Donald J. Trump wins Presidency

Even worse, any time AQ/ISIS wants more of the Syrian airforce wiped out, it just has to fake another 'gas attack' - poison gas isn't all that difficult to make.

And Trump will oblige with more airstrikes, while halfwits in the US watch their tellies and chant USA! USA! Hell yeah!

Senator Rand Paul ✔ @RandPaul
While we all condemn the atrocities in Syria, the United States was not attacked.
2:41 AM - 7 Apr 2017

Exactly.

But YET AGAIN, the US has attacked a sovereign state, thousands of miles away, that is no threat whatsoever to the US.

https://www.rt.com/news/383837-russia-syria-flight-safety/

Russia has suspended the memorandum of understanding on flight safety in Syria with the United States amid the US missile strike on Syria’s Shayrat military airfield, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement.
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US missiles strike Syria
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“Without bothering to investigate anything, the US went forward with a demonstration of force, a military confrontation with a country that is fighting international terrorism,” the Foreign Ministry’s statement reads.

The US launched some 60 Tomahawk missiles at the Syrian military airbase in the Homs governorate early on Friday. The attack came after US President Donald Trump pinned the blame for an alleged chemical attack in Idlib on Syria’s government.

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FILE PHOTO © Carlos M. VazquezUS fires dozens of Tomahawks at Syria military base near Homs, Trump cites ’Assad’s chem attack’
“Obviously, the cruise missile attack was prepared beforehand. Any expert can tell that the decision to strike was made in Washington before the events in Idlib, which were used as a pretext for a demonstration,” the statement reads.....etc.

Well done, Trump.

In one stupid move, you've not only walked into a pretty obvious trap.

You've killed members of the Syrian air force. You've helped AQ/ISIS make gains in the area, thus getting more innocents killed. You've ended what little co-operation there was between the US and Russia.

Oh, and your formerly staunchest supporters are calling for your head for this betrayal of the very reason they voted for you.

Incidentally, by strengthening the hand of AQ/ISIS, you have also endangered all the US service personnel currently in Syria - illegally, let's not forget.

Time will tell, but I will be surprised if he can come back from this one.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/07/donald-trump-launches-us-air-strikes-against-assad-regime-syria/

US missile strikes on a Syrian air base have reportedly killed nine civilians - including four children - as Donald Trump launched the first direct American attack on Bashar Assad's regime.

Britain has described the overnight assault as an "appropriate response" to this week's "barbaric" chemical attack in Syria, while Russia warned the act of "aggression" will damage its relations with America.

Four children are reported to be among nine civilians killed in the "targeted assault" on the air base, from where Trump said a devastating nerve agent strike was launched earlier this week. Six servicemen - none of them Russian - are believed to have also been killed...etc.

Guess the four children killed by the US Navy weren't 'beautiful' enough.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-07/first-images-aftermath-inefficient-us-missile-strikes-emerge

Russia’s Rossiya 24 news channel has revealed the first footage from the Shayrat airbase, which the United States hit with a volley of 59 Tomahawk missiles after an alleged “chemical attack” in Idlib earlier this week.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said "the combat efficiency of the US strike was very low", adding that only 23 of the 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles reached the Shayrat air base in the province of Homs and as the following images suggest, they were not as damaging as some may have hoped.



As the US military has been concocting 'evidence' as an excuse to start wars since the USS Maine, I simply do not believe a word Washington says.

But hey, the US Navy killed four more Syrian children and helped ISIS advance in the area that airbase is defending, so it's all good!

Oh, and as Trump has been weeping over 'beautiful babies', I do hope he is now going to take EVERY SINGLE SYRIAN REFUGEE INTO THE US?

Including the ones that have marched into Europe? It would be pretty hypocritical not to.....

Russia ups ante by freezing communications with US in Syria.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia reacted to U.S. military strikes on its ally Syria Friday by cutting a hotline intended to prevent midair incidents, a response that demonstrates Moscow's readiness to defy Washington and could even put the two nuclear superpowers on a course toward military confrontation.

President Vladimir Putin signaled he was ready to risk a clash with the U.S. and abandon hopes for mending ties with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, rather than accept the humiliation of standing by while his ally is bombed.

Russia's decision to suspend the hotline established after the launch of the Russian air campaign in Syria in September 2015 effectively means that Russian and U.S. planes could fly dangerously close to each other during combat missions, raising the risk of inadvertent or deliberate clashes in the crowded skies over Syria.

By freezing the information channel between the two potent militaries, Russia is signaling to Washington that it will tolerate no further strikes on Syrian government facilities. Syria has aging Soviet-built aircraft and air defense missile systems, while Russia has deployed dozens of its cutting edge warplanes and air defense batteries at its base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia. It also has a strategically important naval outpost in the Syrian port of Tartus, which is protected by air defense assets.

Further upping the ante, the Russian Defense Ministry said it will now help strengthen Syrian air defenses. U.S. officials accused Russia of failing to ensure Syrian President Bashar Assad's commitment to a 2013 deal for the destruction of Assad's chemical weapons arsenal. The U.S. says that arsenal was tapped for a chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province.

Trump cited the chemical attack as justification for the missile strike on a Syrian air base. But the Kremlin insists Assad's government wasn't responsible for the attack, saying civilians in Khan Sheikhoun were exposed to toxic agents from a rebel arsenal that was hit by Syrian warplanes.

"President Putin believes that the U.S. strikes on Syria represent an aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law under a far-fetched pretext," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement. "Washington's move deals a significant blow to Russia-U.S. relations, which are already in deplorable shape."

Until the attack on the Syrian air base, the U.S. had avoided striking Assad's forces for fear of provoking a clash with the Russian military. The action comes ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's trip to Moscow next week.

The Kremlin initially had been encouraged by Trump's goal of repairing ties with Moscow, which plunged to post-Cold War lows under President Barack Obama, but hopes for a thaw have withered amid the congressional investigation of possible links between Trump campaign officials and Russia. The U.S. missile strike could make it all but impossible to improve relations.

"Some people here thought that it would be easy to deal with Trump," Yelena Suponina, a Moscow-based Mideast expert, said in televised remarks. "No, it will be very difficult. He's not only ready to make tough decisions, he is unpredictable."

Mikhail Yemelyanov, a senior member of the lower house of parliament, warned that the U.S. action raised the threat of a direct clash between Russia and the U.S. "Consequences could be grave, up to military confrontation and exchange of blows, nothing can be excluded," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Tillerson said Russia had "failed in its responsibility" to deliver on a 2013 deal it helped broker to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal. "So either Russia has been complicit, or Russia has been simply incompetent on its ability to deliver," he said.

By ordering the strike, Trump threatened the military assets of Assad, who has enjoyed Russia's support throughout the six-year conflict. Russia's military has helped turn the war in Assad's favor and Moscow has used its U.N. Security Council veto to protect Damascus from censure.

Russia also has important military facilities in Syria that could be put at risk if Assad is removed from power, a goal of Western powers that had recently been put on the back burner because of the focus on fighting Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq.

Peskov said the U.S. gave Russia advance notice about the strike. He added that Moscow believes it makes no sense to maintain the hotline. Asked if the decision to freeze the information exchange could raise the risk of midair incidents, Peskov said it was the U.S. attack that increased such danger.

Peskov wouldn't say if Russia could use its military assets to protect Syrian facilities from future U.S. strikes. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russia will quickly "strengthen the Syrian air defense system and increase its efficiency in order to protect Syria's most sensitive infrastructure facilities."

Great, just what's not needed right now.

Am wondering whether Bannon might have given him alternative advice.

Yes, I think so, Lily. Apart from this attack being illegal, etc., it's utterly foolish. Where is Trump going to be if, a few weeks down the line, it becomes clear that it was the jihadists that did it? He'll be worse than a laughing stock.

Did no-one point out to him that the video of the alleged attack was a Turkey/White Helmets production? That the supposed 'heroic' doctor is, frankly, a scumbag?

A UK-trained doctor, who was hailed a hero for treating gas attack victims in Syria, stood trial on terror offences and allegedly belonged to the group that kidnapped British journalist John Cantlie.
At least 86 people, including 20 children, died in Tuesday's attack on a rebel-held town in Idlib province. Dozens more were left gasping for air, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Dr Shajul Islam, from East London, published a video of the patients on his Twitter account after the attack. He said his hospital took care of three victims all with narrow, pinpoint pupils that did not respond to light.
The University of London graduate was arrested and charged with kidnapping two journalists - Mr Cantlie and Dutch reporter Jeroen Oerlemans - in 2012 but was released after the trial collapsed when neither of the prosecution's witnesses were able to give evidence.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4388780/Doctor-Syria-stood-trial-terror-offences.html#ixzz4dal1doDl
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Nigel Farage is none too happy right now, and he's a fairly accurate judge of situations.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-07/russian-warship-steaming-toward-us-destroyers-syria-coast

Early this morning we reported that as part of its response to the Syrian attack, in addition to suspending communication with U.S. forces designed to stop planes colliding over Syria, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich would be deployed to the Tartus naval base in Syria. The Russian Black Sea Fleet’s frigate The Admiral Grigorovich, currently on a routine voyage, would enter the Mediterranean later on Friday, a military-diplomatic source in Moscow told TASS, adding that the ship would make a stop at the logistics base in Syria’s port of Tartus.

Russia wasted no time, and as FN reports, moments ago, the Russian frigate, Admiral Grigorovich RFS-494, crossed through the Bosphorus Strait “a few hours ago” from the Black Sea, according to a U.S. defense official.



Maxim A. Suchkov‏
@Max_A_Suchkov

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BREAKING:Russia Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate armed w/ cruise missiles about to enter the Mediterranean heading to naval base in Tartus

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-07/russia-shows-drone-footage-us-missile-strike-aftermath

$100,000,000 down the drain, that's acheived nothing except pandering to Traitor McCain and the rest of the chickenhawks.

And there is a very good point in the comments:

s there any primary source evidence (cel phonne video etc) of Asad's chemical attack?

Not video of kids being sprayed with garden hoses but images of aircraft in the sky, bombs going boom in the night, people running around as the gas hit....stuff like that.

I can understand if the CIA etc doesn't want the public to see their sat imaagry etc but you can't walk around in a circle on this fekcing planet without it being recorded five times, so it's odd that there's nothing documenting Asad's dirty deed..

Exactly.

Occam's Razor dictates that an ordinary bombing run against jihadist territory hit one of their weapons stores of home-brewed chemicals.

Incidentally, if all it takes is White Helmet/Turkey/terrorist doctor-produced photos of 'beautiful babies' to make Trump risk WW3, maybe someone should show him the pictures of the mangled corpses of the Mosul children who were killed in the recent US bombing there?

Or are they not photogenic enough?

In all honesty, it has shaken me to my core.  

I knew something was off in a major way when I saw an ecstatic McCain on TV.  Trump appeared genuinely upset so I wondered who or what had swayed him.   This comes at a time when Jared Kushner has been given more power and Bannon has it taken away - or so it appears.

All the staunchest Trump supporters, here and in the US, seem to be absolutely horrified by what Trump has done, Lily. He seems to have listened to no-one but his son-in-law and God knows who from the oxymoron that is 'military intelligence'.

The very fact that Traitor McCain is doing a happy dance should tell everyone that Trump has made a ghastly mistake, IMO.

Just look at one of the sources of the 'evidence'-

Sarah Abdallah‏ @sahouraxo 5h5 hours ago
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So the guy who supplied "evidence" on the Idlib gas attack is a "committed jihadist" previously brought up on terror charges.
VERY credible!

Here's another thing.

The supposed 'chemical weapons' allegedly used by Assad were, according to the Official Line, being stored at that airbase.

Can someone explain to me why it's a good idea to rain high explosives down on stocks of chemical weapons?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-07/ex-uk-ambassador-syria-questions-chemical-attack-it-doesnt-make-sense-assad-not-mad

The former UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford, has joined the chorus of folks implying that the chemical attack in Syria wreaks of a 'false flag' operation. Speaking on BBC Radio earlier, Ford said there is "no proof that the cause of the explosion was what they said it was" and that it simply wouldn't make sense for Assad to launch such an attack as it would be "totally self-defeating."

"There is no proof that the cause of the explosion was what they said it was. Remember what happened in Iraq...I've seen testimony alleged from witnesses who said they saw chemical bombs dropping from the air. Well, you can not see chemical weapons dropping from the air. Such testimony is worthless."

"But think about the consequences because this is not likely to be the end of it. It doesn't make sense that Assad would do it. Lets not leave our brains outside the door when we examine evidence. It would be totally self-defeating as shown by the results...Assad is not mad."...etc

Quite.

I suggest the two US Navy warships involved in the attack take down the Stars and Stripes and hoist that black ISIS flag. Because AQ and ISIS are celebrating what they did, as a victory for them.

I have an awful feeling that this might not end very well.

US strikes win global praise _ but ratchet up Russia tension

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The United States vowed Friday to keep the pressure on Syria after the intense nighttime wave of missile strikes from U.S. ships, despite the prospect of escalating Russian ill will that could further inflame one of the world's most vexing conflicts.

Standing firm, the Trump administration signaled new sanctions would soon follow the missile attack, and the Pentagon was even probing whether Russia itself was involved in the chemical weapons assault that compelled President Donald Trump to action. The attack against a Syrian air base was the first U.S. assault against the government of President Bashar Assad.

Much of the international community rallied behind Trump's decision to fire the cruise missiles in reaction to this week's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of men, women and children in Syria. But a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the strikes dealt "a significant blow" to relations between Moscow and Washington.

At the United Nations, Russia's deputy ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, strongly criticized what he called the U.S. "flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression" whose "consequences for regional and international security could be extremely serious." He called the Assad government a main force against terrorism and said it deserved the presumption of innocence in the chemical weapons attack.

U.S. officials blame Moscow for propping up Assad. "The world is waiting for the Russian government to act responsibly in Syria," Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said during an emergency Security Council session. "The world is waiting for Russia to reconsider its misplaced alliance with Bashar Assad."

Haley said the U.S. was prepared to take further action in Syria but hoped it wouldn't be necessary. In Florida with the president, meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "We will be announcing additional sanctions on Syria as part of our ongoing effort to stop this type of activity and emphasize how significant we view this. We expect that those will continue to have an important effect on preventing people from doing business with them."

Thursday night's strikes — some 60 cruise missiles fired from two ships in the Mediterranean — were the culmination of a rapid, three-day transformation for Trump, who has long opposed deeper U.S. involvement in Syria's civil war. Advisers said he was outraged by heartbreaking images of young children who were among the dozens killed in the chemical attack and ordered his national security team to swiftly prepare military options.

The decision undercut another campaign promise for Trump: his pledge to try to warm relations with Moscow. After months of allegations of ties between his election campaign and the Kremlin — the subject of current congressional and FBI investigations — Trump has found himself clashing with Putin.

On Friday, senior U.S. military officials were looking more closely at possible Russian involvement in the poison attack. Officials said a drone belonging to either Russia or Syria was seen hovering over the site after the assault earlier this week. The drone returned late in the day as citizens were going to a nearby hospital for treatment. Shortly afterward, officials say the hospital was targeted.

The officials, who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the sensitive matter, said they believe the hospital attack may have been an effort to cover up evidence of the earlier assault. White House officials caution that Trump is not preparing to plunge the U.S. deeper into Syria. Spokesman Sean Spicer said the missile attack sent a clear message to Assad, but he avoided explicitly calling for the Syrian to leave office.

"The president believes that the Syrian government, the Assad regime, should at the minimum agree to abide by the agreements they made to not use chemical weapons," Spicer said when asked if Assad should step down.

The impact of the strikes was also unclear. Despite intense international pressure, Assad has clung to power since a civil war broke out in his country six years ago, helped by financial and military support from both Russia and Iran. Russian military personnel and aircraft are embedded with Syria's, and Iranian troops and paramilitary forces are also on the ground helping Assad fight the array of opposition groups hoping to topple him.

Trump spent Friday in Florida, in private meetings with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S. officials noted that the timing of the strike had the possible added benefit of signaling to China that Trump is willing to make good on his threat to act alone to stop North Korea's nuclear pursuits if Beijing doesn't exert more pressure on Pyongyang.

The missile strikes hit the government-controlled Shayrat air base in central Syria, where U.S. officials say the Syrian military planes that dropped the chemicals had taken off. The missiles targeted the base's airstrips, hangars, control tower and ammunition areas, officials said.

Trump's decision to strike Syria won widespread praise from other nations, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which support the Syrian opposition. British Prime Minister Theresa May's office said the action was "an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks." France, Italy and Israel also welcomed the strikes.

Not everyone was cheering in Washington, where the president's decision to act without congressional authority angered a mix of libertarian Republicans, Democrats and the far right. "The Constitution is very clear that war originates in the legislature," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a leader of the party's non-interventionist wing who challenged Trump for the GOP nomination. "You vote before you go to war, not after you go to war."

Still, most Republican leaders applauded the president, and some Democrats backed him, too. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said the strikes were "a limited but necessary response" and called on Trump to "develop a comprehensive strategy to end Syria's civil war."

Not everyone was cheering in Washington, where the president's decision to act without congressional authority angered a mix of libertarian Republicans, Democrats and the far right. "The Constitution is very clear that war originates in the legislature," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a leader of the party's non-interventionist wing who challenged Trump for the GOP nomination. "You vote before you go to war, not after you go to war."

Still, most Republican leaders applauded the president, and some Democrats backed him, too. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said the strikes were "a limited but necessary response" and called on Trump to "develop a comprehensive strategy to end Syria's civil war."

Trump's being cheered by the very swamp-dwellers he promised to get rid of. He's completely betrayed all his supporters who backed him precisely because he vowed to stop nonsense like this.

See the bullshit coming out of Washington this morning? It is EXACTLY the same as the bullshit that came from the Obama administration.

American shouldn't have wasted time and money on an election, it should just have anointed Hillary and been done with,

https://www.rt.com/usa/383998-emergency-hands-off-syria-protests/

undreds of protesters gathered in cities across the US to speak out against President Donald Trump’s missile strikes on a Syrian airbase. Despite the demonstrations being mostly peaceful, there were arrests.
“Emergency” protests were held Friday in at least a dozen US cities. They were largely organized on social media by the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, which called the US assertion that the Syrian government carried out attacks on its own people “unsubstantiated” and demanded an independent investigation.

Well done, Trump, you already had the looney left hating you. Now you have the looney left, and the non-interventionist right, hating you.

But never mind, Washington elites, AQ and ISIS are singing your praises.

This is a long read, but well worth it:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/04/04/president-trump-has-it-wrong-on-syria-assad-did-not-use-chemical-weapons-deep-state-neo-cons-misleading-the-president/

President Trump Has It Wrong on Syria – Assad Did NOT Use Chemical Weapons – Deep State Neo Cons Misleading the President…
Posted on April 4, 2017 by sundance
DANGER – Deep State is Trying to Manipulate Donald Trump on Syria.

That site, and its owner, have supported Trump since he came down that elevator. Their analysis of the election campaign was faultless.

If they are saying something is terribly wrong, then Trump needs to listen to them, not the Warpigs in Washington - they are not, and never have been, his friends.

I hope it's not too late, but I am fearful.

Trump Fires Warning Shot in Battle Between Bannon and Kushner.

WASHINGTON — As he grappled on Thursday with his first major decision involving military action, a fed-up and frustrated President Trump turned to his two top aides and told them he had had enough of their incessant knife-fights in the media.

“Work this out,” Mr. Trump said, according to two people briefed on the exchange. The admonition was aimed at Stephen K. Bannon, the tempestuous chief strategist, and Reince Priebus, the mild-mannered chief of staff, over a series of dust-ups with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and the top economic adviser, Gary D. Cohn.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/us/white-house-kushner-bannon-military-strike.html?_r=0

O)h, dear, punchups in the boardroom, sorry, WH, as well? LL