[worry]

Maybe this is what got Bannon the boot from the NSC. The internal struggle isn't between "sane" Republicans and the alt-right, it's between the war profiteers and non-interventionists...and guess who's winning.

Not saying Assad doesn't need to get got. This whole situation is everything wrong with the world.

[EmperorMagus]

worry, on 07 April 2017 - 01:59 AM, said:

Maybe this is what got Bannon the boot from the NSC. The internal struggle isn't between "sane" Republicans and the alt-right, it's between the war profiteers and non-interventionists...and guess who's winning.

Not saying Assad doesn't need to get got. This whole situation is everything wrong with the world.

Assad needs to go fuck himself.

But my question is this, what happens when Assad is gone? Whose going to fight ISIS on the ground?

[worry]

We're going to be paying ISIS to fight the even worse group that forms in this power vacuum.

[Nicodimas]

Russians at base confirmed by CNN...

Yikes

[HoosierDaddy]

Ugh. Glad the people who gassed others are being attacked. They should be dead.

I'll stand by that.

[Andorion]

So is this the beginning of an American invasion of Syria? Even if Assad can be removed is it possible to set up someone in his place? Past experience with Iraq would seem to indicate that its very problematic

[JPK]

So President Trump has issued a statement on the airstrike. There is one statement in there that seems small, but I believe will have lasting repercussions.

Quote

"My fellow Americans,On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.

Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children.

It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack.

No child of God should ever suffer such horror.

Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.

There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council.

Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behaviour have all failed and failed very dramatically.

As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilise, threatening the United States and its allies.

Tonight I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types.

We ask for God's wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world.

We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed.

And we hope that as long as America stands for justice, then peace and harmony will, in the end, prevail.

Goodnight. And God bless America and the entire world.

Thank you."

Am I the only one that believes that the underlined statement sounds like a precursor to a potential formal declaration of war?

This post has been edited by JPK: 07 April 2017 - 04:24 AM

[Aptorian]

Well, it is a part of the cycle. Every time you elect a new Republican, America starts a new war.

[Garak]

Great. I'm dreading the Russian response now. They have been backing Assad after all.

[LadyMTL]

I can't stand 45 (and I'm Canadian, we're always nice, lol) but I am so on the fence about this bombing. Al-Asaad needs to go - like yesterday - but at the same time getting into a conflict in Syria is so touchy. Does this help ISIS, however indirectly? How will the Russians respond to the bombing, even if they were supposedly forewarned and no Russians were hurt? Did the US government think this through at all or was this a "shoot now, ask questions later" type of action? I don't remember the last time they attacked any country so quickly, except for maybe after 9-11.

Also...is 45 doing this as a massive deflection from all of his admins Russia issues?

Sorry if I'm rambling, I'm actually kind of stunned that this happened.

[QuickTidal]

Well this is escalating quickly...

"President Putin considers the U.S. strikes against Syria an act of aggression against a sovereign country violating the norms of international law, and under a trumped-up pretext at that,"

[Gorefest]

Trumped-up, hihi.

[Abyss]

Approval rating down, own party turning against you, once supportive alt-elements starting to voice doubt... WAR TIME!!!

[Tiste Simeon]

QuickTidal, on 07 April 2017 - 11:49 AM, said:

Well this is escalating quickly...

"President Putin considers the U.S. strikes against Syria an act of aggression against a sovereign country violating the norms of international law, and under a trumped-up pretext at that,"

I mean, that is Putin's MO after all, so I guess he knows what he is talking about.

[Gorefest]

Apparently Trump is psychic as well. He was already talking about the swedish terrorist attack two months ago. Shocking.

[Aptorian]

According to an article I read this morning, America contacted the Russians Before the bombing to give them time to move or evacuate any troops in the area.

This post has been edited by Apt: 07 April 2017 - 03:32 PM

[QuickTidal]

Apt, on 07 April 2017 - 03:31 PM, said:

According to an article I read this morning, America contacted the Russians Before the bombing to give them time to move or evacuate any troops in the area.

Yeah, I saw that too....but then the news began reporting that there still WERE Russians on the base at the time...perhaps didn't get out fast enough or didn't take it seriously?

It also sounds like the "heads up" was sent to the ground forces themselves, rather than through the Kremlin and down their chain of command...which I guess is fine as it gets the news there quicker...but it feels like it's also a bit of an underhanded way to "alert" someone to an airstrike without going through "channels" in a diplomatic way?

I dunno.

[amphibian]

What's interesting about the heads up is that the Syrians were also alerted, the airstrike did not hit any chemical weapons depot, and the strike may have not done much in terms of any actual gain or degradation of capabilities.

This is really fucking dangerous stuff and despite the reputation of Mattis and McMaster, I don't trust Trump and Super Secretary of State Kushner to navigate this carefully or well.

There's a non zero chance the chemicals came from the opposition or from the Russians. That opens up a whole can of worms that takes time to go through.

[Aptorian]

Well, hopefully that wasnt connected or that would be a deliberate warcrime.

[HoosierDaddy]

I don't trust Trump and Super Secretary of State Kushner


That's so well stated and true. It's so sadly correct.