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Trump advisers: U.S. seeks to fight IS and oust Syria's Assad

48 Comments
By HOPE YEN

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So Russia, the US and other oil states don't care who's in charge in Syria as long as they can mutually control oil flow and maximize the profits coming from it. And of course they'll continue to justify what they're doing by claiming they're fighting whichever group fits this week's terrorist label.

There are no good guys fighting in Syria.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

The missile strikes were aimed at Trump's low approval polls. The results are not in yet.

2 ( +11 / -9 )

The missile strikes were aimed at Trump's low approval polls. The results are not in yet.

So you're saying McMaster, Kushner, and others in the administration pushing for these strikes did so out of concern for Trump's poll numbers? I disagree with these strikes and the entire mainstream Western narrative on Syria in general, but I conspiracy theories like this are pathetic. There are large factions of the U.S. foreign policy establishment that want nothing more than to attack Assad. I'd think they had a lot more to do with this decision than poll numbers for an election that's 3 and half years away.

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Looks like the globalists or Neocons have got a hold of Trump. He promised he would not be like the others and not get us involved in these types of wars and here we go. Tensions with Russia will escalate and the slightest error could result in war and possibly WW3. Iran is now siding with Russia.

The U.S. is also moving warships toward North Korea.

We are entering some dangerous times.

7 ( +12 / -5 )

Looks like the globalists or Neocons have got a hold of Trump.

More likely that Trump has been a globalist / neocon all along.

He promised...

'Promises are only as strong as the person who gave them.' Given Trump's history of bait and switch tactics, alt facts, fake news and other forms of lies, anyone who believed one word he said was either suckered or knowingly wanted to see the US dragged down. The latter are getting what they want. Own it rightists and Russians.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

dual U.S. goals of defeating the Islamic State group and removing Assad.

Last week before the timely attack, it was one goal but even before one could crank out the fizzy drinks, the military complex came a calling and now we are back to the status quo!!

I don't know what stuns me most. That people praise the use of stupid force to end conflict in place of discourse or that this only continues to prop trump up!!

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The only real fight against ISiL, iSiS, al-Qaeda, "McCain's Army" in Syria has been Assad. As long as Trump does not send out more money to these terrorist groups they will most likely dry up. The Obama money-train to these terrorist groups is hopefully over, but countries like Saudi Arabia that give money to these terrorist groups in Syria should have UN sanctions brought against them.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

So Russia, the US and other oil states don't care who's in charge in Syria as long as they can mutually control oil flow and maximize the profits coming from it.

The US doesn't get most of its oil from the Mideast or even Syria for that matter, as far as Russia goes, that may be true to an extent.

And of course they'll continue to justify what they're doing by claiming they're fighting whichever group fits this week's terrorist label.

I think by now everyone knows there are No good players in this.

There are no good guys fighting in Syria.

True, but you can't just let Assad keep doing what he's doing and if you don't stop him, it's sending a message to other adversaries that they can use chemical weapons as well, so you need to curtail it as much as possible.

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

Looks like revolution in the US is back on table. To say that Trump conned us is phoney logic. There was simply no alternative. You could say Trump lied, I'll accept that. Hillary wouldn't have needed a false flag chem attack to initiate the globalists agenda. This is all about that natural gas pipeline that Assad nixed. Meanwhile Yemen is being conquered and Israel will get a freer hand. FU Trump!

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

Apparently, the Liberal strategy is all talk, do nothing. That was their strategy when Assad crossed the line, using chemical warfare against hundreds of his own people, creating a million-man mass exodus of refugee's. They used the same strategy, when Russia LIED, saying they'd make sure Assad removed all his chemical weapons, but DIDN'T!! If Roosevelt used that same idiotic, liberal, strategy during WWII, we'd all be speaking German!

The missile strikes were aimed at Trump's low approval polls. The results are not in yet.

The results have been overwhelmingly positive with Democrats and Republicans.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

While Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described regime change in Syria as a U.S. priority and inevitable, Tillerson suggested that last week’s American airstrikes in retaliation for the chemical attack hadn’t really changed U.S. priorities toward ousting Assad.

I really don't know what to think at this point. Trump knew about chemical weapons being used in 2013 and advised against any military action. Now he says he saw pictures and that changed his mind. Fair enough. I'll take him at his word. But too often his surrogates give conflicting statements, like above. It tells me they don't really know what Trump will do next, probably because Trump himself doesn't know.

In addition, most of the GOP leadership is doing a 180 and supporting Trump's military action while denying Obama the same response in 2013. Their commitment to whatever they say today is a mile wide and an inch deep and mostly just partisan reactions, so who knows where they really stand or what they want to happen next. This is one of those times when they will have to lead instead of criticizing from behind, so let's see what they can do.

One consistent theme is the lack of a long-term plan. If Trump can come up with a good one, then great. But my guess is there is no good one. Get involved and maybe do some good, but suffer unintended consequences. Don't get involved and people keep dying. So either way you're pretty much screwed. If that's the situation, then I'll only favor very limited engagement so we can get good intel and maybe change a few things on the ground.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

I'll only favor very limited engagement so we can get good intel and maybe change a few things on the ground.

Like in Iraq you mean? The days of america being the world's police are coming to an end. Can anyone name any one country in recent memory that has been successfully meddled in?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Trump's flip-flop on Syria is very easily explained. With the worst poll numbers of any president in American history in their honeymoon, and people starting to find out that his team seemed really cozy with Russia, he needed something to deflect attention away from his ties with Russia, and to boost his poll numbers. He even said himself that he thinks it's a means of boosting poll numbers, when he predicted Obama would attack the middle east at a time when he had low numbers.

The question is whether or not the people will chase the squirrel. I give it a 50/50 chance.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

"Trump's flip-flop on Syria is very easily explained"

I'm not sure if 'flip-flop' is the right term. For me, it entails the idea that he actually believed something he said in the first place. I remember reading a description of Trump's mind as like blowing up a balloon and watching it fly chaotically around the room after releasing it.

His used car salesman/sub-par soap opera performance about beautiful babies was a masterclass in how to fool boneheads that he gives a toss.

Just flying by the seat of his pants.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

OMG please stop. Saying Trump bombed Syria for poll number is silly. Did Obama kill Bin Laden for poll numbers? The Syria bombing is internationally a very popular move, as nobody with a sliver of decency would watch those kids get gasses and stand by idly.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

"as nobody with a sliver of decency would watch those kids get gasses and stand by idly."

People stood by 'idly' while kids were getting their faces and limbs blown off by bombs which were also illegal.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Saying Trump bombed Syria for poll number is silly.

You realize it's a claim Trump himself made in the past right? So how silly is it to think he would do something that he claimed would solve a problem he has?

nobody with a sliver of decency would watch those kids get gasses and stand by idly.

People have been standing by while kids have been bombed to bits in Syria for years now. People get killed by dictators all over the world without intervention. Yet suddenly, a president who the people dislike more than any other president during their honeymoon in American history, suddenly attacks Syria, after previously repeatedly stating that he didn't think Syria should be attacked, even under these same circumstances, and you think it's silly? It may or may not be true - we can't know the inner workings of Trump's mind. But it's ridiculous to dismiss it outright as silly, there is just too much information out there that makes it entirely plausible.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@bass so you need to curtail it as much as possible.

Do you think sending in Trump's CASH Brigade, aka GI Jokes or In the Armani Now will help?

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23KushnerAtWar

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Totally ridiculous. assad and russia were about to win the conventional part of the civil war and then this. another 7 years of bloddshed.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

you realize it's a claim Trump himself made in the past right?

Trump said "I will bomb a country to raise my poll numbers." ??? Yeah ok there goes your credibility. Stop looking at things with political blinders and see what is happening.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

I'm still wondering how much of this is just playing to the public. It serves both Putin and Trump to have it look as though Trump is playing hardball with someone when there is an investigation in to his team's contacts with Russia.

The Syrian horror story offers Trump the opportunity to alter his damaged image regarding Russia. Not that he set up what happened - but that the opportunity was presented and it worked to his advantage with his hideous poll numbers. I think a lot of this is theater.

Notice how many articles there are 'not' about the Senate investigation into the Trump-Russia connection? Gone. Why?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

People have been standing by while kids have been bombed to bits in Syria for years now.

Do not blame Trump for Obama's meek non-action stance

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

If Obama had have done it without congressional approval, they would have freaked out.

Obama went inot Oakistan to kill Bin Laden w/o Congress, Republicans praised him. Your point of view is through political blinders

Put your tin foil hats on and make new conspiracy theories with Alex Jones...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Unless there is a long term strategy to temper and tackle a middle east, literally a cauldron of religious extremism, the terrorism, chaos, fanaticism, crimes against humanity, the atrocities will continue unabated in the name of Islamic fundamentalism.

If regime change is the order of the day, then prepare for long term occupation and mass internment of fanatics. Democracy for the region is meaningless, freedom of expression is another example of deviant western intemperance..

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Trump said "I will bomb a country to raise my poll numbers."

Nope. Trump made the claim that Obama would bomb Iraq or Libya in an attempt to raise his poll numbers. This clearly shows that Trump thinks this is a method of raising one's poll numbers. And seeing as Trump has the worse poll numbers than Nixon did during Watergate, it's entirely plausible he'd be looking for ways to bring his poll number up. And what better way than by bombing a country that's 'gassing little children'?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I don't think Trump bombed Syria for PR or poll numbers tbh. DT is a very emotional person who wears his heart on his sleeve. Always brags about how 'flexible' and open to others ideas he is etc and I think it is to some extent true.

Plus when it comes to Syria, Assad or international politics in general, the bloke (DT) knew/knows close to nothing so in a way it's not 'that' surprising that after 2-3 months in office he actually realised Assad isn't quite the ok leader he thought he was say 6 months ago, and changed his mind about him.

And a that's the problem with emotional, relatively ignorant and trigger-happy leaders like Trump, they do change their mind in a sec and act on impulse. I see him as a political weathervane but not a calculating, opportunistic one but rather an 'ignorant/let's see what happens' one. He just can't help himself.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

A message needed to be sent to the war criminals in Syria and Russia. If they use chemical weapons again, overwhelming retaliation or even a decapitation strike against Assad should now be on the table. The retaliation against Russia for their terrorist support of chemical weapons usage on innocents will be decided at an undisclosed time and be executed without any prior warning to maximise damage and humiliation to Russia

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Kinda funny just hours before trump launched the missiles that Hilary was saying we should have blown them up awhile back

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

A quick 180 from Tillerman suggesting Assad would be allowed to stay, basically giving the green light of the gas attack.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

ISIS is not only in Syria ... it's spread out everywhere around the world. To defeat ISIS in Syria might be possible, but it also has to be taken down elsewhere. Then once ISIS is defeated, as Trump wishes, what about al-Quaida and the other terrorist Islamic groups? This battle is far from over ...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think Trump is trying to start a few fights on various fronts.

Regime change failed so far, few people these days are impressed with show strength

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The retaliation against Russia for their terrorist support of chemical weapons usage on innocents will be decided at an undisclosed time and be executed without any prior warning to maximise damage and humiliation to Russia

Someone needs to stick to first person shooters for its only there that such a mind numbingly insane scenario can play out!!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Look at the latest fly overs of Syria, and it makes the hole that Libya turned into look like a tidy bowl. Assad's approach missed the target. If you choose life, then you can get somewhere. He should have worked a deal with the rebels way before they were infiltrated by other forces. Now his country is a hole. A nightmare hole. Dresden on a bad day. Makes you wonder when China will ever get involved in this region. All that army does is bother monks in Tibet. Cool duty.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The end of the civil war is long overdue but difficult to be optimistic currently with both Assad and Putin unwilling to cease their bombing of the rebel held areas and then there’s the problem of the IS.

What are these rebels you're referring to? Is it the 'moderate' (Whatever that means) alqaeda thugs? Listen, it gets stale having individuals button mash from. The comfort of their home or wherever about matters that they simply can not wrap their minds around. There are no clear individuals standing up to provide ideal opposition. Only thugs propped up by the west and their cronies from the emirates. It's only when the funding of terrorism stops that the nation can finally breathe and decide on its future!!

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

because of him the civil war started.

Proof? links? And not the MSM kind, we know how they roll, warmongers galore. Strange that all this chaos started in the city closest to the Jordanian border, I mean CIA infiltration point. It's common knowledge that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are funding the rebel cause. Jeez, ever hear of the petrodollar? So destabilizing another country in the Middle East is your idea of progress? Black Sabbath had a name for that, and I don't mean the guy that lost the bet. Is that you Black Sabbath?

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

The missile strikes were aimed at Trump's low approval polls.

Nah, more like wanting to show the Chinese that he is crazy enough to attack, and that citizens of his country will believe any crazy pretext.

Assad has no part to play in a future democratic Syria since its because of him the civil war started.

Yeah, this conflict is indeed because of Assad, because (as FizzBit mentioned) he nixed the natural gas pipeline, thus upsetting certain powerful people. But it's up to the Syrian people to decide, and I suspect Assad more than enough support from the Syrian people to win a fair open election.

There's plenty of documentary proof how the Syria civil war over protests and demonstrators being arrested tortured and killed by the Assad forces.

Do you mean that time at the start of the conflict, just hours before the UNSC was meeting to discuss Syria, when we are told Assad ordered snipers to shoot at a peaceful protest? That one is almost as crazy as this last chemical attack, while Assad is winning the conflict and the US is hinting that he can remain in power, we are expected to believe that he decided to attack civilians with chemical weapons. And before waiting for a complete investigation, Trump decides to attack the Syrian airfield. But how did Trump know there weren't any chemicals stored at the airfield, which could have been released if bombed.

This US attack against the Syrian airfield only helps ISIS. Trump is aiding ISIS, just as Obama did.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

To say that Trump conned us is phoney logic

He's starting a war. He's a warmonger. Trump killed innocent children.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Crazy: "Trump's low approval polls"

The same polls that said Trump would lose the election, right?

Oh my...

Former Syrian rebel praises US missile strike

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXVvwgTZKhg

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

The same polls that said Trump would lose the election, right?

You do realize that the number of votes Hillary won by was within error of margin that polls were giving, right? The polls were not that wrong, they just didn't get the metric that mattered - electoral college votes.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Whether supporting the US missile strike or not, one could be forgiven for harboring a suspicion that President Trump ever changing temperament and character could well have jumped straight out of Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Seven Lessons From Trump's Syria Strike....The attack raises a series of questions about the president’s approach to America’s political processes and institutions.......

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/seven-lessons-from-trumps-syria-strike/522327/

David Frum poses some searching questions into thought process,and rational behind Presidents Trumps decision making that in my opinion resembles the split personalities of the fictional Dr Henry Jekyll and the monstrous Mr Edward Hyde.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I like how the Bolivian Ambassador to the UN, while giving his UNSC speech, showed the famous pic of Colin Powell holding up a vial. He said "I believe it's vital for us to remember what history teaches us and on this occasion (in 2003), the United States did affirm, they affirmed that they had all the proof necessary to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction but they were never found … never were they found," the Bolivian envoy told the emergency Security Council meeting on Friday."

The US is always lying to justify wars. Americans should finally wake up and realize what is done in their name.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Doesn't everyone realize that the reason for all this conflict is that we haven't been sending these countries enough love? Why can't we all just retreat to our safe spaces, join hands and sing, and send waves of love to Russia and Iran and Syria and North Korea? And ISIS too. Then they will know we mean them no harm, and all the violence will be gone once and for all.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

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