Cruise Missles anyone?

[Pio1980]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...e14103d8f4?o4q

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by whell

You can bet the farm that Russia warned Assad. As far as your second question.....delusional.

It is a 'logical' conclusion considering Trump was polling sub 35%, WH was dysfunctional and Trump/Russia connection is now taken up by the Senate Committee. Now as for being delusional, his voters will qualify.

[icenine]

Assad's residence and his governmental offices should have been targeted in Damascus.
This seems to have been a pin prick. Collusion with Putin for a convient way out? Wouldn't it be better to target the actual source of the evil?

[donquixote99]

Assad would be in a hard-to-bust bunker. The palace strike would be a much harder slap to the Russians, though. They might feel they had to slap back. Then what?

There ain't no easy way out, once you're in. Which is why Obama didn't go in.

[Chicks]

More Republican hypocrisy.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/07/politi...ump/index.html

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Perhaps. And it would have accomplished exactly as much as the recent strike - nothing but rearranging some rubble. It somehow makes us feel proud of our humanity without accomplishing a thing.

Syria was then and is now a client state of Russia. We shouldn't kid ourselves that we're capable of imposing our will there. We tried that in Iraq and we're still there without a damn thing to show for it other than a lot of spent blood and treasure. In fact, it was our Iraq misadventure that birthed this whole mess.

No one is proposing an Iraq - style offensive. However, token demonstrations of force have consequences, and require follow up. We still have some decisions to make about how to proceed in Syria. Clearly letting Russia hold sway there has been disastrous.

Obama asked Assad to resign, but then didn't follow up. He elected to let Russia take the lead and send money to the rebels. That course has been demonstrated as non-productive: Assad stayed on power and the money went to AQ. If the position of the US is that we want Assad out, is he doesn't voluntarily leave then we need to make it happen.

Assassination is one option, but certainly not the only or the best option. Reagan's 1981 Executive Order - apparently still in place - states that "No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination." But the order doesn’t define "assassination" and, in truth, hasn’t had much effect on U.S. policy (Obama's "Kill List" for example routinely targeted senior AQ leadership). But we already have "advisers" there that could work with the rebels to orchestrate a plan to capture / remove Assad. If he did use chem weapons, then he's a war criminal and can be treated as such.

So, again, decision time. Have we seen enough from Assad and is it time to remove him from power. Russia will have a fit, but its not likely that they could prevent the US from orchestrating a change in leadership.

[whell]

Originally Posted by Rajoo

It is a 'logical' conclusion considering Trump was polling sub 35%, WH was dysfunctional and Trump/Russia connection is now taken up by the Senate Committee. Now as for being delusional, his voters will qualify.

Right. Trump's pollsters had already conducted their own internal polling and determined that such a strike would conclusively spike Trump's polling numbers. So, Trump worked with his friends the Russians to make sure that Assad used chemical weapons at this critical juncture in Trump's presidency, so that Trump could then order up a strike. Dead Syrians be damned, the goal was to get that critical polling blip.

That's some pretty sick and cynical stuff, Rajoo. Didn't know that folks actually thought like that on the left, but thanks for enlightening me.

[whell]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Assad would be in a hard-to-bust bunker. The palace strike would be a much harder slap to the Russians, though. They might feel they had to slap back. Then what?

There ain't no easy way out, once you're in. Which is why Obama didn't go in.

He went in with "advisers" that engaged in the fight, and he went in with money that ended up going to AQ. Do you really think that Assad, the rebels and AQ didn't think the US already had a hand in the events unfolding in Syria?

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by whell

So, again, decision time. Have we seen enough from Assad and is it time to remove him from power. Russia will have a fit, but its not likely that they could prevent the US from orchestrating a change in leadership.

The Russians might do their own thing.

Brings to mind what we did to Ngo Diem.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by whell

Right. Trump's pollsters had already conducted their own internal polling and determined that such a strike would conclusively spike Trump's polling numbers. So, Trump worked with his friends the Russians to make sure that Assad used chemical weapons at this critical juncture in Trump's presidency, so that Trump could then order up a strike. Dead Syrians be damned, the goal was to get that critical polling blip.

That's some pretty sick and cynical stuff, Rajoo. Didn't know that folks actually thought like that on the left, but thanks for enlightening me.

You actually believe that your hero Trump has or is capable of such critical thinking or the novice critters surrounding him have any clue as to foreign policy? Who is the delusional here?

I believe that Trump was being tested by Assad and he took advantage of the situation by lobbing missiles worth $80 Million to deflect the bad press he has been getting. Nothing more. Of course the McConnel's and Ryan's are now singing praises of Trump but said 'no can do' to Obama. Why?

The real test is what he does in N. Korea or is there an angle there where Obama can be blamed? As to colluding with Russia, why not? If Obama was not born in the US, I can probably make a case with ease that Trump is a Russian agent.

And BTW, don't you think when a Trump can get elected president, the entire country would turn cynical, except for his supporters who actually believe he is an agent of God?