Trump unleashes military strikes against Assad airbase in Syria

[Orac]

Well, since Trump gave  the Russians advance notice of the attack, how surprised should we be?

Not sure he gave them enough time to move the runway!

[sujoop]

23 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

25 minutes ago, sujoop said:

Syrian jets take off from air base U.S. missiles struck

Reuters reporting Syrian planes are taking off from the  airbase again after the cruise missile strike.
Another source stating some Syrian planes and some external taxi ways hit but runway more or less intact.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-airport-idUKKBN1792WM?il=0

Well, since Trump gave  the Russians advance notice of the attack, how surprised should we be?

RE: Syrian jets take off from air base U.S. missiles struck
About as surprised as Putin or Assad  or Trump  (or any screenwriter, Yawn).

EDIT to add: 3rd amigo in the screenplay (cast as the hero...)

Edited April 8, 2017 by sujoop

[craigt3365]

An earlier report I read said they were also going after airfield assets.  That Russia and Syria had been notified and they had moved as much as they could from the airbases before the attack.

 

This shows some of the damage:

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/07/politics/new-satellite-imagery-of-bombed-syrian-base/index.html

Quote

"Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment," said Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis. "[They] targeted aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and radars."

Hard to believe what the Syrian or Russian governments report.

[Senior Player]

31 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Assad is trying to keep himself in power.  He openly supported ISIS before this war.  They got involved with the rebels and now he's fighting them.  Saying Assad is the only world leader that standing against religions fanaticism is wrong.  Way wrong.

Did Assad "openly" support ISIS before the war? Seriously? Or did this thesis only come about from the leaked and suspect documents that came from a Free Syrian Army group comprised of ISIS defectors that Sky News got its hands on? Considering Assad is not a strict Muslim in the fundamentalist sense, why would he consider it appropriate to do deals with ISIS knowing fully well that they would want to remove him from this "power" once they got a foothold?

 

Of course Russia is also doing something about religious fanaticism, but then they are also their allies. Maybe I didn't make myself clear: Assad is the ONLY Muslim leader in the Middle East that's doing anything about religious fanaticism. Especially as the coalition forces removed their only other viable buffer between savage radicalism and sanity in Iraq when they ousted Saddam. Look how that turned out. And people here are calling for more of the same.

 

Even if Assad was pro-ISIS, he's now firmly against them. And so what if he wants to stay in power? I'd rather have Assad than the vacuum created afterwards. I'm not suggesting that you're spoiling for a war with Russia, Craig, but I think some here honestly think they can go toe-to-toe with Putin and come out winners.

[sujoop]

2 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

An earlier report I read said they were also going after airfield assets.  That Russia and Syria had been notified and they had moved as much as they could from the airbases before the attack.

 

This shows some of the damage:

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/07/politics/new-satellite-imagery-of-bombed-syrian-base/index.html

Hard to believe what the Syrian or Russian governments report.

 

RE: Syrian jets take off from air base U.S. missiles struck

Believe as you wish but without a doubt Syrian planes are using that runway again.
This entire tragic event was a heinous scripted farce.
 

[craigt3365]

2 minutes ago, Senior Player said:

Did Assad "openly" support ISIS before the war? Seriously? Or did this thesis only come about from the leaked and suspect documents that came from a Free Syrian Army group comprised of ISIS defectors that Sky News got its hands on? Considering Assad is not a strict Muslim in the fundamentalist sense, why would he consider it appropriate to do deals with ISIS knowing fully well that they would want to remove him from this "power" once they got a foothold?

 

Of course Russia is also doing something about religious fanaticism, but then they are also their allies. Maybe I didn't make myself clear: Assad is the ONLY Muslim leader in the Middle East that's doing anything about religious fanaticism. Especially as the coalition forces removed their only other viable buffer between savage radicalism and sanity in Iraq when they ousted Saddam. Look how that turned out. And people here are calling for more of the same.

 

Even if Assad was pro-ISIS, he's now firmly against them. And so what if he wants to stay in power? I'd rather have Assad than the vacuum created afterwards. I'm not suggesting that you're spoiling for a war with Russia, Craig, but I think some here honestly think they can go toe-to-toe with Putin and come out winners.

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators

Quote

In the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government’s aims. It was then that foreign jihadists first entered the country and helped to build the structures and supply lines that are now being used to fight the government. To that extent Assad is fighting an enemy he helped to create.

 

Quote

Assad is the ONLY Muslim leader in the Middle East that's doing anything about religious fanaticism.

Again, not true.  What about Jordan and Morocco's leaders?  What about the efforts (failed) in Egypt?  Saudi Arabia has been cracking down.  Etc, etc, etc.  Though some are fostering terrorists, especially Iran.  And SA is far from perfect.  It's a mess.

 

I definitely don't think a war with Russia is a good idea.  Hopefully, that will never come to be.  But Russia is stirring things up all over.  Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya, Syria, etc.  Syria being the worst and the Western world is condemning Russia for their involvement.  For good reasons.

[craigt3365]

6 minutes ago, sujoop said:

 

RE: Syrian jets take off from air base U.S. missiles struck

Believe as you wish but without a doubt Syrian planes are using that runway again.
This entire tragic event was a heinous scripted farce.
 

Please show a credible link that saw this was a scripted farce.  Credible links only please.  So far, the entire western world is behind the US's actions.  So doubt it's scripted!  Too easy to get caught with so many players involved. LOL

[ilostmypassword]

47 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators

 

Again, not true.  What about Jordan and Morocco's leaders?  What about the efforts (failed) in Egypt?  Saudi Arabia has been cracking down.  Etc, etc, etc.  Though some are fostering terrorists, especially Iran.  And SA is far from perfect.  It's a mess.

 

I definitely don't think a war with Russia is a good idea.  Hopefully, that will never come to be.  But Russia is stirring things up all over.  Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya, Syria, etc.  Syria being the worst and the Western world is condemning Russia for their involvement.  For good reasons.

Saudi Arabia has been cracking down? Really? Saudi Arabia is the chief culprit in the spread of Sunni fanaticism throughout the Muslim world. Indonesia just recently complained about how their funding of mosques there has spread this fanaticism.  There is very little difference between Saudi ideology and that of Isis.

[Andaman Al]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

Assad is trying to keep himself in power.  He openly supported ISIS before this war.  They got involved with the rebels and now he's fighting them.

Not sure where you got that from but it is so far off the mark it is off the playing field. Sorry but that is complete rubbish.

[Senior Player]

28 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators

 

Again, not true.  What about Jordan and Morocco's leaders?  What about the efforts (failed) in Egypt?  Saudi Arabia has been cracking down.  Etc, etc, etc.  Though some are fostering terrorists, especially Iran.  And SA is far from perfect.  It's a mess.

 

I definitely don't think a war with Russia is a good idea.  Hopefully, that will never come to be.  But Russia is stirring things up all over.  Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya, Syria, etc.  Syria being the worst and the Western world is condemning Russia for their involvement.  For good reasons.

Thank you for the link, Craig. I couldn't begin to give a reasonable response to this long article in the short space allotted to me here. A lot of it is hypothesis. The general gist is that Assad has brought this on himself for allowing his own intelligence services to operate and collude with these fundamentalists on home soil and his chickens are coming home to roost. Surely the same could be be said of Saudi Arabia, who are only responding now due to the internal threat to its own Kingdom, oh, and they want to dispose of Assad too? All I'll say is, there was much jubilation over the Arab Spring - that didn't go the way a lot of people hoped, either. I'm still not convinced that a lot is being done by other Arab states or Muslim countries to combat extremism. Even the Obama administration admitted that they would liked to have seen the Gulf States doing more. As for Morocco and Jordan - not sure what they've done - what are they doing? Keeping it at bay for now, I suppose.

[sujoop]

31 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

39 minutes ago, sujoop said:

 

RE: Syrian jets take off from air base U.S. missiles struck

Believe as you wish but without a doubt Syrian planes are using that runway again.
This entire tragic event was a heinous scripted farce.
 

Please show a credible link that saw this was a scripted farce.  Credible links only please.  So far, the entire western world is behind the US's actions.  So doubt it's scripted!  Too easy to get caught with so many players involved. LOL

Sorry, no 'LOL' in this matter, except for those willingly duped but that's just sad not funny (also how this dangerous clown got elected).

 

Trump as the leader of the 'free world' has been Putin's most strategic supporter, banging on about how great Putin is for almost 2 years. But then Trump and Putin both come under a microscope for Whitehouse/Russia gate complicity. Also, with Trump's ratings tanking  he would be of no use to Putin as a lame duck president. Time to fake a break-up, take the heat off Whitehouse/Russia-gate and bolster Trump's ratings, all in one easy go (still, some sincerely believe a man who spent months rallying to keep Syrian's from seeking shelter in USA is suddenly overwhelmed by a few Syrian losses...) The smoke-screen is working wonders in more ways too, nary a mention of the tanked jobs report yesterday (target 175,000,  actual 95,0000) certainly not by Trump (who took credit for the previous good jobs report)  and even the press is reticent to bring it up in context of this larger event.
 

Bigger worry is, like a junkie on a downward spiral this is only a temporary 'fix' (+prop-up Trump's fragile narcissist ego). News cycles will eventually turn back to Whitehouse/Russia-gate etc, thus there'll be an ongoing need of ever bigger fixes. Next up, N Korea.

[JustNo]

3 hours ago, Rob13 said:

 

He's within his rights....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution

He's within his rights, but he is going against what he has said and promised.. You should not and cannot trust someone who flip-flops on what they say. Businessmen should be kept out of politics but to let one run the show is ludicrous. 

He is a cuck to Israel and is an elitist puppet just as is Hillary, nothing will change from the the predictable regime and agenda that the shadow government has going, because they are the real ones pulling the strings. Trump is a mere figure head and was there to sell an illusion of choice, nothing more. 

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, sujoop said:

Sorry, no 'LOL' in this matter, except for those willingly duped but that's just sad not funny (also how this dangerous clown got elected).

 

Trump as the leader of the 'free world' has been Putin's most strategic supporter, banging on about how great Putin is for almost 2 years. But then Trump and Putin both come under a microscope for Whitehouse/Russia gate complicity. Also, with Trump's ratings tanking  he would be of no use to Putin as a lame duck president. Time to fake a break-up, take the heat off Whitehouse/Russia-gate and bolster Trump's ratings, all in one easy go (still, some sincerely believe a man who spent months rallying to keep Syrian's from seeking shelter in USA is suddenly overwhelmed by a few Syrian losses...) The smoke-screen is working wonders in more ways too, nary a mention of the tanked jobs report yesterday (target 175,000,  actual 95,0000) certainly not by Trump (who took credit for the previous good jobs report)  and even the press is reticent to bring it up in context of this larger event.
 

Bigger worry is, like a junkie on a downward spiral this is only a temporary 'fix' (+prop-up Trump's fragile narcissist ego). News cycles will eventually turn back to Whitehouse/Russia-gate etc, thus there'll be an ongoing need of ever bigger fixes. Next up, N Korea.

No credible links to back up your comments as I asked?

 

I seriously doubt the leaders of the western world are duped.  They're back this.  Must be something to it.

[Andaman Al]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

If they didn't believe the data, they wouldn't support the bombing.

 

The US data is highly reliable.  You can research this easily.  If Trump lied, too many would be calling him out on it.  That hasn't happened so far other than a few nutters like Ron Paul. LOL

Yup just like Iraq.

 

US Data is not highly reliable.

 

Ron Paul is not a 'nutter', he is a highly respected Gentleman of politics that has done more in the last 50 years in service to his country than you will ever do. In your effort to make a point you are overstepping the marks of decency. Surprising.

[craigt3365]

6 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Not sure where you got that from but it is so far off the mark it is off the playing field. Sorry but that is complete rubbish.

Assad even bought oil from ISIS not long ago.  Interesting article:

 

http://time.com/3719129/assad-isis-asset/

 

Quote

 

Why Bashar Assad Won't Fight ISIS

The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad has long had a pragmatic approach to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), says a Syrian businessman with close ties to the government. Even from the early days the regime purchased fuel from ISIS-controlled oil facilities, and it has maintained that relationship throughout the conflict. “Honestly speaking, the regime has always had dealings with ISIS, out of necessity.”

 

 

Interesting comments.  Makes sense.  And probably not rubbish. LOL

Quote

Assad does not see ISIS as his primary problem, the businessman says. "The regime fears the Free Syrian Army and the Nusra Front, not ISIS. They [the FSA and Nusra] state their goal is to remove the President. But ISIS doesn’t say that. They have never directly threatened Damascus.”

 

Edited April 8, 2017 by craigt3365

[craigt3365]

2 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Yup just like Iraq.

 

US Data is not highly reliable.

 

Ron Paul is not a 'nutter', he is a highly respected Gentleman of politics that has done more in the last 50 years in service to his country than you will ever do. In your effort to make a point you are overstepping the marks of decency. Surprising.

And most western nations didn't support the second Iraq war.  They didn't trust the data.  But seem to do so now.

[JustNo]

2 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

And most western nations didn't support the second Iraq war.  They didn't trust the data.  But seem to do so now.

Because this time it is in their interest, doesn't mean it is justified at all. People are also forgetting the fact Trump built part of his campaign around not going to war and making peace with Russia. 

[ilostmypassword]

7 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

No credible links to back up your comments as I asked?

 

I seriously doubt the leaders of the western world are duped.  They're back this.  Must be something to it.

But we do know that Trump warned the Russians in advance.

[craigt3365]

Just now, JustNo said:

Because this time it is in their interest, doesn't mean it is justified at all. People are also forgetting the fact Trump built part of his campaign around not going to war and making peace with Russia. 

Why is it in the interests of, say, France, to support this recent action?

 

Agreed with your comments about Trump.  He does seem to change his mind often.  I guess images of dead children can have an impact on some.  Sure does for me.

[Senior Player]

7 minutes ago, sujoop said:

Sorry, no 'LOL' in this matter, except for those willingly duped but that's just sad not funny (also how this dangerous clown got elected).

 

Trump as the leader of the 'free world' has been Putin's most strategic supporter, banging on about how great Putin is for almost 2 years. But then Trump and Putin both come under a microscope for Whitehouse/Russia gate complicity. Also, with Trump's ratings tanking  he would be of no use to Putin as a lame duck president. Time to fake a break-up, take the heat off Whitehouse/Russia-gate and bolster Trump's ratings, all in one easy go (still, some sincerely believe a man who spent months rallying to keep Syrian's from seeking shelter in USA is suddenly overwhelmed by a few Syrian losses...) The smoke-screen is working wonders in more ways too, nary a mention of the tanked jobs report yesterday (target 175,000,  actual 95,0000) certainly not by Trump (who took credit for the previous good jobs report)  and even the press is reticent to bring it up in context of this larger event.
 

Bigger worry is, like a junkie on a downward spiral this is only a temporary 'fix' (+prop-up Trump's fragile narcissist ego). News cycles will eventually turn back to Whitehouse/Russia-gate etc, thus there'll be an ongoing need of ever bigger fixes. Next up, N Korea.

And yet Hillary Clinton called for the United States to "take out" Syrian government-controlled airfields just hours before Donald Trump launched air strikes against Bashar Assad's regime. How would a Clinton administration been any different? Oh, yes, Clinton would've bombed the Syrians a couple of hours earlier than that lazy, orange-faced Trump. I'm no Trump supporter, but I seriously think we're all going to hell in a handcart whoever is at the wheel.

[Rob13]

11 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I guess images of dead children can have an impact on some.  Sure does for me.

 

In other words...on to Pyongyang's next.

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, Rob13 said:

 

In other words...on to Pyongyang's next.

North Korea just gassed their own people with a bomb?

[Rob13]

1 minute ago, craigt3365 said:

North Korea just gassed their own people with a bomb?

You're embarrassing yourself

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, JustNo said:

It has been going on for a while. It started with all of the influx of refugees and Middle Eastern migrants into Europe. EU countries opened up their borders and let them all come in. Not only that, George Soros has a paper trail to handing out fake passports to these immigrants as well as other things that help them get into Europe. Soros has also funded BLM with huge amounts of money as well as paid protestors, and this is the same reason as to why he funded the influx of immigrants, chaos. The elite are going for control from chaos and it is working. Look at the state of the US, look how damn divided the country is. Look how messed up Europe is. The world stage is exactly that to the elite, a stage. 

Trump is following orders, he has also recently signed a bill to regulate and inform more control on the internet to repeal privacy, he is going along with the Status Quo. 

More George Soros conspiracy theories. I'm sure you can cite impeccable sources for this information. Why don't you share them with us?

[craigt3365]

2 minutes ago, Rob13 said:

You're embarrassing yourself

Sorry, just trying to figure out why you mentioned North Korea within the context of this thread?

[craigt3365]

6 minutes ago, JustNo said:

Trump is following orders, he has also recently signed a bill to regulate and inform more control on the internet to repeal privacy, he is going along with the Status Quo. 

Trump following orders?  Really? LOL  He's the last person in the world I would assume is following anybody's orders. For better or worse, he's his own man.

[Rob13]

38 minutes ago, JustNo said:

He's within his rights, but he is going against what he has said and promised.. You should not and cannot trust someone who flip-flops on what they say. Businessmen should be kept out of politics but to let one run the show is ludicrous. 

He is a cuck to Israel and is an elitist puppet just as is Hillary, nothing will change from the the predictable regime and agenda that the shadow government has going, because they are the real ones pulling the strings. Trump is a mere figure head and was there to sell an illusion of choice, nothing more. 

 

Agree. I'm not supporting Trump or this air strike, but if folks are going to try to use the illegal/unconstitutional angle they have a weak argument..Too many previous pres. have done the same or very similar with impunity to make it stick. 

[mettech]

There we go again WAR, WAR, WAR this all we see going on these days and people are dying and being displaced to other Country just to over populate and create a diversion for more terrorists attacks.

Now General Trump or the guy in charge of the country  was thinking to give a good lesson to Syria well the near future will show very strong reaction of a diversity of player here.

God bless American and their soldiers they will need it.

[boomerangutang]

                     A B-52 dropping a load of iron bombs would have probably done more damage to the airfield than the 100 million $$'s worth of Tomahawks.   Trump has no sense of spending too much money on things.  All the money he's ever garnered in his career has been from either hand-outs or loans (which he usually doesn't pay back) or some Russian oligarch needing to launder money.  Perhaps if he'd ever had a real job, like carpentry, he would understand a bit about money.

 

             He's similar to the Thai generals who took over Thailand:  they want to spend a big portion of the overall budget on submarines, but next-to-nothing to help the 20% who aren't making ends meet.

[Andaman Al]

Watch and laugh weep.