Trump defends use of 'mission accomplished' phrase for Syria strike

 

U.S. President Donald Trump announces military strikes on Syria while delivering a statement from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

 

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his use of the phrase "mission accomplished" over the U.S.-led missile strikes on Syrian targets after it was seized on by the media.

 

The phrase is associated with President George W. Bush, who used it in 2003 during the Iraq war but which dogged him for the rest of his presidency.

 

"The Syrian raid was so perfectly carried out, with such precision, that the only way the Fake News Media could demean was by my use of the term 'Mission Accomplished'" Trump said on Twitter.

 

"I knew they would seize on this but felt it is such a great Military term, it should be brought back. Use often!" he said.

 

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Alexander Smith)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-16

I am opposed to this operation having taken place. I have opposed US intervention in Syria since it began. Trump should be getting us out of military entanglements,  not getting us more deeply involved.

 

That said, I love that he said "mission accomplished". The mission appears to have been simple, precise- and accomplished. I suspect Trump knew this dog whistle line would bring out the usual suspects falling all over themselves with insane whining. I find the gnashing of teeth quite hilarious, though would still prefer we get the hell out.

Once again Trump shows the world what a REAL US President is made of. Why is Assad not charged with war crimes yet? He needs to hang just like Suddam.

34 minutes ago, jackh said:

Once again Trump shows the world what a REAL US President is made of. Why is Assad not charged with war crimes yet? He needs to hang just like Suddam.

A real US President is someone who gives the enemy plenty of warning so that they can put all of their most valuable assets out of harm's way. An enemy whom he has recently told the US would no longer be supporting his opposition.  If that's a real one, give me a fake one, any day.

Bush2 used same phrase after military thought they'd won in Iraq. That didn't work out so well. Was Trump being ironic?

Our politicians have lost the plot. Total madness.

 

2 hours ago, jackh said:

Once again Trump shows the world what a REAL US President is made of. Why is Assad not charged with war crimes yet? He needs to hang just like Suddam.

Probably for similar reasons that Bush and Blair have never been charged with war crimes. Remind me again, what was Saddam hung for? The murder of 15 000 kurds? What do we do with two leaders who lied to their people and parliaments and caused the murder of 1 million Iraqi's?

 

Have we not learned anything from Tonkin, the bay of Pigs, USS Liberty that when an 'international incident' occurs that the retaliation of which could result in war/conflict/death of civilians we should INVESTIGATE THOROUGHLY to ensure we are hitting the right person.  If the gas attacks were really Assad then why not just send one of those super smart, high technology, better than anyone else's precision cruise missiles through his bedroom window? - Because then we would not be able to get to the end game which is the Western control of Syria. Take out Assad and his family instead of making normal innocent families suffer, but as I said that doesn't suit the way international leaders work. Only the loser is guilty of war crimes.

All that the USA and NATO have done is make it manifestly clear that they fear the Russians and that Syria can carry on creating all the mischief it likes with impunity.  It's always a bad idea to show weakness in the face of a bully and this is exactly what the USA and NATO have done.  Mission accomplished!

Always keep in mind that "trump" is an extremely bizarre president. He doesn't get less bizarre. He gets even more bizarre. He's basically a TROLL president. As far as saying "Mission Accomplished" he was trolling when he said it, and trolling when he explained it's use. His base, especially the extremely toxic alt-right white nationalist Pepe-the-frog-meme loving types just love these "trump" troll games. All he's got is his base. He's cornered now by numerous scandals. Expect him to go all out in stoking up his base. His only chance at staying in office. 

Edited April 16, 20188 yr by Jingthing

10 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

All that the USA and NATO have done is make it manifestly clear that they fear the Russians and that Syria can carry on creating all the mischief it likes with impunity.  It's always a bad idea to show weakness in the face of a bully and this is exactly what the USA and NATO have done.  Mission accomplished!

The attack carried out against Syria's chemical weapons capability was not conducted by NATO.

The attack had a limited military objective - missiles hit fixed Syrian manmade, unoccupied targets. So yes, a mission success.

The attack however had no strategic objective, ie.,. stop Assad from mass killing of innocent civilians any more than the last Trump directed attack. If Trump continues to promote an unilateral and unconditional US withdrawal from the region in the near future, he has not shown a resolve to stop Assad's crimes against humanity and conceded political supremacy of the region to Iran, Turkey and Russia. That's a mission failure.

31 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Probably for similar reasons that Bush and Blair have never been charged with war crimes. Remind me again, what was Saddam hung for? The murder of 15 000 kurds? What do we do with two leaders who lied to their people and parliaments and caused the murder of 1 million Iraqi's?

 

Have we not learned anything from Tonkin, the bay of Pigs, USS Liberty that when an 'international incident' occurs that the retaliation of which could result in war/conflict/death of civilians we should INVESTIGATE THOROUGHLY to ensure we are hitting the right person.  If the gas attacks were really Assad then why not just send one of those super smart, high technology, better than anyone else's precision cruise missiles through his bedroom window? - Because then we would not be able to get to the end game which is the Western control of Syria. Take out Assad and his family instead of making normal innocent families suffer, but as I said that doesn't suit the way international leaders work. Only the loser is guilty of war crimes.

Wow, we somewhat agree. I have read several of your posts and this doesn't seem to happen much so far. My takeaway from your post is we're playing games in Syria. I do not support Trump getting us more involved in Syria. But either sh*t or get off the pot. In my view, our military should be used far more sparingly than we've seen the past few decades. If we use our military, it should be for some really good reason. And if we do use it, out should be real, actual shock and awe that quickly destroys the enemy or gets them to surrender.

Edited April 16, 20188 yr by BuriramSam
Typos

Don the draft dodger using military lingo. Surprise surprise.

Well he did go to a military cadet school after being expelled from his previous schools for bullying and other unsavoury pursuits so loved by his sort.

 

Limited mission accomplished. Trump did not even take the opportunity (and excuse) to destroy Syria's missile defense system before launching the attack. At least there would be something to show for the 'Mission'.

Assad will just continue to use barrel bombs and other conventional  weapons to blow the limbs off men, women and CHILDREN of the rebels who were encouraged by Obama to rise up against Assad and whom Trump has abandoned. Same as he is doing in the north where Turkish forces who did nothing against Isis (but bought their oil)   are now attacking the Kurds who did most of the fighting against ISIS.

Edited April 16, 20188 yr by William T

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

he has not shown a resolve to stop Assad's crimes against humanity and conceded political supremacy of the region to Iran, Turkey and Russia.

Case in point - who else should be in this picture in a summit meeting to work together to accelerate efforts to stabilize war-torn Syria? The person missing is a mission failure.

http://www.euronews.com/2018/04/04/iran-turkey-and-russia-meet-for-syria-summit

 

3 hours ago, davidcc said:

Our politicians have lost the plot. Total madness.

 

'Our Politicians' - Let's support the use of chemical weapons and bring the world back to WW1. Seriously, I don't give is sh*t about Syria or its allies. However using chemicals which both the Russians and Syrians have done recently if not responded by 'our Politicians' would lead to more and more use.  Obama was nothing more than a 'good' public speaker, his in actions have led to so much of the BS we face today. At least Trump, like him or hate him, has the stones to act. You call it madness, most call it a response.

I agree a stand needs to be taken against use of chemical weapons. But the harsh reality, chemical weapons or not, the killing will continue at least until things are more stabilized there and the person they will be stabilized under is chemical weapons using Assad along with the close friends Russia and Iran. 

8 hours ago, jackh said:

Once again Trump shows the world what a REAL US President is made of. Why is Assad not charged with war crimes yet? He needs to hang just like Suddam.

 

Why is the "REAL President" not aggressively pushing for Assad being charged with war crimes?

 

5 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

Probably for similar reasons that Bush and Blair have never been charged with war crimes. Remind me again, what was Saddam hung for? The murder of 15 000 kurds? What do we do with two leaders who lied to their people and parliaments and caused the murder of 1 million Iraqi's?

 

Have we not learned anything from Tonkin, the bay of Pigs, USS Liberty that when an 'international incident' occurs that the retaliation of which could result in war/conflict/death of civilians we should INVESTIGATE THOROUGHLY to ensure we are hitting the right person.  If the gas attacks were really Assad then why not just send one of those super smart, high technology, better than anyone else's precision cruise missiles through his bedroom window? - Because then we would not be able to get to the end game which is the Western control of Syria. Take out Assad and his family instead of making normal innocent families suffer, but as I said that doesn't suit the way international leaders work. Only the loser is guilty of war crimes.

 

Investigation findings are not necessarily accepted by all parties. That was the case with previous investigations regarding use of chemical weapons in Syria. Further, even the rational for carrying out investigations is nowadays a matter of debate and spin. So while calling out for investigation is all very well - it does not necessarily assure a workable or accepted outcome.

 

As for taking out Assad - probably easier said than done, now. Perhaps more relevant in the earlier days of the Syrian Civil War, before Russia's intervention. Allow me to guess that had Assad been thus disposed of, you and other would make it a cornerstone of whinging against the US as well, just from a different angle.

 

Not too clear on your reasoning - taking out Assad is an obstacle for the supposed goal ("Western control of Syria")? How so? With Assad in place, the prospects of such "Western control" do not seem likely. I'd postulate that taking out Assad, while a standard meme for some politicians, is not currently (and for a while now), a realistic option. If "the West" wished Assad six feet under, it could have been achieved, and with less complications (like confronting Russia) earlier in the conflict. Main reason it didn't happen is that opposition groups proved dodgy, and things could have ended up even worse.

4 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Case in point - who else should be in this picture in a summit meeting to work together to accelerate efforts to stabilize war-torn Syria? The person missing is a mission failure.

http://www.euronews.com/2018/04/04/iran-turkey-and-russia-meet-for-syria-summit

 

 

 

Errr...Assad?

Just now, Morch said:

Errr...Assad?

Trump.

There's an unwritten rule among leaders and militaries, you don't take out the enemies leader especially if not in a declared war. That is why Assad is still alive. Otherwise it would be a free for all decapitating heads of state with cruise missiles.

10 hours ago, BuriramSam said:

Wow, we somewhat agree. I have read several of your posts and this doesn't seem to happen much so far. My takeaway from your post is we're playing games in Syria. I do not support Trump getting us more involved in Syria. But either sh*t or get off the pot. In my view, our military should be used far more sparingly than we've seen the past few decades. If we use our military, it should be for some really good reason. And if we do use it, out should be real, actual shock and awe that quickly destroys the enemy or gets them to surrender.

Well there is something we CAN agree on after all! Looks like pigs are flying today. 

 

I would only disagree with your last sentence. Unless you can point me to one instance where that actually worked, any military intervention inevitably turns into a long-term morass or a quick and violent death for a number of innocent civilians followed by the status quo.

9 hours ago, JCauto said:

Well there is something we CAN agree on after all! Looks like pigs are flying today. 

 

I would only disagree with your last sentence. Unless you can point me to one instance where that actually worked, any military intervention inevitably turns into a long-term morass or a quick and violent death for a number of innocent civilians followed by the status quo.

We may agree on the last sentence more than you think. My belief is for the very reason of keeping us out of 99% of conflicts we're likely to get involved in. However, I also know and understand it's not very realistic in today's world. But I'll stick with it for now, even knowing one person's resistance and opposition to unnecessary wars is futile.

 

Cheers!

14 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Why is the "REAL President" not aggressively pushing for Assad being charged with war crimes?

 

Oh come now. I know you know the US believes in bombs first- slight chance of actual justice later. Maybe. Well, it COULD happen. Some day. I suppose. 

3 hours ago, BuriramSam said:

Oh come now. I know you know the US believes in bombs first- slight chance of actual justice later. Maybe. Well, it COULD happen. Some day. I suppose. 

 

You don't know what I know. And you may want to take issue with the post replied to, rather than my comment.

 

On 4/16/2018 at 10:53 AM, jackh said:

Once again Trump shows the world what a REAL US President is made of. Why is Assad not charged with war crimes yet? He needs to hang just like Suddam.

God help us all.

7 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

God help us all.

Jeez..its worrying. As you say God help us all.

14 hours ago, Mansell said:

There's an unwritten rule among leaders and militaries, you don't take out the enemies leader especially if not in a declared war. That is why Assad is still alive. Otherwise it would be a free for all decapitating heads of state with cruise missiles.

Well it would have been a lot quicker and Syria would still resemble a beautiful country rather than a scene from a neanderthal army training ground.

3 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Well it would have been a lot quicker and Syria would still resemble a beautiful country rather than a scene from a neanderthal army training ground.

You are quite correct..

 

The US and its caddies have certainly been into terra-forming in a big way.

 

Please avoid being labelled a "strongman"."dictator" or "butcher" by the US and its caddies.It is no good for anyone's health.