10 hours ago, Juliajms said:

I think it's good that Britain and France were also involved in the strikes.  I see that Russia has threaten to retaliate.  Probably cyber attacks, I don't think they want to bring on a world war. Putin seems craftier than that. I hope.

 

I think people are remiss if they dismiss possible retaliation from militant groups like Hezbollah, as well as any ad-hoc militant groups that could form because of this action.

 

Under the Bush administration, the U.S. underestimated grassroots militant groups in Iraq (which quickly became the land of IEDs) and Afghanistan who know the landscape a thousand times better than any perceived 'invading' force coming in from the outside, like the Allied forces.  An old-fashioned, on-the-ground war of attrition that lasts for a decade is always a danger.

Remember Iraq was supposed to be an 'in and out'  proposition too (remember Cheney speaking of how the U.S. would be greeted in Iraq as liberators?  How far was the reality from this?).

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

I think people are remiss if they dismiss possible retaliation from militant groups like Hezbollah, as well as any ad-hoc militant groups that could form because of this action.

 

 

I think Hezbollah could certainly attack Israel because of this. I saw pictures last night of the IDF on their boarder basically waiting for it. I also always assume that attacks like this will lead to more terrorism.

 

I just don't think Russia is going to directly attack the USA militarily because of Syria. It's not like this is even the first time this has happened. Didn't this entire scenario play out about a year ago?  We just keep making the same mistakes over and over.

 

Oh, and it looks like we've taken 34 Syrian refugees in the first fiscal quarter of 2018. That's a recipe for making friends.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/26/trump-administration-refugees-resettlement

Edited April 14, 20187 yr by Juliajms

48 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

I think Hezbollah could certainly attack Israel because of this. I saw pictures last night of the IDF on their boarder basically waiting for it. I also always assume that attacks like this will lead to more terrorism.

 

Hezbollah is in Syria as well. They could certainly mix and mingle with other disaffected Syrians the way that Daesh infiltrated in Syria against Assad.  Then you'd have the possibility of an odd combination of Assad being on the same side as forces that he once opposed against a U.S. allied coalition.  Armed conflict certainly makes strange bedfellows.

Edited April 14, 20187 yr by DramatistDreamer

It's hard for me to not be cynical. I understand there are women and children who have died from the gas attacks, but I can't help forget that when Saddam was our Ally, we turned a blind eye to the atrocities he committed towards his own people, we also are complicit in the starvation crisis going on in Yemen. The one thing we could do we are not doing, which is providing humanitarian aid and cover. Why are we only accepting34 Syrian refugees yet we are oh so outraged at Assad's chemical attacks against women and children we could provide refuge to and could care less that over 500k Syrian civilians have been killed in Syria over the past 7 years, victims of other forms of violence.

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Hezbollah is in Syria as well. They could certainly mix and mingle with other disaffected Syrians the way that Daesh infiltrated in Syria against Assad.  Then you'd have the possibility of an odd combination of Assad being on the same side as forces that he once opposed against a U.S. allied coalition.  Armed conflict certainly makes strange bedfellows.

That's what I'm talking about. The IDF is on the Israeli/Syrian boarder expecting an attack from there.  They've been on high alert since they made there own strike on Syria a week or so ago.

 

 

Edited April 14, 20187 yr by Juliajms

Even those who applaud the missile strike agree that it won't achieve anything in the long run.  I don't understand Slaughter's reasoning though.  And no one seems to care that it was likely illegal.

 

 

I believe that the US, UK, & France did the right thing by striking Syria over chemical weapons. It will not stop the war nor save the Syrian people from many other horrors. It is illegal under international law. But it at least draws a line somewhere & says enough.

— Anne-Marie Slaughter (@SlaughterAM) April 14, 2018

Edited April 14, 20187 yr by DramatistDreamer

^ That's for sure. It didn't change anything the first time, why would it this time? This is another case of Trump having no idea of what he's doing.

 

This isn’t the first time Trump has responded to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. He ordered a similar strike almost exactly a year ago in response to a regime-ordered chemical weapons attack in rebel-held northern Syria. The United States shot 59 Tomahawk missiles at the al-Shayrat airbase, where Assad had launched the chemical attack on April 4, 2017, that killed more than 80 people.

https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/17221420/trump-syria-attack-strike-assad-russia-response-chemical-weapon

3 hours ago, JaneAusten said:

It's hard for me to not be cynical. I understand there are women and children who have died from the gas attacks, but I can't help forget that when Saddam was our Ally, we turned a blind eye to the atrocities he committed towards his own people, we also are complicit in the starvation crisis going on in Yemen. The one thing we could do we are not doing, which is providing humanitarian aid and cover. Why are we only accepting34 Syrian refugees yet we are oh so outraged at Assad's chemical attacks against women and children we could provide refuge to and could care less that over 500k Syrian civilians have been killed in Syria over the past 7 years, victims of other forms of violence.

 

And the Crown prince MBS is driving that war in Yemen which has been devastating but then again, Kushner and his kin seem to be indebted to the Saudi royal family, so I won't hold my breath for any pronunciations on that one.

 

Also, the Reagan administration trained mujahedeen (Bin Laden was one among many in this group) who spanked the Soviets in Afghanistan.

 

@Juliajms I'm not dismissing the Russians at all but in terms of the middle east, the U.S. might just have more to worry about from a rising insurgent force of guerrilla fighters who may have an even greater ability to move more stealthily than the Russians. 

The U.S. has been obsessed with the machinations of Russians and possible war for over 60 years now yet no one paid enough attention to the more than dozen terrorists who commandeered commercial airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

I'm just saying that, in terms of retaliation, it is important to keep one's eyes open for the the little noticed groups as well as the bigger ones.

Edited April 14, 20187 yr by DramatistDreamer

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/14/russia-claims-syria-air-defences-shot-down-majority-missiles

2/ Rotem was also at the Miss Universe pageant with Trump back in 2013. Here's him with Aras Agalarov and Trump. pic.twitter.com/8WiojzM6KZ

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2018

4/ Beyond the inherent weirdness, Cohen's thinking here seems baffling and raises a host of obvious and harrowing questions.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2018

6/ cigars in full view of numerous TV cameras and photographers. That's really odd.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2018

It's all crazy conspiracy theory - but no reasonable person in his position, much less a lawyer, would do what he did without a reason they felt was compelling.

— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) April 14, 2018

omg this is amazing pic.twitter.com/TOlAIKvPl5

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2018

Amazing piece by @AdamDavidson — Michael Cohen and the End Stage of the Trump Presidency | The New Yorker https://t.co/IhcdXTiiBL

— Bill Prady (@billprady) April 14, 2018

23 hours ago, Ryan Chamberlain said:

And, yet these idiots who voted for him believed Hilary would get us into a war. 

 

Jesus Christ...We're screwed if Russia decides to retaliate.

 

 

I don't think they will because it was reported this morning that France said Russia was warned by the US of Archie before the strikes occured.  so Trump saved his master Putin and just did for 1. show, and 2. to try and get the Cohn story off the front page. what I"M scared he might do is pardon some mass murderer or launch nuclear missiles because CNN and MSNBC are reporting he cheated with two prn stars (but that won't happen because now both networks are too busy blaming Obama and saying he's as bad as Trump where Syria is concerned).

Sort of amazing when a president can only try to block his number two’s appointment https://t.co/eVMeR2txGa

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 15, 2018

Tens of thousands of Chinese residents took to social media over the weekend to protest efforts to censor gay-themed images, videos and cartoons https://t.co/9mVaupijb1

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 15, 2018

Fealty to Trump has become the coin of the realm for GOP Senate candidates. Via @michaelscherer https://t.co/btOYcWMi8X

— Matea Gold (@mateagold) April 15, 2018

From the NY Times editorial board:

 

"The President is not above the law." This special NYT editorial takes up a full page in Monday's print edition. It's online now: https://t.co/ZVeDL8epKq pic.twitter.com/NGqhzpDOgH

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 15, 2018

bet Sean Hannity is having one HELLUVA day today huh?

50 minutes ago, Roman said:

bet Sean Hannity is having one HELLUVA day today huh?

 

Oh, Lord, why?  What happened?

He is one of Cohen's clients!  AND this is only Monday.