Earlier this week President Trump and U.N. Ambassador Haley both said, in effect, that we needed to accept that Assad of Syria was a given fact and we had better get used to the idea.
A few days later Assad used poison gas. I certainly can’t tell you Assad’s reasoning, but I believe that decision was beyond coincidence. I think President Assad thought, ok, now I’m safe, and I can do what I want.
Who is advising Trump on foreign policy? He is no longer a candidate; he is the President of the United States. Words matter. People pay attention. We’d all be better off if he just shut the f--- up.
I think this entire attack was totally set up ahead of time. I read an article in the Telegraph. I have to question why the Russians and the Syrians were told ahead of time. Why would we warn them ahead of time? There is just too much collusion going on with the White House and Russia.
ReplyDeleteI'm pasting two paragraphs from the story. (No Russian soldiers or equipment were reported to have been damaged in the attack. The Pentagon said it informed Russia of its plans to strike hours ahead, giving them time to remove any aircraft they had stationed at the base.)
(Syrian military sources said that they also received intelligence about the strike in advance and moved equipment out of the base, in a sign the missile strikes were intended as a show of force rather than a serious attempt to damage the Syrian regime's airstrike capabilities.)
Actually, I think that was a wise move on the part of the administration. (And I don't like giving them credit for anything.) Killing Russians would have meant that Putin really would have no choice but to retaliate. Warning them ahead of time would indicate that while the U.S. wanted to make a point, it also didn't want to provoke a confrontation. And, of course, if we warned the Russians, they in turn would tell their Syrian allies. I do think the message was delivered.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is that the whole thing was provoked by Trump's inexperience, and was not well thought out. It seems as though he reacted after seeing television images of suffering kids. Where was he when that child was picked up from the beach by the Turkish soldier? Where was he when thousands of Syrian children were denied entrance into the U.S.? He does not think, he reacts. Nonetheless, I also think the warning to the Russians was a reasonable move that prevented things from escalating. Of course, this whole issue is not over.