Perfection
Well they’re saying it was a big success, no planes shot down or missiles intercepted, the targets were hit, the things went bang. Whether or not that means the production of chemical weapons is disabled is not yet known, but they’re not talking about that. Trump himself was stupid enough or defiant enough to use the two words that got Bush into so much grief.
A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
Mission of course accomplished only if the sole mission was to break some things. We know that’s not the sole mission because that’s what they’re saying – the mission is to prevent future chemical attacks.
Meanwhile the trolls have gone into action.
The Pentagon says a Russian “disinformation campaign” has already begun over the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria.
Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Saturday that “there has been a 2,000 percent increase in Russian trolls in the past 24 hours.”
And Trump is bragging about having the biggest best killingest guns.
So proud of our great Military which will soon be, after the spending of billions of fully approved dollars, the finest that our Country has ever had. There won’t be anything, or anyone, even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
The Russians have S-400 missiles based in Syria which could have taken out the British and French planes before they got into firing position. That they chose not to do so suggests that they are not anxious for a war. Also it’s a message to Assad: without us, you are defenseless.
This is a much narrower mission, so there’s unlikely to be any blowback from saying it was accomplished, unless it turns out we mistakenly bombed a children’s hospital or something.
France doesn’t automatically go along with everything we do, so their involvement leads me to believe the targets were well-established chemical weapons manufacturing sites as is being claimed.
The idiotic tweets and other Trumpiness aside, and as much as I hate to say it, at this point this seems like a not unreasonable military response.
Skeletor, you may be right about the sites being chemical weapons manufacturing sites, but…the conclusion that because the French were involved means it is likely to be that the targets were what is claimed does not follow. The French can make mistakes, also, and are prone to following their own interests, which might have jibed with US on this one, even if the sites are not accurately identified.
At this point, we need verification (from a reliable source – not a Trump tweet) that this indeed happened. I rule out neither possibility, because, well, the French are not perfect, either.
There already was no one or nothing remotely close to our military. The Republicans get a lot of mileage out of trumpeting how weak and decimated our military has become, and are never really asked to present evidence; when they do, it’s just evidence that something (ships or whatever) are fewer than they were during WWI, which makes sense in many cases, since we do not wage war the same way we did in WWI.
It’s become such a prevailing point of view (the weakening of our military by Democratic presidents) that I even hear it on the left, especially from military families on the left. So we continue to bloat the military budget. A Democratic president will send over a budget that has a smaller increase than Republican presidents, and it becomes “proof positive” that Democrats are cutting the military…
We are a ridiculous species.
“So proud of our great Military which will soon be, after the spending of billions of fully approved dollars, the finest that our Country has ever had. There won’t be anything, or anyone, even close!”
Ooooh, I’ve seen that one! I know what happens next! Trump tugs at his collar and makes choking sounds while a tall, menacing figure in black intones:
“The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.”