There isn't a guinea pig on earth or over the Rainbow Bridge who doesn't think that President Trump made a mistake by obliterating a Syrian airforce base. We know why he did it, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with Assad's use of chemical weapons. No. What it was all about was making his mark. Stamping his authority on the world and trying to show that he is a more decisive President than Obama. Well, I don't know about that, but he's certainly more impulsive, and impulsiveness is not necessarily a trait that America needs in a so called Commander in Chief. It's true that Obama should not have drawn that line in the sand over Assad's use of chemical weapons. It made him look weak when he did nothing when Assad stepped over the line. Obama had called Assad's bluff and Assad went ahead and gassed a whole bunch of his own people anyway.
The difference between Trump and Obama is that Obama thought through the consequences of military action. We know that certain Arab nations are applauding Trump's actions which will play well with his narcissism and that Republicans are cheering their little heads off, but then they've always liked blowing stuff up. It's what they do best. It's also gone down rather well here in Australia with both the government and the opposition approving wholeheartedly of the action, but then they're always brown-nosing the Americans, so no real surprise there. However, strategically it seems to the average guinea pig that Trump has made an almighty blunder. It was inevitable I know, but it still comes as something of a shock.
So, what does he do if Assad uses chemical weapons again? Does he just obliterate another airforce base? Or does he invade. If he wants Assad gone he has to invade. You can't defeat an enemy with cruise missiles or clinically targeted air strikes - and certainly not while that enemy is being supported by Russia and that support makes invading Syria impossible. It means that his only option now is to lob more missiles into the desert and sooner or later someone will make a mistake or a missile will misbehave and smash into a school or a hospital.
Both before and after his unfortunate election Trump's line was that he was not going to get America into another Middle East war and that he is going to concentrate on ridding the world of Isis or Daesh or whatever you like to call this large bunch of thugs, bandits and gangsters. This foolish action of his makes that task harder. It degrades the Syrian military's ability to fight them and at least for the medium term puts paid to any chance at all of Russia and the USA cooperating to destroy them.
If Donald Trump would only employ a couple of guinea pigs as his senior advisers instead of the simpering brown-nosers and yes men he currently has they would tell him to forget trying to intervene in the Middle East. Just concentrate on building your wall to keep those pesky Mexicans at bay. Everything America touches that has anything to do with Middle East politics turns to poo, and not nice fragrant guinea pig poo either, oh no. It's more like human poo that has been deposited by someone who's just had a big night in an Indian restaurant consuming several litres of lager and a large helping of pork and Brusseles sprout vindaloo. So you see that we are talking seriously stinky poo here. And by the way isn't it odd how it always seems to be Republican Presidents who leave the most vile trail of poo behind them? Take Ronald Reagan for example. He's the guy that trained and funded Al-Quaeda when they were fighting the Russians in Afghanistan - only then they called themselves the Mujahedin. Then George Bush senior invaded Iraq but chickened out halfway through leaving anti-Saddam Iraqis in the lurch and at the mercy of that particular psychopath's substantial wrath. Next it was the turn of poor old George Dubya who's illegal and unnecessary invasion of Iraq spawned Isis/Daesh. No Donald, it wasn't Obama. You really should stop blaming him for everything, it's making you look even more foolish than you are. I even remember seeing one of your supporters asking why Obama wasn't in his office at the White House on 9/11. History is obviously not Republican voters' strong point, or even reality come to that.
And he didn't even obliterate the airstrip. Assad launched new attacks from it the very next day. Plus, we'd be more likely to believe that he launched the strike because he was moved by the plight of Syrian children if he wasn't also determined to keep those same children and their families out of the US. Sigh. If only piggies were in charge.
ReplyDelete-- Max and Sebastian
Thanks for the comment Max & Sebastian. What I'd really like to know is from whom he received the intelligence that the chemical weapons attacks came from that airfield and indeed from the Syrian airforce. Was it perhaps from the same US intelligence agencies that he clearly does not trust?
DeleteI think I should move to Australia, we are screwed here in the US. I didn't vote for him and thank god I didn't. Billy have you seen Stevie over the rainbow bridge? If so how is he doing? I miss him.
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