assumedly, the USA, has all the evidence necessary, to conclude that Assad ordered this vastly attack?
And we can expect to having it shown to the USA public shortly???
And we can expect to having it shown to the USA public shortly???
7
Mr. Trump must speak directly to the American people about the country’s mission and its objectives, thoroughly brief Congress and seek its support, and make clear the legal basis for United States actions. And while he’s at it, he should reopen the door he has tried to slam shut on Syrian refugees.
What fantasy are you living in? Trump has no coherent mission or objective other and increasing his brand. Open the door to Muslims? Hatred towards Muslims was one of his biggest campaign draws.
What fantasy are you living in? Trump has no coherent mission or objective other and increasing his brand. Open the door to Muslims? Hatred towards Muslims was one of his biggest campaign draws.
10
This article gets as confusing as the situation itself. Smart diplomacy with whom? The Russians want Assad to stay because they feel, probably rightly so, he is the most stable and quickest way to end this. "This administration should make clear to Moscow that it will hold it accountable." Oh yea .. How? By threatening to start WW3. And on top of that it looks as though Moscow has the goods on Trump.... "Push it towards genuine peace negotiations with rebels" What rebels? I just saw Robin Wright, a true expert on this region, and she said in some cases there's a different rebel group with a different agenda from one block to the next. Another words there's hundreds of rebel groups. The article among other wandering thoughts goes on to say we have to warn Iran not to retaliate against American troops in Iraq. Iran is working with us in Iraq to get rid of ISIS. Mr Blinken than goes on to boast about his support for our involvement in Libya. Well that worked out great, didn't it.
This strike tonight was a waste of time. There is no one viable to replace Assad right now. It is Iran and Russia's neighborhood. They have more at stake than us. If they can find someone to install instead of Assad that's great. but it seems they have no interest in doing that. We should keep going with our fight against ISIS, which was going well. And stay out of this unless it is to try and create some safe zones for the people suffering though it and in fear for their lives.
Orange, NJ
This strike tonight was a waste of time. There is no one viable to replace Assad right now. It is Iran and Russia's neighborhood. They have more at stake than us. If they can find someone to install instead of Assad that's great. but it seems they have no interest in doing that. We should keep going with our fight against ISIS, which was going well. And stay out of this unless it is to try and create some safe zones for the people suffering though it and in fear for their lives.
Orange, NJ
7
Very instructive to see how this has spun out. Are we 100% sure that Assad used sarin? Or is that just something that is repeated over and over again until it becomes fact.
Also, the crocodile tears for the children, however tragic and awful, is very unseemly. The SEAL raid back in January killed how many children? And that action was lauded as a great success with the mourning only of the killed SEAL.
Behold the Golden Age of Hypocrisy.
Also, the crocodile tears for the children, however tragic and awful, is very unseemly. The SEAL raid back in January killed how many children? And that action was lauded as a great success with the mourning only of the killed SEAL.
Behold the Golden Age of Hypocrisy.
62
Plennie- Hypocrisy indeed. It was also a *nice* touchy feely moment labeling them as children of God. I guess the children killed in the botched military folly conducted in January Yemen did not kill the "children of God". When is one of child of God and when is one just collateral damage?
I wake in fear every morning wondering what the news will hold. The incompetent, dangerous self-indulgent trump needs to go before he escalates us into WWIII. It is beyond frightening that this dangerous man-child gets to now play with the "big boy toys" and his rabid followers walk blissfully along side him, to stupid to realize how they were so sorely used. When war comes, and it will under this dangerous demagogue, I hope they are ready and willing to fight one more destructive rich-man's war which will have no end in sight. His rabid, hateful, ugly supporters can go fight his war. My children and grandchildren will never fight. Not their president. Not their war!!
I wake in fear every morning wondering what the news will hold. The incompetent, dangerous self-indulgent trump needs to go before he escalates us into WWIII. It is beyond frightening that this dangerous man-child gets to now play with the "big boy toys" and his rabid followers walk blissfully along side him, to stupid to realize how they were so sorely used. When war comes, and it will under this dangerous demagogue, I hope they are ready and willing to fight one more destructive rich-man's war which will have no end in sight. His rabid, hateful, ugly supporters can go fight his war. My children and grandchildren will never fight. Not their president. Not their war!!
1
Tomahawk missiles cost $1.6 million each. We just fired $100 million at one airbase in Syria. According to Wikipedia Syria has another 20 military airbases, assuming to one that was plastered last night can be scratched off the list. Reports suggest that senior officers had evacuated the base, so we mostly killed a bunch of Syrian squaddies.
So we just blew $100 million for little or no tactical purpose, to look like we were doing something. In practice we just fired 25% of the annual budget of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at a relatively valueless stretch of the Syrian desert.
Helluva job Donny!
So we just blew $100 million for little or no tactical purpose, to look like we were doing something. In practice we just fired 25% of the annual budget of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at a relatively valueless stretch of the Syrian desert.
Helluva job Donny!
204
For little or no practical purpose? I guess that is to be determined.
Syria has been a problem without a solution. The American response has been inaction, some might say paralysis. I am not sure Trump is right in what he is doing, I am not sure inaction is wrong, but I am sure that in the context of this problem, and in the context of US military spending, the fact that $100 million was spent on this attack is nothing, not a factor, completely irrelevant.
Syria has been a problem without a solution. The American response has been inaction, some might say paralysis. I am not sure Trump is right in what he is doing, I am not sure inaction is wrong, but I am sure that in the context of this problem, and in the context of US military spending, the fact that $100 million was spent on this attack is nothing, not a factor, completely irrelevant.
YEP! The Donald gets to pound his chest and the rest of the world takes it on the chin.
Yup. Let's not try to prevent the reckless murder of innocents because it's expensive. I mean, I wouldn't stop a mugging if I saw it because I may have to buy the victim bandaids! Can you imagine?
It seems that after so many years in such high government positions and during the so-called "Arab Spring", Mr. Blinken, with all due respect, does not understand the evolving story of the "new middle east. Yes, President Donald J. Trump was morally right to strike at the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but as a person who lived through the last 8 years, heavily involved in the Middle East Mr. Blinken must understand that his advise to President Trump is to become a juggler who tries to play with too many balls, it will never work. The Middle East is the only place on earth that ancient forces of darkness defeat the forces of progress and it just starting, the sand storm is gaining strength and no one can stop it. It will swallow anyone and anything that stands in its way. The USA should keep out of this and just make sure that when the "players", Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Turkmens, Libyans and most important Iran, understand that any deviation from the "local" pit will be met with an iron fist. Let the Russian sink like they did in Afghanistan and let the Sunnis and Shias settle their 1400 years dispute within their territory. These are sinking sands Mr. Blinken and believe me that if the USA will stay out and just make it clear it will be better for all parties including the USA.
2
This initial response of the Trump administration will beget more 'testing' from Assad and others. Responses will need to be carefully calibrated, measured to the circumstances, and mindful of potentially being misread. Its going to be a jittery time for a while as global actors try to probe the new boundaries and responses of this president. The good news is that this military response was at the low end- an empty airfield. However, this is merely the opening salvo of a global unfolding of probe-response; we live in "interesting" times.
Not sure if smart diplomacy and the president of the US are something that will work together or even understood by the president. One thing is clear. This is a dangerous path and other countries even allies are not enthusiastic to be dragged into - their must be other ways. As Tim B. so accurately states "violence is a descending spiral".
2
Too bad civil wars cannot simply be quaranteened and starved of weapons.
3
Thanks to Mr. Blinken for a cogent summary of the recent past and what to look for in the coming weeks and months.
It's nice to occasionally read an opinion piece that just delivers the author's take on events rather than having it colored by his feelings toward the people involved. Simpler to follow one track than two when clarity is the goal. And for the moment, understanding what's being done is important. The secondary reasons will be covered soon enough.
It's nice to occasionally read an opinion piece that just delivers the author's take on events rather than having it colored by his feelings toward the people involved. Simpler to follow one track than two when clarity is the goal. And for the moment, understanding what's being done is important. The secondary reasons will be covered soon enough.
2
An excellent article.
But if it can't be reduced to the necessary bullet points for the President's perusal it's unlikely to count for much. Too many words.
But if it can't be reduced to the necessary bullet points for the President's perusal it's unlikely to count for much. Too many words.
2
It's tempting to laud the forceful American military action against the Syrian airbase. "Just" comes to mind to describe it.
Trying to look beyond the initial reactions of "That shows him not to mess with the USA!", I can only conclude that this initiative has not made the world any safer, though, nor brought the conclusion of the Syrian civil war any closer.
For a number of reasons, "unwise" is as appropriate:
- Syria isn't at war with the US in any way or sense, so, this isn't defensive.
How does it help protect US interests?
- If the reason to strike was the recent attack with poison gas, it is unproven that Assad's regime was responsible. Likely, but not certain.
What happens if it's shown NOT to have been involved?
- The strike is an exponential step up of US military involvement in an internal Syrian conflict that no-one quite understands.
So who has been "helped" by this strike?
- Regrettably, Assad's government is, under international law, the lawful government of Syria, which the US has now attacked unprovoked, deploying its unparalleled military might.
Now what?
How will you react to retaliation?
The precedent this sets is extremely undesirable. Many in the US see American Exceptionalism as "the rules do not apply to us in the same way" or "the US bestrides the world unfettered". The rest of the world doesn't necessarily agree. But some may appreciate the removal of the brakes on their ambitions. "What you can do, we can do, too..."
So, brace for impact.
Trying to look beyond the initial reactions of "That shows him not to mess with the USA!", I can only conclude that this initiative has not made the world any safer, though, nor brought the conclusion of the Syrian civil war any closer.
For a number of reasons, "unwise" is as appropriate:
- Syria isn't at war with the US in any way or sense, so, this isn't defensive.
How does it help protect US interests?
- If the reason to strike was the recent attack with poison gas, it is unproven that Assad's regime was responsible. Likely, but not certain.
What happens if it's shown NOT to have been involved?
- The strike is an exponential step up of US military involvement in an internal Syrian conflict that no-one quite understands.
So who has been "helped" by this strike?
- Regrettably, Assad's government is, under international law, the lawful government of Syria, which the US has now attacked unprovoked, deploying its unparalleled military might.
Now what?
How will you react to retaliation?
The precedent this sets is extremely undesirable. Many in the US see American Exceptionalism as "the rules do not apply to us in the same way" or "the US bestrides the world unfettered". The rest of the world doesn't necessarily agree. But some may appreciate the removal of the brakes on their ambitions. "What you can do, we can do, too..."
So, brace for impact.
13
Acting as the leader of a military dictatorship Trump was in his finest hour bombing the Syrian base which launched the recent gas attack.
However, America also hit another low ebb allowing our executive department to rumble about the planet, entirely uncontrolled by the civilian government.
We should all be sweating bullets at what's next for our uncontrolled military junta with a madman at the helm?
An emotional reaction without a rational plan and no endgame is as ill conceived and terrifying as the gas attack.
We must get a grip on Trump and the military, no matter how much we might despise dictators using WMDs, before it is too late for America.
However, America also hit another low ebb allowing our executive department to rumble about the planet, entirely uncontrolled by the civilian government.
We should all be sweating bullets at what's next for our uncontrolled military junta with a madman at the helm?
An emotional reaction without a rational plan and no endgame is as ill conceived and terrifying as the gas attack.
We must get a grip on Trump and the military, no matter how much we might despise dictators using WMDs, before it is too late for America.
14
Trump's approval ratings will get an upward bump from this. We know that ratings are what he cares about most. Let us hope that he does not get addicted to military violence as a result.
9
The author speaks as if Trump isn't an incompetent, impetuous child. What's he thinking?
1
I'm not sure what exactly the downside of regime change would be now. What is the worst case scenario if Assad falls? A civil war? The rise of dangerous Islamist factions? A massive humanitarian refugee crisis? Civilians being killed in the streets? All these thing happens with him in power!
Lybia isn't really a guide in this situation, the worst case is already happening. Getting rid of Assad will only be an improvement as long as we are realisticabout what a rebuilt Syria will be like afterwards.
Lybia isn't really a guide in this situation, the worst case is already happening. Getting rid of Assad will only be an improvement as long as we are realisticabout what a rebuilt Syria will be like afterwards.
49
Nation building is not one of our strong suits, just look at our history. Wishing will not make Syria any different than Iraq or remember Iran for that matter.
1
The worst case scenario, it seems to me, is that Syria ends up changing its name to The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
So similar to those who voted for Trump thinking that any change was better than the status quo.
All I asked is that he not blow up the world, not start a nuclear confrontation. Perhaps that was too much to ask. My only remaining hope is that our clear-thinking generals keep him on the rails, and that Bannon, Kushner and other amateurs stay out of delicate foreign affairs.
2
I totally agree with this editorial.
1
Was it not the deal a while ago that Russia will ensure that Mr Assad is rid of chemical weapons?
2
Yes, and either the Russians reneged, or Assad held out on the Russians.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in Florida with Trump, said Moscow had failed in living up to a 2013 agreement that was intended to strip Syria of its chemical weapons stockpiles.
"Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of the agreement," Tillerson said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in Florida with Trump, said Moscow had failed in living up to a 2013 agreement that was intended to strip Syria of its chemical weapons stockpiles.
"Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of the agreement," Tillerson said.
3
But John Kerry and Susan Rice swore that Syria had no chemical weapons!
1
I'm a Trump zealot, and hold with The Long War view, of the 1300 year inevitable and eternal and implacable war between Islam and the infidel and also itself.
I remain disconnected, from the view that it is okay for Islam to slaughter by traditional means but not secular Assad by prohibited means, thus our de facto policy 2;15 AM EDT
Somehow Islam/ ISIS or whoever, destroys a culture and demos,, Yazdi, take the women as booty, plunder and loot, as in Islam's glorie dayes of olde, and we say tsk tsk
and here we are blowing up some airplanes or runways;
Also why the choice of Tomahawk, vs say armed UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, with more controlled munitions deployment
=
I've said, at least we are doing SOMETHING, to break our eight year paralysis, galaxies ahead of the author's prior boss, who advocates continuation of his boss' failings - yes It's All Obama's Fault -
Bill Clinton conducted immaculate warfare in Bosnia, when Yugo Slavia decided to dismember itself, we were facing Russians there also, and Islam, and ancient eternal ethnic territorial grievances, with mass death and ethnic expulsion,now a model of comity and placidity, even as that area was where WW1 started, whose anniversary, the US entry, we celebrate even today or yesterday
The Lebanese civil war went for thirty years, now all is quiet, even if h Lebanon is now Hezbollah-stan
POINT being, sir, THERE IS NO soft-solution, and if there is, it will NOT come from you or your ilk
your legacy is this mess
I remain disconnected, from the view that it is okay for Islam to slaughter by traditional means but not secular Assad by prohibited means, thus our de facto policy 2;15 AM EDT
Somehow Islam/ ISIS or whoever, destroys a culture and demos,, Yazdi, take the women as booty, plunder and loot, as in Islam's glorie dayes of olde, and we say tsk tsk
and here we are blowing up some airplanes or runways;
Also why the choice of Tomahawk, vs say armed UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, with more controlled munitions deployment
=
I've said, at least we are doing SOMETHING, to break our eight year paralysis, galaxies ahead of the author's prior boss, who advocates continuation of his boss' failings - yes It's All Obama's Fault -
Bill Clinton conducted immaculate warfare in Bosnia, when Yugo Slavia decided to dismember itself, we were facing Russians there also, and Islam, and ancient eternal ethnic territorial grievances, with mass death and ethnic expulsion,now a model of comity and placidity, even as that area was where WW1 started, whose anniversary, the US entry, we celebrate even today or yesterday
The Lebanese civil war went for thirty years, now all is quiet, even if h Lebanon is now Hezbollah-stan
POINT being, sir, THERE IS NO soft-solution, and if there is, it will NOT come from you or your ilk
your legacy is this mess
This is INSANE! When I first heard of the sarin attack, I immediately felt something was fishy. Here we have Trump who lambasted our involvement in unending wars, lambasted the Republicans on the policies that hurt the middle class, wanted to bring jobs home. So he's elected and what happens? The same thing that happens to ALL elected presidents, they become war hawks! I am now convinced that Eisenhower was absolutely correct about the military industrial complex. They, with the help of Republicans, with their unending greed, will destroy this planet. They may well do it quickly through nuclear annihilation, or slowly by destroying the environment.
Instead of "cheer leading" this action, why isn't the Times asking hard questions, and demanding honest answers. I was so disappointed by the Times with their blatant support of Hillary and marginalization of Sanders that I canceled by subscription. Then the election of Trump sacred me into renewing. Now I am canceling, and I won't be back. I see nothing has changed with the Media, or the Times.
So disappointed by the Media.
Instead of "cheer leading" this action, why isn't the Times asking hard questions, and demanding honest answers. I was so disappointed by the Times with their blatant support of Hillary and marginalization of Sanders that I canceled by subscription. Then the election of Trump sacred me into renewing. Now I am canceling, and I won't be back. I see nothing has changed with the Media, or the Times.
So disappointed by the Media.
6
I may be joining you real soon.
3
Mr. Blinken, you refute your own commendation by laying out all the complications Mr. Trump will now have to control. We should have extricated ourselves from the conflict after taking care of the Taliban in Afghanistan. But we couldn't even concentrate on finishing that job before going off and merrily chasing new tangents. Mixing it up in Syria is exactly the wrong thing to do. And it is mixed up- we are now on two sides of that conflict, fighting both Assad and a group that is fighting him.
1
Would that some percentage of all the thoughts enumerated in this editorial been invested in this evenings spasm. How much less can we expect going forward, as chaos blurs the fleeting focus of this half-baked administration.
An interesting article in that it contains a lot of assertions which are bring passed off as truth.
Mr. Blinken you state that Syria used Sarin gas in a recent airstrike. Sarin may have been used but can you show any evidence that the SAA used it? Turkey was caught a couple of years ago smuggling Sarin across the border. This could only have been done to stage an outrage to give USA a pretext to attack Syria.
Does anyone remember the 'Kuwaiti nurse' who appeared before Congress to tell the world that Iraqi troops had entered hospitals and had thrown babies out of incubators "onto the cold stone floor". Thus firing up the American people through an emotional manipulation to support aggression against a country that had not attacked them?
Turns out she was a Kuwaiti, but not a nurse and was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the USA and it was all a pack of lies. However it achieved its aim and Iraq was flattened and most of its critical infrastructure was flattened.
If you have evidence that Syria did this attack then show it or shut up.
Mr. Blinken you state that Syria used Sarin gas in a recent airstrike. Sarin may have been used but can you show any evidence that the SAA used it? Turkey was caught a couple of years ago smuggling Sarin across the border. This could only have been done to stage an outrage to give USA a pretext to attack Syria.
Does anyone remember the 'Kuwaiti nurse' who appeared before Congress to tell the world that Iraqi troops had entered hospitals and had thrown babies out of incubators "onto the cold stone floor". Thus firing up the American people through an emotional manipulation to support aggression against a country that had not attacked them?
Turns out she was a Kuwaiti, but not a nurse and was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the USA and it was all a pack of lies. However it achieved its aim and Iraq was flattened and most of its critical infrastructure was flattened.
If you have evidence that Syria did this attack then show it or shut up.
6
I am no fan of Trump but in this case he did the right thing. Civilized countries should have been doing much more to help the poor people of Syria from being murdered in the hundreds of thousands by their own government.
1
Mr Trump's resopnse to the gas attack on Syrian civilians gives me a faint ray of hope that he actuallly has a decent side. That said, it was still rash and impulsive, and may well entangle the US in another unwinnable war, unless followed up with smart diplomacy, as this editorial argues.
It should be noted that Obama asked Congress for permission to respond with force to an earlier gas attack, and Congress refused. Anyone in Congress who thinks Trump is demonstrating leadership by this action should reflect on their own culpability in thwarting a previous response which might have deterred the latest attack.
A significant difference, of course, is that there's no question Obama would have coupled force with smart diplomacy. With Trump, we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
It should be noted that Obama asked Congress for permission to respond with force to an earlier gas attack, and Congress refused. Anyone in Congress who thinks Trump is demonstrating leadership by this action should reflect on their own culpability in thwarting a previous response which might have deterred the latest attack.
A significant difference, of course, is that there's no question Obama would have coupled force with smart diplomacy. With Trump, we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
269
Thank you for this, josh_barnes" "It should be noted that Obama asked Congress for permission to respond with force to an earlier gas attack, and Congress refused. Anyone in Congress who thinks Trump is demonstrating leadership by this action should reflect on their own culpability in thwarting a previous response which might have deterred the latest attack."
1
Good for you---your comments give some credence to the possibility that Liberals can work with Conservatives.
can I recommend this comment twice?
1
Love how all the question marks get replaced with exclamation ones because the US decrees it so.
Now, I doubt if the Syrians are going to directly respond to the American attack by attacking American troops or aircraft, or even the ships which launched the attack, but they are likely going to stop trying to appease the US by granting the US backed terrorebels even a token victory at the negotiating tables. Indeed, it just became a lot more likely that the determination to liberate every inch of Syria will include the Golan.
There are three things that will develop in the next few hours and days
1)How complicit was Russia in the American Attack? If the Russians turned off the air defenses and evacuated the base, as seems to be the case, they may have avoided a direct confrontation with the US, but at a considerable cost to their reputation.
2)How do the American politicians and public react to the constitutional violation the President doing this without oversight represents.
3)How will this play out in Iran (subjected to chemical weapons attack by the US backed Saddam's regime, with active complicity of the US, which then accused the Iranians of being the perpetrators) especially given that it is election season there. Remember, the present Iranian President is identified with the policy that being reasonable in the face of American unreasonability would pay off, and the US has done everything it can to make sure that it doesn't.
Now, I doubt if the Syrians are going to directly respond to the American attack by attacking American troops or aircraft, or even the ships which launched the attack, but they are likely going to stop trying to appease the US by granting the US backed terrorebels even a token victory at the negotiating tables. Indeed, it just became a lot more likely that the determination to liberate every inch of Syria will include the Golan.
There are three things that will develop in the next few hours and days
1)How complicit was Russia in the American Attack? If the Russians turned off the air defenses and evacuated the base, as seems to be the case, they may have avoided a direct confrontation with the US, but at a considerable cost to their reputation.
2)How do the American politicians and public react to the constitutional violation the President doing this without oversight represents.
3)How will this play out in Iran (subjected to chemical weapons attack by the US backed Saddam's regime, with active complicity of the US, which then accused the Iranians of being the perpetrators) especially given that it is election season there. Remember, the present Iranian President is identified with the policy that being reasonable in the face of American unreasonability would pay off, and the US has done everything it can to make sure that it doesn't.
2
I disagree 100% with this op ed.
An attack without either a declaration by congress or a direct attack on the US is illegal under international law.
This is Emperor Donnie blustering at his worst. The actual attack is a pinprick. The message is that Emperor Donnie, whl just contradicted his 2013 tweets at President Obama, is an ill-advised fool. Nothing more.
An attack without either a declaration by congress or a direct attack on the US is illegal under international law.
This is Emperor Donnie blustering at his worst. The actual attack is a pinprick. The message is that Emperor Donnie, whl just contradicted his 2013 tweets at President Obama, is an ill-advised fool. Nothing more.
347
You obviously need to study a little harder. This is not illegal under international law, rather, it is justified! What al-Assad did, in using chemical weapons, violates international law, and we had to act. Also, we do not have 500+ commanders in chief, we have ONE. He needs to act swiftly in matters such as these, and legally has the authority to do so without the approval of congress. Please read and understand the law before you start spewing misinformed nonsense! Whether we like Trump or not, he is our President, and we should stand by him this time.
2
"An attack without either a declaration by congress or a direct attack on the US is illegal under international law. "
Please point me to your comments condemning President Obama for doing the same in Libya and elsewhere.
Please point me to your comments condemning President Obama for doing the same in Libya and elsewhere.
5
Joe, we agree 100%. Another example of a hubris laden writer who is not thinking straight. And the self evident needs no back up.
1
The so-called president has no business attacking a country without Congress declaring war. What happened to the constitution?
24
Assad attacked rebel forces opposed to his regime, not ISIS. This objective is not going away. The Russians also will assist him to do that. If the US missile attack stops the use of poison gas, Assad has shown multiple times he has other methods - bombing hospitals, civilians etc - also war crimes. What is the response to that? When ISIS is driven out of this arena, and nonetheless Assad & the Russians continue to exterminate opposition forces, what then?
4
"Mr. Perry, congratulations with your new appointment on the National Security Council, helping to make sure we're kept safe from our enemies. Could you name us three of our main enemies?"
"Yes, I'm very happy to do that. There's the liberals, there's the press and there's..."
"Russia, Mr. Perry?"
"No, they're our friends I've been briefed. It's on the tip of my tongue. It begins with an I..."
"Iceland, the country from where Boris Spassky challenged our world dominance across the board? Indonesia, a major global warming driver by burning down its rainforests threatening our long term survival? No wonder the reefs are gone. It'd be very easy to stop the biggest daily oil spill caused by ships that dump their rest crude at sea to save harbor storage costs; insert a high tech measurement device in their tanks. It'd be very easy to curb the plastic (soup) threatening the safety of our oceans and eco system. The biodegradable alternatives are already there. It'd be very easy to halt deforestation. A navy seals deployment would have no trouble finding the giant saws in giant halls and make them stop. But back to enemy countries. there are Iraq, I.."
"Iraq!"
"Currently an ally, Mr. Perry."
"I meant Islam."
"Do you know Where Do The Children Play by Yusuf Islam? Christianity and Islam share an identical father and they seem to share the same type of mad children throughout the ages."
"The IRS is.."
Here's wisdom from a Muslimah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTIQXmhlAIs
"Yes, I'm very happy to do that. There's the liberals, there's the press and there's..."
"Russia, Mr. Perry?"
"No, they're our friends I've been briefed. It's on the tip of my tongue. It begins with an I..."
"Iceland, the country from where Boris Spassky challenged our world dominance across the board? Indonesia, a major global warming driver by burning down its rainforests threatening our long term survival? No wonder the reefs are gone. It'd be very easy to stop the biggest daily oil spill caused by ships that dump their rest crude at sea to save harbor storage costs; insert a high tech measurement device in their tanks. It'd be very easy to curb the plastic (soup) threatening the safety of our oceans and eco system. The biodegradable alternatives are already there. It'd be very easy to halt deforestation. A navy seals deployment would have no trouble finding the giant saws in giant halls and make them stop. But back to enemy countries. there are Iraq, I.."
"Iraq!"
"Currently an ally, Mr. Perry."
"I meant Islam."
"Do you know Where Do The Children Play by Yusuf Islam? Christianity and Islam share an identical father and they seem to share the same type of mad children throughout the ages."
"The IRS is.."
Here's wisdom from a Muslimah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTIQXmhlAIs
2
One can only wonder if the last administration had enforced its line in the sand would Syria have used sarin gas this time. If is hard not to conclude, the last administration failed. This President did get it right, but as Mr Blinken observes, the next part is the real challenge.
1
Great column, but I hope you don't really believe our current president thinks like this. You aren't really getting him yet, all due respect.
7
Thinks?????
4
I am not at all sure that we have to get involved no matter what they are doing. There is not enough discussion that the Syrian conflict is basically a filthy medieval religious war. Sunni insurgents against a Shia government. Neither side is so called freedom fighters, and given the opportunity both would happily cut our throat. Why should we favor either side? Pox on both of their houses.
3
I'm surprised--dare I say impressed--at the rapidity of this response. I'm guessing the administration relied on long-standing Pentagon contigency plans, probably devised under the Obama administration. While a man like Trump--and an administration this pervertedly cruel and craven--yearns for a chance to look strong by flexing military strength, a group this bewildered and incompetent could not be assumed to have pulled this off alone, even in its current desperate state to turn the news away from its myriad deplorable narratives. I'm sure Trump's approval ratings will rise somewhat now, especially among those who stand to be hurt most by his policies and those of his inane and cowardly lackeys in Congress, but backing into a single reasonable action once in the first hundred days does not make for a promising presidency.
2
Will Trump be able to handle this complex situation or will it be:
Lights! Camera! Action!
Shoot first. Plan for the consequences later. Unknown unknowns give rise to unintended consequences, etc.
Then a "coalition of the willing."
I have seen this movie before. Indeed, the last reel of that film is far from being in the can. The current call for "Lights! Camera! Action!" initiates the shooting of one more reel in the longest running cinematic event in U.S. history.
Personally, I have no wish to continue watching this unending flick.
I can't help thinking that the Great Deflector at this early juncture already has seized upon the most powerful distractor within his reach: military action.
I hope I am wrong in suspecting this, but that possibility strikes me and many others as not devoid of merit.
I hope against hope that tonight's attack results in something other than more military and civilian deaths, in more combatants and non-combatants who are maimed and crippled for life, and in the further hemorrhaging of treasure.
Why are Republican leaders so willing to spend billions and billions on military adventures, but so loathe to fund healthcare, education, refugee relief and other humane endeavors?
President Eisenhower was certainly on target when he warned Americans of the dangers inherent to the military-industrial complex.
Where have all the moderate Republicans gone? Unlike the flowers in the folk song, they were a quick time passing.
Lights! Camera! Action!
Shoot first. Plan for the consequences later. Unknown unknowns give rise to unintended consequences, etc.
Then a "coalition of the willing."
I have seen this movie before. Indeed, the last reel of that film is far from being in the can. The current call for "Lights! Camera! Action!" initiates the shooting of one more reel in the longest running cinematic event in U.S. history.
Personally, I have no wish to continue watching this unending flick.
I can't help thinking that the Great Deflector at this early juncture already has seized upon the most powerful distractor within his reach: military action.
I hope I am wrong in suspecting this, but that possibility strikes me and many others as not devoid of merit.
I hope against hope that tonight's attack results in something other than more military and civilian deaths, in more combatants and non-combatants who are maimed and crippled for life, and in the further hemorrhaging of treasure.
Why are Republican leaders so willing to spend billions and billions on military adventures, but so loathe to fund healthcare, education, refugee relief and other humane endeavors?
President Eisenhower was certainly on target when he warned Americans of the dangers inherent to the military-industrial complex.
Where have all the moderate Republicans gone? Unlike the flowers in the folk song, they were a quick time passing.
322
A predictable paradox arises out of the collective amnesia of those; who heretofore lauded the boldly stated, “Don’t cross the Obama Red Lines”. It is at once stunning and predictable and yet certainly sad to see the usual comment section liberals and anti-Trumpers remaining so adamant a cult of haters; while having the regrettable need to publicly forget children were murdered so foul. Being a Liberal means never having to say your sorry…ever. I am sure the families of those babies murdered so foul take consolation in that politically correct stance.
2
I wanted to see the "red line in the sand" movie, but it never got past the concept stage.
1
A moderate republican is a mythical creature once believed to have lived in Washington DC.
2
Thank you, Mr. Blinken, for reminding the incredibly large number of Americans who seemed to forget what *actually* happened in 2013, rather than the propaganda version we've heard so often. Yes, Obama unleashed a threat to Assad--the 'red line'--but the threat didn't fail, as is so often heard, it worked! An American president took a gun to a gunfight, and got the other guy to back down without shots being fired. We, and the Russians, spent the next 3 years on ships in the Mediterranean destroying the Assad regime's chemical weapons stockpile.
Yes, we discovered later that he managed to keep a fraction under wraps, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have obtained them from just across the border, or from Iran, even if every single one of his wmd's had been destroyed in 2013-15. The point is, we proclaim to everyone what a 'peace-loving' nation we are. That means nothing if we continue to call a diplomatic success a 'failure'.
Four years have changed much in Syria. Assad was in dire straits in 2013. Had an American 'shoot first' strategy succeeded in helping topple his regime then, the American public might've been asked to support yet another ground force to prevent genocide in the Middle East--in the middle of a very messy civil war. It would've been a Libya on thermonuclear steroids (and we saw what happened in Libya).
So, buck up America, and stop dismissing successful diplomacy as 'wimping out'. We avoided quagmire in 2013. Let's see how this plays in 2017.
Yes, we discovered later that he managed to keep a fraction under wraps, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have obtained them from just across the border, or from Iran, even if every single one of his wmd's had been destroyed in 2013-15. The point is, we proclaim to everyone what a 'peace-loving' nation we are. That means nothing if we continue to call a diplomatic success a 'failure'.
Four years have changed much in Syria. Assad was in dire straits in 2013. Had an American 'shoot first' strategy succeeded in helping topple his regime then, the American public might've been asked to support yet another ground force to prevent genocide in the Middle East--in the middle of a very messy civil war. It would've been a Libya on thermonuclear steroids (and we saw what happened in Libya).
So, buck up America, and stop dismissing successful diplomacy as 'wimping out'. We avoided quagmire in 2013. Let's see how this plays in 2017.
531
You are living in an alternative reality, it is apparent (from actual evidence) that Obama got nothing other than a promise that was worthless. He got snookered by Assad and sent the message to everyone around the world that he was weak and could be defeated by promises. Our current president is not like that, he got elected somewhat not to be like that.
4
Now imagine what would have happened if the US and other Western imperialists had not meddled in the Middle East in the first place, in their lust to control the Middle Eastern oil fields.
5
"Yes, we discovered later that he managed to keep a fraction under wraps, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have obtained them from just across the border, or from Iran, even if every single one of his wmd's had been destroyed in 2013-15."
Almost anything fits in an NYT comment. But in order for you to built a solid case, you need: 1) the means, 2) the circumstances and, mainly, 3) the motivation.
You conjecture the first two; but you never state the third, essential question: why would Assad use chemical weapons against Syrian civilians?
Almost anything fits in an NYT comment. But in order for you to built a solid case, you need: 1) the means, 2) the circumstances and, mainly, 3) the motivation.
You conjecture the first two; but you never state the third, essential question: why would Assad use chemical weapons against Syrian civilians?
As I expected-- Trump is a disaster, but much of the criticism from the Beltway crowd, including liberals and liberal pundits, was really over their perception that Trump wasn't on board with the mission to overthrow Assad. For an interventionist, intervention never fails-- we just need to intervene more. All Trump had to do was bomb the right people and he would get support. Best of all, if the policy fails the failure can be blamed on Trump. But the US has such a wonderful record of success in its Mideast bombings, invasions, and support for rebels that one should just assume this latest attempt will work out great.
3
The neo-cons have won. All strong secular Arab countries have been destroyed. Overrun with ISIS. Why would Assad drop ineffective chemical weapons on civilians when he knows that it would bring retaliation? Conventional bombs are much better at killing people, as we saw when the US killed 300 civilians in Mosul recently. But who will discipline the US? No one can stand up to the bully. So we remove Assad, and ISIS takes over. NYT "liberals" are not losing any sleep over the destruction of Libya or Iraq and the 4 million + Muslims killed in the Middle-East since 2003.
15
The Breakup of Syria did not come from the east, Iraq. It came from the west, the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia and spread to Egypt, Syria and Bahrein. The success of the Arab Spring never reached further than Tunisia, while its affect on Syria has been catastrophic. The last thing the neo-cons wanted was a democratic Egypt or Syria.
2
"NYT 'liberals' " are not at all in favor of the impulsive bombing carried out yesterday by Trump. For example, quoting Bernie Sanders' most recent tweet: "I’m deeply concerned the strike in Syria could lead the U.S. back into the quagmire of long-term military engagement in the Middle East."
I see the problem not that liberals cannot see the problems already but that, as usual, liberals issue tepid responses, in halting words, as if in fearful cowardly opposition. You can hear the opposition expressed more forcefully and unequivocally by commenters here in the NYT, than by our representatives in Washington.
I see the problem not that liberals cannot see the problems already but that, as usual, liberals issue tepid responses, in halting words, as if in fearful cowardly opposition. You can hear the opposition expressed more forcefully and unequivocally by commenters here in the NYT, than by our representatives in Washington.
2
Would Assad really have done something as consequential as using chemicals on civilians without first running it by his major supporter Vladimir Putin? The Russians have a lot of troops on the ground in Syria. Surely they had some idea what Assad was planning?
If Putin gave the go ahead to Assad for the chemical attack, then maybe his intent was to test the Trump administration to see what the response would be. That would also explain why the Russians blew smoke at the UN and blocked Security Council action.
Also watching very carefully was Pyongyang, which has a large arsenal of biological and chemical weapons. I'm sure they were very interested in the US response. It is a good thing the US responded strongly, and sent the right signals to Moscow and Pyongyang.
If Putin gave the go ahead to Assad for the chemical attack, then maybe his intent was to test the Trump administration to see what the response would be. That would also explain why the Russians blew smoke at the UN and blocked Security Council action.
Also watching very carefully was Pyongyang, which has a large arsenal of biological and chemical weapons. I'm sure they were very interested in the US response. It is a good thing the US responded strongly, and sent the right signals to Moscow and Pyongyang.
3
Whoa, just a bit here. Yes, Trump did the right thing, which means Obama did the wrong thing (nothing) when faced with precisely the same outrage over the use by Bashar al-Assad of chemical weapons against civilians – and in a far less complex Syrian world BEFORE the Russians got seriously involved. And there’s always a need for diplomacy. But that doesn’t mean that the risks and the costs attendant to some form of regime-change if the Russians remain opposed to it suddenly diminish.
Partition and possibly loose confederation always was the only sensible political outcome to Syria. But, despite Trump’s doing of the right thing, the fact that we did the wrong thing years ago when we actually had a real shot at regime-change will make Assad’s leadership of the Shi’a elements of that partition almost inevitable.
If Russia now can be found willing to support partition, then a few dozen Tomahawk missiles was a cheap price to pay for it. But the retirement of Assad probably is a ship that sailed years ago. U.S. objectives in Syria need to be partition, peace between the warring Syrian parties, and the elimination of ISIS. Wouldn’t be a bad thing if we could get Russia to help with ALL those objectives.
Partition and possibly loose confederation always was the only sensible political outcome to Syria. But, despite Trump’s doing of the right thing, the fact that we did the wrong thing years ago when we actually had a real shot at regime-change will make Assad’s leadership of the Shi’a elements of that partition almost inevitable.
If Russia now can be found willing to support partition, then a few dozen Tomahawk missiles was a cheap price to pay for it. But the retirement of Assad probably is a ship that sailed years ago. U.S. objectives in Syria need to be partition, peace between the warring Syrian parties, and the elimination of ISIS. Wouldn’t be a bad thing if we could get Russia to help with ALL those objectives.
3
Richard:
Thought you had abandoned us.
Minus the anti-Obama history lesson, with or without Assad, would not the Shi'a elements always have been in charge of some or all of a partition, and would not these elements always have been no better than Assad? Or are you saying that without the man himself, the rest would have fallen willingly into line with civilized, peaceful societies?
Thought you had abandoned us.
Minus the anti-Obama history lesson, with or without Assad, would not the Shi'a elements always have been in charge of some or all of a partition, and would not these elements always have been no better than Assad? Or are you saying that without the man himself, the rest would have fallen willingly into line with civilized, peaceful societies?
2
Good to see you are back with your usual wrong remarks.
At least you are chillingly consistent in your partisan ignorance.
At least you are chillingly consistent in your partisan ignorance.
8
totyson and Kevin:
There hasn't been a break in my commenting in the Times for even one day ... for years. Obviously you just missed comments you thought hadn't been made. As a matter of fact, in 17 days I celebrate the 10th anniversary of beginning my commenting here.
There hasn't been a break in my commenting in the Times for even one day ... for years. Obviously you just missed comments you thought hadn't been made. As a matter of fact, in 17 days I celebrate the 10th anniversary of beginning my commenting here.
1
The US led a Western effort at regime change by insurgency. This entire civil war is that Western attack on the regime. The money, the weapons, and the foreign fighters are funneled in by the West, with the US coordinating that effort.
End the civil war? That's easy. Stop doing it.
What this editorial seeks is what was sought by the interventionist hawks all along -- not to end the civil war, but to win it.
The interventionist agenda had gone from Republican neocons to Democratic liberal interventionist hawks, in fact some of the very same people had changed parties, including key players like the Kagans. The intelligence agencies ran this as a not-secret "covert" operation. They are deeply invested in it.
Now Trump gives in to the Washington Blob consensus, and does what they always wanted for whatever reason they could find.
Trump played ball with them. He gave in to take the heat off. They won.
End the civil war? That's easy. Stop doing it.
What this editorial seeks is what was sought by the interventionist hawks all along -- not to end the civil war, but to win it.
The interventionist agenda had gone from Republican neocons to Democratic liberal interventionist hawks, in fact some of the very same people had changed parties, including key players like the Kagans. The intelligence agencies ran this as a not-secret "covert" operation. They are deeply invested in it.
Now Trump gives in to the Washington Blob consensus, and does what they always wanted for whatever reason they could find.
Trump played ball with them. He gave in to take the heat off. They won.
56
The civil war started as a response by Syrians against Assad's use of deadly force at Daraa and was a Syrian-initiated uprising. Your entire approach relieves Assad of any of the onus for the bloodshed when in fact this wasn't a Western attack on the regime but a Western response to the regime's attack on its people.
"End the civil war? That's easy. Stop doing it."
Nope, because that works off the unwarranted assumption that Assad's going to stop killing people when they stop defending themselves.
"End the civil war? That's easy. Stop doing it."
Nope, because that works off the unwarranted assumption that Assad's going to stop killing people when they stop defending themselves.
4
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate ... Returning violence for violence multiples violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
~ Martin Luther King
~ Martin Luther King
153
So, based on that thought, did you think that the American Civil War was wrong in his estimation?
2
"Maybe we shouldn't use pacifism to justify others atrocities." Me.
We've Donald the keen diplomat?
There isn't much under his hat,
There may be the sound
Of Boots on the ground
Diplomacy not a big bat.
There isn't much under his hat,
There may be the sound
Of Boots on the ground
Diplomacy not a big bat.
44