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President Trump announced Friday night that the U.S. and its allies had launched attacks on Syria in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack last week by President Bashar Assad's regime.
In televised remarks from the White House, Trump said the attacks were underway, and that Great Britain and France were also taking part.
The president did not provide details, but U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea, armed with cruise missiles, were in position to strike. British and French forces were also in place.
[...] The president said the U.S. prepared to sustain effort until the Syrian regime stops using chemical weapons.
[...] In the days leading up to the U.S. attack, Russia had warned that it would defend its troops in Syria. This has raised fears of a possible direct clash of U.S. and Russian forces.
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/13/601794830/u-s-launches-attacks-on-syria
Also at Bloomberg and The Guardian
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Saturday April 14 2018, @03:57AM (6 children)
There's no one to blame for this other than Trump. He's an adult in a position of power. He makes his own decisions, such as they are. In this, he's acting not very differently than most previous presidents. If you truly want to point a finger, that's your target.
You'd probably learn something if you explored why almost all presidents tend to do this — meddle in other country's affairs at great taxpayer expense/MIC payout within our borders, and no long term positive results anywhere else — perhaps there's something else going on, eh?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 14 2018, @04:01AM
+1 Follow The Money
Works double plus good with anything connected to Trump.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by cubancigar11 on Saturday April 14 2018, @04:31AM (1 child)
My understanding of all the events up until now since Trump's election has been that deep state is unhappy, and Trump is slowly bowing down to its will. Either way I think he is gonna go, but may be not soon?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 14 2018, @12:39PM
Clinton was probably a tool of the deep state (look at how happy she was with killing Gaddafi).
Trump wasn't their guy but it's obvious he wouldn't be that difficult to manipulate or blackmail.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday April 14 2018, @03:36PM (2 children)
'No Man is an Island'
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Olde English Version
No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man
is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine;
if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe
is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as
well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine
owne were; any mans death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
MEDITATION XVII
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
John Donne
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Saturday April 14 2018, @05:10PM
It seems to me that such a sentiment, in this context, is trite at best.
We're all islands when it comes to deciding to aggress outside the reach of our legitimate authority. Trump's no better than you or I in this regard; he's just got a lot more power, and lacks the wit to know how to manage it in any way even remotely compatible with the idea of a sovereign nation. He's hardly alone in this, it's a very typical presidential stance, but that doesn't make it better, it makes it worse.
The US has no authority whatsoever as to what goes on in Syria, or does not go on there. The legitimate responsibility of dealing with what goes on in Syria is entirely Syria's — that of its government and its population.
Any nation-state's legitimate authority ends at the national borders of that nation-state until/unless someone attacks them or compromises their resources (air/water, that sort of local-but-not-local thing) from outside those borders. When a nation-state makes war outside of those bounds, that nation-state is saying to everyone else, "go ahead, come in our nation-state and blow shit up. That's what we do!" To be very clear about all this, Syria has not attacked our nation.
If we want national borders to mean anything, we'd be far better off acting like they do mean something.
For example, do you want England, or Russia, or China, dropping bombs on us because our congress is operating well outside the bounds of our constitution? Or because our cops are killing people at the slightest excuse (or without any excuse)?
Or are these things our problem to solve?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 14 2018, @09:26PM
unless his name is... [youtube.com]