At this point, we don't how many Syrian heroes were slain in the cowardly, Pearl Harbor-style attack. Governor Talil Barazai of Syria's Homs Province stated that dozens of missiles struck a local airbase and that firefighters and soldiers are continuing to fight the blaze. Yes---Trump accomplished what ISIS could not do.
Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis---a lying Obama shill held over from the previous Administration---told the gleeful Corporate Media that the attack avoided civilian casualties and Russian military installations. We shall see about that. At any rate, Russia was badly duped. Putin was probably caught off guard: the pusillanimous Davis noting that "Russia was advised of the attack". Meaning that Russia was probably advised of a US attack; but not informed of the intended target. The Pentagon's duplicity has put Russia in a very bad position: appearing helpless and even complicit while an ally was attacked.
And China as well. Trump ordered this attack just as he and his wife were enjoying a lush banquet for Mr. and Mrs. Xi at Mar-a-Lago. How does this make President Xi look like anything but a chump? Xi had said earlier that the Korean Peninsula would be discussed. Trump has just shown China that he will stab them in the back at any given moment.
How about Iraq? Just last week, Trump met with Iraqi President Abadi and assured him that the US supported the shared goals of the Alliance that Abadi helped put together; and of which Syria was a part. Iraq has sent troops to Syria on more than one occasion. Now, Abadi is made to look like a US puppet in front of his people.
Geopolitics is a dangerous arena to play around in, and Trump may learn this to his sorrow. Out of the seven Allied Powers currently operating in Syria; Trump has just shanked four of them. A fifth---Iran---was the only one of the Allied Powers warning not to trust Trump. Now guess which country is going to benefit politically from this rash action tonight?
The fallout both here and abroad is just beginning.
I seriously hope he has a plan and is playing chess. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. In his speech last night he was not his usual self. Is he compromised? If Bannon goes I will follow suit.
ReplyDeleteBlack Conservative Patriot has a good analysis on his YouTube channel. I'd say he speaks for a majority of his voter base on this issue. We are mostly Burkean conservatives.
It is disconcerting, but I have some uncharacteristic confidence here. This the first time I've felt good about military intervention in a long while. As if such things can ever be called "good."
ReplyDelete"Geopolitics is a dangerous arena to play around in," true, but I sense there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. If I understood it better, I'd pass along some hope, but I can't quite put my finger on it all.
I wasn't too worried as long as this was restricted to the rhetorical stage; but attacking military bases unilaterally crosses a line itself. This is the very kind of thing that Trump criticized Clinton and Obama for doing during the campaign. The way that it was carried out as well comes across as very underhanded. Trump may be playing chess and thinks that unpredictably is beneficial. But things that go on behind the scenes here also go on in other countries' government. That's why geopolitics can be tricky.
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