10 points on the Syria attack
1) This had to happen. Despite it all, the US is still the country that has to be sheriff of these things if at all possible.
2) Lets be clear about one thing. 45 didn't dream up what happened yesterday. This was what BHO was going to do, but of course being the raging asshats they are, Rs in congress would not allow it. But, this was gamed out, as a "proportionate" response to Assad using chemical weapons under BHO and Hillary's leadership. This was a punch to his nose to let him know that this is a line he can't cross.
3) As many have noted, it is not mystery that after years of 45 publicly saying the US should stay out of Syria and a day after Tillerson's (who probably should in fact just keep his mouth shut) infamous statement that the Syrian people would have to to sort it out, Assad gassed his people.
4) In that regard, we can hope that he, and even more so, 45, might have learned a lesson that the rat bastard, jackass bullshit they spew domestically and get can away with it, can have dramatic consequences relative these truly evil dictators.
5) As many here have noted, he should have gone to congress to get approval. But, that would have required some actual work. And, of course, it would delay the immediate ROI of changing the discussion away from his being Putin's bitch and generally being a POS. They knew with Rs in congress, they would provide him the cover for going this wo their say so.
6) I still think that this happening a day after Bannon getting the boot/them resetting it correctly, highlights that Mattis leaned on 45 to get right on the NSC. In this one very small, but extraordinarily important aspect of our government, our better nature won out over the abyss that is 45 and the extremist push by the radical parts of the republican party.
7) SO - for 5 minutes 45 acted like a POTUS, he asked the NSC what needed to be done, then signed off on it.
8) It makes us want to rip our hair out because there is so much dirt between them, but any POTUS would have tipped Russia on what was coming. Putin, of course is going to cock off about it, and maybe will do something small somehow to make a point. But, even he can't be seen as backing what Assad did. We just could not risk having Russian personel killed or injured in the attack. THAT would have made it a LOT messier. We just have the normal bullshit with him from this.
9) This situation is just another highlight in regard to the Iraq disaster. Assad and Syria actually rises to the level of justifying our taking a large scale military action to get rid of him. BUT, because of Iraq, we simply do not have the international moral authority to build a coalition for anything in the middle east anymore, and we have absolutely no domestic support for putting our troops in the line of fire (and the loss of lives and injuries that would come from it).
10) Whatever infinitesimal bit of soul that 45 has, I do think was touched by the gas attack in the short term. However, the simple reality is we have now done all we can, and Syria will remain a massive humanitarian crisis short of some element somehow successfully taking Assad out. 45 and the Rs will beat their chest over his MORAL CLARITY and some such other bullshit. But, in time, as it remains a mess, they will weasel word their way around it, blaming it on BHO and 45 pulling a 43 on OBL, babbling about not really thinking about it much.
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