Syria's War Nearing Resolution?

[iNow]

4 minutes ago, Ten oz said:

He already has shown weakness.

I don't disagree. My core point was that his response now will almost certainly influence the likelihood of success during talks with Iran and N.Korea on the months ahead. You can bet they're watching very closely how he chooses to proceed with Assad in Syria after this.

[Ten oz]

16 hours ago, iNow said:

I don't disagree. My core point was that his response now will almost certainly influence the likelihood of success during talks with Iran and N.Korea on the months ahead. You can bet they're watching very closely how he chooses to proceed with Assad in Syria after this.

Trump's continued lack of clarity is very troubling on a couple fronts in my opinion. First that as President he is suppose to be representing me and my country. I would certainly like to know when the military acts in my name. Much as I disagreed with the Iraq War Bush did at least take it to Congress for a vote. The nation understood where he (POTUS) stood. In this case the President is promising a response, strongly implying the use of force, but the  say we will all know what it is "after the fact". Secondly it exposes how indecisive Trump. Syria has done this before and with U.S. troops on the ground currently in the region the White House (Trump may choose not to sit out or not pay attention during the briefs himself) gets daily briefs about Syria. The lack of a plan or publicly known position is very problematic. Last Week Trump announce troops would be coming home from Syria shortly and now the opposite may be true but absolutely no one, perhaps not Trump himself, actually knows.

I believe our adversaries will and to an extent already are taking advantage of the short term nature of everything Trump does. Many international issues have left the headlines but continue to exist: South China Sea, Russia in Crimea, Civil War in Yemen, and etc. There seems to be an out of sight out of mind approach to international affairs under this administration. Tough talk when asked but unresponsive when no one is looking. 

Quote

 

President Donald Trump is threatening an imminent military strike against Syria, vowing to respond "forcefully" to Saturday's apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians and warning that Russia or any other nation found to share responsibility will "pay a price."

As he began a Monday evening meeting with military leaders at the White House, Trump promised to "make a decision tonight or very shortly thereafter." He said: "We have a lot of options militarily, and we'll be letting you know pretty soon. Probably after the fact."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-us-options-pondering-military-strike-54353983

 

 

[Raider5678]

13 minutes ago, Ten oz said:

The lack of a publicly known position is very problematic.

I'm not sure if you're joking here or what.

Are you being serious?

 

[iNow]

2 hours ago, Ten oz said:

The lack of a plan or publicly known position is very problematic. Last Week Trump announce troops would be coming home from Syria shortly and now the opposite may be true but absolutely no one, perhaps not Trump himself, actually knows.

I suggest we all start watching Fox & Friends so we can find out what will the President "plans" to do next...

[dimreepr]

5 minutes ago, iNow said:

I suggest we all start watching Fox & Friends so we can find out what will the President "plans" to do next...

Isn't Twitter more useful?

[iNow]

9 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

Isn't Twitter more useful?

Not when it comes to influencing what POTUS Trump chooses to do

[geordief]

3 minutes ago, iNow said:

Not when it comes to influencing what POTUS Trump chooses to do

You are forgetting about the voices in his head.... there aren't any?

 

OTOH wish him all the best in this serious test ....just wish I had any confidence.

Edited April 10, 2018 by geordief

[dimreepr]

Just now, iNow said:

Not when it comes to influencing what POTUS Trump chooses to do

But it is when it comes to understanding what the POTUS is thinking, let's hope the two aren't mutually exclusive.

[Ten oz]

3 hours ago, iNow said:

I suggest we all start watching Fox & Friends so we can find out what will the President "plans" to do next...

Sadly that is true. 

[Phi for All]

6 hours ago, Raider5678 said:

I'm not sure if you're joking here or what.

Are you being serious?

Trump has been waffling back and forth about Syria for five baffling years.

If this doesn't show you how little you can trust this man, probably nothing will.

[Raider5678]

57 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

Trump has been waffling back and forth about Syria for five baffling years.

If this doesn't show you how little you can trust this man, probably nothing will.

My bad, I misread what he said.

I thought he was saying he was upset about not knowing what we were going to do until after we've done it.

 

 

Also, I don't trust him already.

I don't trust any politicians at all at the moment for that matter.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Raider5678

[tuco]

If Mr. Trump was not the president of the US nobody sensible would pay attention to him.

Back on topic: Russia vetoes US resolution on Syria chemical weapons probe 

Quote

Addressing the Security Council, Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the UN, said: "Why do you need this mechanism when you have already appointed the guilty party before the investigation?"

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/russia-vetoes-resolution-syria-chemical-weapons-probe-180410193956669.html

That is kind of hmm clever rhetoric, innit?

[Ten oz]

16 hours ago, Phi for All said:

Trump has been waffling back and forth about Syria for five baffling years.

If this doesn't show you how little you can trust this man, probably nothing will.

On Monday Trump said he would be making a decision on Syria that night. It is Wednesday and still nothing official though the twitter in chief is still antagonizing Assad via social media. Does the continued social media rhetoric mean U.S. policy is now that Assad must go, does the inclusion of Russia in the tweets mean we may hold them accountable for Assad, or is Trump just trolling and no action will follow? It is unbelievable we (U.S.citizens) have allowed it to get to this point over partisanism that whatever happens is fine so long as the other side isn't doing it. Using military force against Syria (any country) is serious and should require serious due diligence. That is the reason Congress is required to declare war per the constitution so to avoid the whims of a reckless individual to squander peoples lives and resources on feckless actions. The tweet below from Trump is unbecoming and should not be tolerated from a public official. 

Quote

 

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

6:57 AM - Apr 11, 2018

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-will-target-u-s-military-if-strikes-hit-syria-n864901

 

 

[StringJunky]

14 minutes ago, Ten oz said:

... The tweet below from Trump is unbecoming and should not be tolerated from a public official. 

 

I agree with you but, on the other hand, he's only thinking like people really think but he''s doing out in the open. I can assure you, my thoughts regarding Assad are not thought of in terms of the UK Queens English

[Ten oz]

5 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

I agree with you but, on the other hand, he's only thinking like people really think but he''s doing out in the open. I can assure you, my thoughts regarding Assad are not thought of in terms of the UK Queens English

Sure, which is why the overwhelming majority of people have no business having a military at their disposal. 

[StringJunky]

17 minutes ago, Ten oz said:

Sure, which is why the overwhelming majority of people have no business having a military at their disposal. 

I'm pretty sure the military are worse... they just keep a lid on it.

I'm wondering if the US are taking this as a coincidental opportunity to test Russia's missile defence. systems.

Edited April 11, 2018 by StringJunky

[tuco]

1 hour ago, StringJunky said:

I agree with you but, on the other hand, he's only thinking like people really think but he''s doing out in the open. I can assure you, my thoughts regarding Assad are not thought of in terms of the UK Queens English

Out of curiosity, what exactly are you thinking, with regards to said tweet? 

Quote

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia,  because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

 

I can tell you what I am thinking. This statement comes from an angry 11 years old.   

[MigL]

Criticizing is easy.
What would you say ?
And would you back it up ?

Just asking.

[Raider5678]

7 hours ago, tuco said:

I can tell you what I am thinking. This statement comes from an angry 11 years old.   

 

What would you do?

Tell them not to use chemical weapons on children?

8 hours ago, Ten oz said:

On Monday Trump said he would be making a decision on Syria that night. It is Wednesday

I actually take this as a bad sign.

It's possible the reason it's taking so long is that he's running his plan through Congress.

And that's a sign something big is happening.

[tuco]

Well, I don't use Twitter and I don't have ambitions to lead or command anything, however, I would wait for an investigation (that would prevent Russia from using rhetoric cited above among other things) and I would not escalate tensions (I prefer de-escalation and diplomacy). I would also not signal what I was gonna do, with regard to military actions, next.

More importantly, I would care about Syrians through the whole conflict and not only when some of them die in a chemical attack. As I noted, killing civilians is unacceptable by any means and in my mind, chemical weapons are not my "red line". My "red line" is human suffering of any kind.  

Criticising? He sounds to me like 11 years old. That is a description, admittedly in negative connotations, and though I could use more sophisticated description, it would still be in negative connotations simply because I do not believe anything positive can come out of launching "nice, and new, and smart" missiles. 

[Raider5678]

Syria's War Nearing Resolution?

Not anymore.............

[tuco]

What do you mean? According to most let's say, experts, people who have much better understanding of the issue than any of us, Assad won the civil war. So unless the US, or someone else, will invade, its likely Syria's (civil) war will end in near future. That is why I asked before: What is the US gonna do, realistically? I was told .. kick in the balls. Hmm that is gonna change a lot, not.

Edited April 11, 2018 by tuco

[MigL]

He has informed the Russians that chemical weapon usage by Assad's forces, is indefensible, and there will be retaliation.
And, just like last time, giving the Russians an opportunity to leave the military installations that fired the Sarin gas.
Admittedly he has done it as a teenager would; using social media.
But what would you expect, this is D Trump, after all.

Would you rather have him fire cruise missiles, hit some Russian assets and people, and escalate the situation with Russia beyond control ?

Edit: Assad didn't win the civil war. The Russians won it for him.

Edited April 11, 2018 by MigL

[zapatos]

16 minutes ago, tuco said:

Well, I don't use Twitter and I don't have ambitions to lead or command anything, however, I would wait for an investigation (that would prevent Russia from using rhetoric cited above among other things) and I would not escalate tensions (I prefer de-escalation and diplomacy). I would also not signal what I was gonna do, with regard to military actions, next.

More importantly, I would care about Syrians through the whole conflict and not only when some of them die in a chemical attack. As I noted, killing civilians is unacceptable by any means and in my mind, chemical weapons are not my "red line". My "red line" is human suffering of any kind.  

Criticising? He sounds to me like 11 years old. That is a description, admittedly in negative connotations, and though I could use more sophisticated description, it would still be in negative connotations simply because I do not believe anything positive can come out of launching "nice, and new, and smart" missiles. 

How exactly is your plan "gonna change a lot" in Syria?

If you are going to criticize the plans of others because it won't accomplish much, it's kind of important that your plan would accomplish much.

[tuco]

President of the most powerful military in the world informs another president of very powerful military about military action over Twitter? I guess I am out of touch. What do I expect of Mr. Trump? I avoid paying attention to him whenever I can. 

I would rather Mr. Trump to call or visit Mr. Putin and talk about it as adult, intelligent and educated people. 

9 minutes ago, zapatos said:

How exactly is your plan "gonna change a lot" in Syria?

If you are going to criticize the plans of others because it won't accomplish much, it's kind of important that your plan would accomplish much.

I do not have such plan. See my posts on previous pages for more details.

And let me repeat. I can criticise simply because the action in question is open to criticism and I am not the president of anything so I do not need to have any plan. Make me president, give me few weeks and I will present you with a plan but I can tell you right now, as I mentioned in my previous posts, I would try to become part of the Astana process. 

Edited April 11, 2018 by tuco