Trump Syria Bombing Megathread

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

It's absolutely time for a global effort to remove this monster. If Kosovo was justified, this is many times over.

[Mr. Morden]

It's absolutely time for a global effort to remove this monster. If Kosovo was justified, this is many times over.

That seems like a weird comparison, since the US intervention over Kosovo didn't remove Milosevic from power.  It just got him out of Kosovo.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

It's absolutely time for a global effort to remove this monster. If Kosovo was justified, this is many times over.

That seems like a weird comparison, since the US intervention over Kosovo didn't remove Milosevic from power.  It just got him out of Kosovo.

Because that's where the genocide was going on. This time it's in Assad's own country, so there isn't really the option. Stopping the butchery has to go hand-in-hand with removing Assad.

A replacement from the same group acceptable to the Russians who is much less interested in sadistic mass butchery may be the easiest way out of this.

[Middle-aged Europe]

It's absolutely time for a global effort to remove this monster. If Kosovo was justified, this is many times over.

That seems like a weird comparison, since the US intervention over Kosovo didn't remove Milosevic from power.  It just got him out of Kosovo.

Because that's where the genocide was going on. This time it's in Assad's own country, so there isn't really the option. Stopping the butchery has to go hand-in-hand with removing Assad.

Kosovo was also within Milošević's own country though.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

It's absolutely time for a global effort to remove this monster. If Kosovo was justified, this is many times over.

That seems like a weird comparison, since the US intervention over Kosovo didn't remove Milosevic from power.  It just got him out of Kosovo.

Because that's where the genocide was going on. This time it's in Assad's own country, so there isn't really the option. Stopping the butchery has to go hand-in-hand with removing Assad.

Kosovo was also within Milošević's own country though.

Obviously the situations aren't exactly equivalent. My point is that Assad is as great if not worse a monster as Milosevic, and is using WMDs to boot. If there's such a thing as humanitarian intervention, this is the case for it. And unlike Milosevic, it's wildly unlikely that Assad would surrender here.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

It's absolutely time for a global effort to remove this monster. If Kosovo was justified, this is many times over.

That seems like a weird comparison, since the US intervention over Kosovo didn't remove Milosevic from power.  It just got him out of Kosovo.

Because that's where the genocide was going on. This time it's in Assad's own country, so there isn't really the option. Stopping the butchery has to go hand-in-hand with removing Assad.

Kosovo was also within Milošević's own country though.

Obviously the situations aren't exactly equivalent. My point is that Assad is as great if not worse a monster as Milosevic, and is using WMDs to boot. If there's such a thing as humanitarian intervention, this is the case for it. And unlike Milosevic, it's wildly unlikely that Assad would surrender here.

The better comparison is Saddam. Look how that turned out.

And that was WITHOUT a NUCLEAR POWER threating to destroy our launch plaforms.

Assad is a bad guy, no doubt. But courting WWIII just so the villian on top ends up being AlQaeda instead of a hereditary Baathist dictator is INSANE.

[Mr. Morden]

Btw, Trump wanted ground troops in Kosovo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fmE3jLKgTs

[Mr. Morden]

Trump on Syria five years ago:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/346063000056254464

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373058887404228608

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373146637184401408

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/374712124620406784

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375075774644363264

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375609403376144384

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375721267686412288

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/376053255245008896

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/377038618407493632

[Dr. Arch]

↑ Muh dove

[Middle-aged Europe]

Trump on Syria five years ago:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/346063000056254464

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373058887404228608

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373146637184401408

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/374712124620406784

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375075774644363264

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375609403376144384

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375721267686412288

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/376053255245008896

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/377038618407493632

It's also worth to point out that these were basically Trump's positions on Syria last week.

[Alabama_Indy10]

Trump on Syria five years ago:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/346063000056254464

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373058887404228608

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373146637184401408

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/374712124620406784

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375075774644363264

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375609403376144384

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375721267686412288

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/376053255245008896

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/377038618407493632

It's also worth to point out that these were basically Trump's positions on Syria last week.

That is pretty true.

[ProudModerate2]

Trump on Syria five years ago:
(Various trump Tweets.)

It's also worth to point out that these were basically Trump's positions on Syria last week.

That is pretty true.

So then what will be his positions next week? Time will only tell.

[Alabama_Indy10]

Trump on Syria five years ago:
(Various trump Tweets.)

It's also worth to point out that these were basically Trump's positions on Syria last week.

That is pretty true.

So then what will be his positions next week? Time will only tell.

Great question. Hopefully he'll go back to how he was a few years ago.

[King Lear]

Well, there is one way a sustained bombing campaign could work. You could significantly weaken and destabilize the grip of the Assad government, forcing them to make concessions and work to re-stabilize the country. Assad bets that we won't be dragged into the civil war but I am fairly sure that we could dominate Syria's airwaves for a few months, forcing Assad's government to reevaluate. Basically targeting the government's military bases, outposts, etc. And no boots on the ground.

The problem is, not many people on any side of this conflict are great people. I would be happy to bomb Assad to kingdom come - he's a genocidal murderer - and call it a day, but we have to have a long term solution here.

Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian Allies are the only thing stopping the US/Israeli/Saudi backed Bloodthirsty Sunni Terrorist’s from taking over the country and launching a real genocide against every Christian and Shi’a Muslim living in Syria. If the Neocons get their way and launch an Air campaign to overthrow Assad, then all the blood of those dead Christians and Shia Muslims that will be killed by “Rebels”, will be on their hands.

[HillGoose]

I would reply to you but you have an murderous thug in your signature for some odd reason and your name is a synonym for bad hot takes, so I will not do so. Also, that's "terrorists," to correct your word structure.

i dont think hes a native English speaker

[King Lear]

I would reply to you but you have an murderous thug in your signature for some odd reason and your name is a synonym for bad hot takes, so I will not do so. Also, that's "terrorists," to correct your word structure.

i dont think hes a native English speaker

LOL, you don't start a sentence with "i" you start it with "I" ("i" is always capitalized), and "hes" is spose to be he's. Finally, I can assure you I'm a native English speaker, because it's the only language I speak, LOL.

[HillGoose]

I would reply to you but you have an murderous thug in your signature for some odd reason and your name is a synonym for bad hot takes, so I will not do so. Also, that's "terrorists," to correct your word structure.

i dont think hes a native English speaker

LOL, you don't start a sentence with "i" you start it with "I" ("i" is always capitalized), and "hes" is spose to be he's. Finally, I can assure you I'm a native English speaker, because it's the only language I speak, LOL.

im just an idiot

[Progressive Pessimist]

Drumpf on Syria five years ago:
(Various trump Tweets.)

It's also worth to point out that these were basically Drumpf's positions on Syria last week.

That is pretty true.

So then what will be his positions next week? Time will only tell.

Whatever they are saying on Fox News the next time they talk about this issue.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Drumpf on Syria five years ago:
(Various trump Tweets.)

It's also worth to point out that these were basically Drumpf's positions on Syria last week.

That is pretty true.

So then what will be his positions next week? Time will only tell.

Whatever they are saying on Fox News the next time they talk about this issue.

Not necessarily. Sometimes people like Kelly, Jared or Ivanka (and now Bolton, I guess) work the muppet's mouth, instead of just letting the tape play back.

[ProudModerate2]

I would reply to you but you have an murderous thug in your signature for some odd reason ...

Has King Lear always responded in such "strange ways?"
Is s/he just trolling us, or what?

[Shadows]

Can mods stop showing favoritism towards King lear? He keeps insulting us Trump supporters as illiterate, racist, hateful etc. He shouldn't be allowed to insult us and get away with it.

He is not insulting. he is speaking the truth. Why should Trump supporters consider what they are as an insult ?

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Looks like I was wrong about how effective this attack was for Assad and Russa.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/russia-seeks-to-allay-fears-of-open-conflict-with-the-us-over-syria/2018/04/12/2d2407c4-3e38-11e8-8d53-eba0ed2371cc_story.html?utm_term=.28984a60db47

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Even if they get hit by real, big US airstrikes, this was probably worth it to them. (And with Trump, it seems unlikely anything more than airstrikes will happen.)

[Alabama_Indy10]

So did anything else happen regarding this today? Is it going to happen?

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

This Trump shift on Syria feels as authentic as pro wrestling. He may launch some missiles so he can "look tough" but it seems like he has no strategy for changing the direction of the overall war, and odds are he has no real intent to. He wants to change the narrative, nothing more.

[Crumpets]

So did anything else happen regarding this today? Is it going to happen?

- Trump said it may happen "soon or not so soon" or something to that effect.
- Theresa May sent some missile-capable submarines to the Eastern Med
- Mattis said he presented eight different targets to Trump (seven I think were military bases and one was a chemical lab that could potentially be where the Assad regime is doing some chemical shenanigans)
- Merkel said Germany won't participate in US strikes, while Macron all but said that France would.
- Pro-regime groups continued to evacuate high-risk areas and cluster around areas with more Russian forces, which the US is less likely to strike
- One of the Ayatollah's special advisors met with Assad in Damascus as a show of solidarity and as a way to demonstrate that the regime believes Damascus to be safe even as Assad has hired a Russian military posse to escort him when he leaves his palace.

Bottom line: I'd give it 90-95% chance that some sort of strke will happen in the near future. I think the overwhelming liklihood is a limited strike against the chemical research lab and maybe the Dumayr or al-Seen air base (T-4 was already hit by Israel, Shayran was the one we hit in 2017, so the optics would be terrible, and Dumayr is known to be a basing ground for many of the regimes attacks in the Damascus area, while all the other targets would lead to a much steeper escalation being full of troops and such). As much as Trump wants everyone to think he's some wildcard who will give the order at random, I think it's more likely that we're trying to work out a coordinated response with our allies. France and the UK are already on board, but if we can get Turkey and Saudi Arabia to join us, it will make the anti-Assad alliance look much stronger than some groups (Russia, Iran, Hezbollah) were probably calculating, and might make them think twice before turning a blind eye to future chemical attacks.

I was pretty convinced two days ago would be the day of the attack. But in the intervening days, we've actually seen an increase in military posture around Syria rather than a decrease. So I still think it's extremely likely that something is going to go down, but I'm much less sure of when.

Also one interesting thing to watch on the side is the weird Israel-Iran catfight that's going on right now. Iran seems pretty serious about responding to Israel's strike that took out seven Iranian soldiers and a bunch of Iranian drones. The thing is that Israel doesn't have a whole lot of assets outside of the country for Iran to hit, meaning they'd have to go into Israeli territory to get their revenge. Israel has already countered that if Iran tries that from Syrian territory they are going to "dissapear Assad from the face of the earth" I think was their wording. So who knows? Maybe by this time next week the US and allies will have taken some minor strike against an airbase, and meanwhile, Iran is sending troops into the Golan and the Mossad are sending forces into Damascus to take out Assad. That would certainly be an interesting turn of events.