How many reporters does the NYT have on the ground in Syria? Who are your reporters close to the front lines who are actually witnesses to these events? Or are you relying on information provided to you by someone else? Just a simple question.
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Let's talk about the responsibility of the press in the promotion or possible prevention of atrocities. Apparently there was a use of deadly Sarin gas in Syria and it isn't the first time -- yet again, there is no absolute proof of responsibility. Who wold benefit? Certainly not the Syrian regime which has all but won it's war against radical rebellion. Attacks on civilians are reprehensible whoever does them; Assad, Israel or our own country in selling arms and in waging war. You choose (too poorly) which get reported.
At this moment, we have an incompetent hothead in the whitehouse and the maniacal hawk Bolton as his chosen adviser. In assigning blame and calling for retaliation, our media and the New York Times are complicit in promoting very possible war crimes and mass murder -- again --having learned absolutely nothing from the past. This is made probable by the lack of consequences faced by editors and media heads for aiding and abetting such monstrous crimes instead of practicing legitimate journalism. Ask yourselves what you are achieving, whom you are abetting and why. History is weighing in the balance.
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Jesus, all the talking here about the legal issue wether the president alone or the whole congress is needed to declare unilateral war against a country, against any international law, without any proof, based only on pictures...reminds one that the only safety you get against the USA and their warmongering, factfaking, massacring military complex are two things: Nukes. Or blind obedience. My country chose the latter.
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With Mr. Trumps apparent determination to engage in a conflict over Syria, his recent massive tax cuts, the excessive ballooning USA financial deficit; all seems to strongly suggest that Mr. Trump will lead the world into another very severe economic recession by 2020.
This pattern held true with George Bush before his Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and with Nixon during Vietnam.
And with the Russians already in the war on Syria’s side, coupled with Mr. Trump’s political inexperience, his obvious need to divert attention from the Mueller probe, and him trying to prove to Americans that he can actually confront Putin; and would be more resolute C-in-C than Obama: all equate a ‘tougher’, prolonged and irrational period of another ‘un-winnable’ and frustrating armed conflict for the US and its long-suffering soldiers, its allies and any war opponents; but especially the Middle East and its populations.
A torrid time awaits the world if President Trump enters this war.
The US is not the World's policeman or it's Marshal Dillon -- the UN not the US has the right to intervene although a P5 "nay" vote can stand in the way. There doesn't seem to be a legal way to intervene due to the way UN was set up -- with the P5 being above the law as it were. So the Hobbesian world applies -- the US can do what it wants because its the strongest so no moral advance in this respect since Melos.
For too long, Congress has been held out of discussions regarding war. At least Bush took his (inappropriate) idea about attacking Iran to Congress and to the UN. Obama did as he liked, as did Clinton.
Granted, Congress is corrupt and too politically motivated these days, but we the people are their bosses. The safety and well-being of the country and the free world to a degree, are the responsibility of NOT just the President, but Congress. Congress calls for war, not one man.
We need to get back to the constitution, the responsibilities of the 3 branches of government, and the elimination of a single person making grave decisions that impact not only the US, but the world.
Realize we live in horrendous times, where many world leaders are a sham (Russia, China, much of Africa, etc. etc.). However, the US has laws and it's time to shut down executive memos, yesterday.
Is there any evidence that there was a chemical weapons attack AND that it was authorised by Syria, and not one by Terrorists as a false flag incident. The recently claimed chemical weapons attack by Russia in the UK is falling apart as there is no evidence and it is beginning to look like a farce. Even the British Foreign Secretary agrees that he 'misspoke' in claiming that British Research Experts had proven that the chemicals were of Russian origin. 'Misspoke' is diplomatic language for 'lied'. We do know that the military/industrial complex wants to reignite a war within Syria. If Mr Trump wants to bomb anybody he should bomb them!
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Who are these commenters quoting RT. COM? RT is Russian TV. Russia doesn't have a free press. It's directly controlled by the Kremlin like all Russian media.
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Could someone please direct the congress to read the War Powers Act? It's their responsibility to make a declaration of war. Do these guys do ANYTHING but obstruct Robert Mueller's investigation and whine about Hillary Clinton.
Trump is not capable of understanding complex military operations and thinks the FBI broke into the offices of his seedy lawyer, never considering that a Judge had to sign a warrant. He's concerned only with himself and to allow him to make a military judgment call on Syria is like calling a plumber to conduct a colonoscopy.
I have no problem with punishing Assad for his crimes against humanity but we require a plan of some type to address the ramifications of that action. It can't be like the last time when we notified Putin, who notified Assad and then sent a few Tomahawks to destroy an empty airbase. That was laughable.
I realize congress is pretty much useless and has ceded their authority to the Executive Branch long ago, but that's the problem. Everything is politicized and congress doesn't want to touch anything that they may have to own.
This is not how our system is set up.
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There is a method to the delay.
Donnie is giving the Russians a chance to move or get anything valuable out of Syria before they again launch 60, inconsequential rockets at an insignificant airstrip target.
In legal terms, "Professional Courtesy".
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This is a serious question. Other than a historical basis why are chemical weapons any more outrageous than other modern weapons which rip and tear apart human flesh?
Russia and Iran should face the most stringent sanctions. Assad and his executioners should be charged with war crimes which will make them fugitives for the rest of their lives even in Syria. No air strike will have as much impact as these actions.
I really don't see why a chemical weapon attack is any worse than a barrel bomb attack or a cruise missile attack.
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Trump doesn't care who is responsible for the Syrian attack. Nor does he care about the Middle East generally. He only cares about himself and his money. That's why he's teamed up with the Saudis and Israel, both of whom are pushing us to attack Iran, their arch-enemy, So that what we'll now see Trump recommend. Corruption, plain and simple.
Trump is talking about air strikes against Syria for killing all of those innocent men, women, and children with chemical weapons.
I wonder if he plans on repeating the brilliant military strategy he employed the last time we bombed Syria's runways.
He made sure to notify his dear friend Comrade Putin, Syria's staunchest allie of the top secret details of the intended U.S. attack headed their way.
Of course Syria, thanks to the "heads-up" Putin no doubt gave them, made sure they moved all valuable planes, personnel, and equipment before the
bombs dropped.
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“Warring parties in Syria had used chemical weapons at least 35 times since 2013, Mr. al-Hussein said, summing up the response of the international community as “empty words, feeble condemnations and a Security Council paralyzed by the use of the veto.””
This statement certainly points to the patently ineffective efforts by both the Obama and now the Trump administrations to deal with the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Further one wonders about the August 2014 Russian brokered deal that allegedly led to the removal of all Syrian stockpiles of such agents and dismantling of production means.
The Trump strike in April of 2017, proved to be feckless.
The president’s latest bombast regarding retaliatory threats against Syria and both Russian and Iran strongly suggests broadening US engagement beyond the elimination of ISIS. This while Trump talks simultaneously of rapid US disengagement.
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While in my car today, Trump came on to talk in sugary tones about "Humanity" regarding the latest Syria crisis. It took all my willpower to just turn off the radio before I gagged and heaved while in traffic. That man (and I do mean our "dear leader") is a first-class hypocrite. We can only keep hoping to be rid of him soon before he creates a true disaster, which he is now building up to with Bomber Bolton and Punk Pompeo at his side to help implement his desired undoing of the Iran agreement - with whatever action it takes.
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Yes. This is another hoax by the US and Israeli secret services to fabricate a false allegation of use of gas to start a war against Syria.
George W. Bush did so in 2003, falsely claiming the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Donald Trump is doing it now by using the pretext of the alleged use of gas in Syria to justify his bombing, without any concrete evidence. That smells!
It is obvious that Trump is desperate to bury his repeated scandals under a cloud of war. What dishonesty!
The United States, and some other countries, are presently ruled by criminals. All these illegal wars begin with a "false flag operation". We only have to watch the movie "Wag the Dog" to understand.
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Trump's "quick decision" apparently takes WEEKS......
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Trump: "We're gonna do something about that immediately, or shortly thereafter."
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Yeah right. You are going to make Russia (a country with thoussnds of nuclear bombs) pay the price! It's funny how chemical weapons show up when the Syrian army gets close to victory. Coming soon, The Road, and Mad Max for real!
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12PM 04/09/18 EDT
Trump declared that he would made a decision about whether to retaliate militarily to the chemical weapons attack in Syria in 24-48 hrs. 24 hrs passed--24 to go. What are you going to do Cadet Bonespurs? Who knew policy could be sooo complicated.
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Now all of a sudden radical liberal democrats and the media supporting them is saying we should go to war with Syria.
Hopefully Trump won't be duped into making a stupid mistake by going to war in Syria.
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Freedom and human rights means the world has to be blown up. The US knows and trusts all reporting by Al Qaeda and Jaish al Islam.
Trump is under pressure so dont be surprised if he authorises a first nuclear strike on Russia. It sure looks it is headed that way.
How do you "vow" a quick response? Don't you either respond quickly or vow to respond a bit later, hopefully after some thought and deliberation?
Who benefits from a" spectacular " gas attack in Syria when Assad´s forces are eventually winning and , so, eventual peace .?
The rebels supported by naive and ignorant donors '?
Israel who would love to destabilise Syria ( as Lebanon ) and so obtain , for good, the Golan Heights ( if not more )?
Someone thought this very carefully.
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News reports state that “Israeli officials and military leaders have come to view the Trump administration as chaotic and unreliable, incapable of articulating a policy in Syria.”
What took you so long to come to this view? 99% of us already knew this in 2016. Why is this only dawning on you now?
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Given that the world seems to be drawing closer to a significant conflict day by day, the relevance of whether or not the Syrian government is launching gas atttacks or whether or not the Russian government poisoned the Skripals seem highly pertinent. To committ to significant military action without absolutely clear evidence in either case is beyond irresponsible, it is lunacy. From everything I've read about these cases there are grounds to be very suspicious about the accounts that are being presented by the western governments and their media. Are the Syrians and Russians that stupid? Maybe, I don't know, but I have considerable doubt. Is the U.S. that stupid to be continuously making these assertions. I doubt it, but I remember the WMD case in Iraq and I think the same thing is going on. There are people in the U.S. who think the moment is ripe for the U.S. to deal with its enemies and they are bent and determined to get it done. There is absolutely no evidence that these people are thinking much beyond the fact that the U.S. has overwhelming military power at the moment and they don't care much about the consequences. The rest of us need only look at the past 20 years of U.S. foreign policy to see significant failure after failure and it is because of the attitude of these people towards the rest of the world. I'm a Canadian and I think Canada should pull out of NATO as it has become a war mongering organization thanks to the U.S. and their pooches, the British.
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An ideal opportunity for a fresh distraction ... bomb someone, anyone, just to shift media coverage for a week ... or less. Trump is clinically insane and totally devoid of morals of any form. To say he is 'dangerous' is a gross understatement. If we hope to survive as a Nation, this coming November is our best means to regain control of this runaway train. VOTE for DEMOCRACY!
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There is a picture at MSNBC which shows Trump flanked by Pence on one side, and Bolton on the other. Pence has the shortest hair, so I designate him as Curly Howard. Trump has the wildest hair, so he gets to be Larry Fine. Bolton, if he didn't have that ridiculous soup strainer beneath his nose, would almost actually resemble Moe Howard. So there we have them -- the Three Stooges.
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The attack is a completely obvious false flag, a provocation perpetrated by the last of the “rebels”, otherwise known as terrorists, who are holed up in the Damascus suburbs. They seek to manipulate the US into staying involved in Syria, the more aggressively the better, instead of leaving as Trump promised he would do just a few days ago.
The Russians predicted this provocation just a few weeks ago.
https://www.rt.com/news/421753-syria-ghouta-chemical-provocation/
It makes zero sense for the Syrians to do such a thing or for the Russians to allow it, right as Assad is winning and several days after Trump said he was leaving! Trump is so much less likely to leave now.
But things are getting even more serious now than back a year ago when Trump pulled his stunt with the 59 Tomahawks. This time the Russians are stating up front that there will be the “most serious consequences” if the US attacks.
The warmonger party, the Iran haters, John Bolton, the Israelis, John McCain, neocons who can’t stand the thought of the US giving up the dream of toppling Syria — these people are no doubt excited now that the US will be back in the game. The rest of us, not so much.
April 9 8:26 pm EDT
The victims he's so sympathetic to are the same people he's denying refugee here.
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'A quick response'? It's been over three days.
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Yeah, when I was cleaning pools in Aleppo, I told everyone to store their pool acid and pool chlorine in different places in case a bomb hit it.
"Vlad, can you create a toxic cloud, just big enough to hide my domestic scandals for a few news cycles?". Ancillary winners include the military industrial complex - Raytheon (RTN) would appear to be a good bet - and the media, including the Times.
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Syria has Assad. Russia has Putin. China has Xi. N. Korea has Un. We have Trump; oy vey. Can we get a higher draft pick next time.
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So we have video coverage of an Israeli missile aimed at Syrian targets but somehow we don't have any coverage of a Syrian bomb causing dissemination of poisonous gas, yet unconfirmed videos of victims are what we are using to escalate further intervention undoubtedly leading to more innocent casualties? This is completely illogical. Assad is not an idiot. He is an educated human being, albeit not a very nice one, and he likely has no difficulty recalling that the last gas attack led to Western attacks against his airfield. Why would he risk this? He has access to multiple weapons that could easily destroy his people without using poisonous gas, a method known to cause global outrage. If however, I were a rebel and wanted the regime ousted, what better way than to create images, or even worse, hurt my own people, to make it seem that the regime was to blame. The only way this will all come to an end is to TALK to Assad! Stop labelling people as evil and animals and start bring groups together to resolve this conflict. Tossing blame and bombs back and forth only leads to further escalation.
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He's all talk. Won't do anything meaningful. Putin directs traffic. We all know this don't we? Israel will protect us.
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Trump in telephone call to Putin: Hey friend, listen I got to do something, a little show to please these folks I conned that I'm a tough guy. Is there an old truck or plane sitting in some scrap yard in Syria that I can bomb and make it look like I did something? Of course, there should not be any Russians around that can get hurt. Putin: Well there is this graveyard for Russian vehicles in the Syrian desert that you can bomb and make it look like a big thing. And of course, I'll make it look like this was a serious act of aggression and photo shop some dead Russians from WWII into the pictures, kind of making look real. Yeah, fake news, but that's what we do well. Ok go play with your bombs in the desert now. Trump: You're good man Putin, thanks for the help.
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You should not need to be reminded that this is a false flag, but I will. Russia has been warning about this coming for weeks. Assad has nothing to do with this. The "sophisticates" who read the NYT should know this instead of acting like rubes at a carnival.
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Anyone that does not see ALL of this - all of "Trump's" contradictory "moves" to what is happening in Syria, to what Russians are planning in the background - as manufactured and agreed upon to pump "Trump" is fooling themselves. He's gonna bomb someone somewhere soon as a ploy to consolidate his power. And we, being the stupid country, will fall in line behind his malevolence belligerence. Watch. None of this is a "mistake".
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How can I have any faith in a president who has difficulty in putting together a coherent sentence to do the right thing. A decision like this takes a thought process that involves listening to clever minds who can actually think, not just the yes men that surround this reality TV star.
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Yes, 24-48 hours are OK because his friend Vladimir needs some time to decide.
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The laws of this country are a disgrace. How do you let a man not just remain President but make such important decisions when he has ALL he has going on under Robert Mueller???? Trump is making decisions to affect lives while under duress. Why is he allowed to do this?
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Congress needs to put serious limits on his power to start a war. He is a cornered and desperate rat looking for a way to claw out of the many traps he is caught in so starting a war just to distract is a district possibility.
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NY Times: "If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out and we’ll know the answers quite soon,” he told."
... But this is what President Putin said a week ago at a press conference following the meeting of the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran (http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/57201):
"They (terrorists) are ready to use any means. We have received, for example, irrefutable evidence of preparing provocations by militants (in Syria) with the help of chemical agents."
It looks like the US president has been acting in concert with the terrorists.
The USA, the Saudis, and Israelis want to remove Saddat and replace him with someone of their liking. To achieve that, some 200 000 Syrians have been killed and hundreds of thousands had to flee their homes and the country has been destroyed. Now the coalition of invaders claims that Saddat killed his people with chemical weapons justifying more carnage in Syria. They show no credible evidence to support their claims, it is not even plausible no more than the Skripal incident in the UK.
Trump and his government are accomplished liars, we know that they can't be trusted, same is true of the government of the UK and the European governments.
Does anyone remember the staged trailers in the Iraqi desert, they said were chemical labs? There is the MOAB they say they dropped in Afghanistan without any kind of evidence, not even staged photos. For all, we know the pictures of MOAB showed a cardboard bomb or a Macy's hot air balloon.
We do know, Saddat is fighting at home in Syria with Syrian troupes, he did not bomb Israel or invade the Saudi Emirate or the USA or any other nation. Our side kills Syrian people and destroyed the country for our interests, not for the Syrian people.
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Trump will do nothing. We have troops there and they will be sitting ducks if Trump retaliates with air and missile strikes. Plus it could set off WWIII
Does anyone remember when all those Marines in Lebanon were truck bombed during Reagans watch. what like it was hundreds of them killed. Meanwhile Reagan was leveling Beirut with shipborne artillery fire, from like 10 miles offshore.
What? Trumps been threatening to make this “quick” decision for weeks now.....or at least since last week.
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Gentle Forumites, it just beggars believe. Our warmonger handlers through their parrot media would have us believe that, just as the Administration announces its desire to withdraw troops from Syria and at a time when he has victory firmly in his grasp, Assad blows it all and orders a chemical attack on civilians in Eastern Ghouta. Assad has absolutely nothing to gain from this and everything to lose.
Of course I stand to be corrected but I know of no US mainstream media that carried the story of a rebel chemical weapons workshop discovered in the recently liberated area of Eastern Ghouta. Not surprisingly Trump omitted to mention our proxy jihadists as a possible culprit.
We are being played like an old violin.
1
Kind of hard to focus on a response when you spend much of your meeting to address this issue deriding United States justice institutions while surrounded by your military photo-op.
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Well, Trump's answer to Syria will be "I'll huff, and I'll puff and I'll blow Assad's house down."
Remember how Trump had Kim shaking in his boots until Kim invited him to high tea in May. So all Assad has to do is invite Trump to tea.
Guess the 69 cruise missiles last April were not enough, eh. What about the Mother of All Bombs? Guess that didn't work either. What's left? BTW, if it is OK to turn entire cities filled with civilians into rubble, do chemical weapon bombs have a different mother?
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That’s a lot of article to post sans anything like evidence to support claim that “the Syrian government did it”.
Trump just saying so isn’t evidence either.
I'm really worried about what Trump will do.
Many of us grew up in countries where there were many people of Middle Eastern ancestry. They were almost always members of the merchant class whom in some Caribbean lands became influential members of society in business, politics and other areas. Some of these were Lebanese but in the lands of which I speak we referred to these white appearing folk as Syrian. Their dominant religious affiliation was Roman Catholicism. The islands of which I speak were colonies of Britain where "white was right". This group fit right into this and with few exceptions were opposed to any equalization of Rights during the decades of unionization and establishing of voting rights in the Caribbean. Our Syrians were white and supporters of the oppressors (big business, plantations, banks) of the time. Now that they appear to be eating one another in Syria, am I supposed to feel sorry? Should my child be one of our boots on their ground? Never is my answer to both questions. They have been active and passive participants in the oppression of black people. To some, including Representatives in Congress it is an on going process. Let them fifgt their own fight without one drop of black blood.
Trump has no credibility. Americans don't take him seriously, why would anyone else?
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Missile strikes are unhelpful to anybody's agenda, except Assad's. A targeted assassination would be a game changer but who knows what that involves? Someone inside Syria will kill him sooner or later. The silver lining is that Assad is on the wrong side of history as his counterparts have already fallen across the Arab world - Egypt, Libya, Tunisia.
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Still not seeing any evidence that the Syrian government is behind this latest chemical “event”.
And I’ll add that this article only implies so, for example:
“Warring parties in Syria had used chemical weapons at least 35 times since 2013, Mr. al-Hussein said, summing up the response of the international community as ‘empty words, feeble condemnations and a Security Council paralyzed by the use of the veto.’“
Notably that phrasing would include the “rebels”.
Everybody knows that we will tolerate (if not actually support) all manner of atrocities all over the world, for any length of time. It's OK for "conventional" weapons to kill any number of soldiers, civilians, school kids, toddlers who never got to school, while we go about our daily lives. But mention chemical weapons, and we are on our high horses about how this kind of killing is not OK and a response is demanded. So everything about this situation is highly suspect. Who would be motivated to create a story that seems calculated to get the US behind a military action in the Middle East? Coincidentally right when a new team of warmongers has been installed to advise the US on "security" matters?
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Unless it is Israeli's using the chemical weapons, such as their use of white phosphorus in Gaza and elsewhere. They use strong tear gas with impunity there, and vomiting agents have been used. How about Agent Orange and the rest.
The US has never been consistent on this one.
I thought Trump does an effective job? The fact that Assad was not taught a lesson last year shows that Trump was ineffective when he ordered a military strike on Syria.
The use of poison gas is a war crime, and should be prosecuted through the ICC, not duked out between four bullies — Trump, Putin, Assad and Netanyahu — and others, the prospects of which will lead to the continued tragedy of the mass destruction of lives and property. Bringing peace through personal integrity and diplomacy is a task for brave leaders, not cowards.
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With all the threats from Putin since last year and Trumps bombing Afghanistan and Syria aren't any of Trump supporters concerned about retaliation from Russia. If they aren't they are out of touch and should never be able to rule America again.
Until we hear what Trump plans to do, it is hard to have an opinion about the appropriateness of his response. What I AM concerned about is his theatric approach. First, he is 3 days late on reacting, and then doesn't really say much (guess he is figuring the media and pundits will focus on the fact that he said "Russia" in any negative context...which they unfortunately did). He finished his statements (after irrationally rambling on with arms crossed about the injustice of the FBI raid on his attorney) with a TV tried and true trope: "I will decide in the next 24 to 48 hours what our response will be (paraphrased)". Nowhere did I see any influence of diplomatic solutions. Just the bully. While he may actually have been moved by the recent gas attacks (just as he was how many months ago?), Assad has killed almost half a million of his own citizens, and I have seen little that came from Trump about that. Only last week's comment about cutting out of Syria. Guess he was reacting to the news about how his administration is raising the US debt and wanted to save some money to build his wall.
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"President Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Monday that he would make a decision in the next 24 to 48 hours about whether to retaliate militarily to the chemical weapons attack in Syria."
After the raid on Trump's lawyer/fixer tonight, you can bet the missile attacks on Syria are a sure thing now, along with about a million tweets about Crooked Hillary, Stupid Jeff Sessions and The Wall. Trump is going to have to divert attention somehow. Oh, I forgot Jeff Bezos, Amazon, and The WaPo...
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STAGED ATTACK, FALSE FLAG. Douma is the last town Assad needs to liberate near Damascus. All the other towns he liberated without chemical weapons. So now the last town he needs chemical weapons BALONEY. Does Assad want missiles raining down on him. Come on use your brains. This was an attack by people who want to convince the US to stay in Syria.
2
The "administration" is looking for a empty airport runway to attack right now, Vlad! Did you hear that? Is that enough warning?
1
Before killing a bunch of people in Syria why not find out 1) if there actually was an attack using poison gas and 2) who did it. Cui bono? This incident has "False Flag" written all over it. How quickly we seem to forget Saddam and the invasion of Iraq, the result of bogus claims about WMD.
3
Let 'em hear from us, Mr. President.
We FINALLY have a Commander-in-Chief who speaks for right over wrong.
Lead on, Mr. Trump. No one will mind that isn't already losing sleep over your having defeated The Broom Rider and her Flying Monkeys.
This is a diversion :
Putin is lobbing it up and Republicans are hitting it out of the park. Syrian people will die - bashar the butcher and putin the puppeteer will make our Pinocchio dance.
Please don’t let the Syrians suffer anymore.
Trump and allies destroyed the ACA for needy Americans, so why does he care about poor luckless Syrians?
"nation building starts at home" he said .
What a lying hypocrite
Look at all those crusty old white men sitting at that table. I am envisioning the day when that table is made up of at least 50% women and the other half people of color and we finally use the people's money to do what is good for the people, the animals, the plants and this planet.
1
Will Trump be as barbaric as Assad? How many deaths and how awful the death to be "barbaric"?
The toddler is furious that Obama didn't clean up Bush's mess. Time for big boy pants, little feller.
This Russian backed chaos machine should be removed from office. He has done enough damage already.
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As soon as John Bolton tells him what to do.....
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We have a fake traitor "president" who can't successfully win his legal battle against a porn star he cheated on his wife with. His lawyer in that legal battle is probably facing his own legal charges shortly because of the incredibly stupid way they went about trying to cover up what wasn't a crime in the first place.
But we're to follow this "man" into a trade war with China. Into a powderkeg in middle east where Russia is squatting.
Maybe settle up your domestic squabble first, Trump. You didn't win the vote, you don't have a mandate, you don't have a lawyer, you don't have the support of the American people, you have the most corrupt plutocracy this nation has seen since I don't know when in place, you aren't in a position to lead or moralize.
Resign. Do the right thing for once in your long and miserable, wretched life.
5
Of course, US will strike Syria. Why else would you carry out such a provocation? One has to be very stupid to believe that Assad has anything to do with that (or any other) chemical attack in Syria. But apparently that is what American people are - stupid dupes. The actual target of that strike, of course, is Russia. Assad won in Syria, and US-funded terrorists lost - that is a done deal and there is nothing US government can do about it now.
2
I may have said this before but I will say it again
I have read reading newspapers critically since I was seven.thats about seventyfive years ago and I have never never read such unbelievable distorted lying rubbish as today from all the western media. In the UK a Russian traitor living in the murky world of being an agent then double agent is apparently poisoned by a substance whose origin cant be traced.A huge operation goes into action with gas masks etcetc yet although we are told this deadly stuff was smeared all over the front door of the victims house two policewomen police officers are seen calmy standing next to the door in normal uniform unmasked...
Next Assads forces make a final assault on a rebel area and take control ..its a huge victory..then for no reason they apparently drop gas bombs on the civilian population most of whom are held imprisoned as hostages illegally by the fanatical rebels which is of course a serious war crime.
Why on earth would Assad do that when Trump talks of pulling out US soldiers and Assad has won? (and why would Russia poison the ex spy only three months before the world cup that could possible result in a boycott?
Do American politicians know that the rebel religious fanatics they support have ruthlessly shelled their own people in order to get Assads government blamed for the deaths of civilians and indeed some of the photos themselves look clearly staged...and where are thechildrens mothers?l
And pleeze,pleeze..no Troll nonsense!!
1
Its time to stop talking and act instead.Putins politics of "fait accompli" has to come to an end.Let him leave Syria,Ukraine and the Crimea or he will get the war he is trying to provoke upon us,time and again.Remember Hitler,who was allowed to go to far before he met resistance,with devastating consequences for the whole of Europe.
1
I think Clinton got an impeachment vote extention by firing 600 cruise missles at Saddam. you know, wag the dog.
Now Trump will use the same tactic.
Syria is a UN problem, not the problem of a Corporal from Scenectedy
1
"Seit 5.45 wird zurückgeschossen" or "starting at 5.45 am we will shoot back" are the famous words that Hitler used to start WW2.
Trump still has no proof what really happened but we see Bolton at work.
Will we get pictures of babies from an intensive care unit with the daughter of a US diplomat in disguise?
Will we see another Power Point presentation at the UN which will later lead to a book in which the criminal in uniform will write that the knew it was a lie but what the heck it is only lives far away from the US.
Trump is under immense pressure at home and he yearns to become a war president just like the war criminals before him.
Time top get rid of him by any means necessary and have him stand trial.
Quite a few of the poison gas attacks that have been attributed previously to the Syrian government turned out to either no poison gas attack at all because it was chlorine gas which is not classified as poison gas and is also used by the US or it was a direct hit onto a poison gas storage of the terrorists.
But Trump does not care as he is controlled by Fox and Friends.
What we will see in the next days is a war criminal in the making, thousands of killed Syrians and a massive extension of the destabilized zone in the region leading to mass migration into Europe and thus destabilizing Europe.
And all because Trump is a liar under pressure about his affairs.
And the "liberal" media will follow suit and hail the war criminal like they did with Bush.
2
Trump’s announcement puts Syria, Russia, and Iran on notice. It is the sort of announcement that Trump has repeatedly criticized for giving advance notice to our enemies of our military plans.
1
While the Congress- the prime authority to consider and authorise war- maintains a studied silence on matters of war President Trump never tires of repeating the war threats against all and sundry with little time to think of strategic planning and the consequences.
2
Why does it look like that world leaders only want to hold the Assad regime and the Russians accountable after a chemical weapons attack but not for their years of intentional bombing of civilian targets with non-precision bombs to inflict mass casualties?
The world has done nothing to stop the systematic extermination of anyone that opposes Assad so another US missile strike will be ineffective in stopping any type of attack of civilians, especially when we have to give an advanced warning to the Russians like last time in order to avoid Russian casualties. The Russians are complicit in these war crimes and should be punished as well.
3
Well, lets see: was it 59 cruise missiles one year ago, the latest salvo then designed to pretend there is such a thing as American resolve, when it comes to the Middle East, so perhaps it will be 72 cruise missiles this time, why 72, seems like a nice number and after all it will make room for the military contractor to restock, for the next worthless salvo.
Because guess what folks, this time next year Assad will still be in power, Iran will be on much firmer ground in Syria, and Russia and Putin will be Assads' BFF, and Israel and its people will wait, and wait, in fear for its existence.
Our failure to take no nonsense positions, when atrocities such as this latest horror delivered by Assad occur, is causing us irreparable damage, and in the not too distant future, North Korea will be emboldened, Russia will push into some of its former satellites, and China will slowly and carefully establish itself as the dominant economic power on the planet, and Europe will find itself having to move closer, economically, to China, pushed by the patent failure of the United States to economically work with its allies, be assertive and stand tall in a very dangerous world.
And sitting in the White House, in his bedroom, watching CNN, and tweeting like the 400 LB imaginary hacker he once opined on, is Donald Trump, the leader of the free world.
Beyond belief, but its real !!!
3
What has Israel done for itself that has made a difference?
Oh that's rich. Trump will never move against his boss, Putin. To date he hasn't. Any sanctions and rebukes against Russia have come by the sanctions that Trump VETOED and the Mueller investigation. The punishments against Russia to date have happened DESPITE Trump not because of him. Of course in Trump fashion he lies and took credit for those actions but the truth is he was powerless to stop them. He's the master of empty gestures. What did he do last year? Bomb a largely empty air strip only mildly damaging it AFTER warning the Russians that he was going to do it? This is a show. Like his tariff bluff that he basically announced was a bluff. The world has seen too many episodes of this type cast has been.
1
As of 5:40 CDT I would consider "quick" the wrong adjective. Maybe "fast" or "soon" but certainly not quick. Trump is too distracted by other matters like his growing legal troubles to think abut Syria. Besides, last week we were committed to leaving Syria for the Russians and Iranians, weren't we? Or was that a dream? It is hard to keep things straight with this new Trump model of international relations. Enemies become very good people and best friends over night! It is nothing less than miraculous.
2
One hopes the POTUS always given to tirades of bluster and veiled threats will think twice before sending missiles to retaliate for this heinous incident - although this intervention seems more than warranted to eliminate specific targets. And one hopes that level heads in his inner sanctum will advise him of the complexity of the greater situation here where we are verging on greater engagement in a proxy war with Iran and Russia. What this does once again show is the need to work closely with European and other Middle Eastern allies to respond and curb Assad's barbaric behavior. But as Trump continues to devalue and isolate the role of international coalitions and partnerships he increasingly puts us in a position where we will have few friends and neighbors willing to act in accord with us - Trump's hand is forced here and hopefully he will respond forcefully but also start to understand the need for cooperation instead of alienating allies when dealing with international crises. But as he so arrogantly told the American electorate, "He will solve it... he alone will fix it." - these words now so hollow and pathetic as POTUS confronts the complex and brutal realities of foreign affairs.
The idea that Assad would do such a thing, after Trump announced a pullout is highly unlikely. Why do it, when you're ahead? However, those on the losing end, such as the US and it's so-called friends, feeling backed into a corner, very well may have, as a way of tilting the balance. We've seen this playbook before, folks. If Trump was smart, he would start by explaining to the American people that it was the Obama administration that wanted regime change in Syria, and put this all into motion. Trump had nothing to do with it at all, and he should stay clear of it. His generals, itching for a yet another fight, might push him in another, disastrous direction, however.
2
Putin could well have been behind this in order to make Trump look good in the U.S. as his support slowly crumbles. Any global action that impacts Trump one way or another needs to be analyzed through the rosy-red Russian glasses, which is sad.
"Mr. Trump said that Syria was not allowing any independent inspection of the attack site. “If they’re innocent, why aren’t they allowing people to go in and prove” it, he asked."
How very rich. That's a question he needs to ask himself.
1
President Bone Spurs has never served! And Bolton never saw active duty in his military service. Writing in his Yale 25th reunion book, he said: "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost."
They've both got a proverbial axe to grind... seated comfortably in their war room, surrounded by their generals, it'll be "BOMBS AWAY" any day now.
I don't want a quick decision, I want a good decision.
Trump (and the GOP) keep saying how bad the Iran deal was and praising Putin, now these issues are rebounding on the US! Iran and Russia are key players in Syria and US has lost any moral authority with Iran and is in a difficult position vis a vis Russia.
Something you never do (as the Pentagon have probably told POTUS) is telegraph your intentions - to do anything. Like the big guy asked Butch Cassidy 'Rules in a knife fight?' I'm worried The Art of the Deal missed that critical piece of advice.
My heart truly pains for the general population of Syria. Since 2011, they remain in the cross fire of this civil war, and the lose of life and absolute destruction of their lands escalates every day. They are simply pawns in a game of Assad's fight of retaining absolute control of power. These citizens of our world have no face.
Retaliation? My emotional response is yes, this is deliberate genocide.
Than given much thought, thinking about the beginning, middle and end of the entire plan called retaliation I think not. Why?
I have absolutely no faith in the ability of this current adminstration to arrive at cohesive, well thought out plan of action that will address the broader, complicated issues, and players that are embedded in this Syrian civil war.
Mary,
I'm against war, but in this situation and in other such situations, I firmly believe we, and our allies, must deliver the kind of attack on Assad, regardless collateral effect on Assads' allies, an attack which will make him stop instantly, and issue a final ultimatum giving him 20 days to return troops to barracks, and allow Unites States and United Nations inspectors unfettered access to all of Syria to identify and orchestrate the removal and destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological.
No negotiating of any kind with a warning that failure to act will result in our invading Syria, in an operation similar in scope to the allied invasion at Normandy during WW11.
Watch Assad, Iran, and Russia, quickly comply.
If we do not take this opportunity, to show bad actors everywhere that we will react when pushed too far, it's game over for this polarized United States.
Russia, Iran, and other enablers of terrorism, and those who would seek to destroy liberty on pur planet, all need to see that we may act like a paper tiger, from time to time, but when we get good and angry we can and will, lay waste those who anger us.
2
What comes to mind is there are probably 2 ways that the Western World can make a difference here: 1. Eliminate the leaders of countries that are responsible for the annihilation of its people. 2. Become willing to receive peoples from these war torn places. DACA is a must! America must take the humanitarian road and open it's borders or be willing to "take on" these monsters. One would think that we've learned from history?
2
Another war?
If someone had asked me, in 2000, if the US would be in three failed wars I would have laughed.
But here we are. Wasting trillions of our dollars and thousands of our kids lives to be involved in religious civil wars- that have no bearing on the safety of the United States.
I am ashamed- ASHAMED- that so many here want another war.
3
We are appalled at the Syrians? Yes poor folks. However we are turning away thousands of refugees from Syria and Mexico who are fleeing for their lives. We are sending troops (like Assad) to "protect" us from the many refugees (mostly women and children). Recently a refugee shelter collapsed in Syria killing 40 people. We are not helping maintain these shelters. We are not supporting the many fleeing. So we are really shocked at Assad killing these same folks?
Then there is the bombing. A single bomb strike, or even a few have had No effect on the war and a new strike will not change one thing over there. WE have a mad man as President, the congress is charged with deciding whether we bomb others or not they Must get involved and quit hiding from responsibility.
What a mess, a constantly growing mess.
One thing is sure: nobody in the whole area has the competence and the will to try to put an end to the spiral of general destruction in the ME. All actors are following their own agenda, be it Iran, Russia, SA, or Bachar El Assad's Syria.
The West? Paralysed.
Bombing Syrian airfields will not oust Assad. Doing nothing will not help either.
Diplomacy?
Who will talk to who?
Who has the slightest idea of a general scheme to start lowering the ever rising temperature?
Both Netanyahu and Trump are incentivized to take the spotlight off their respective criminal investigations. The fact, neither America nor Israeli intelligence can generate any meaningful evidence of Assad's culpability whether intercepted communications, video or photographs lays bare the reality that this is a classic false flag operation. Chemical weapons are unfortunately fungible in Syria's dystopian landscape, especially when it comes to blatant attempts to provoke America's intervention.
The question here is whether Republicans will push back against Trump's military intervention precisely like they did against Obama who had a higher approval rating 49% than Trump's 40%.
2
Good to see President Trump willing to act. His actions should show he is not under control of the vicious Russians. Hopefully he will help chase the Iranians and Hezbollah out of Syria.
Mr. Bolton said at the time. “I don’t think it’s in America’s interest. I don’t think we should in effect take sides in the Syrian conflict.” This is about Genocide, Mr. Bolton, and has zero-sum to do with a sparring match.
America is in transit to closing its borders and deactivated in its role as The World's Leading Democracy, we can ask France to take the lead and decide whether to join other civilized nations across the earth to put an end to this massacre, this carnage, where this is no room for excuses or an explanation.
To establish 'cordial relations' with Russia and as an act of good faith on the part of Trump and Putin, the latter to be invited to put an end to this slaughter. This is not going to happen.
America is The Giant in Retreat, while China goes on a shopping spree, and India the Superpower of The Third World bides its time. A Spring March to take place in the United States to walk on Washington and tell The White House it is time for this Government to go with its President. Ineffectual, in a political paralysis, having long forgotten that is is a privilege and responsibility to be American in The Land of The Free.
Syrian imbroglio, arguably the most complex in the mankind history.
Everybody is fighting for their own reasons. Assad regime and the rebels want to destroy each other; Iran and Saudi Arabia jockeying up for influence ; the Kurds wants own independent state, which Turkey strongly opposes; Russia wants to preserve its naval base in Tartus and support Assad; US just wants to destroy ISIS.
With all these different agendas, negotiating peace among all of the sides with deadly hatred for each other, is an extraordinarily difficult task. And since no one side is likely to be wiped out by force alone, this conflict will not end anytime soon.
American should realize that Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Best course for America will be never to jump to conclusions and to keep off the area till the combatants realize the utter futility of their actions or let them hammer themselves to extinction.
The individual who presently holds the office of president has exposed himself to our nation and to the world as a bully and a coward --two sides of the same coin -- with his whining about China being "mean" for targeting U.S. agriculture in its retaliation to his tariffs Trump sounded like my grandson, who, as a two year old learning to speak, classified zoo animals as "nice" or "mean". Finally, after decades bullying his way through life, Trump was finally stood up to by Xi Jin-Ping of China and exposed for the spineless and morally vacuous fraud he is. And we're supposed to expect some principled and forthright response from him in Syria, where only days ago he pronounced that he was getting us out and ruing the cost in blood and treasure our presence in the region had inflicted on us? And he goes into a meeting with his top advisors whining about the treatment of his personal attorney? It's time for the Kochs and Mercers to tell their lemmings in Congress to pull the plug on this farce.
1
The best response to Syria's chemical attacks is a political, not a military, response. It's time for the U.S. to reward our best ally, the Kurds, by taking the area they already occupy as Syria's largest minority and declaring it a State of of Kurdistan. This partition of Syria would create a buffer between the Assad regimen and Iran and create a military ally in the region.
If it was okay for Russia to blow up a plane with a missile over Ukraine, it's okay for the US to hit Assad, Iran and Putin's cronies for gassing innocent children.
Let's start from the understanding that Trump is predictable and therefore easily played. Remember also that Assad has the counsel of a cunning, seasoned KGB veteran. In April of last year - the last time Trump saw frightening pictures on TV of Assad's chemical weapons use - Trump ordered the bombing of a Syrian airbase that, as I recall, was up and running again quite rapidly. (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/08/syrian-warplanes-take-air-ba... At the time, many people said (hey Donald, I used your line) that the whole thing was staged. So that's one way to look at the current situation - Assad might have had reasonable assurance that the consequences of his latest chemical strike would be only figurative.
Or maybe he's not sure of that and instead fully understood, on making this chemical strike, that Trump might ask his generals for a major plan in response. Then the question becomes, what is Assad trying to draw Trump into and why? I'm not saying that the likelihood of such planning by Assad necessarily rules out any response by the U.S. I just hope (actually, I despair) that Trump is thinking this through as many steps ahead as his adversaries are.
3
According to CDC data: "In 2016, there were more than 38,000 gun-related deaths in the U.S." Trump's response: Protect the 2nd Amendment!
A few dozen killed by chemical weapons in Syria. Trump's response: "Animal Assad" is "barbaric" and we will spend hundreds of millions to send some missiles into his country.
Crazy world we live in.
12
Does anyone think the President can get his mind off his obsession with the so-called "witch hunt," Cohen, and Stormy Daniels to even remotely concentrate on policy? Does he even know where Syria is, or how many troops are deployed there, or why? I don't think so.
My sister, who has been a hospice nurse for over 30 years, thinks that Trump is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, given the temper tantrums and random decisions, and frankly, paranoid delusions. I concur.
5
Assad had nothing to gain by such an attack, while the so-called opposition had much to gain, especially since Trump was planning a pullout. Thats going to be a lot harder to do under the present circumstances.
Since its far too soon to tell who was responsible, and since its only the opposition that had a motive, taking presumptive action against the Syrian government is a huge mistake. Not that it matters much as far as the politics are concerned. Shades of Tonkin Gulf, weapons of mass destruction, etc., etc.
10
UN investigating teams (as well as others) have proven that Assad's government has been responsible for chemical attacks on civilians. And yet the world stands by. By now Assad should have been arrested and be standing trial in The Hague for war crimes.
The USA dropping some bombs is not the solution. World leaders showing a bit of fortitude is the answer. Where is the EU "leadership"? Quietly watching from the sidelines, hoping Israel and the USA will do its dirty work for them.
The entire world cannot allow Assad to go free simply because Russia sits on the UN security council and vetoes any action there.
This is not an American problem. I don't want to see us engaged in another decade long war in the Middle East. This is a WORLD problem and all the major nations should be involved in bringing Assad down and bringing him to justice.
If Trump were a real leader he would be standing up in front of the world leaders at the UN, shaming them for their inaction. He would be making private phone calls to Merkel, Xi Jinping, May, Macron, Netanyahu and the Saudis, pressing them to each exert their influence to build a larger coalition.
This inaction sickens me.
4
The US has a very long history standing by helplessly during genocides as documented by Samantha Powers. Start early 1900s Turkey and the Armenian genocide. Of course our experience with genocide starts with 17 th and 18th century extermination of Native Americans.
The question here is not if Trump decides soon but if he is generally ABLE to decide (anything???).
And Congress? A political system in shambles is nothing one can be proud of. I will not praise our parliamentary system here in Germany, but at times your political brouhaha sends me headaches.
3
It is doubtful that Trump can separate the good of Americans, of Syrians from his need to deflect attention away from his legal troubles. It is critical that he listen carefully to cool heads in foreign policy (which specifically does not include John Bolton).
1
Tread lightly on your decision about Syria. A misstep could, again, commit our country into another protracted war with no clear end plan. George W. Bush and Iraq; and our continued insane 17 year war in Afghanistan are clear examples of very dumb Pentagon civilian war planners who have no idea of what they are doing, other than sending our soldiers into another possible protracted war to die for what?
Trump, be very careful whom you listen to about you next Syrian move.you have only one chance to make the right decision!
1
You're not taking into consideration the war profiteers. Once you add their motives into the picture it starts making a lot more sense.
You omitted Vietnam. We have a long history of ineptitude.
Did anyone notice that the article begins “President Trump on Monday denounced the suspected chemical weapons attack” - it is not an established fact either that chemical weapons were used, or if they were, who used them. ALL allegations of a chemical attack and ALL blame placed on the Syrian government come from acknowledged opponents of the Government who are losing their battle to topple the government and have all the incentive to make false claims of a chemical attack. Why on earth does the media jump on the frenzied retaliation bandwagon when the facts are not established- THAT is barbarism - the kind that killed millions in Iraq and Libya and now threatens to destabilize Syria with an attack based on equally suspect claims. Is our media and the West reduced to a pathetic, knee jerk, agenda driven retaliatory war machine? Where ar the calls for confrontation of Israel for killing protestors? Shame on the governments of the US and the west and the lockstep mass media who are threatening to attack a government that finally seems to be bringing a destructive and western promoted civil war to an end.
10
Didn't Trump and the arrogant GOP hear the warnings from Putin last chemical attack last year,and the bomb Trump dropped last year in Afghanistan there will be payback from Russia if any of Russias allies are attacked. With Trumps lawyers office raided tonight and hopefully Trumps office next it shouldn't he be removed from power before he blows us all up. I thought there was protections in place for such a scenario.
3
Tucker Carlson on FOX just said that US Govt has admitted that the 2017 sarin(?) attack in Syria on its own people DID NOT HAPPEN -- and was ginned up as a pretext for Trump to attack Syria, which he did in a minor way with the cruise missile counter-strike on a Syrian airbase.
DID US GOVT admit that the intel on a 2017 April chemical weapon attack by Assad was incorrect?
'Tucker Carlson on Fox News said...' is hardly a reliable source of information. UN investigators have determined that Assad's forces used sarin gas in that particular incident at Khan Sheikum. I trust them over a Fox talking head.
Regardless though, the evidence that Assad's forces use chemical weapons is incontrovertible. That is not to say that ISIS or the opposition has not used them - they have and should be held accountable. However, Assad has adopted chemical warfare as a tactic broadly. If the international community does not respond robustly, rest assured that other players will see the opportunity to develop their own chemical weapons. We have already seen as much with Putin's use of nerve agents on British soil to assassinate a former spy. If these weapons are not combated wherever they are used, we risk normalising them as a weapon of war, which will have catastrophic implications for Americans, American allies, and civilians worldwide.
How about we first get confirmation about what actually happened in Syria on Saturday before blindly charging into what could become a dangerous shooting war with Russia, esp. since we're now $21 trillion in debt in big part due to disastrous wars caused by previous false pretenses (the WMD in Iraq, Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam). Defense Sec. Mattis admitted we still don't know what happened with the last alleged attack in April of 2017, and we're supposed to jump to conclusions about another from just 3 days ago? Major reasons to be skeptical without much more solid evidence:
-- Assad has no motive to perpetrate a chemical attack and every reason not to. The Syrian Civil War is basically over and the last rebels, from Army of Islam, had surrendered and disarmed, moving out of E. Ghouta. Trump had announced a desire to leave and civilians have been fleeing to govt-controlled areas. What motive would he have to gas those same civilians? OTOH Saudi-sponsored rebels would have every motive to draw the US in deeper. Cui bono? Plus, UN reports on the 2013 incident have suggested rebel forces may have been behind it.
-- Questionable sources. All we have now are statements of the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" a single man in a London apt. reporting claims from the White Helmets who've had affiliations with al-Nusra, the Syrian al Qaida. Nothing at all has been independently verified.
No basis to get the US stuck in yet another ME war, and on the side of ISIS no less!
6
I'm worried that any decision made here, or intentional delays of any decisions, will only be made for maximum press to take some heat off Cohen and the now-quickly accelerating investigations.
4
Dear Mr. Trump,
While the entire humanity would like to see those behind the chemical attack in Syria punished severely, before US enters into another Vietnam, like many others I would like to have answers to the following basic questions. First, has an independent, impartial, source actually identified which of the many warring groups in Syria committed that murderous act? If UN's Joint Investigative Mechanism team has concluded that at least one of the last three chemical attacks was the work of ISIS or its affiliates, how is it possible to conclude that they have not been behind this one?
And the second question is very simple. How can you condemn murdering of innocent Syrian children so powerfully but, when it comes to slaughtering of innocent Yemeni children by the Saudis, not a single word of condemnation has been uttered by you? Where is your moral compass, Mr. President?
7
Could have said it better. I am afraid, like Iraq, We are going to punish the people of Syria somehow. We will bomb an airfield to symbolically retaliate and Russia will bomb a city. While neighboring states (Turkey and Israel and Iran) do as they please
Photographs of adorable children suggest that somebody wants US readers to react with indignation, and support—demand retaliation. This entire “rebellion” has been a sham, engineered by US intelligence to neutralize Syria as a possible threat to Israel. These “rebels” remind me of Reagan’s Salvadoran “freedom fighters”. We’re paying them, we should be able to control them, but that doesn’t always work (ie Israel).
5
Oh.. and don't forget. Let them know when and where the attack will be, so they can move their resources... like last time.
3
It is nice that you are concerned about the death and destruction that will come of this?
There are a lot of possibilities at work here.
Things we know for sure:
1. Assad with the support of Russia and Iran appears to be surviving in his efforts to stay in power.
2. Israel views Iran as a long term threat and, through friendly parties in the US, has advocated aggressive actions by the US against Iran up to and including "preemptive" bombing.
3. The one thing that Assad could do at this time to make his survival less likely is
to use chemical weapons against anyone in Syria. Doing so jeopardizes his support from Russia and Iran...not necessarily on moral grounds...more likely on stupidity grounds.
4. Using chemical weapons gives Israel a free shot at Iranian forces in Syria (which they have taken "advantage" of).
5. Trump thrives on chaos and distraction. A war with Iran sometime around September of this year would be of significant assistance to Trump with the mid-terms coming up and Mueller's activities coming to a conclusion.
6. The right personnel are in place for a distracting war. Bolton in for McMaster and Pompeo in for Tillerson. The guys that are out would have stood up to Trump.
The new guys are Adelson favorites. They'll do what Trump wants.
7. Trump wants what Adelson wants.
8.There are such things as "False Flag Operations." Israel has demonstrated expertise in this area.
Assad may be many things...evil, vicious, etc. It's hard to make the case that he's stupid. It would be absolutely stupid on his part to give his enemies a free shot.
10
Absolutely. The question "cui bono" -- who benefits -- needs to be asked. The rebels desperately need our air cover. Assad needs us to be gone. Who's more likely to stage a gas attack that is likely to prolong our involvement in Syria?
6
So Trump is upset that people were killed in a war that has been going on for years and his response will no doubt be to kill a bunch of other people, not even knowing if they are the responsible ones. Brilliant. So easy to order deaths from afar when one was too chicken to do it in person!
6
It's been going on for years, yes -- but who is responsible for initiating chaos in the Middle East? You got it -- US. The U.S. So we do have some obligation, but how to act on that obligation should not be left up to a boob like Trump, aided by monsters like Bolton.
It is unlikely that Russia will agree to the US draft resolution for an independent investigation into the Douma attacks, though Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian envoy to the UN, did say today after the meeting in the Security Council that he was not rejecting it outright but didn't like certain elements of it. He also said he would agree with a different proposal, from Sweden, another Council member, that would also "welcome" an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, as well as calling for an independent investigation. It is more likely that the Swedish draft will be acceptable to Russia than anything with American fingerprints on it.
3
Odd that after Trump mused about recalling US troops from Syria, a chemical attack takes place....
4
I'd be surprised if Trump doesn't retaliate. Why? Here's how I think it will go down. Putin needs Trump to do his bidding, which means Trump needs to stay right where he is: in the Oval Office. So Putin orchestrates an attack in Syria that provides Trump with a pretext for military intervention - a largely symbolic missile attack, most likely, that doesn't significantly degrade Assad's ability to rain devastation on Syrian civilians. Trump's poll numbers go up as they always do when an American president acts macho and engages in warfare somewhere and, voila, everyone is happy: Putin, Trump, and Trump's base. But not the Syrians, of course.
This whole episode is bizarre because it's playing out as if the WH and all of its advisers have been taken completely by surprise by the chemical weapons attack and suddenly have to figure out what the response will be. A normal WH would have run many scenarios long ago to determine what the best course of action would be, assuming Assad is responsible (which he has been in the past).
Let's just hope that an existential crisis for the U.S. doesn't occur on Trump's watch. Oh, wait . . . that would be North Korea.
Even when Trump is responding to war crime, a gas attack on civilians, he cannot help invoking a trivializing reality TV-style label in his Tweet, "Animal Assad."
1
If there is anything we don't need from Trump, it's a "quick decision" His shoot from the hip initial reaction almost always gets revised. Why not skip the grandstanding and for once, act presidential. He had plenty of advisors to call upon...Oh wait, he may have fired them all by now.
1
Unless we invade Syria, and depose Assad, there is really not much the US can do to prevent these types of attacks. As horrible as this is, the US has very limited options unless we want to confront Russia and Iran militarily. At least President Obama had the wisdom to see our limited options and not get the US stuck in another Middle East quagmire. I have no such confidence in the current administration.
2
Gulf of Tonkin incident (fabricated) started the Vietnam War.
Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (non-existent) led to our disastrous invasion.
When a country wants to go to war, it will change facts. Maybe the Syrian army released the poison gas. Maybe the rebels, facing imminent defeat, did it. We should not participate in a rush to judgement as in recent past wars. There is time to investigate before starting a conflict that can take hundreds of thousands of lives.
7
Trump and his GOP war mongers on the move again. Last year when Assad attacked his people with chemical weapons Russia warned of retaliation. Now Assad has done it again and Putin warned again there will be consequences . It is too bad the attack happened but these clowns in Washington don't talk like the Pope said is the only legal course to save humanity. Trump and his GOP are going to get us nuked and the destruction of the planet is on them.
1
Oh no, weapons of mass destruction are popping up in the Middle East again. Maybe they are the ones we were looking for in Iraq. We must launch another trillion dollar war and kill 500,000 people over there to save humanity and advance democratic ideals.
9
Trump talks about removing troops from Syria so the Assad regime mounts a chemical attack. I guess Assad likes having American troops in his country. Gulf of Tonkin 2.0.
10
That's right. Don't even wait a second for an investigation as to who did this, if it happened at all. The White Helmets are notorious for faking video attacks to help the propaganda machine of the rebels. Doesn't the timing of this attack, if there was one, give anyone pause? Two days after Trump says he's pulling out of Syria, a move that would help Assad, poof, a chemical attack. It makes no sense whatsoever. We need to get out of this middle east quagmire.
8
trump calling the attack “heinous” and “atrocious,” is correct.
But as we know Putin will be on the phone tonight and threaten to disclose all what trump was hiding and therefore tomorrow it will be a different outcome.
trump will not do a thing against this horrific attack.
Sad.
1
"Everybody?" Hello, Armageddon!
4
Any action that results in further loss of human life is not justice. Seriously, the US is going to kill some poor and basically innocent members of the Syrian military and for what? The rank and file are not responsible for their leaders. Otherwise, one might argue that a US soldier who served under Obama deserves a different fate if he has not gotten out of the military by the time Trump took office.
6
Who benefits by drawing the US into a conflict in Syria? Why would Assad, who is in the midst of final mop up operations in his country, provoke the entire UN with a meaningless chemical attack in a Northern Syrian province for no real good reason? I ask these questions because before our President acts, with haste, he should ask them. Perhaps Assad is totally self-destructive and wants to bring down the fury of the West on him for some reason or maybe this is a false flag event, perpetrated by actors who have much to gain by getting us to confront Assad, Iran, and Russia. I don't trust Trump to be prudent on these matters because he's got John Bolton on one side, Kelly on the other, and FOX and Friends goading him on every morning.
Every day I sit with the feeling in the pit of my stomach that with Trump it's not a matter of whether his ignorance and gullibility will draw us into WWIII it's a matter of when.
12
What concerns me is that Chlorine has many uses, such as water purification and the like, and is used in many cleaning products. If some cleaning products are improperly mixed (such as bleach and ammonia) then chlorine gas is the result.
This can happen if a basic American kitchen sink area was hit with a shell, we would have mixed chemicals of possibly deadly nature. It does not have to be intentional chemical poisoning: Accidental Chemical Poisoning is Much more likely.
For us to go in Militarily would be unwise, at least, without first taking the Russians up on their offer to tour the site themselves, since the Russians claim there is no trace of a chemical weapon that they have been able to find, and they are not at all ignorant about chemical weapons. Let the UN Team go in with the Russians and US representation, and see for themselves what there is or is not.
Better that than bombing first and then finding out it was completely staged, later, on Facebook.
7
Via the UN, we should demand an immediate ceasefire and for U.N. investigative task force to have immediate access to the Syrian sites and victims in question without any other conditions. Anything less will be regarded as an admission of wrongdoing and of the chemical attack by the Assad regime and of Russian complicity.
You do realise that both Russia and Syria have invited the UN OPCW to come and see for themselves that no chemical attack happened and it is the likes of Trump and Nikki Hayley who are saying to go in without UN approval anyway???../... You do realise this don't you???
What is being demanded is Assad pull out of the area under the guise of allowing humanitarian aid into the area while they spirit away the US back, funded and armed terrorists out of the back door...... Once again.
What happened to Trump’s statement during the campaign about not letting our enemies know what the military is planning? Did something change. Vice President in waiting, Ann Coulter Is not going to be happy,
1
Assad has launched several chemical attacks in the past 7 years and UN investigating teams have PROVEN his responsibility.
It takes from weeks to months to gather the evidence. That suits our world leaders just fine. Most them are happy to say "We will take STRONG FIRM AGGRESSIVE action if Assad is proven guilty." But by the time the proof is gathered the issue has faded from the public awareness and the "leaders" are happy not to have to face the real difficulties of following up their hot air with actual actions.
We are being led by cowardly, incompetent and selfish people, not just in the USA, but all across the wealthy nations.
Yes, gathering evidence before proclaiming somebody guilty is cowardly.
Just saw the war council on catv. Generals and Admirals sat while The Donald fumed about the corruption of his life squeezed at his innards. Without courage, without honour, without a soul, a small human sat in a rant.
So here it is, admirals and generals, for the good of the Constitution and the nation, it is time to do what our oaths require, it is time to resign. Without doing so, you shall be no better than one who flees under fire. Heritage will treat you with justice deserved.
Godspeed for how you will cross this line of departure.
3
Retaliate for what.
It is still not established real situation on the ground. This enables a lot of the manipulations.
And issue is far to much serious that would be acceptable to decide without real facts
10
I worry that a knee jerk reaction from the US might give moral permission for a knee jerk reaction towards the US from some country over there.
'Asked if Putin bore responsibility for the Douma attack, Trump replied: “Yeah, he may. And if he does, it’s going to be very tough.”
“Everybody is going to pay a price,” Trump said. “He will. Everybody will.”
These thoughts are likely to be coursing through the mind of Trump 'What can I do to divert as much attention away from Robert Mueller’s investigation and the FBI raid today on my attorney Cohen's office', accompanied by 'I am a great president and I will prove that, to hell with any consequences, whatever they are'.
How in heaven's name was this man given to key to the presidency to make monumental decisions which literally can affect not only every person in this nation, but if this becomes a trigger for world war, will ultimately effect virtually every person on the planet.
17
Rather than *vowing a quick decision,* Trump actually vowed a thoughtful decision that takes into account the short- and long-term consequences for everyone concerned. He talked to his advisors, consulted with former presidents and military experts outside of his administration, listened to the pros and cons as presented to him, and spoke at length to diplomats throughout the region. He handled the situation with gravitas and concern since military force should be considered only when all other options are unrealistic.
Just kidding.
12
There is still no coherent foreign policy. How could there be with the White House revolving door in full motion and the advisors at Fox and Friends still paralyzed by the horrifying pictures. It was a matter of time for various world troubles to overcome the capacity of Trump the Decider Who Can Only Posture. Is it up to Bolton or Pompeo or is Jared to get something together that can serve as an overall plan to deal with each region and the world in general? Or is it up to the paying weekend guests at Mar-a-Lago? Giving everyone you deal with a nickname is not a policy it’s an act; Trump must uncross his arms and listen to someone with experience before he does something really stupid. Remember the Russians are in Syria.
2
Was it the rebels again? Or is it chlorine again? Chlorine is used for several commercial and health purposes--to clean bottles, to clean water, and for refrigeration. So it is quite easy for a bomb or explosive to hit a container and then there is a serious gas problem. If pool acid and chlorine are stored together it might be worse when mixed. I do not believe Assad needs to use chemicals because he has Russians who will do air strikes on his enemies. I call fake news.
13
The solution to Syria was obvious years ago, if you just wanted to see the obvios. And that was Syria as it had been for years, in peace, secular, under a goverment of Assad who, eventually, knew it had to evolve into a more democratic regime . Now that has changed , and all to Israel´s advantage.
It seems as if the whole world has forgotten that the whole Middle East problem was born, and is still the Occupation of Palestinian Land. Israel is a thorn in
Arab Middle East.The only one that has attacked ALL its neighbours !
15
The Arab world implodes, nothing close to democracy, the Arab Spring long since turned to winter for civil rights - and, lest we forget as AGC already has, the Syrian civil war itself began when Syrians' peaceful protests were put down with great brutality. But, AGC offers a simple and all-encompassing explanation: its all Israel's fault. That mindset will only insure the Arab people remain under the thumb of their anti-democratic Muslim rulers. The answers lie within their societies, not without.
Diversion-
Bashar is just watching what Putin is doing to his country and Putin is doing to help his friend in America! Divert our attention and provide a good bombing campaign.
Thus giving Putin plenty of time to camouflage troops and materiel.
Wasn't he blaming Obama for signalling enemies in Syria the same way?
No more signed pictures or autographs for Putin will be the response and maybe a trade sanction of no more selling of Atari Video Games even they are now defunct, or maybe, just maybe he'll bomb a deserted bombed out highway stand in the middle of the desert. Tough guy.
Keep your eye on the ball. This is a distraction to capture the news cycle. The issue is the Cohen raid.
8
Please excuse me, but nobody in any legal authority has yet established the facts surrounding this event. Even the NYT uses the word “suspected” and “alleged”. So, why the unseemly rush to go bomb and kill some more Syrians when we already know the deep muddy that has brought us into.
13
Did Trump forget he tweet Obama 2+ times to not bomb Syria in 2013. Even the GOP told Obama not to jump the guns on Syria.
5
Please let's get out of Syria and let those in the Middle East fight among themselves! This is a regional conflict between Israel, Iran, and Syria. Our kids don't need to lose their lives for these regional battles.
12
The problem with America is that the country has lost the moral high ground in the world as the president tweets and tweets contradicting, and downright false, statements. Most countries now think that Mr Xi is more dependable and trustworthy then Trump, for example.
The military cost to America may be enormous because Russia will not leave Syria unless forced to do so by experiencing a large reversal of economic fortune. Russia is the key to avoiding continuing horrors in the mid-east. Sufficient economic pressure must be put to Russia-it is the only thing Putin will understand-to make their military gambits in Syria and other places too expensive. Already, Russia is in bad shape economically so a large nudge will have effects. Russia is a dictatorship run by Putin and a handful of oligarchs.
2
Does anyone find it odd that last week Trump says he will pull us out of Syria, and this week, lo and behold, there is a chemical weapons attack to keep us in?! Are we sure there was such an attack? Perpetrated by whom? Who wants to keep us in and why? In whose interest is it for the US to stay, and maybe escalate in Syria? Come on, let's all THINK together!
13
Well said very true. However the American people are sheep. They believed in the media and our government In Iraq (no WMD) and Gulf of Tonkin (it was proved N Vietnam did not attack us) The American people believed those proven lies and still the American people are gullible
Now that the White House is inhabited by a commander in chief who rises almost to the level of the strategic acumen of the previous Republican president, I believe we should brace ourselves for the imposition of 100% tariffs on all Syrian exports to the United States. This so-called president doesn't just mess around.
3
Why is such a big deal being made of this? I realize it is a terrible thing but aren't kids getting shot everyday in the US. Nothing gets done about that, why should the tax payers spend billions on another problem they will never fix.
12
Syria was and is a foreign relations nightmare carrying over from the Obama to the Trump presidencies! It was President Obama who made the artificial line in the sand; subsequently,Assad followed with a chemical attack ,countered by Obama's leaving congress with the decision to respond. The Middle East is a quagmire and heavily reliant on US presence. Trump's involvement with Isis, North Korea, Iran and Iraq has embolden Assad and Russia. He must be confronted by an Arab coalition with US serving as an ancillary role. The more the US is involved in the world; and after 18 years of foreign wars, Iran, Russia, China, North Korea have taken advantage of US over reach and commitment!
"The White House was feeling pressure from France to act, lest President Emmanuel Macron do so first"
Feeling pressure? Why? Let the French do it - there is nothing they could possible do to get Muslims any angrier at them, than they are already.
If a new school has to be built, everyone says "oh no, we don't have the money for it"; but when it comes to starting a war, everyone is all eager to go for it. Why is that?
18
Because, for the select few who make these decisions, war is a money maker. Schools on the other hand might educate people enough for them to ask questions, and eventually turn on those profiting from war.
9
We should do nothing. We need tl leave Syria to the Syrian. We can't and musn't involve our military in every tragedy in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that if we mistakenly and stupidly attack the Syrian Army we are aiding the Jihadist who planned thit attack. After all they had lost in Douma - there were no point in Syrian gas attack - the fighting was done.
Jaish al Islam must be having a great laugh at our expensive for falling for their trick of gassing their own people. Let us not help the Islamists.
11
With Trump and his sidekick Bolton by his side what could go wrong.
13
We know what he will do. Drop a big bomb, kill a few people which will have no effect on the Assad regime, and then on to dropping bombs on the environment, with his good bud, Scott Pruitt.
At least Stormy Daniels was entertaining: Nobody got killed, rivers weren't polluted, kids didn't have their parents sent away, etc.
9
As Mueller's noose tightens around Team Trump, the president is clearly itching for a war to boost his image and distract the public. We'll see what Bolton and Fox News advise him to do.
9
If he’s talking, he’s lying. That you can rely on.
5
Obama was the president with the secret war in Syria, right? Trump wants out of this quagmire.
trump won't say a word about the poisoning of Sergei V. Skripal, which happened next door and on our allies soil, but here, trump is talking about bombing Syria because - who? - used a poison agent?
Even when trump tries to sound presidentially intelligent he comes off as a narcissistic bully with nothing to do. God save our planet.
5
Oh, no, he has plenty to do. ....
He has to show the world that he's the grandest, most fearsome president in history. Not an easy task when you're made of celluloid and slogans.
Oh, no, he has plenty to do. ....
He has to show the world that he's the grandest, most fearsome president in history. Not an easy task when you're made of celluloid and slogans.
Here's another fine mess we're getting into...
Unfortunately, Trump has no strategy. Oh well, just let American children do the dirty work. God knows his kids won't be signing up for military service-(heel spurs, you know).
7
Unfortunately, it does seem the Russians are going to have to attack. The only thing that gets any respect is an attack. The Russians have been far too patient and understanding, they are going to have to bite back. Too bad, but to expect anything different is to be insane, as the saying goes.
2
So this administration needs to think a response? That’s utter nonsense, unless the administration doesn’t have any idea what’s going on around us and doesn’t plan for anything.
God help us if North Korea, Russia or China rains nuclear missiles on us. The country will be destroyed yet this administration will still be thinking how to respond.
1
Carpet bombing raqqa wasn't an atrocity? That killed hundreds.
9
I am neither a politician or a military man, but I believe that all governments have "plans in the drawer" for the most likely problems. Some of these plans may be inadequate (just wait until we really get in the crosshair of an asteroid...) but they are plans nevertheless.
Stating some "known knowns" (D. Rumsfeld) it was clear that Assad a) had used chemical weapons b) had more chemical weapons c) was going to use chemicals weapons again and d) didn't care one bit about the 48 cruise-missiles lobbed his way the last time he used chemical weapons.
Therefor the question arises: why does DJT need 24-48 hours?
The probable answer is very depressing.
I believe that he a) won't listen to b) thinks he can't trust and c) doesn't really know his military. The same goes for all of his formal and informal advisors. The 24-48 hours is for Fox&Friends, to come up with their "plan", to show him what is "the right way". He really is "Mr. Chance" from the movie "Being there", it's that bad.
And then we have to think about John Bolton. One would assume he is all for swift, hard and complete retaliation, regime change included. Bah, humbug, I say! He (and Trump by extension) don't like old, stale, quagmired wars. They want new, fresh, exiting wars, against Iran and North Korea! My guess: Bolton will advise to pull out of Syria even faster, F&F will demand total destruction of Assad, DJT's head will explode and he's going to throw another grenade in the mix: "AN ASTEROID IS COMING! RUN!"
1
He really is "Mr. Chance" from the movie "Being there", it's that bad.
BUT CHANCE GARDNER WAS SUCH A LOVABLE GUY !
1
Today's FBI raid on Trump's lawyers office will likely be the cause of a military strike on Syria. I will bet money on it. Anything to divert public attention from this clear evidence of wrongdoing and corruption in the Trump criminal enterprise.
3
Since when does a President announce, "I'll decide soon."
Does that mean he needs to hear Jared and Vlad's advice first?
1
"We're talking about humanity and it can't be allowed to happen." Words I wish I heard him say when innocents are slaughtered in American schools, churches, movie theaters, nightclubs and workplaces.
7
Putin will help Don make the best, most fantastic, moral response to the use of gas. It'll take about 48 hours to get instructions. It'll be the best response the world has ever seen.
The US government LIES about everything. We know this. This has been proved repeatedly.
Yet, here we are with the US government, and its stenographers in the mainstream media, i.e., the stuff that's not Fake News, right, assuring us that Assad gassed his own people. Again.
Even if we could believe this, or even if we gave the government the benefit of the doubt for . . . what? . . . its integrity?, we are after all exceptional, right, how is this America's business?
Yes, other countries shouldn't gas their own people. But countries shouldn't commit war crimes either, and that goes on every day. America is as dirty as any other country. Despite our treaty obligations, even torture is legal here.
We're supposedly the richest country in the world, but we can barely keep our streets paved and lit. And not only that, but it is a proven fact that one dollar invested in domestic economics brings back much more return than one dollar spent on bombs. Trump is right. We need to stomp the madness in the Middle East. The oil companies can pay for their own security with all of the money they don't pay in taxes.
Right now our cities are clogged with people living in tents and defecating on the sidewalks and in the streets. Look at old pictures from the Depression. It looks the same today.
Let's deal with the real problems.
8
The left is seeing Russians responsible for every wrong in the world. The right sees itself as the rescuer of the wrongs of the world. I pray that this does not move this country into a war with Russia.
6
One of the few things I liked about Trump was his anti-involvement stance in the middle east. We have SO MUCH to fix and worry about at home. Nothing that Trump does on immigration, environment, or anything else will make me more angry than dragging us into another war.
4
This nation needs a "policy". Something with careful thought and backed by facts, expert analysis, and wisdom; Aim first and carefully.
A "Shoot from the Hip" flourish that can be touted at the next Trump self congratulatory ego rally Will Not Do.
Either this nation has a leader or it doesn't - Trump's move!
I don't see any ink being given to the very likely possibility that the gas attack was a ploy by rebels to get the US (and their air cover) to stick around. If you ask the question, "Who benefits?" the Assad regime had nothing to gain by gassing a few civilians -- they're about to win the war, so why would they? OTOH, the rebels need us badly, and know that we will reflexively blame Assad.
11
If President Trump has any influence with Putin, shouldn't he try to get him to stop supporting Assad? After all, Trump did publicly express his admiration for Putin many times so perhaps a little bit if flattery on the phone can end this nightmare for the Syrian people.
1
We went through this situation five years ago; and it was concluded they were bombs filled with chlorine gas; which is a fairly common gas with many legitimate commercial uses, water purification. Was it John Kerry or Hillary Clinton who declared that Syria was free of gas warfare weapons?
The missile strike then largely missed its target which were fighter jets in hardened bunkers; RT took delight in displaying the photos of minimal damage.
Then there was the charge that the U.S. Rebels staged the bombing to force the U.S. to attack Syria and even Russia. Some evidence proves this is a possibility.
And way before this the U.S. supplied gas warfare technology to Saddam's military to combat similar weapons used by Iran.
Just leave, let syria take over this remaining stronghold and let peace reign. Some people want the entire region rubblized; I don't agree and even a dictatorial peace is better than war without end.
9
Just a few days ago, Trump talked about withdrawing from Syria. Now, he says he will decide whether to attack Syria within the next couple of days. One day we're out, the next day we're in. And just a few days ago, Trump said he didn't like to reveal his military plans in advance. Now, he is announcing to the world that he is consideration retaliation against Syria. His contradictions make the U.S. look as if it is led by a very confused commander in chief.
2
Yes, chemical weapons are barbaric, but who launched the attack? Which faction in this complicated civil war? How does trump know the answer to this question when no one else does? Why would the U.S. "retaliate" based on speculation, especially after trump recently said, "we need to get out of there and leave it to someone else"? What good would military action do at this point? Are we anxious to put our "expensive new military" to the test? So many questions...and an administration unable / unwilling to answer them. Too bad trump can't simply tweet his way out of this one...
8
It takes from weeks to months to prove beyond doubt who launched a chemical attack. By then the attention of the public and our "leaders" has moved on to other things. So nothing is done. (Some leaders prefer it that way. It lets them off the hook.)
But Assad has launched MANY in the last 7 years and SEVERAL have been proved beyond doubt by UN investigating committees. I posted links to several of these reports in another comment. I won't repost them here. Please do your homework and search for "UN investigation Assad chemical attack" and similar phrases. You will find the reports.
The U.S. should respond militarily to Syria’s gas attack only on two conditions:
1. The leaders of all key U.S. allies (European countries, Canada, Japan, S. Korea, Australia, etc.) sign a joint declaration of support for the action.
2. Each of these countries pays a population-weighted share of the expense of the U.S. military operation.
We are either all in this together, or it’s not worth doing.
Let's find out if our allies are willing to back up their pious declarations of condemnation.
2
How about finding out who did it?
This war is legacy of Barack Obama's foreign policy. He lacked the resolve to intervene and do what was necessary to shape the events in Syria following his mistake in Libya. Leaders don't simply abandon a foreign policy just because they made a mistake once. He should have done something in Syria, whatever he thought was right, but not simply stand back. He did it because he lacked resolve. In a broader sense, the Syria mess is a microcosm of how Barack Obama operated. All talk, no action. We heard countless times that "Assad must go" including in the 2012 debates and yet here we are..
Like Trump's little air strike last year? That really taught Assad a lesson.
2
His action was to
Support ISIS there among other things. You feel he should have kept supporting ISIS?
4
He has to wait for tomorrow's Fox & Friends. Whatever they say he should do, that will be it.
12
The world awaits what President Hannity will do. Stay tuned.
13
France: go for it.
3
It is to see how American strike humbles Assad. Given the upper hand in conflict, the Syrian government is less likely to be frightened.
I don't get it. Subjecting people, women, children and even men, to crushing, burning, lacerating and penetrating wounds is par for the course. It's war after all. But poison! Oh the (in)humanity!
Also, anyone think it's weird that Assad does this just when the US is making motions to pull out?
It is impossible to know what is really going on as the world's powers continue to fight this proxy war. The only thing that is certain is the continued suffering of the Syrian people - including the poor sods who will be conventionally incinerated by American "retaliation" in a day or so.
13
Timing? Assad has launched several attacks in the past and UN investigating teams have proven that he was responsible.
Those attacks were also launched at surprising times. Assad seems to engage in a pattern of "in your face" behavior. He likes to flaunt his power.
With Russia supporting him and China remaining silent, he believes he is beyond reach. He may be right.
"Humanity? What about Mexico, immigration, Charlottesville, The NRA, the mass shootings.... and on and on.
11
The Fake President will, undoubtedly, soon launch his retaliatory Syrian missile strike. The very thought of French President Macron "beating him to the punch" would be unbearable!
2
But will he again warn Assad and the Russians so they can move personnel and equipment out of harms way ?
If our participation in WWII were as politicized as our two parties (and our president) have become, no tough decisions would have been possible and today we (white) Americans would all have swastikas on our sleeves and a Fuhrer's black boot on our backs. Using chemical weapons, much less against civilians, is a major war crime; and Syria's "Assadistic" attacks would not happen without Putin's blessing -- he who assured Obama and the UN that he would remove all chemical weapons from Syria. So Trump must act!
Trump: we will withdraw our troops from Syria
Assad: They are withdrawing...lets do a quick chemical attack
NYT, CNN, Twitter: Nothin fishy here. Everything makes total and complete sense
11
Seems Israel and Saudi Arabia can bomb/kill at will and we just acquiesce.
12
The President should have no authority to declare war or commit troops, period. So far, there has been no urgent "national emergency," as required by the War Powers Resolution, which would justify the President to effectively declare war unilaterally…and yet here we are, with presidents on both sides completely ignoring the Constitution, using the WPA as an enabler to bypass the text which says that only Congress can declare war.
3
Saddam used gas on the Iranians and we were good with that. It is not clear about this gas in Syria. These "freedom fighters" have no compunction about using civilians as human shields. How do we know the truth? They are various branches of Al Quaeda and given their huge birth rate they don't seem to place much weight on human life in the here and now....maybe they focus on the afterlife more. So why can't we just leave Assad alone and let him be the strong man there? Yes Syria is a crappy place primarily because of insane overpopulation and limited water. Getting Assad out is not going to help with population or with water. Moving the entire Syrian population to Europe could be done and they are working on that.
7
You know, they serve Poutine (pron: poo teen or tin) with gravy on the US/Canada border. Maybe we could start a movement.
Well, Bombs Away Bolton is in town now and all our musings are just that. The only question to be answered is wether Trump will go with Fox News or Bolton.
Syria is one big ugly, cruel mess. There are too many players on the field. It's no longer just an issue of Assad stay or go but surrogate fighting about war with Iran yes or no, fighting the Kurds for Turkey yes or no, fighting ISIS or Al-Quaeda yes or no, Israel versus Hezzbolah. I'm sure this isn't even a complete list of the fighting factions.
Despite the horrendous nature of the use of chemical weapons, A bomb strike by the US would accomplish what? Assad is already an international leper. Mattie seems to have a picture/plan of advice and consent with our NATO allies which might be more coherent in the long run.
Perhaps as with other situations if Assad is isolated from the use and power of his money on a global scale and is left to wither within his crumbling country, he may become open to a cease fire and talks aimed at an end to the fighting.
1
He won’t do anything. He says what ever he wants whenever he wants and never follows up on any “promises”.
The media should really start ignoring him or at least put the term “alleges” in front of anything he promises to do.
"Alleges today at 19:00" his response at 19:01 may be different....
Trump says he was getting us out of Syria. Much to my relief to this endless war.
And I'm pretty sure the president of Syria, Assad, whose regime has been under attack by both the US supported Syrian rebels and their ISIS allies did not want the US on their soil.
So why would he do something like this? I don't believe he did.
By the way if the US was not meddling over in the M.E. there would be no refugees and fewer immigrants.
8
Praise this American administration like others before it who have seen the need to respond to these types of crimes. Hopefully these coming actions and others to follow will show President Trump is not under control of Russia and they will lead to the departure of Iran from Syria.
1
"Conventional" deaths by artillery and bullets are perfectly acceptable - when bodies are vaporized, ripped and torn apart unrecognizably. But use a deadly gas and leave the corpses in "beautiful" condition - there you have crossed the line mister.
8
Want to do something meaningful?
Find out where Assad is and drop one smart bomb there.
Anything short of that is a photo-op.
5
Bashar al-Assad is no totalitarian dictator. His father was the Ba'ath Party strongman. Bashar is an eye doctor by occupation who inherited his office. Another member of the ruling party or the military could easily replace him. This is true even if somehow he was deposed by democratic means (see Egypt's revolution, election, and coup).
2
It'd been 3 days. Obviously he had nothing planned in advance. Assad is now safely in hiding, and Trump is more worried about Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen than about the lives of Syrian children.
Sad truth is Trump should see in Assad what he is at risk of becoming, a murderous dictator.
2
I would rather have Assad than those Jihadists the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, etc. are backing. Just ask the Christians in Syria.
6
"....I would rather have Assad"
Over there or over here?
Or did you mean that you would rather THEY have Assad?
Lemme get this straight: The US policy doesn't care *how many* Syrians were killed; it only cares *how* they were killed? Nothing good can come from such an ethically bankrupt policy.
12
The president does not have the authority to bomb whenever he wants. If we had a Congress, it would its responsibility to authorize military action.
5
As an inveterate conspiracy theorist, how do we know the first attack on the Syrian airfield wasn't staged. Only old hangers with what appeared to be older fighter planes inside were destroyed. The runways were left completely intact. As we so many "crises" that Trump instigates, often something else is going on that he is trying to bury. Is Trump calling in some "chits" from Putin for all his nice talk about the Russians. At times like these, it is best to beware.
5
As painful as it is, the possession of chlorine is not in violation of the standards we all signed in to to stop chemical and biological weapons.
Hence, the agreement under Obama, by almost all standards, worked well. Or at least unless we wanted a few hundred thousands troop on the ground to search the entire country.
This use of chlorine is.
Maybe Trump will propose a huge tariff on chlorine exports to Syria?
4
If only "Trump vows quick decision" could be replaced by "Trump follows well-considered policy."
5
What is the logic for Assad to provoke the US right after Trump announces his intention to withdraw? Would it not be more strategic for the regime to hold off until US troops were withdrawn and then go after the rebels? Does Assad assume that the US response will be more moderate if we still have troops in country? Any chance this was a rogue action to delay or reverse US plans to withdraw? If so, who benefits from US continuing to maintain troops in Syria?
12
With "experts" at president's disposal, seems to me moment Trump announced Syrian withdrawal, at least one should have anticipated - based on past occurrences - a gas attack aimed to engage US and therefore maintain US presence.
7
Bashar Assad seems to be crazy. He was condemned
and punished for using the chemical weapons last
time. Why he thinks he can use these weapons
again and get away with it. Organization that handled
the removal and destruction of chemical weapons last
time should also explain why did they miss these
weapons or the manufacturing site.
1
Better verify first now that Israel has weighed in without hard evidence. Any film footage or photo can be shopped for advantage. We’ve already seen that over and over with the SNSs and mainstream news. Otherwise it’s simply a proxy war to use and replenish ordinance, with complete disregard for Syrian (and other ) casualties, and the war and weapons’ economy continues unabated. Sad that so many people are victims of the scramble for high-priced weapons’
market-share around the world. What were the words of one of Sun Tzu’s disciples: “War is like fire; those who will not put aside weapons are consumed by them.” Both domestically and internationally, that would seem to be the fate of this species....plenty of innocent bystanders in between, from Las Vegas to Parkland to South Sudan to Yemen to Douma. Where DID all those weapons come from, and which countries are trading in the proliferation of death (by any means) around the world? ‘When you’re pointing the finger at others, there’s always three fingers pointing back at you.’
10
So the Great Decider II is "thinking about it" and "will decide soon." I feel safer already.
2
Zero action or over reaction, two extremes the Pretend King Trump likes to do. He never mentions he considers the responsibility of placing our troops in harm's way in his decision. What is in it for me, is what he is asking himself. Well let us see, escalate the situation can enter us into another long drawn out War which his friends can make a profit. I guess Iraq is out and Afghanistan is out of the news. The old argument that we should not take sides in a civil War goes out when chemical weapons are used. Why? The more they are used the easier people believe they can use them without punishment, a horrible mess we would all be in if this mindset takes hold. Yet, Czar Putin uses his nerve agents at will without serious repercussions. Remember our troops are weary of another War and we definitely do not want another War. Guess what, there is no easy answer. Yet, if we continue to allow dictators, Czar Putin is one, to use chemical weapons on foreign lands or on their own people then we should resign ourselves that one day it will happen here.
“We’re talking about humanity and it can’t be allowed to happen,”
Maybe news to the 45th but it has been happening for years, and it has been allowed to happen for years.
"the world just sits back and watches us die", a Syrian said and he is right.
And why is this a “barbaric act” and not the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the leveling of cities that has Syria looking like the worst bombings of WWII. And Yemen, what about Yemen, civilians being pounded day and night by the Saudi's, aided and abetted and financed and supported by the US. Is that not 'barbaric', are Yemeni's not part of Trump's limited and incoherent vision of humanity?
Feckless.
9
Why do media outlets even bother to cover what Trump “vows” to do? Vows mean nothing to him.
2
When an atrocity like this occurs, we as Americans should be united in our absolute determination to take punitive action against a monster who would gas children to death. But instead, as with everything else, we devolve into self absorbed children using even this unspeakable tragedy as a forum for partisan criticize and ridicule, or yet again be so blinded by hatred that not even the murder of innocents can distract us.
I have read the top "Reader Picks". Not one that I read expressed horror at the about the merciless slaughter of innocent people. Every single comment used this horrific event as a means to mock or berate Trump. Some were so blinded by their hatred that they questioned the evidence of the attack, I guess preferring to assume that the event was fabricated by Trump as a means of distracting from the Mueller investigation, Stormey Daniels or whatever. Others hinted at a conspiracy between Trump and Russia.
See the comment from Shainzona :" Trump needs a couple of days to make a few phone calls so he can announce Putin's, er, I mean, his plans.",
whose comment was widely recommended!
So kids die, while we just use the occasion to express hatred and ridicule, not about Syria or Assad, but about Trump. Anyone whose hatred is that all consuming is an absolute disgrace. in fact, some comments were borderline evil, a word I do not use lightly.
Shame, shame, shame on us. If any more children die while we bicker, their blood is on our hands.
1
Please don't forget the cost of firing off a small barrage of missiles or a carpet of bombs. In fact, please report on the cost if he ever makes good on his threat. I suspect it will be at least a hundred million total accounted cost.
Believe it or not, it might even exceed the cost of his first year's golfing trips on his own properties.
The powers that be have been wanting an invasion of Syria for a long time,beware the phony wars of freedom and democracy and the bumper sticker warriors.
5
If someone could go in and teach the Syrians about the beauty of The Electoral College they would surely lay down their arms and embrace democracy.
I wouldn´t recommend playing with fire, Russia will never accept an atack, I think if the USA and its allies are tired of this game they should face Putin once and for all, or stop right in there, a global conflict might show in the horizon
Syria is a part of a complex series of issues that make up the problem of Middle Eastern diplomacy. Trump does not have the capacity to manage any of this. Selling arms to the Saudis to continue their war in Yemen added to the Syrian problem. The cholera epidemic in Yemen is a form of biological warfare that is killing more civilians than chemical warfare in Syria. Starving the population of Yemen is also warfare. By supporting the Saudis we have lost the moral high ground in Syria.
87
With this president, the US have lost her moral compass altogether.
Lost the moral high ground not just in Syria but around the globe.
The United States lost the moral high ground a long time ago.
The fake news continues. US warmongers including their mouthpieces at the times manufacture a chemical attack and claim Assad -- who has not reason whatsoever to do such things -- is some horrible monster that deserves to have bombs rained down on him. How totally corrupt the MIC has become.
7
The trouble with this one appears to be directly linked to Putin's Russia. Cracking down on Assad, and railing against Russia as a possible accomplice, is one thing. Worrying that Putin may, in exasperation and with some glee, finally "turn" against Trump directly by releasing damning info on all of the "collusion/finance/sex" info that he has been holding in reserve, is another thing. Nothing here? We'll see. Looks like Trump is indeed compromised, knows it but also thinks it's "no big deal," and dreams that he can just fire everybody and protest his innocence to his faithful "base." The truth get out soon.
Trumps decision to act will now be colored by the FBI raid of his lawyer, Michael Cohen's, office. Will he overreact in order to distract? Will he be distracted and prone to act on his own, often faulty, instincts rather than seeking advice from qualified persons? Will he act without focus out of passion and hatred? These are questions that people who may lose family or friends in any military action would probably be haunted by. Not just in the United States but around the world.
2
"It can't be allowed to happen?" It ALREADY happened, and this time it was on YOUR watch, you clown! And you'll find out just like Obama did that your missile strikes will have no effect.
4
Particularly if they're intentionally aimed away from anything that would compromise the Syrian/Russian military, as was the case with his last reprisal.
Sure let's attack the Russians in Syria. What could go wrong?
Trumpthuglican strikes again. No doubt he'll bomb another airport that is up and running in hours, without damaging any real infrastructure. Putin will run interference for him.
That the dumpster fire of vanity is unable to see himself as others see us is a clear and present danger. He's a complete Patsy for every dictator on the globe, from Putin and Erdogan and Al Sisi in the region, and on to Chyyyna and his campaign to make China Great and Make America Last. Add in bully-liar Bolton, Pompeo, and hey presto, World War III.
https://www.propublica.org/article/john-bolton-national-security-adviser...
6
Whatever Trump decides to do, his options are limited. The best he could do is to rally European NATO allies behind a strategy. Targeted airstrikes may briefly subdue Assad, but won’t change reality on the ground.
He once again lashed out at Obama, suggesting “the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago,” had Obama been tough enough on the Assad regime. But he was adamantly opposed to any US airstrikes at that time.
Indeed in 2013 the world expected Assad to fall, given the strength of his opponents. Had Obama acted then, It would have been easy to remove Assad. But he feared of turning Syria into another Libya. Today Assad feels emboldened by the presence of Russian and Iranian forces in his country. That said, there’s no guarantee that this sense of security will last. Nobody knows what the future will hold for Iran and Russia, especially if they are in for a mission creep.
2
The U.S. has struggled and spent hundreds of millions to overthrow Assad, and failed. He has outwitted Obama for ten years and forged strong alliances with Russia who now has a navy base in Syria and buys military equipment from Iran, which can choke off much of world's oil supply.......now all the D's can pay the price for siding with the anti-pipeline mob should this happen.
Walk away and stop trying to run the entire Mideast because it isn't working and never will.
2
I love the photo of President Out-Of-His-Depth with his cabinet. The concepts "flummoxed," "lost," and "bewildered" incarnate.
6
Wait! Is does this quick, impending decision come before or after President Oaf's previously announced pullout of our troops from Syria?
4
"Heinous...Atrocious...Barbaric...We’re talking about humanity and it can’t be allowed to happen."
20 children killed at Sandy Hook.
17 in Florida.
Hundreds elsewhere, before and after.
What..."thoughts and prayers are good enough for Americans"...but not the Syrians?
36
Methinks it is time to pull out the old lead umbrella. What better news than that the world has two post menopausal alpha males who show no signs of compassion or empathy in charge of two great nuclear arsenals.
3
I wonder how many hours of practice it takes to sit silent and poker-faced while being subjected to moronic, half-baked platitudes from a know-nothing.
3
Our risible and factless Western propaganda is already debunked:
"The Observatory [SOHR] said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them." (Associated Press)
Here we are: the 40+ people are dead of suffocation and not because of any "alleged" "chemical weapons" attack but because their shelter collapsed on them: will our Western "free press" and the NYT report that finding of will they hide the fact in order not to impede the warmongering factless propaganda that they have been pushing for the last two days?
6
I hope Mr. Trump's advisors will remind him that World War I began because of the friction created by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire's hunger to sweep up the pieces ... and that Germany's moronic haste to intervene triggered Armageddon.
Now that the Middle East is erupting in a disgusting tangle created by Ottomans and Russians, Mr. Trump is playing the pathetic role assigned to Germany. He should shut up and decline to fire up the guns.
3
Wait, read the headline. Is he going to retaliate in Syria? He is surely ignoring all his previous statements of withdrawl. One has to wonder if he is also looking as Israel?
That Bolton -- he's flexible.
I do think Assad is a dictator. But is this a democracy? One person decides how and when to attack a souvereign country, based on a possibly staged false flag attack by the notorious white helmets which is way beyound proven nor investigated. The next act after the mysterious poisoning of the russian agent and other media theatricals serving to invent a pro NATO narrative, set up to bind the western block together and to attack recklessly foreign countries. Shame on our governments, shame on us who elected them.
13
Syrians want NOTHING to do with the USA. Syrians want the USA out! out! out!
4
Just as last April when Trump ordered airstrikes on Syria with NO follow-up whatsoever, guaranteeing the strikes will do nothing to stop the abuses or Assad, Trump considers doing the same thing again.
Unless the US builds a multi-country coalition to put significant "boots on the ground" in Syria, it's likely nothing is going to change. Did Putin help gas Syrians?
Trump is unfit to make any of these decisions. He is compromised by his allegiance to Putin over the US Constitution, and by his own stupidity.
5
Please stand by while Trump confers with Putin on what he should do. Again.
7
Barbaric Act + Barbaric Act = Barbaric Acts
Oh, the limitations of our species...
2
Fake Chemical attack as obvious.
Syria and Syrians will pay the price.
Saudi Arabia kills Yemeni babies on a daily basis...any reporting about this?
United Arab Emirates planes kill babies in Yemen and Libya..any reporting on this?
Promoting war against Assad is an obvious business these days.... where are those who want the truth?
24
I am sorry to inform you would never find that in the corporate media. corporate media are in business to make money. it is not in their interest to rock the boat they're in.
There are here, lost in our Western "free press" daily lies and the handful of actual facts hidden among their paragraphs of factless propaganda.
Fact vs propaganda, once again:
"The Observatory [SOHR] said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them." (Associated Press)
http://abc7news.com/russia-claims-israel-behind-syria-chemical-attack/33...
"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 80 people were killed in Douma on Saturday, including around 40 who died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside." (Associated Press)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:BNFn-0AW8HoJ:www.nb...
Here we are: the 40+ people are dead of suffocation and not because of any "alleged" "chemical weapons" attack but because their shelter collapsed on them: will our Western "free press" reports that finding or will it hide the fact in order not to impede the warmongering factless propaganda that they have been pushing for the last two days?
One thing he got right: calling Assad an animal.
2
Problems with the headline here include the linkage of the words, "Trump," "vows," and, "decision."
1
Unless I missed it, we have no solid proof of who is responsible for the attack, and we probally never will.
Like trump, Russia, Syria and Iran make statements declaring they are not responsible.
So how can trump make a judgement as to who to retaliate against?
Just like NK - Russia and China stand will stand with NK, the same way Russia will stand with Syria & Iran against the US.
I do not trust the man in the oval - his reactions are knee jerk and politically motivated.
6
I have no doubt Assad's regime is a brutal and tyrannical one, and it would've been great if the rebels were able to topple it within, say, a year of the resurrection. But the reality is that, with their best of intentions, they have ruined the country. The best outcome right now seems to me is if they could negotiate a safe passage and leave the country to whoever is there, except of course ISIS, to rebuild it.
4
"The Observatory gave a higher death toll, saying at least 80 people were killed in Douma, including around 40 who died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them." (Associated Press)
The lie about any "chemical attack" is now exposed and debunked by the Associated Press quoting the SOHR: what will our "free press" will do of this fact?
Probably purge it from their "reports" as it is not exactly fitting the lies they have been peddling for the last two days.
8
No longer suffering from Trump Disorder ? Then , Quick, post haste get out of the Middle East . We need the oil you say and then the Chinese will take over ?
So be it. Trump in Power is a sign of imperial decline . We no longer have the energy or the money or even the minds to run the world . Out I say !
1
All sides are hurling accusations and denials. The pictures and stories are horrendous plus a shade darker than the usual carnage and conflict that fills our daily news.
In this case, what is the concrete evidence?
3
He's waiting for Putin to calculate the appropriate response.
Just saying.
3
He will probably consult with his National Security team which is in the Kremlin before he takes action.
3
I think that ISIS i.e., Saudi Arabia, Israel, or the Deep State are responsible for this attack. They are the ones that would have the most to gain by the continuing involvement of the U.S. Iran, Syria, and Russia want the U.S. out of Syria.
6
I can’t believe it ... Didn’t Trump criticize Obama ( and quite rightly so ) for not upholding his “red lines” in Syria ?
Didn’t
Trump is making either the sid
Trump has criticized past administrations for announcing their military strategies before they are implemented. He said as president he would not give away his game, but that is exactly what he is doing by telling the whole world he plans to retaliate, and even giving a time frame for making the decision. This is typical for Trump to have double standards for himself, remember he criticized Obama for playing golf and said as President he would not play so much, yet he has played 3 times more golf than Obama did as president.
1
What year is it? I thought the world agreed to outlaw chemical weapons after World War I ended in 1918.
Children have been slaughtered daily in Syria for years and Trump hasn't been interested. But chemical attacks on women and children by war criminals are tough to ignore, fortunately that pesky media is doing their jobs and Trump can't hide from this one.
How to punish Assad without further commitment to a war Trump wants no part of? How to trust the advice of the new NSA, the same advisor who was a major hawk going into Iraq? The same advisor that wants to bomb Iran?
Ultimately, any retaliatory measures will be decided by Sean Hannity or the hosts of Fox & Friends.
1
Most likely he'll ban bump stock sales to Assad (pending NRA permission).
3
24-48 hours, is that how long it takes Fox and Friends to come up with a plan?
4
Sadly, it takes a chemical attack to open Trump eyes to the fact that Putin is no one's friend, unless you are a fellow dictator.
Funny how as soon as Trump says he is pulling out of Syria Assad uses chemical weapons on civilians. Who has more to gain by the US staying longer in this pointless war? Would it be Assad who has wanted nothing more than the US out or these "rebels" or mercenaries the CIA has been stuffing cash in their pockets for at least five years to fight for them.
Follow the money.
5
Of course, Trump blames the previous administration and the Democrats for this. He never takes responsibility for anything.
2
With respect to this present matter, and even more so to Trump's recent and first-ever criticism of Putin, we might naively ask -- "Has Trump undergone a sea change?" But no, let us not fall for that facile interpretation. More likely it is an election-year tactic to help his Republican stooges in the House and Senate retain their gerrymander-gotten seats. We may assume that Trump has told Putin, in private and via some back-channel, that it is all wink-wink nod-nod.
So, do not expect any Tomahawk missile strikes aimed at anything more than symbolic targets. Least of all should we expect any direct engagement against Russian troops or aircraft. Nor should we anticipate U.S. forces bloodying Turkey's nose for bombing the Kurds. While events of that sort would be soul-satisfying, they would come with a serious downside -- Trump would get the credit for them, and I personally do not want him to get any credit for anything. He and Pence must both be removed from office.
1
I don't understand, since when the US has issues with chemical weapons?
"According to Iraqi documents, assistance in developing chemical weapons was obtained from firms in many countries, including the United States [...] Declassified CIA documents show that the United States was providing reconnaissance intelligence to Iraq around 1987–88 which was then used to launch chemical weapon attacks on Iranian troops and that CIA fully knew that chemical weapons would be deployed and sarin and cyclosarin attacks followed."
4
Syria tried this once while Obama was president. Whatever he did worked and they never tried it again while he was in office.
Then Trump came to office and this is the second time in 1 1/2 years.
Which president was more effective?
4
Sorry, but this incident doesn't pass the smell test. Trump announces that the USA is pulling out of Syria and the US war industry goes nuts and claims that we can't leave yet (how many times have we heard this). Before we can say Assad is a bad guy once again, we have pictures of dead children who are victims of chemical warfare and the world is aflame in righteous indignation. I guess death from chemicals is worse than being bombed to death? Now, Assad and his buddies in Moscow and Tehran seem to have the upper hand in the civil war so why would they use chemical warfare which will bring retaliation from the USA and allies? Makes no sense at all.
4
The great negotiator has put this country in a box. He leads with his chin and got away with that affixing his name to buildings. Hasn't built anything new in 18 years? And that financing will uncover criminal ties to black market cash.
Then the relocation of the Israel capitol. Another free gift with no concessions.
Trade wars? "10- maybe 15% tarriffs? No $100 million against China. Build a wall using US military budgets and forgetabout DACA.
Guys bush league and he's getting way ahead of himself. N. Korea and now Seria. What's going to happen when we bomb $100 million worth of Soviet Jets next week?
No policy. No planning. No Sense.
1
The irony of responding to this atrocious, barbarous act by dropping bombs is lost on Trump. Chemical weapons, not ok; bombs, ok.
"We're talking about humanity," says the Pres. Are we?
4
And retaliate he will. Assad will not know what hit him, when President Trump gets through with him. That's why America elected Trump president, to take care of bad guys like Assad. I support the President. I support Trump. Thank you.
1
And sort of like with his tax returns - “If they’re innocent why aren’t they allowing people to go in and prove” it, he asked.
How many US kids, in poverty, are going to get to eat dinner tonight because we are involved in Syria?
How many homeless vets are going to get a warm place to sleep?
We have no role to play in Syria. None. It is not our job to be involved.
Pull US troops out of Syria. Now. Today. And then pull them from Iraq and Afghanistan.
There will never, ever, ever, be a day where there is not a threat of terrorism coming from the Middle East. It does not matter how many lives we lose or how much treasure we waste.
It is not our fight. Why is the US at constant war? What is the benefit to the typical citizen?
No one in my family will be available to fight these wars of choice that have no bearing on the safety of the United States. My condolences to those families who still are willing to serve.
7
Putin I’m sure doesn’t want America out of Syria it’s his reason for being there. If Americans left Assad might tell Putin to get out being suspicious of Putin’s future intentions. Trump foolishly pronounced his desire to leave Syria setting the stage for this barbaric attack forcing his hand to retaliate and stay.
Trump is now being played like a violin, a simple minded fool surrounded war hawks and innocents will continue to pay a terrible price.
Let’s first find out what kind of gas it is. ISIS could have easily got hold of chlorine. If so keep fighting them. A nerve agent probably came from Russia so bomb them. The Syrian government may be innocent here but Trump will bomb them because he can, even though it will do little good.
3
When Trump makes his decision, mark the time and check what show just aired on Fox News.
Assad (et al) knows how to change US direction in a New York minute: do some despicable thing that will give trump the opportunity to look "strong" and "sensitive." What equation drives trump's actions?
What makes people exposed to horrific conditions in Syria more important than refuges exposed to horrific conditions, such as most recently, the "Caravan?"
Why does trump come to the aid of one and vilify the other? One is far, far away and may never seek our shore, meanwhile, trump can sound as if he cares.
The man is humanitarianly bankrupt.
1
According to U.N. figures, the majority of casualties in the Yemen war have been due to the Saudi-led (U.S. supported) bombing campaign. And you’ve got, you know, 8 million people facing famine. Pro-war / miliary action by American government and its civilian support is hypocricy so extreme it is repugnant.
6
Okay, now things begin to get closer to scary. I wonder how many of the MAGA's want to send their sons and daughters to the latest installment of "The Gulf War". I hear Canada is nice this time of year...
My heart goes out to the victims, but I think speedy retaliation sets a bad precedent. Justice has a long memory. The US should take the high road by at least trying to coordinate a response through the UN. When Russia uses its veto, organize a proposal to strip them of it. If we take action in Syria, do so as part of a responsible coalition with sound legal justification.
47
Thanks to a voice of reason!
There's only one excuse for delaying on this, and that is collecting absolute evidence of the chemical attack and who did it. I'm sure the military already has the contingency plans on file for any kind of strike. It should already have all needed assets in place, but who knows, maybe a little time was needed in that regard. But to broadcast that you're "thinking about it" just shows indecision and weakness. In other words, Trump showing the world just how incompetent he is.
37
JL, some piece of Syrian real estate -- my guess is several government palaces this time, not an airstrip -- are going to go up in smoke in the next 24 hours. For sure, there will be a U.S. attack that is stronger than the one of a year ago.
There is absolutely nothing "weak" or "indecisive" or "incompetent" about doing that. It is the right thing to do.
What would a strike do? To stop chemical weapons attacks by Assad we would have to invade like we did (by mistake) in Iraq search out the chemical weapons and remove them. Is that likely to happen? If not Assad and the Russians will just absorb a punitive strike.
Trump is in such poor shape that he is not even capable of addressing the Nation immediately and tell Americans that this Government is taking action. We have lost the trust of our Allies, our self-esteem, and by the time Congress has debated whether it is 'Farewell to Syria', America will be diminished. The Constitution, now abused, to be placed in an archive folder as an historical document for tourists and foreigners.
Whatever Trump does it must be done as the combined efforts of both the US and its allies. As a start I suggest telling the Russians to get their personnel out of the "danger zone" which may now include all of Syria still under Assad's rule.
Do the Russians really want to be associated with a regime that uses poison gas against its own people?
20
The Russians would never use poison as a method of killing.
2
"Do the Russians really want to be associated with a regime that uses poison gas against its own people?"
What is the big difference between a regime that uses poison gas against its own people and a regime that tolerates mass killings in schools and in streets, much more than poison gas killings?
1
Well, as other examples have shown, Russia itself uses the same tactics on its own people. So why should they care.
For those who are suggesting some sort of conspiracy with the chemical attack, the only forces in Syria with the means (military helicopter) and access to large amounts of the chemical agents were the Syrian government and the Russians.
As for the timing of the attack, the declaration by Trump that US forces would soon be withdrawn quite possibly convinced Assad and his generals that the US would avoid any further involvement in the conflict.
9
"The Observatory gave a higher death toll, saying at least 80 people were killed in Douma, including around 40 who died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them. "(Associated Press)
The lie about any "chemical attack" is now exposed and debunked by the Associated Press quoting the SOHR. Enjoy actual facts versus our Western helpless propaganda and factless litany of the past two days.
6
-- the declaration by Trump that US forces would soon be withdrawn quite possibly convinced Assad and his generals that the US would avoid any further involvement in the conflict
This is utterly ridiculous, just about everybody knew perfectly well that a chemical weapons attack would have forced the US at least to retaliate.
@DonD
Surely Assad and the Russians are not that stupid as to take Trump’s declarations seriously. But I can imagine the terrorists are just that stupid.
I just hope Trump isn't waiting to make a decision until he can hear where Fox and Friends stand on the issue during tomorrow's broadcast.
39
I think this is exactly what he is going to do. And wait for Netanyahu to advise him - then wait for a secret message from his Russian benefactor and oligarch friends have to say to him.
2
By bombing Syria previously, Trump has painted himself in a corner. Also, he has "egg on his face" since the previous minimal bombing action apparently did not work. Thus, unless Trump wants to further damage his credibility, he MUST order the US armed forces to bomb even more extensively than the previous time. And there is NO guarantee that this further bombing will prevent the Syrian government from using chemical weapons again. What IS guaranteed is that Syrian civilians will suffer and be killed by Trump's escalation of this war. Woe to the people of Syria! Shame on Trump for not thinking this through before he bombed the first time! Thus, the US may be on the cusp of being caught up in a quagmire because of Trump's thoughtless actions.
14
How about a red line in the sand?
What are the Russians going to do? They aren't going retaliate militarily over Syria's use of gas. After all, they were the ones supposed to have removed it all. Let them lodge an official protest at the UN. I hope they are trying to track Assad. Remember how tractable Qadaffi became after we put some ordinance in his lap?
1
" What IS guaranteed is that Syrian civilians will suffer and be killed by Trump's escalation of this war.". ??? Really- it is 'Trump's escalation' that's killing Syrian civilians? Assad and his Russian/Iranian sponsors have already killed hundreds of thousands. Millions are refugees, but it's Trumps fault? Turn off RT News.
1
The media screams when Trump says we're getting out of Syria. Readers scream that he didn't attack immediately. let's find out what happened.
9
find out what happened? that sounds like something Obama would do
1
We have an impulsive screed/Twitter ridden individual pretending to be president.
We must also remember that the carpet fire bombing of, say, Nuremberg by the allies in World War II cost tens of thousands of deaths also by suffocation. And most of the people on the ground were the elderly, women, and children under the age of 14.
13
That was Dresden. And that is part of total war. Read Gen. W. T. Sherman on the subject.
1
I'm sure that the Russians and the Syrians can empty out another airfield for Trump to shoot missiles at. He just needs to give his controller, Vladimir, advanced warning.
21
I guess Trump wants to give his friend Putin enough warning to get the Russians away from obvious targets, like Syrian airfields, before making a splash ... just like he did a year ago. But, if you blame Putin by name for supporting Assad's killing of his own people, as Big Mouth has done, why warn him? As usual, what King Donald I. does makes little sense. Of course, he could forget by Wednesday what he threatened today, that is also vintage Trump.
10
I thought Trump already invited Vlad Putin to the White House to be honored for his humanitarian accomplishments.
10
Bone spurs will use his vast military know-how to drag this out until the stormy weather goes away.
12
So Trump's not discussing plans about Syria because "you never tell the enemy your plans beforehand" has become "we give you 24 to 48 hours notice"?
13
Ya think we don't monitor where the aircraft are and where they move to, and will target accordingly? Any losses, or lack thereof, cited by Syria/Russia is disinformation/propaganda. And given Trump's pathological lying, as supported by commenters on this site ad nauseAM, 48 hours might turn into 4 or 8 or whatever.
"Trump to decide soon"? Don't make me laugh. As soon as he gets someone's opinion to follow, and then to blame after the fact if things go south. The critical question: what does Steve Doocy think Trump should do?
7
President Trump is very good at making "quick" decisions, but is lousy when it comes to having a coherent policy. I would much rather the president have a consistent policy on Syria than to hear that he's getting ready to make a snap decision to fire cruise missiles.
10
Show me the evidence.
8
Take all the time and advice you need. We remember how it turned out when you made a decision over dessert at a dinner with a few of your closest flunkies.
5
Sure, Donnie, what “the worst” that could happen?
I will tune in to Fox & Friends tomorrow morning to see what the President will decide.
9
So why is this maniac blabbing about it? To get more press coverage of his snarling face? Is that supposed to scare al-Assad or give him some fits of laughter. He poses at the cabinet meeting table trying to look intelligent and serious. My cat could do a better job.
If he is going to attack, just do it - don't broadcast a timetable.
7
Why does be have to think out loud, and on Twitter? Doesn’t seem very smart or strategic, unless he is trying to give his buddies Putin and Assad a running start. Just sickening to watch this play out on Twitter.
10
This is the kind of attack Assad is notorious for doing. He has no concept, or consideration, for the misery and death he has inflicted on his own people. Assad is receiving support, and weaponry, from Vladimir Putin and, (by his wholesale fawning support of Putin) from Donald Trump.
Trump claims the pictures are atrocious, and that he will do something about it.
Talk is cheap, Trump, man up and do something to stop the Syrian genocide.
2
They are not HIS people. His people are the tribe of Alawite Arabs, who happen to be Shiia muslim.
Doesn't matter who actually did it, it happened in Syria and Assad is its dictator, for better or worse. If he can't live with that let him get out. I shed no tears over any injustice you may feel may come his way. Let him curse his father for what must befall him if that will help him any.
3
If Trump decides to spend another $ 50+ millions on a missile strike on Syria, I hope this time he has the common sense to actually do some "lasting" damage to the target he choses.
The airport he hit last time was back up and running in less than a week courtesy of Russian engineers and soldiers that were actually housed in barracks at that site.
6
Anything, anything to get the spot light off Mr. Mueller and his investigation.
Trump and Bolten are cut from the same cloth. Both are unstable power freaks.
9
One: It already happened
Two: Don't seek revenge
1
strange trump has no strong words after an american shot six hundred americans in america last year.
2
Trump and Israel aligned while we watch and guess at who committed atrocities is no way to go about foreign policy. I'm just stuck on the phrase "for public consumption" as we've seen the history of false flags. It doesn't exactly inspire trust and simply leaves us suspicious ... and this time, its Trump telling us what to believe. I know one thing, Trump will say and do whatever to whomever to get what he wants.
7
Fake News ? What should I believe now ? Crying wolf all the time has made me skeptical of it all ! Who determines if all this Syria scare talk is not Fake News to take the emphasis off of Stormy , Jared and collusion ? Trump ? Glad I’m old !
1
Not just "old." With a handle like that, I'd say "dirty" old man.
Who would benefit from Trump not pulling the US out of Syria?
Follow the motive.
8
Trust but verify. This could easily be fake news. Remember, the media loves this stuff and it happens almost on schedule in the media. Look at the news cycle over the past four decades.
8
I expect a well constructed, carefully planned, strategic response will be painstakingly determined and executed.
The president is simply waiting for that back channel call from his friend in Russia for the plan.
3
Trump is using the 24-48 hour window to speak to Putin and find out where there is an empty field or unused facility that the US can target and then Trump can tweet that he "made them pay" for their barbarous act.
Besides Trump said that the US was pulling out of Syria so why not just pursue that "plan."
LOL -- Trump is laughable with his bluster and huffing and puffing.
3
I'm sure Trump will do something -- some grand, expensive gesture that will accomplish nothing. After all, isn't this what empty air bases and cruise missiles are for?
3
The Trump admin.'s "sneak peaks" regarding foreign and domestic policy "unveilings" play out like reality television promotions. Just announce the policy and implement it. The "you won't believe what happens next" crazy-making does nothing for public or global confidence in the nation.
1
What a great way to introduce Bolton and get the war machine running again.
5
Too late to be 'quick' -- but I guess he hasn't heard from Fox & Friends yet about what they want him to do. SAD!
1
So, when the US-aided Saudis bomb a village in Yemen, do we figure that the men, women and children who are killed just quietly drift off to sleep before dying?
9
At the outset, there are two insurmountable problems for the White House: a president who continuously engages mouth before brain; and Trump's new NSA director, John Bolton, who has never seen a war he didn't like.
5
Outside of a fire and fury sound-bite, the world knows that Trump has no idea. Besides, this is Obama's fault.
1
Trump wined and dined MBS of Saudi Arabia who has been conducting airstrikes on Yemen with hundreds of casualties, as high as 68 civilian deaths in one day. It would be hard to imagine a better example of hypocrisy.
155
I have yet to see the corporate media to report that one of the victim of the alleged Russian military grade nerve agent attack in uk survived the attack. she has to be one tough cookie or it wasn't Russian nerve agent at all.
as per Indiana Jones, "we make it up as we go along".
Not to mention the US-made cluster bombs which are orphaning Yemeni children.
Why would Assad do this just as Trump is contemplating pulling US forces out?
111
Dear RS,
Assad would do this to bring that neighborhood under control, to show he will act with abandon and commit atrocities to do so. And because such tactics work, as this did, the rebel force in that town surrendered.
I’m sure it’s Putin’s policy to keep America in Syria because he has plans to stay.
Why one thing necessarily have anything to do with the other?
This headline is scary. Trump does not know what he is doing. I just pray each and every day that the GOP come to their senses. With Bolton now in the lineup, we are in a very dangerous position with very dangerous people. When millions are killed it is too late to say I told you so.
9
Retaliation, even if some doubt, is the right terminology. Chemical weapons are forbidden for good reasons. Using them calls for retaliation. That will obviously be a very long shot from smartly dealing with the explosive mess in the Middle East, but any serious, honest, clever attempt will be deadborn if nothing is done.
3
Why do the same ineffective action you did last year? Isn't
a definition of insanity doing the same harmful action over and
over again with no positive result?
Also, how unreassuring to see John Bolton on board as security advisor, scowling in back of Trump during his news briefing this morning.
3
If you watch this film clip carefully, you will see John Bolton, sitting in back of the president, smugly nodding his head, ever so slightly...he just could not contain his glee to finally be back in the saddle with life and death decisions to be made. He scares me more than Trump, and that's saying a lot.
7
Sure it will be a quick decision. He just has to wait for his advisors at Fox to tell him what to do.
7
The Buck never stops with Trump. Unless it's ACTUAL Cash, then he pockets it. Let the Games begin, along with the Blame.
4
Trump should respond with a new round of crushing sanctions against Russia, Assad's main ally in Syria. The missile strikes Trump launched against Syria one year ago cost $100 million, and they had no military impact whatsoever.
6
There is no proof that this chemical attack was done by Syrian government forces, yet the US and its allies are already considering a "retaliatory" strike? What if it was a false flag attack done out of desperation by rebel forces? That's a more likely possibility, yet it goes completely unmentioned in this one-sided report.
9
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."
3
Usually Trump does things for Trump. So I am very curious what is behind his outrage at this attack.
It is despicable and other commenters have said, a UN resolution is more appropriate than an on-the-whim determination by the president.
1
When a regime does something heinous like this the world still looks to the United States to stand up for morality and human rights.
This can't stand. Trump should hit them very hard.
1
Let's be honest, Trump's main interest in this is the fact that it's pulling attention away from his collusion with Russia to subvert the election, and his adulterous affairs with the porn star and Playboy model. Also takes some attention away from stocks plummeting due to his ill-advised trade war with China, which we will lose.
After all, everybody is against the use of chemical weapons, particularly on civilians, and nobody in America is really on Assad's side in Syria, so this is an easy crowd-pleasing move for Trump. He can drop a few bombs somewhere in Syria, to no real effect (as bombs drop there all the time), and claim victory, then go do more of his campaign rallies under a banner stating "Mission Accomplished".
None of this really changes the facts that Syria is a hellacious mess that will not be fixed easily, Russia interfered in our elections, Trump probably aided them, Trump is using his office to profit personally, and Trump had adulterous affairs with his third wife (the first two too, as everybody knew).
6
Let the Congress, which holds some vestige of accountability, decide on a response to Assad's gas attack. The minority-elected president, living a life of non-accountability, should not be making life and death decisions for anyone other than himself.
3
It amazes me:
Day 1 - Trump announces instant withdrawal of US forces from dual task of bringing down ISIL and the barbaric Russian-client government that led, in part to its creation and support - though we as of yet, do not know who trained its leaders, as outlined in the spectacular NYT Isis Files report.
In his statement, as bizarre as his Holocaust Remembrance Day statement lacking is reference to Jews, he ONLY mentions that the government and its allies have ISIL on its way to collapse.
That statement is not even necessarily accurate - the group’s members may still join to hold an area larger than Kuwait or become guerila fighters.
Day 2 - No tweets, but reports of internal WH staff arguments.
Day 3 - reports of minor attacks ‘out of Israel’ - identities of attackers unknown. Trump appears to back away from first statement
Day 4 - The Syrian government, still out to wipe out citizens considered heretics, goes back to dropping gas bombs, from the description of death patterns, nerve gas.
Trump announces an upcoming decision before Day 7 on what to do about genocidal attacks on civilians.
What a way for the most powerful government to run a foreign policy. We are not only in need of a No Use of nukes or equally effective WMDs prohibiting any first strikes or non UN peacekeeper deployment without an Act of War.
1
We have seen the result of DT's announcement of a 6-month deadline for US military engagement in Syria, despite his past criticisms of deadlines. Now we wait with bated breath for the outcome of his announced pending decision within 48 hours whether to retaliate militarily. Since he already has branded the chemical attack in Syria "barbaric," one wonders how North Korea would view a lack of proportionate response, and how DT's awareness of this connection will affect his decision. Maybe DT should put a cork in his running commentary on such matters, and other things.
2
When it comes to Trump, the score is this:
Number of Vows Made = 6927
Number of Vows Accomplished = 0
Number of Vows Broken = 6927
1
As I recall, the Republican-controlled Congress threatened Obama with impeachment if he unilaterally ordered a strike on Syria after the use of chemical weapons. They were quite indignant at the thought of a president usurping their war powers. And yet, when a bill was introduced in Congress permitting him to do so, the Republicans killed it in committee.
But this Republican Congress has never said "no" to Trump. And it isn't about to do so, as long as some forty percent of Americans rabidly support him.
So understand this is about much more than one president's legal power to order one military action. This is about the Republican-controlled Congress abdicating their powers, because they are driven by fear of Trump's base.
If Trump decides to do literally anything, and I mean literally anything, there is no one to check him. So his next steps in Syria are nothing more than additional building blocks for his totalitarian regime.
We now hear Republican Congressmen using the threat of Democratic impeachment of Trump as a "selling point" to get out the Republican vote this November. The Republican leadership understands that Trump voters don't care what he does, as long as they can keep him in power indefinitely. And this voting block of the worst among us is controlling not only our lives, but also, the lives of millions more around the world.
So as far as Trump's military "adventures", he is not the one to be stopped. It is Trump voters who must be stopped.
5
This story quotes President Trump as quoting the Russians, saying they weren't responsible for these attacks. This may be a bit of a fine point, but the Russians went beyond saying the attacks weren't their fault--they said they never happened. And this has been their M.O. for years. Remember in September of 2016, when Russian warplanes attacked a relief convoy and killed at least 20 people, many of them international aid workers? Of course the Russians denied doing this, but again using this same M.O. they claimed the attack never happened.
While I have the floor, there's something about this that bugs me a bit. We're certainly right to pitch a fit about the use of chemical weapons in this war, and although I may not like President Trump's style in general he's certainly doing the right thing, including finally not being afraid to take on Mr. Putin and the Russians. But why does it take the use of chemical weapons to bring about this kind of reaction? How come when the Syrians and their evil Russian buddies merely drop bombs on the heads of these little kids and their families, that's not every bit as awful?
When this began years ago, our stance was let's negotiate a peace deal, but Bashar al-Assad had to go, period. Well, he's still there, and hundreds of thousands of people are dead, including lots of little kids.
2
The coin don't have no say...
Except he got there the same way the coin did...
Gee Trump, what happened to the element of surprise? You tweeting and announcing every move and intention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/us/politics/donald-trump-mosul-iraq.html
More proof that Trump is completely random. The problems in Syria cannot be solved in sound bites.
2
Why is this decision up to the president? Has Congress adopted a law that makes war against Syria a matter of executive discretion? The Constitution puts the power to declare war in the hands of Congress. Of course, the Congress routinely abdicates this and other constitutional responsibilities to the executive, but one lives in hope.
1
Before Trump does anything in Syria or Ukraine or sanctioning Russia's oligarchs, he first consults with Putin.
2
Didn't we go through this before? We have to notify Russia (that's to avoid World War III.) Russia tells Syria what's coming. Anything of value gets moved out of the way, then boom. Everybody wins. Assad is a victim, Vlad says some harsh words, Trump appears to be tough, and Fox blames it all on Obama.
1
Trump has no moral authority, he is simply looking for a war headed into the midterm elections. He sends troops (now national guard) to the boarder after women and children, he is looking for a trade war with China, even though Trump products are made their, and he is simply seeking any way to rally his nationalist base, who over the last year have shown, to be the greatest threat to American democracy.
We have no business in Syria because we do not care about the end results.
United States interference has destroyed Iraq, left Egypt extremely unstable and has made Libya the new training center for Al Qaeda. Without an exit plan or clear goals, we should not intervene.
1
"The Observatory [SOHR] said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them." (Associated Press)
Here we are: the 40+ people are dead of suffocation not because of any "chemical weapons" attack but because their shelter collapsed on them: will our Western "free press" report that finding of will it hides the fact in order not to impede the warmongering propaganda that they have been pushing for the last two days?
3
I must strongly disagree with John McCain's simplistic suggestion that Trump emboldened Assad/Putin into to making this chemical attack.
I don't think it matters what we do.....and if we retaliate now....Assad and Putin will do whatever they want anyway. This is all just madness.
2
Obama drew a red line, Assad responded by killing with gas. Obama did nothing, Putin moved like a shark to fill the void. Trump announced he wants us out “soon”, Assad immediately responded by using gas. I have no idea what the end result will be, but you sure can see a pattern there.
Trump announces a pull-out in Syria, and a few days later Assad launches a chemical attack that keeps Trump from pulling out?
On what planet does any of this make sense? Assad has been winning. Douma was already surrounded. Assad may be brutal, but he's not stupid. And we still don't know who used chemicals the first time around, Assad or the rebels.
Something tells me we're being played here, probably by the rebels. Every time Obama and Trump have tried to pull us back from unnecessarily intervening in the Middle East, we've been pulled back in. Which isn't to say that this is a conspiracy or that this is being driven by ill-intent. Senior officials at the CIA, DIA, State, Mossad and MI6 tend to be good, ethical people. If they know that rebels may have perpetrated this attack in order to keep the US involved, they might in good conscience keep mum because in their opinions, interventions like these are good. Not only is intervening their livelihood, but they probably sincerely believe that intervening is good too.
And the rebels - if they perpetrated this attack - can be forgiven too. They're losing, badly. They'll be exterminated should they surrender. So why not sacrifice some of their own, in the most heinous way possible, if it'll attract media attention and reprisals from the U.S. and Israel and the Saudis?
But we need to think this through. We shouldn't jump in. Remember Yellow Cake? Remember Chalabi's claims? Remember those Kuwaiti babies? All were lies.
4
Trump criticized President Obama many times for announcing his war plans. Apparently he has decided he should be more like Barack!
1
Syria illustrates the baseline incoherence of President Trump's foreign policy. A year ago he ordered a bombing raid in Syria after an earlier chemical attack. But there was no sustained engagement or pressure on the Assad regime, although there some ground forces in place mopping up against ISIS. A few days ago, to the consternation of his national security team, Trump blurted out that it was time for the US to withdraw unilaterally, forcing his aides to try to contain the damage. Now comes another chemical attack, and the signs point toward another military response. I am in no way defending the Assad regime, which has waged a brutal war against its people for a very long time. But the American people -- and even more so the people of Syria -- deserve a response that is measured, appropriate and consistent with a long-term strategic plan. Nothing President Trump said today gives me any confidence we will see a response that reflects those concerns.
1
The Assad regime has used chemical weapons multiple times on civilians and has not paid any real price. He needs to be removed from power because if he is allowed to stay he will continue to use these weapons. Those are the only options. Time for Trump to have a real conversation with Putin.
He will do whatever the last person whispering in his ear tells him to do, and we will not know what that is until we wake up one morning to discover that we are at war with somebody, Syria, North Korea, Iran. I don't believe anything he says on any given day, because I know it will probably be completely the opposite in short order, and it will likely be damaging to this country and the rest of the world.
Those still fully-vested in the nonsensical and unproven (even circumstantially) Trump-Russia collusion theme should know that it was President Obama’s ‘flexibility’ and weakness in the face of Russian strategic aspirations that allowed the malevolent Russians back into the Middle East after 40 years in the wilderness.
1
Trump blusters about atrocities that need to be punished after saying repeatedly this is not our fight. The atrocities are the same as they have been for years. Either Assad or the rebels are using chemical weapons against trapped Syrian civilians. And those Syrians sure can't escape by coming here as refugees. I expect Trump to simply decree by tweet that he has solved the entire Syrian problem by whatever military action he chooses and then he will move on to the next issue that captures his attention for 15 minutes.
Really? We’re being asked to believe that as the Administration announces a desire to withdraw US troops from Syria and with victory firmly in his grasp, Assad throws it all away and orders a chemical weapons attack. I am quite insulted.
4
No doubt - the decision will be made by "the generals" in order to have someone to blame if things go south. The delegation of such decisions to the military is inappropriate and will be understood as weakness of President Trump. And there is absolute no doubt that the current President has no stringent strategy for any of the conflicts in the middle east...and that is well known around the world. and that is a real problem.
We can only hope that if Trump does strike that he does not notify the Russians well in advance like last time. Not only the Russians got away from the airfield, but also the Syrians fled. Only casualty was a stray dog no one warned. Three hours later the Syrians were again flying missions out of there. We spent $60-70 million on the missiles , but the only impact was Trump bragged about how effective ihe was at calling out the chemical warfare perps.
1
What happen to Trump’s criticism that president should not broadcast their military plans. Guess that only applies to Obama’s presidency.
A "quick decision" is not advisable, Mr. Trump. I would hope for a thoughtful and thorough analysis before taking action.
1
Trump: "I want to get out’ of Syria". Does he say the United States? Nope. It is all about him and we know his words have great consequences, but really, all this outrage seems somewhat staged and practiced.Another example of his brilliant rhetoric: "I think I have great knowledge of - for military, and I think I have better vision for Syria than a lot of the so-called great military geniuses that are saying how to fight the war with Syria. In my opinion, they're doing just the opposite. Are we going to start World War III over Syria? Are we going to be there for the next 40 years?"
Donald Trump and his words....lost in showmanship. Just saying.
Using chemical weapons at his point in the battle of Eastern Damascus is an act of desperation committed by people who knew defeat was imminent. The only weapon the rebels have left is that the U.S. and Europeans believe them unquestionably. When this war started, the rebels were defeating the Syrian Army easily and taking over abandoned Syrian military bases with stockpiles of chemical weapons. To use those chemical weapons on the Syrian army would be suicide, but to use them on the human shields trapped in the territories they still control is an act so evil that they would be above suspicion. There is photographic evidence all over the internet that the rescue scene's filmed by the White Helmet's are staged for propaganda purposes. Why do the U.S. and Europeans so easily believe the "rebels"? First off, we armed them. Secondly, oil. This war started after Assad signed a pipeline agreement that the U.S. and European's did not like. At the same time everybody is expressing outrage over Syria they are doing their very best to try to ignore what is happening in Yemen.
4
Trump to decide soon. Then change his mind in a few hours. Then get advice from his advisors. Then ignore them.
1
General Mattis's reference today to Russia's agreed on role in eliminating Assad's chemical weapons should remind everyone that Obama succeeded in working out that deal. Rather than wasting hundreds of millions of dollars bowing up an airfield, Obama agreed to a deal which would eliminate chemical weapons from Syria. When inspectors verified that the chemical weapons had been removed, the crisis was over. No one was killed, no money was wasted on a grand bombing action. Yes, Assad has revived his chemical weapons program, but Obama's actions have provided the proof the Trump administration needs to hold Russia and Assad responsible for this chemical weapons attack.
Everything Trump says is utterly meaningless and his words are tethered to absolutely nothing.
“So we’re looking at that very strongly", what does that even mean?
To paraphrase Mr. Trump, "We'll have to see what happens, but whatever we do, it's going to be tremendously robust and really great! Our commitment to action is very much in the making. And I vow to make a pledge very soon! Were going to look at this very hard and our response is going to be really solid! It's going to be so fantastic and really courageous! Really winning!" - that about says it all.
I'll wait to see what he actually does here. Which, I'm guessing, will be next to nothing.
Macron caught his ear for a few minutes, thus the bluster. But later today someone will dangle some shiny new object in front of him and somewhere between his third and fourth Big Mac and fifth helping of Fox News he will have moved on.
"We're talking about humanity", says the racist "birther"? How did I ever doubt him or his word?
I assume Trump will seek Congressional approval for any air strikes, since that's what he insisted (on Twitter of course) President Obama needed to do prior to a proposed 2013 strike. Oh, right, those rules only apply when you're NOT the President, and your NOT the party in power.
1
Trump and Bolton either like or do not like strikes depending on whether they think the strike will boost their reputations.
This is the worst type of transparent pandering. People in power, all Republicans, and most all Democrat politicians use a pretext when they publicly pander. They're spinmeisters and you can't trust a word they say.
Especially watch out when you agree with their words, because that's when they're most successful at manipulating you.
Are you saying we should agree with you then, since
you've proved yourself trustworthy?
There is no military solution in Syria. Trump bombing Syria will have no net positive effect on the humanitarian, political or social crises. What is most needed is aid, relief for refugees, and negotiations for ceasefires, safe zones and evacuations.
As Israel has again bombed Syria, without cause, I should like to mention that the US's concern for Syrian life should be parametrically applied to Palestinians in Gaza, suffering under occupation and war crimes.
4
This is the most dangerous provocation of the USA. Yes, there is no doubt that the government forces couldn't do it. More than that this so called "chemical attack" is exactly what the russian military forces has warned about for the last 30 days - losing control the anti-government forces of Syria sponsored by the USA would imitate the chemical attact of Syrian government forces to justify the attack of the USA military forces at Syria and russian military located there. "Thanks" to crazy USA politicians the world approaches to the third world nuclear war and to the end of the world. What are the USA doing? I wonder if do the people of the USA understand that the politicians of the USA have decided to kill human being on the Earth? Wake up people! Do we want to die all of us?
4
When President Obama drew his red line in the sand with Syria, Trump tweeted it was too strong and escalating. Now when this man-child sits in the chair, he points back at his predecessor and affixes blame; notwithstanding his mixed signals to Putin and Syria regarding his intent to prematurely pull out our troops. This can only get worse - especially for the poor innocents in Syria who will suffer the consequences. Instead of having a Commander-in-Chief, we have a nitwit.
2
The United States has been shameful in its failure to act against Assad. Obama's failure to do anything emboldened Assad to murder, maim, and torture 700,000 men, women, and children, and REPEATEDLY use chemical weapons that are targeted against civilians.
This war began when little children painted a mural on a wall mocking Assad. He responded by having his secret police arrest, torture and murder eight and nine year olds. The Syrian people finally rose up against their tyrant and he bombed his own cities to rubble, attacked hospitals, schools, and marketplaces. More than five million Syrians have become refugees, threatening the stability of Jordan and many poured onto the shores of European countries causing a backlash resulting in far right wing governments in Hungary, Poland, and Austria, the rise of a far right party in Germany, and the British leaving the European Union.
When America chooses not to get involved chaos results. We should have had no fly zones where the Syrian people fleeing their dictator would have received food and medicine and be safe. We did not have to send our soldiers to Syria but we should have done something!
While America remained on the sidelines genocide, mass murder, and chemical weapons became the norm.
Trump is incompetent narcissist whom I and pray is impeached and convicted. He has embolden racists and anti semites, threatened a free press, and insults women and minorities. However, this is not about him.
Assad must be stopped.
1
I think it is time the United States stopped fighting against itself. I think its time the United States stopped looking the other way. Too many people want the United States to be weak , want the United States to fail, but the World is a better place when the United States stands vigilant. Monsters like Putin and Asaad are typical bullies, talking tough, taking advantage of weakness, it's a whole different story when they have to talk to the United States military.
Putin, Iranian Mullahs and Animal Assad have a thing coming. This man, Donald Trump, is Ronald reagan on steroids. He will kick first and ask questions later. I fully support the President if he attacks and destroys the Syrian Air Force. FOR ONCE, SINCE RONALD REAGAN, I AM PROUD OF MY PRESIDENT.
The former director of UN weapons inspectors in Syria says that he is skeptical the Syrian government was behind the chemical weapons attack in Douma because Bashar Al-Assad did not stand to gain in any way. Sellström is right. It is a pity that the politicians can not draw logical conclusions just like him. They are pushing Donald Trump to war with Russia.
The Book of Revelation warns: "And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword." (6:4) What does it mean? Jesus gave many important details: "Terrors both and unusual phenomena from sky powerful will be." (Luke 21:11) Some ancient manuscripts contain the words "and frosts" (we call this today "nuclear winter"), and in Mark 13:8 "and disorders" (in the sense of confusion and chaos). There will be also significant tremors (caused by the use of this weapon), food shortages and epidemics along the length and breadth of the regions.
This weapon will also cause climate change, catastrophic drought and global famine. (cf. Revelation 6:5, 6) So here we have a complete picture of the consequences of the global nuclear war. No doubt this detailed and richly illustrated picture corresponds only to this war. Jesus also stated: "All these are but the beginning of the birth pains". (Matthew 24:7, 8) I hope that President Donald Trump does not accelerate this war.
2
I'm not a fan of Assad, but I believe very strongly that this is the work of the rebels, particularly the group called "The Army of Islam." Mattis was asking the correct question when he asked how it could be that Assad used chemical weapons when Russia was the guarantor of removing the chemical weapons. At this point I would agree fully with Russia's assessment that the rebels used the gas to justify western intervention just days after Trump said that he wanted to pull out of Syria.
17
Because if it was chlorine, it was not destroyed; civilian uses (no bad pun intended).
"we are talking about humanity" ??? So is DACA and immigration, black lives matter and on an on....so, it takes a chemical attack for Trump to see/feel the humanity in people?
33
People aren't being killed en mass on the border or 4BLM, false equivalence
"Hello? Vladimir? Oh hi, it's Donnie. So I'm calling about the Syria thing. Yeah it's looking bad for me here and I kinda need to look strong and presidential, plus I have lots of fun toys i need to play with. You know, make things go boom. So can you do a fellow dictator a solid?
What's that? Another empty air base? Yeah we can do that, that would be great. How is Friday morning at 3am? You'll get everyone clear. Perfect. Thanks Vlad. I owe you another one. Oh and congratulations on your re-election again!'
59
Our "genius" megalomaniac President just alerted the Syrians to prepare for a retaliatory attack, apparently thinking it will raise his TV ratings.
Well, ignorant Rubes who support him, prepare for news about our future casualties, because this madman wants to crow about his brainless barroom brawl mentality!
19
Russia and Iran are having a field day jerking Trump's chain. They can't lose with this clown in the White House-- they can provoke him into some rash decision and then exploit it for their own ends, such as pulling the US further into a quagmire, or making the US look weak and inept for inaction or withdrawal. Heads they win, tails we lose. But of course that was the inevitable outcome of this disastrous election and why Putin wanted to tilt the scales in Trump's favor.
21
Even more nauseating drivels from our warmongering, jingoist "free press" asking for even more blood and even more illegal acts of war against Syria, without any international mandate, without any proof, only because otherwise Buffoon Trump would looks "weak" ("argument'" used in most of the same ridiculous, appalling editorials and "opinions" from the usual neocons, Israeli-firsters, Saudi dictatorship apologists, etc, aka the very people benefiting from that warmongering rhetoric).
Lamentable. I just can't wait for the same rags opinion when the rest of the world launch devastating airstrikes and missile attacks on US troops after every of their alleged war crimes, with the US killing 6238+ civilians (airwars) those last couple of years from Iraq to Syria, enabling countless war crimes in Yemen -the "biggest humanitarian crisis on earth"- all enabled by the US political cover and weapons supply.
One can be proud to see the US -"considered to be the greatest threat to peace in the world" (WIN/Gallup international)- taking once again the lead of the warmongering countries that the rest of the world will have to pacify in a not so remote future.
9
Give me a break!. Look, Trump has accustomed the media with all of his courageousness, that when some really horrific event occurs, he then goes out and expresses 'grave concern' after checking the political wind direction. Oh yes, he will 'do something', it will be on the order of a gentle slap on the wrist to Putin and Assad. Trump doesn't give a fig about Syria or those killed in this attack. He is a street performer out there performing for the Media and his sucker-list base--nothing more. As usual, the media falls for it every time.
3
So we are just going to blame Assad for the chemical attacks, and bomb them,. Fact finding by independent authorities be damned? The rebels control Douma and are the only ones reporting the on the cause of chemical attack. These rebels have used chemical weapons before and Assad’s troops had shown the rebels had chemical laboratories in areas of Syria they had regained control.
Assad has won the war in Syria and last week Trump had announced a withdrawal. Now the chemical attack in which Assad has the least reason to carry out and the rebels the most reason to carry out to keep the US in the war. The same thing happened last year.
8
He teases. He flirts. And of course he shrieks, in all caps, on Twitter. What happened to your vaunted manhood, President Meangirl?
10
To show Syria the he is taking this seriously the President should threaten them with what scares him the most.............a caravan.
5
missile strikes will kill innocents
4
He's giving Putin time to evacuate from the "targets." This is more bread and circuses.
5
Of course Trump needs to act again. Obama’s failures are what lrd to gassed Syrian civilians in the streets and the rise of bad actors like Russia and Iran in the mix.
Readers here claim to hate Putin. Well show it then and support Trump’s strike against his crony Assad in Syria. Otherwise you are all just a bunch of hypocrites.
Obama's failures did not destabilize the Middle East and that led to the mess Syria is in. That would be Bush's failures in the Iraqi part of sandbox that led to this.
America is not the world's cop.
7
Barbaric Assad killed dozens of civilians with chemical weapons. He is a heartless butcher all right. According to Assad - collateral damage. Now we are planning airstrikes which cannot be selective to avoid civilians - toll 100,000s. In retaliation, Russia, Iran, Turkey will reply with their salvos. Again, civilians die in 100,000s. So what are we and our foreign counterparts? Butchers, butchers too! Frankly, monstrous as he is, he is definitely the lesser of the two evils. Let all the foreigners stop their grandstanding before all Syrians get extinct!
4
Trump excoriated Obama for telegraphing our intentions to "the enemy." Then he turns around and tells everyone that he would like to get out of Syria. What a total hypocrite. He's making it up as he goes along and the sooner he is out of office the better off the entire world will be.
8
Phony, phony full of boloney. He is giving his pal Putin plenty of time to move about his military hardware. And Trump was the one blaming Obama for telegraphing his blows.. Phoney Phoney!!
3
Any American retaliatory knee jerk reaction to escalate tensions without smoking gun evidence will definitely will unleash chain reaction and suck American in to a mess from which they cannot easily extricate themselves.
We have seen enough of American duplicity starting with Golf Of Tonkin stage managed incident, to doubt the American conclusions.
There could well be an element of truth in the Russian claim that it was staged by militants to falsely blame the government and justify an American strike against Mr. Assad’s regime.
As it was put nicely " As human beings we suffer from an innate tendency to jump to conclusions; to judge people too quickly and to pronounce them failures or heroes without due consideration of the actual facts and ideals of the period."
6
Trump's letting them know 48 hours in advance?!?!?!?
I thought that was a criminal offense to tip the enemy off in advance.....isn't that what King Trump brayed about Obama?!?!?!??!
The REAL reason he's waiting 48 hours is that he has to wait for what "FOX and FRIENDS" tells him what to do. Or, the last person he speaks to before making the announcement-who may be the washroom attendant.
5
Trump has to give Putin and Assad sufficient advance warning to clear out whatever he's planning to shoot missiles at.
“One of the things I think you've noticed about me is: Militarily, I don't like to say where I'm going and what I'm doing,” Trump said in April 2017 in remarks about Syria. “I'm not saying I'm doing anything one way or the other.” Fast Forward-March 29, 2018--"By the way, we're knocking the hell out of ISIS,” Trump said. “We're coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now. Very soon — very soon we're coming out.”
7
I am sure Trump is sitting in his office, wallowing in Faux News, eagerly awaiting a call from Putin telling him what to do.
5
I am not normally a betting man. But based on Trump's past planning strategies, if you can find one, I would guess that he will say "Bomb the Hell Out of Them". Whomever, "them" happens to be.................
4
He is likely to do so only because Obama didn't.
I really hope this is not a false flag. Seems a little strange to me that a couple days after Trump saying he wants to pull out that Assad would be stupid enough to gas his own people. I am highly suspicious of the white helmets to begin with. Read this article, no need to jump on me just for bringing this up either. Just read the article.
from RT (yes i know its from Russia, no im not a Russian):
https://www.rt.com/news/423588-syria-douma-chemical-attack/
and from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43697670
7
Even more nauseating drivels from our warmongering, jingoist "free press" asking for even more blood and even more illegal acts of war against Syria, without any international mandate, without any proof, only because otherwise Buffoon Trump would looks "weak" ("argument'" used in most of the same ridiculous, appalling editorials and "opinions" from the usual neocons, Israeli-firsters, Saudi dictatorship apologists, etc, aka the very people benefiting from that warmongering rhetoric).
Lamentable. I just can't wait for the same rags opinion when the rest of the world launch devastating airstrikes and missile attacks on US troops after every of their alleged war crimes, with the US killed 6238+ civilians those last couple of years from Iraq to Syria, enabling countless war crimes in Yemen -the "biggest humanitarian crisis on earth"- all enabled by the US political cover and weapons supply).
One can be proud to see the US -the "considered to be the greatest threat to peace in the world" (WIN/Gallup international)- taking the lead of the warmongering countries that the rest of the world will have to pacify in a not so remote future.
5
We should definitely strongly strike that barbarian if only to send a message to Kim before we meet him.
Trump, clearly in over his head, has John Bolton to lean on for cool, deliberate, noncombustible counsel. Sure, great- no worries about incendiary response then............
5
Mr Bigley your own Barbaric Act was not to allow the refugees from Syria into this nation so they wouldn’t have to endure this. Now you want to retaliate by maybe also killing more of them.
1
While I hold no brief for Assad's and Putin's chemical crimes, can anybody explain why Mohammed bin Salman is strutting about the US to the acclaim of fawning media while he is bombing innocent civilians to starvation and a cholera epidemic in Yemen.
Does acquisition of US aircraft, munitions and refueling automatically confer impunity for war crimes?
2
but , he , Trump is ready to atomize half or more of our world !!
Would that be a clean war ?
In some posh office atop the Kremlin loud laughter echoes in the halls.
Why doesn't the NYT ask Trump to explain: why is a Syrian poison gas attack on civilians unacceptable but an Israeli tank and sniper attack on civilians is defended by the US at the UN?
NYTimes and other reporters do not ask Trump this question, even when Israel kills a journalist.
What a shameful double standard by both Trump and his enablers in the media
4
I assume you sat in on all the press conferences.
How else would you know which questions were and were not asked ?
1
He has to wait until at least tomorrow morning Fox&Friends show to tell him what to do.
Who did this? What is the evidence? Its hard to know. Maybe we will never know.
It's horrible like every other war torn story of the Mideast for the past dozen centuries, but its today's news. Innocent people are killed every single day by US bombs, Israeli missiles, Russian airplanes, poison manufactured in cities around the world. Where does it end?
This sums up the Mideast in one sentence
Sherif Ali: So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, (And Western Powers Profit) so long will they be a little people, a silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel as you are.
Trump will hit them hard. As he should.
1
Yeah, now that's his given advance warning of his attack, they're just gonna wait to drop a bomb on their heads?
Are we the land of the brave or land of the cowards? Let's help those poor people and take out Assad and his evil regime. And yes, I'll volunteer to help.
In Europe we are with Assad,against USA backed terrorists,please,move your regime change agenda to Mexico,they got oil too.Leave us europeans in peace.
2
The Lier-in-Chief. Not a word our of his despicable mouth can be believed.
3
So chemicals that kill people in Syria are "barbaric" "atrocities," while chemicals that kill people and animals in the United States are, under Scott Pruitt's EPA, not such a bad thing.
6
Another war.When will people learn that the Middle East is a cesspool.Their leaders.Their citizens.Their problem.Stay out for your own sake and keep them out.
The war mongering climate including Israeli and now American bombardment on Syria is designed to be a great welcome sign to the king of wars; John Bolton, who is taking his position today. Be ready for more fire works and killings and destruction in Syria and Iran at the cost of Saudi Oil dollars. Oh! keep in mind; American weapons, smart bombs, tomahawk missiles and bunker buster bombs are non-chemical, non harmful and kosher in all respect, and kill only bad guys, no innocent, kids and women!!!!
4
I can't imagine a worse President to lead the US in taking actions in the Middle East. Trump has no sense of history of the region, nor does he have the capacity to read reports or even listen to reports from advisors.
Going with your gut may work in the schoolyard but not in a tenuous Middle East, and Trump only listens to his gut. This level of incompetence is at a level never before seen in a President. If the right isn't missing Obama's level-headed, informed Presidency it's only because they're racist morons. Insanity is running amok in the government led by an insane narcissist.
And I thought Obama was in over his head.... compared to this clown show he was a master of foreign policy.
3
Trump has given Putin and Assad a carte blanche to do whatever they like.
Putin and Assad would be stupid to NOT take advantage of Trump's generous offer.
1
Well, you just gave up the element of surprise, Trump you idiot.
2
The world has gone mad , when all look the other way and do nothing to punish Assad and stop his atrocities . Are we reverting to pre World War 2 when the world stood by while Hitler invaded and committed crimes against humanity ? History repeating itself . The unwanted victims of his crimes were denied entry into the safe countries and murdered simply because they were different . For whatever reasons Israel may have had to bomb Syria , at least they remember what was done to their people . Never again does not seem to apply to Syria.
42
Well, human nature hasn't changed. Why do you expect different results? Like we're suddenly all angels since WWII?
Never again does not seem to apply to USA lies to start tragic war.
1
Jim , rather cynical ; I would think people would have learned by now . There are no angels or at least in humanity , but there is the better side in mankind , it's sad we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes .
1
What is necessary is that the United States act through the United Nations after a clear determination of responsibility has been made. The president should not act before a study has been conducted and before gaining UN approval.
52
Russia has a permanent seat on the Security Council. So they would veto that.
The UN won’t take action since Russia is on the Security Council.
That's not on the agenda of our warmongers and jingoist "free press". The US have been illegally supplying weapons which have helpled to kill 140,000+ Syrian -conscripted- soldiers and their allies for half a decade, the US have been illegally occupying 1/4 to 1/3 of Syria for months, but none of our free press is voicing any concern and will then blabber about that "rules based world order" that the US are violating on a daily basis. The hypocrisy coming from the US is nauseating.
2
Please look up the meaning of the word "retaliate", NYT. It means repay in kind. The US was not attacked. An air strike or other action would be punishment, not retaliation. And since this is the case, one needs to ask how the determination is made that this act, rather than any number of others across the world, should be punished by American military forces. There is so much over-simplification and propaganda in coverage of events, I wish the Times would not join in the making every conflict equivalent to a junior high taunting or brawl.
87
No, repay in kind is an archaic definition, and it is also not the exclusive definition. The usage of the word is quite clear. In the context of foreign relations, it also implies that we will get back at them with an appropriate response.
Next time a words usage confuses you, I recommend you take the time to open a dictionary or two and thoroughly understand its entry for said word.
5
Growing up, when I didn't know the meaning of a word, I would often look to my mother for what I hoped would be a quick, simple answer. Her response was always the same - "look it up." Some of the best advice she ever gave me.
1
Or you could try reading John Donne on the subject of for whom the bell tolls, remember what this country's spozed to stand for, check up on our isolationism in the 1930s, stuff like that.
Seems pretty suspicious letting Syria know, 48 hours in advance, of anything!
48
They need time to move their aircraft and bioweapons. And to get the Russian advisors out of harm’s way.
8
""Why can't they do it quietly? Why can't they make it a sneak attack?"
- Donald J. Trump, Oct. 9, 2016
3
You don't have an accurate information. There are not the russian advisers only, there are the russian military forces legally invited by the Syrian government. If the USA "retaiate" it would be a direct military conflict between two the most powerfull nuclear states. The most pitty is that there a great risk that "chemical attack" is organized by anti-government forced to provoce big conflict between Russis and USA which will terminate the world.
One might suggest this latest chemical attack is just another in a pattern of such attacks...or perhaps Putin had a hand in the timing.
Putin needs the U.S. to stay in Syria in order to maybe negotiate some settlement down the road. And he needs us there to kill a few Americans once in awhile.
Donald swings from pulling out of Syria to...saving face by killing more people in Syria. So easily manipulated...
20
On a completely different note, I just love your commentator name. I don't know how call that correctly in english, a handle perhaps? Anyway, gerrymandering stands, in my opinion for arbitrarily cutting through voter districts for political advantages. Now with your "name" you can comment in all directions and never take any blame for it . . .
Well, the hypocrisy continues. It was wrong and cowardly when Obama didn't bomb them, but it's brave and wonderful when Trump does. Bolton is such a dangerous liar.
And, BTW, Scott Pruitt is no less "evil" than Assad--he's eager to poison all of us here and in the world for corporate profit and his own agenda. There is poison everywhere--kids in Flint aren't dead and foaming at the mouth (ir's truly a horror!) but they're damaged for life here in the US of A.
Sad. Beyond sad.
86
Comparisons like Puritt=Assad and Trump=Hitler only serve to allow the right to paint liberals as the lunatic fringe and lacking perspective. You can argue against his policies, but Puritt is not leading the mass slaughter of civilians with daily bombings and other atrocities. It does nothing to convince those who voted for Trump but are persuadable to switch to the Democrats in 2018 or 2020 by accusing them of supporting war criminals. Democrats will need to convince persuadable Trump supporters that they can provide a better deal, not by demonizing their opponents. Trump isn't Hitler, Pruitt isn't Assad, and the FBI isn't the Gestapo. Such a reading shows a lack of understanding of history and reality.
The last three paragraphs of the article talk about how John Bolton did not support a military strike in 2013 saying "If I were a member of Congress, I would vote against an authorization to use force here," which is in agreement with former President Obama's stance. He did support the attack in 2017, but I don't view this as hypocritical as you suggest; rather, it was reflective of the changing circumstances that President Trump faced. The 2013 attack saw Russia agree to oversee the removal of Syrian chemical weapons. When it became clear in 2017 that the chemical weapons were not removed in good faith, a more aggressive response was warranted.
1
"Well, the hypocrisy continues. It was wrong and cowardly when Obama didn't bomb them, but it's brave and wonderful when Trump does."
Um, I am not sure you know what the word "hypocrisy" means...
1
Trump sure is talking about it a lot.
Perhaps the time would be better spent taking the decision ... perhaps even hearing some advice along the way.
14
“We’ll be making that decision very quickly....."
A better reflection of reality would have the President say: "I'll be making that knee-jerk, uninformed decision very quickly...."
23
Quick!....Fox & Friends has already been on today! Somebody tell me what to do!
Bolton will tell Trump what to do unless some loon on Fox gets to him first. Then Trump will phone Putin and give him the details beforehand.
He's gotta look tough to his base, but not trigger the release of kompromat.
Has Congress authorized any of this in the first place? NO.
18
must have. President Obama got us involved. and you know, president Obama never did anything without congress approval right?
Is the only reason trump plans to take action is to prevent France from acting first and taking the spot light from him?
Firing a bunch of missiles are an abandoned air base that was warned well in advance, like the last time, will do (and did) accomplish nothing.
To trump: this is your watch. You own it.
16
Let's put this in the context of his criticisms of Pres. Obama 'telegraphing' actions. Last week, he announces intent to pull U.S. troops from Syria as soon as possible, potentially opening the door for Assad's actions. Now, there will be a decision on retaliation for chemical weapons use within 24-48 hours. Is this telegraphing that U.S. pilots might be targets over Syria during a defined temporal window? What happens now if even one plane in a telegraphed strike is hit? How did the GOP get so stupid as to back this incompetent? Maybe, in the best interests of the country, he actually does need to spend all of his time honing the golf game.
18
I would prefer him just golfing at one of his resorts. If he hits a hole, at least nobody gets hurt.
The west should apply serious and damaging economic sanctions on Russia, Putin and his cronies. This worsening poisoning of the world innocent people has to be stopped. Make sure these bad players pay dearly for the crimes.
9
In Italy we are with Assad that protects christians against USA sponsored islamic terrorists.
1
The West should do whatever it takes to kill the ruble. That includes pumping as much oil as we can to keep prices low to defund the malevolent Putin Regime.
Yes!
And leave Syria to Russia. The minute we pull out of Syria, Russia has nothing to negotiate with....beat the snap out of Putin.
Trump talking about 'humanity' is totally inappropriate,as he,himself is devoid of any scruples or ethics.
23
Difficult to harm Syria more than we did, encouraging pseudo-insurgents and supplying them with American arms. Aleppo is already in complete ruins. Do we want the same for Damascus? Middle East had no worst destruction in its long history, even when Huns invaded it. We have a thoughtless macho president which likely to add another shameful black page to the history of this country.
18
And adding to your way of thinking, are there any regions in Syria left that have not been already bombed to the ground . . .
Is there a pattern here? Every time Trump is in trouble over the Russia collusion thing, Assad makes attacks on his own people that accomplish nothing militarily. The first time Trump sent missiles that destroyed nothing but a bunch of Syria old useless military devices. That worked. He played tough with Putin and Russia, someone on CNN said Trump had just become the president of the USA and the strikes diverted attention for a long while. He is now again attacking Putin and Russia and planning action. Maybe missile strikes again (that destroy old useless weapons?). “Believe me”, Trump is that evil and continues to collude with Putin in order to cover up the collusion and is becoming increasingly compromised with Putin.
4
Why the public announcement and delay? After the media broadcasts his plan, Trump needs time to watch Fox & Friends to get his marching orders.
And please, don't call Bolton a "national security hawk" - as if there were something reasoned and regal about him. He has more in common with a regurgitating turkey vulture than a hawk, spewing ignorant vitriol instead of analyzing strategically before acting.
15
Foreign policy is also a reality show. So what else is new?
3
Trump will call his great buddy Putin and ask him pretty-please to paint targets on the abandoned runways of the airfield he wants to attack. He needs to be sure that Assad and Putin can get their people and equipment to safe places before launching 40+ million dollars of taxpayer money to make potholes in these empty runways, and so the trucks with gravel and cement can be lined up to repair the runways as quickly as possible.
What a patriot! What a strong leader!
10
We all need to be concerned about humanitarian issues with people right here in America. The homeless, Mentally ill people, others with disabilities, and poor people who have no way out of their circumstances. Yes, Syria is a large problem to be fixed, but let us not forget about people at home in dire circumstances.
12
Isn't the very announcement that a retaliation decision will be made in 24-48 hours exactly the kind of pre-warning to our enemies that candidate Trump crucified past presidents for? Must be to assist his buddy Putin.
9
Here's what the decision should be: take our troops -- and the CIA people -- out of Syria immediately.
If Israel wants to start a war with Russia, because it makes them a bit sad that some Iranians are in Syria, they can do it on their own.
We already fought Israel's Iraq War for them, and look what it did to the Middle East.
If Israel wants to keep destabilizing the Middle East, Israel can do it by themselves.
Enough is enough.
40
"We already fought Israel's Iraq War for them, and look what it did to the Middle East."
No! No! No! Iraqi war was fought to get rid of the Mass Destruction Weapons produced using stove pipes by Saddam.
Everything is about this president, first he should call Fox and Friends for there advice then call Putin call your supporters be sure to look busy and have a press conference, to say one thing and do another. It so much more fun to play at being president vs, being President. Trump is so much smarter than President Obama, he tells us all the time as he destroys the country.
6
Anyone taking events in the mid-east, especially Syria, at face value are fools. There are so many parties that could use a chemical attack to their advantage. We need to be sure, real sure, before intervention.
14
Stop making sense. The CIA would never lie to us..oh wait, they lie constantly. Never mind.
2
Then why won't Russia allow third parties in to investigate? Hiding something, perhaps?
At least the Atlantic had the fortitude to give the title of their article: The Terrible Cost of Obama's Failure in Syria
Whether to Retaliate? Really?
5
The "fortitude" to have a neocon warmonger advocating for war in Syria for years -on behalf of Israel- as editor in chief? The very one who gave an unchallenged tribune to the latest Saudi tyrant for his revisionist lies and inane propaganda because both want a war against Iran? Grotesque.
"The Red Line and the Rat Line", by Seymour M. Hersh
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line
1
So Trump will again make some pointless holes on the sides of some runway, delaying military flight operations from that airbase a few hours, will that scare Assad this time when it did not the last time?
Syria is the worst disaster in military history, with many millions of refugees from totally destroyed big cities, and chemical weapons have been used many times on civilians, children..., but USA have chosen to stay out of this war even though USA usually have no problem to entering other less important wars!
Do not blame UN, because Putin blocks every chance of UN being able to do anything in Syria! Obama is to blame for doing nothing when his "red line" was clearly broken, but a few more pointless bombs from Trump will not be any better at all, will not change anything in Syria!
3
First of all. Donald Trump's decision about how to retaliate in Syria has already been made -- that effectively happened the moment he picked John Bolton to come onboard.
It's easy to imagine how everything else will turn out.
5
Does Trump still think he's on some television show?
He bungled his way into bankruptcy after bankruptcy, no doubt he can bungle his way into another war.
7
What about the promises made during the campaign not to tell when we are going to strike? Just another prevarication from our esteemed leader. When will it become evident to his base that he is not competent to be POTUS? Where is our leadership headed? Won't someone / anyone step forward and expose this fraud of an administration?
14
What happened to not "telegraphing " plans to the enemy?
12
OTOH: 45 is threatening them and allowing them to marinate. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Never mess with a psychopath.
"“We’re talking about humanity and it can’t be allowed to happen,” Mr. Trump told reporters."
Trump loves humanity. It's people he can't stand.
13
Yep, and buffoon Trump is about to be triggered to kill even more people in the name of "humanity" by our usual warmongering propagandists and "free press" pushing their agenda.
1
What would Hillary have done? She would have prevented much of the slaughter in Syria by having quickly created a no fly zone where freedom loving rebels and like minded people would have safe, or at least SAFER, haven. The rebels would have been more militarily successful, Putin would be weakened, and the number of the uninvited immigrants to Europe would have been diminished.
9
Yeah, but we elected an idiot instead.
3
What if.....what if this chemical attack was sanctioned not by Assad but by a state or a non-state force that wants the U.S. to retaliate?
Just why did this chemical attack follow Trump's announced desire to get out of Syria?
Why, also, is Israel urging us to attack now? Could it be to distract from the human rights catastrophe in Gaza?
We all know what John Bolton would have us do.
Where's the proof that this was Assad's work? More WMD ?
168
Well whatever else one might say today about Israel’s colonial power and policy, given the history of it and we Jews, including those like me who don’t much like the present posture of that nation, one thing we know Israel cannot and will never do is use chemical weapons like, for example, gas. Israel and Jews have some experience of that if you’ll recall. Certainly enough to know it is Verbotten.
2
... thank you for reminding us of the tragic fact
that the entire region is in such terrible turmoil :-(
and israel, or benjamin netanyahu rather, has indeed
reason to distract public attention far, far away from
what has -and what has NOT- been happening in gaza
for decades ... and BTW, have the corruption charges
against him been dropped yet?
he 'might' not care much about the human catastrophe
affecting huge numbers of people in his neighborhood.
his personal political fate 'might' be the main reason why
he 'might' want to instruct sb to carry out a strange strike.
so many 'mights' ... much speculation ... too many messes,
and yet always a number of people to shamelessly benefit :-(
glad somebody else said it, but this clearly stinks of manipulation.
Let France do it. What have we got to lose?
2
Before acting it would make sense for impartial analysts to figure out who actually did this. I guess it's coincidental that a few days after Mr Trump muses that it would be desirable to exit Syria, killing industrial chlorine gas is released by some entity that doesn't want US troops to leave, which seems to be provoking the desired outcome. Curiously, Mr. Assad is not keen to have us stay.
21
Exactly. Put yourself in Assad's shoes. It would appear he is sane and mostly interested in staying alive and in power. Why on earth would he provoke the US when it endangers his existence? And for no discernable military reason? This smells like co-intel to me.
4
As Trump has proven many times, it's easy to make quick decisions when you never stop to think.
9
It would be wrong for the world to standby and do nothing to hold the criminal regimes of Syria, Russia, and Iran accountable for their atrocities. First a missile strike to help stop the human suffering in the short term and then severe comprehensive international sanctions against all three. Also, after years of fighting are we going to allow these same rogue states to slaughter the people who have only recently been liberated from the horror of occupation by ISIS?
4
Another clown claiming that killing people with an illegal act of war and missile strike would "stop the pain": grotesque is sometimes an understatement.
Assad uses chemical weapons because it is preferable to getting his soldiers killed by rebel bullets. It also terrorizes the local population causing them to withdraw support for rebels. It is a cold calculation. No showy airstrike will change this calculation. Assad is close to winning and America isn't at the table. Unless trump puts all of Assad's airfields permanently out of commission his actions will be meaningless.
8
Mr. Trump,
No, do not perpetuate the insane cycle of violence. Walk away, there is no helping these people and we are only hurting our men and women. It is time to leave and let them decide their own fate.
4
trump vows "quick decision"......
After he "tweets" about it 47,986 times.
Nothing like telegraphing your moves.
A real Commander In Chief would have ACTED BY NOW.
7
Someone abroad is messing with Trump, trying to provoke him into something. Just reeks of it.
4
Trump probably knows now what it means to draw red lines.
1
And while Trump is dragging his feet on how to react, the rest of the world will be ganging up on Israel for doing what no one else had the guts to do. Israel is fighting someone else's war for them, not the other way around.
1
Sounds like he's telegraphing the timing of this retaliation thing to the Syrians. Seems like he criticized Obama for this.
9
Mr. Trump said that Syria was not allowing any independent inspection of the attack site. “If they’re innocent why aren’t they allowing people to go in and prove” it, he asked.
Funny thing for HIM to say.
13
Trump made a deal with the devil
Now he has to deal with the devil.
Invite Lavrov into the White House.
Congratulate Putin on his sham election. And, then make plans for a meeting, possibly in the W.H.
Horrific crimes against humanity in Syria. Chemical weapons in Great Brittain.
My advice to Putin......Be careful what you wish for!
Trump used the least forceful military option that his defense team presented to him last year. It was ineffective.
Mr. Trump....it's your deal.
3
Trump probably wants to wait and hear what Fox and Friends has to say before following their lead.
4
So Trump is weighing whether to retaliate militarily?
What happened last time he did so, about a year ago?
Trump bombed an empty airfield, making the American media - including the Times - swoon over his fortitude ("this is the day he became president," and all that nonsense).
Several months later, the Syrians do it again. Some deterrence.
Firing cruise missiles at non-essential military installations isn't going to do anything. Or does Trump want to ensnare us militarily in a battlefield where the Russians, Iranians, Syrians, Turks and myriad rebel groups have been fighting for years?
3
Let's hope the President's military judgement is better than in trade where he clearly imposed tariffs with little thought to retaliation ( as if the US can trade and operate within the world markets in splendid isolation,free from repercussion) and the near certainty of a trade war.
Think very carefully Mr President.
2
The frightening part of this decision is whether Fox and Friends will help him decide.
9
What moral authority does Trump have to take a stand against gassing civilians in a foreign country when Trump has advocated far worse?
Trump says that it is wrong for the military to allow innocent family members, including young children, to live a building before blowing it up with missiles because suspected "bad guys" are believed to be inside. Trump says it is important to exterminate the children, too.
Trump has our government developing "mini-nukes" because he thinks it will make it easier to conduct nuclear wars around the world. How does being blasted, than radiated, by mini-nukes compare to being gassed?
Trump continues to advocate torture and indefinite imprisonment without charge for people accused of being connected to foreign terrorist organizations (but white nationalist terrorists in the United States get a pass, of course).
And apart from Assad, just about every brutal, murderous dictator in power has received praise and admiration from Donald Trump.
After removing the spread democracy and peace from the missions of the American military and State Department, Trump really does not have even a philosophical position for objecting to the use of toxic gas on Syrian civilians. Having personally abandoned human rights as a guidepost, the only reason for Trump to object to the suffering and deaths of innocent Syrians is out of concern for his "ratings." History has shown that he is more likely to create new crises as distractions than correct an ethical lapse.
10
Depending on the time of day and what Fox is saying Trump will either:
withdraw from Syria, send troops to Syria, order air attacks on Syria, offer to get involved for a price.
This is what a President does?
12
" 'We’ll be making that decision very quickly, probably by the end of today. We cannot allow atrocities like that. ' ”
Sadly, Mr. Trump, the world has already allowed it. For once, though, I think that you and I are in agreement that we cannot condone this barbarity and we must do all we can to prevent a recurrence, but killing more innocent civilians cannot be part of the solution. I hope, Mr. President, that you will help lead us to an end to this.
3
Just dont understand why, with trump announcing that we will be pulling out of Syria, Assad chooses now for a chemical attack. If my enemy is leaving, why would I do something that would make him stay? Like the last chemical attack, the timing is sort of suspect. Is there hard evidence that Assad was responsible, or are we just assuming?
6
Obama went to the Congress to ask for support for air strikes after the Syrians used chemical weapons. The Congress refused to grant that permission or support such a strike, a fact that some, including Trump, seem to have conveniently forgotten. The result was a deal instead to ship chemical weapons out of the country to Russia. Many were supposedly shipped out or destroyed but obviously not the chlorine components Syria has poured down on its citizens since then and since Trump's strike ( not passed by Congress?) on a Syrian airfield. How likely is yet another
military strike likely to solve this problem, especially now that Russia
and Iran are more entrenched in Syria? Trump with his impulsive tweets
has set himself and the country up yet again for a dangerous way forward.
8
Trump consistently applies oversimplified statements and solutions in his rhetoric and policy decisions. He is learning the hard way that his administration must tread lightly and use finesse, especially in the realm of foreign policy. I'm afraid he is not up to the task.
5
What needs to stop is blindly lashing out with military force. Those killed in vindictive retaliations are nearly always those who never had anything to do with the atrocity. Instead of sending in the bombers, we should sponsor a multinationally monitored investigation, and try the actual perpetrators for war crimes. When members of the ruling class start paying in-kind the price for their evil, a lot of these atrocities would likely stop.
2
Cadet Bone Spurs to the rescue !
Look out, world !
Daycare Donnie is thrashing around in his military playpen !
89
There are four reasons to respond to Bashar al-Assad's use of weapons of mass destruction, and only one is Assad. The others are Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari. You could include Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well. Our response to Syria's inhumane provocation will inform each of these powerful demons how to handle Donald Trump and John Bolton. Although ostensibly Syria is not in our sphere of interest, it is, and more than simply because the other players desire it so much. Obama should not have side-stepped. That was obvious at the time, and so much more now. He trusted a demonic troupe and the price has been paid in innocent blood and radical shifts of influence. Trump should announce that the Eastern Mediterranean is a critical area of American strategic importance and develop a plan to check the aggression of Russia, Iran, Turkey, and indirectly North Korea.
The timing, after Mr. Trump's comments about withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria, instinctively raises my suspicions. Although I have no access to intelligence, the circumstances implicate the Syrian regime. Yet, both sides have used chemical weapons in this conflict. The Russian and Syrian assertion that the attacks were staged by the rebels, their usual line, has such a ring of plausibility to it, although it appears to be obfuscation. I think the only thing I can say for sure is that I don't have any idea what is happening in Syria. I do know that all sides, with the possible exception of Turkey, have an interest in the U.S. remaining in Syria. The idea that the emergence of ISIS was the cassus belli for any of the combatants, including the U.S., is revisionism. What I'm speculating is that not only do the rebels and their GCC backers remain committed to regime change, but that the regime and its supporters have no interest in seeing the U.S. turn a blind eye to al-Qaeda and other extremist groups in Syria despite the downfall of ISIS. Despite all this, the simplest explanation, that the Syrian military and possible rogue commanders, are just obtuse to the propaganda/public relations of this and reckless or careless in provoking a U.S. military response, seems to be the truth.
2
Macron is like Tony Blair on steroids. The French public should be very careful that Macron doesn't get France into some sort of military action that they are unwilling to support. Jacques Chirac was clearly shrewd to treat Bush and Blair's Iraq debacle as something France should avoid participation in. Certainly a false flag chemical attack on innocents has been very effective for the jihadists who are using civilians as human shields. The Syrian civil war is a human disaster. Assad has a large share of responsibility. But the regime change crowd has unleashed a scourge on the country with these murderous jihadists. These jihadists violently decimated the moderate opposition to Assad. Now the likes of John McCain and Trump are playing Al Qaeda's game.
5
Once again, where is the evidence proving Assad did it? How can the world be sure it wasn't the so-called rebels to justify an attack on their foes? Other accusations were made in the past, and never have the accusers been able to provide evidence that supports their accusations. Without the evidence, all this media fuss seems like a coordinated effort to test the public's opinion for support on a non-UN sanctioned strike. Journalists should be responsible enough to try to stop something that's beginning to look like Iraq's WMD's all over again. And who's going to provide the US casualties if the country goes into war? It certainly won't be the sons and daughters of the people in the White House or the Pentagon.
11
Trump had his arms folded during the entire press meeting. Body language. Was he pushing others away, or just protecting himself from his own remarks several days ago - opposite now.
He announced there would be a “decision” by the generals, basically “very, very soon”.
Really? He just said a couple days he wanted to get out. Did he think the Syrian chemical warfare was all done then?
Again, he’s trying to appeal to his base. Nothing else matters to him. He realizes he is not a star with the majority of Americans.
And no matter what decision he makes now, (probably to strike) he will not take responsibility, and will say “the generals” made the decision. In the meanwhile, Bolton can’t wait to join the generals’ decision.
17
Trump making any decision quickly is always a problem. Considering going to war should take much careful thought and conversations with many experts. Unfortunately, we have no reason to think that Trump or anyone around him will help reach the best of all bad options here.
17
We all realize that what Trump really wants is a "big beautiful bomb." Sadly, that is the level of his reasoning power. He's the bully who wants to beat on someone, whether there is justification or not...
30
How come Trump is unilaterally making this decison basically all by himself? Congress and the military should obviously be involved. Trump seems to turn everything into a transaction that he uses to try to increase his political standing and possibly his bank account. Our country is clearly an imperfect democracy that may be frustratingly cumbersome but that's how democricies function.
Trump's apparent disregard for collateral damage is astounding and it's exasperated by Trumps casual references to nuclear war fare. His appointing the highly questionable John Bolton to a key position without any apparent input from Congress or anyone else is staggering.
125
Trump has no one, not the rubber stamp Congress nor the people themselves, standing up to him. Reminds me of Russia with its rubber stamp Duma.
Where is the war declaration?
Fools. He campaigned against this sort of thing. He's being forced into it by people in industry and government with more power that any US president has.
I suppose the President can launch a missile attack, or any military action, based on whatever authority from Congress permitted the US military to be fighting in Syria in the first place. The more fundamental issue is that Congress long ago ceded to the President its constitutional responsibility to declare war . This must be corrected with checks restored on the President’s power to deploy the military at will. Otherwise, the US will continue to be in a perpetual state of war, which may be good for the extended military supply industry but damaging to country as a whole.
118
It’s that Congress (which I deem congress now) is the only part of the government who can declare WAR, the president can deploy the military without their consent. See Korea (though eventually the UN gave it legality, Vietnam, First Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. So called Police Actions. Which is when WAR isn’t war. WW2 didn’t start by FDR saying, A Day That Will Live in INFAMY. That was when he was standing before Congress begging for a declaration of war. A fact future generations easily forgot. Making the whole thing, up to and including Hiroshima & Nagasaki (after he was dead, having something built is not the same as deploying it) his fault. Congress has said nothing about fighting in Syria. Basically Bush is the reason the whole ME is up for grabs. No Declaration needed. Since Vietnam they have all hidden in the gutter. Never saying Yay, or Nay. Typical of politicians. Of all parties.
2
Since passage of the War Powers Act in 1973, a response to Vietnam, Presidents have been limited in the extent to which they may deploy the military. Bush was required to request approval by Congress on two occasions, which he received. Obama asked Congress to vote on additional deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Republican leadership refused to take up the matter. Trump is taking that hands-off attitude for granted.
See: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/war-powers.php
A declaration of war is notification to a sovereign nation that we are about to use violence against their minions in accordance with any bilateral or multilateral limitations that both parties are privy to. That's all it means. Any U.S. president has full constitutional authority to order the use of force against a foreign nation or individuals as long as he or she does it in accordance with U.S. statute law.
I have always been a proponent of humanitarian intervention. If you have the ability and resources, defend the weak against their oppressors. Even something as simple as destroying much of Assad's airpower goes a long way. It makes his regime and the Russians realize there are consequences for their actions. Kosovo is a great example; the Holocaust (standing by) is a shameful example.
Also, for the people asking why this latest gas attack matters: how you kill a person is a huge factor. It's not just the result itself. My great-grandfather fought in WW1 where he experienced chemical warfare. It's a truly terrible way to die vs. bleeding out from a rifle wound or a shell cutting you in half. It was not just his opinion, but that of soldiers from both Axis and Allied nations.
114
My grandmother, an army nurse in France in 1918, survived being gassed, but she suffered the rest of her life from the attack and died from its complications in 1939.
1
you go
So do you advocate for the rest of the world to destroy the US military in the Middle-east over their illegal war of aggression in Iraq -that supreme war crime- launched on a litany of lies and forged intel, do you advocate for the rest of the world to destroy the Saudi military for their last 3 years of countless war crimes in Yemen -the greatest humanitarian crisis on earth- all enabled by the US? Or is it just a one way street where the US bully and warmonger can illegally invade, illegally occupy, illegally attack and kill 10s of thousands without any accountability? Do tell me so, i can't wait to gauge the level of your hypocrisy, the one shared by all our warmongering politicians and jingoist "free press".
8
Trump needs a couple of days to make a few phone calls so he can announce Putin's, er, I mean, his plans.
51
Retaliate? They don't even know for sure who it was, could well have been an ally. The place is a mess of competing outside forces.
Retaliate - and therein lies the problem. Too much to ask that for once they think, discuss, decide a long term policy with other countries. Last time the 45th tried 'me-big-man-with-bomb' there was no follow up, nothing was done, what was the point? Look at me I have the biggest, noisiest fire cracker!
Pathetic. Careless. Irresponsible. Uniformed. Murderous. The list is endless.
212
Still, is it better to retaliate once and not entangle the country in another pointless, never-ending war, or is it better to make that long-term commitment to weapons manufacturers that keeps a constant, lethal US presence in the area?
2
They DO KNOW who did it -- CNN has video footage of an al-Qaeda chemical facility in the Douma outskirts taken days before the 'chlorine attack' and hasn't, and will not, show it.
3
Great point! A lot of vested interests to keep things in chaos, Israel, Erik Prince among others,
1
“We’re talking about humanity and it can’t be allowed to happen” Well, there was humanity in the apartments at Trump Tower, but what couldn't be allowed to happen there was fire sprinklers. This man has a curious moral compass. It appears to be most influenced by whose money is being spent.
76
Agree. And a moral compass or any semblance of humanity would not allow DACA deportations, mass killings of students facilitated by assault weapons, starvation of Americans, denial of health care for Americans, wages at untenably low levels for school teachers and other public employees, suppression of voting based on age, race, or income level, and it goes on and on...
6
The victim who so tragically lost his life couldn't find a buyer for his Trump Tower apartment; he couldn't give it away.
1
what does fox and friends think we should do?
353
He has to wait 24-48 hours for the next episode or two to get his answer.
3
That is exactly what I was going to say. He'll have to watch tv for a while before he'll know how to react.
2
Depends on whether any advertisers will pull their ads.
1
That's right, give them plenty of advance warning.
70
The Grifter will inform his friend Vladimir that he absolutely has to bomb something in Syria. So please, move whatever you have to move before hitting the spot marked with an X. No harm done, everybody is happy and the Liar passes for a hero! What a fraud.
296
Thanks for creating a straw man and arguing against it. I guess you don't care that chemical weapons are being used to kill children in Syria.
1
You missed the point. Trump doesn't care "that chemical weapons are being used to kill children in Syria". He really doesn't -- he just wants to make it look good. ("X" marked the spot at a Syrian airport -- after Putin and Assad had moved all the important stuff out of harms way.)
People can't believe anything Trump says.
4
Basically what he did last year with the air strip.
Congress has skirted their responsibility to authorize war in Syria and Trump is suggesting taking actions that could drag us into a deep and costly war. The American people deserve to hear this debated in Congress.
290
There's nothing to debate. We have absolutely no legitimate reason to be perpetually at war. Our killing and blowing things up obviously does not bring peace and prosperity to the middle east and Afghanistan. Bring the troops home now. End the waste.
3
Deeper and more costly.
2
"American people deserve to hear this debated in Congress."
Did not work for the invasion of Iraq which started this mayhem in the Middle East.
4
Wondering if mr world class brain will “telegraph” his plan?
Russia knows full well they are dealing w incompetent clowns.
104
Bring this on NYTimes!! Put the pictures of this atrocity on the front page, so that everyone understand what this is about.
8
Americans don't want to see graphic images of children being massacred.
It is unsettling.
America is now an island.
Dear Times Editors: Thank you for changing the initial headline, which included the 24-48 hours quote. But please stop relaying the idiot countdowns from this prez at all. "I'll decide in 24 to 48 hours." Pul-eeze. The one and only purpose of his "timeline" is to keep all eyes trained on him for the next two days. Please, please stop facilitating his narcissistic power plays.
298
24 - 48 hours gives Putin time to move his assets out of harms way. The last bombing Trump unleashed was all talk and no result - the airfield was back in operation within days.
5
"I'll decide" translates to "I'll watch Fox News and see what they say about it first."
2
Oh, never mind, Mr. President. Israel, as usual, is skipping all the bombast and bluster and instead quietly taking care of business.
16
How do you dare to say that?
Since when is throwing fuel on a raging fire "taking care of business', unless you're in the business of creating conflagrations.
4
Assad and Putin are criminals who engage in crimes against humanity. With chemical weapons attacks against their own people either in large groups or on foreign soil. They will lie to your face about it, because they don't even have the integrity to claim responsibility for their actions.
They are sociopathic murders who the west should seek to contain like the cancers they are. Assad and Putin don't deserve our respect. They deserve our condemnation. They deserve jail, but forgoing that they deserve international isolation. They deserve to have their enemies armed to the teeth.
It is time to remove all diplomatic personnel from Russia, and send all of theirs home. From every country that believes that chemical attacks are evil. The same goes for Assad's government.
16
"From every country that believes that chemical attacks are evil." And yet the US has never issued not even an apology (that goes without saying 'a compensation') regarding the use of chemical weapons (napalm, agent orange, nerve gas, you name it) in Vietnam that after all these years are still having an adverse effect on people and the environment there.
3
"Assad and Putin are criminals"
And W. Bush and Obama are angels! of death!
4
you forgot to mention Donald Trump, who, with his foul mouthed verbal attacks against anything and everybody is sowing hatred among the people and creates an atmosphere of distrust, fear and repulsion, let alone the issue of gun control. The US are not in a state of war like Syria or Jemen are experiencing it.
But the US are currently also fighting a war against its own people. A trade war on the back of the American farmers. An assault on Americas best, its natural beauty and heritage. Its evermore rising conflict on race issues. An inequality concerning its inhabitants and . . . must I go on? So, before we blame everyone else for their shortcomings, we should look what happens in our own backyard.