President Donald Trump is backing away from a threatened imminent attack on Syria. This comes just a day after he told the Russian military to “get ready” because US missiles will be coming at Syria. Suggestions earlier in the week were that the attack could happen any day.
Trump now only says that a decision will be made “fairly soon.” He argued that yesterday’s “get ready” Tweet never said when the attack would happen, saying in a new Tweet it “could be very soon or not so soon at all!” He also expressed anger in the Tweet that no one had thanked him for ridding the region of ISIS.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis also went out of his way to downplay the chances of an imminent strike. Mattis told the House Armed Services committee that the decision to attack had to be balanced against the risk of a new war escalating out of control.
The sudden level of awareness about the war they were itching to start just a day prior isn’t being officially explained. Instead, Trump et al are all suggesting that the several days of very public talk of a new war never happened at all.
In reality, reports suggest that the White House has been inundated with phone calls over the possible attack on Syria, and that those phone calls were overwhelmingly opposed to the idea. Though the Administration is unlikely to admit to being swayed by public opinion, the rapid shift shows it is having a palpable effect on them.
Which isn’t to say that the threat of war has been beaten back entirely at this point. Those wishing to call the White House to express opposition to the Syrian War can do so at 202-456-1414. Indications are that there is a significant wait time because of all the calls pouring in. It is well worth waiting, however, given the potentially disastrous consequences of another American war in Syria.
I cant believe I voted for this clown.
It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I voted Green, and people blame me.
The sad truth is, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. Whoever gets into that office is already bought and paid for. They are owned. I very much wish it could be different but facts are facts… best-dv
No, courage is real.
Less chance Trump is “owned” than many
I have been living oversees for the better part of 20 years and the only reason I voted for him was because of his foreign policy campaign promises. WoW!! What a fresh face he turned out to be.
Speaking as a radical commie know-it-all, I’m glad to say that while we were right about Trump, it looks like we may have been wrong about his supporters. Light that switchboard up like a goddamn Christmas tree, deplorables! We got another war to stop and as far as I’m concerned you’re as good as comrades. Nostrovia!
My apologies.
How do you know any trump supporters called at all ?
Just a hunch.
Not a hunch you just want to believe you’re having an impact and want to feel some sense of importance since the only thing you’ve got going in your life is your alter ego Comrade Hermit that lives with his mom. Don’t forget to take out the trash the post it note to remind you is on the fridge.
Uncle Sam = Hasbara. How’s the weather in Tel Aviv?
Unless he’s going to great lengths to hide his location, he’s thousands of miles from Tel Aviv.
More like San Antonio,Tx Lackland.
Well your kind are Russian agents and traitors.
Mostly true (I already got the trash btw), but at least I’m not a malignant c*nt who has to hurt people to get a hard-on. Go torture some stray cats you f**king troll.
Oh, and Comrade Hermit (under my slave name, Nicky Reid) has been published on Counterpunch, so choke on my man-cl*t. Sometimes even the losers kick ass.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/04/05/enter-john-bolton-bringer-of-doom/
Wow the highlight of your life being published on Counterpunch the highlight of your life and now you’re an antiwar Zombie that’s responding to my comments such an achievement….Hahaha
God you’re hot when you’re dumb.
Aye just want to warn you I almost got banned for making controversial statements that weren’t as graphic and dis-respectful so be careful when throwing insults that are de-grading to females. The word cunt is a form of hate speech towards women so please be careful when throwing insults like that it could lead to you getting banned.I almost got banned for less yesterday so unless the moderator is choosing favorites which he says he doesn’t and no one is special your hate speech will be deleted and you’ll receive a warning unless he’s biased and plays the favoritism game.
I’m a genderqueer shemale. I only call Cis-men who cross me c*nts. Plus I use the * thingy. There is always a loophole. Don’t swear hard, swear smart, troll.
It doesn’t matter who you use the term on or why. Don’t do it here.
I know you’re just the mod, Tom, but censorship is always bullsh*t. Whoever makes the rules should change them. If Lenny Bruce taught me anything it’s that it doesn’t matter what words you use, what matters is how you use them. Context is everything.
I agree, censorship is bullshit.
Antiwar.com, not being a government, not only does not censor but cannot censor.
When and if I need you to tell me how to do my job, I’ll ask you.
Trump is clearly just awful and I wish him nothing but ill, but fun thought, what would be happening right now if Clinton were president?
We will never know. At least Mrs. Clinton would have been predictable.
Amen.
They probably got a phone call from the Russians that gave them some pause. The only thing the US Govt understands is force, so it must have been a direct and credible threat.
Save the conspiracy theory enemy sympathizing Zombie nobody knows what’s going to happen. I know you worship Putin and probably think he’s going to ride into Syria on a horse,shirtless, with a Ak-47 and a Chinese ninja that chunks exploding Chinese stars and they single handedly determined an attack from America and it’s allies but, let’s just wait to see what happens. Yesterday you where predicting the end of the world now, you’re speculating about what’s preventing it…Comedy clown hour on Antiwar enemy sympathizer propaganda Zombie platform it’s priceless!!!
Trump really painted himself into a corner with this one. Seeking to please the neocons and the media, but Russia stood against them with ships and jets, and China has ships there joining Russia. Even if they wouldn’t stop all the bomb planes, they would definitely shoot down some, and then Trump would have to explain if it was worth it to have pilots die. Also, what if American ships are sunk? We aren’t still living in WWII like everyone seems to think; military ships today are sitting ducks, easily sunk by any military that has real capacity to fire missiles at them, like Russia, China or Iran.
The voters love a war that is promoted by both parties and that plays out like a video game on their TV screens. But they are less happy to see Americans die. Note that that’s the only thing that made them turn against the Iraq occupation. They are even less happy to see military hardware destroyed spectacularly, for the world to see. Russia knows this. It would have been a disaster for Trump. Of course all the media bosses clamoring for war would have blamed any setback on Trump, not on themselves.
Having painted himself into a corner, Trump’s solution is to simply pretend it never happened and walk across the paint to get out. But people remember. This was a defeat. A COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY defeat.
He could have stuck with “we are leaving,” adding “we are waiting for a UN investigation about the supposed gas attack,” and people would have been fine with that.
Trump’s voters wished for him to be revolutionary – force the military and party to follow. By auditing the Fed and revealing all the money Obama gave to Goldman Sachs as “aid”. By exposing the torture camps the CIA keeps around the world and prosecute the responsible as war criminals. By bringing home the military, and dare any general to oppose saving American lives this way. By stopping the NSA’s unconstitutional spying. By exposing everything going on behind the scenes that we don’t even know about.
With these actions he could have rewritten politics and forced politicians to take a stand for or against. And his followers, and independents, would have punished those who were against the policies, after all the crimes revealed.
Instead he sought to appease the establishment and win them over. Which leads to events like this. It was the wrong choice.
Trump voters weren’t listening to Trump if they thought he’d be revolutionary and expose torture camps. He seemed especially fond of torture and advocated “much worse” than waterboarding during his campaign. He also thought it should be passed on to the “terrorists” family members even going as far as killing them. He also wanted to fill our offshore gulag. That alone made certain I’d never vote for him.
Exactly. Anyone who thought Trump would change things for the better should just gouge their eyes out and pop their eardrums. They obviously don’t use them.
I knew Trump would change things for the better.
He is a bull in the china shop of our collective delusions and fake divisions and is doing a fantastic job of shattering everything on the shelves and making us face what we actually are.
It may take time, and depends on us voters choosing people that can and, more important will, rebuild from the ground up.
Trump pouts that “…no one had thanked him for ridding the region of ISIS.” I’m thankful he opposed and postponed additional ISDS rules for the US and may have damaged that process, hopefully, beyond repair.
I am afraid you do not know what is happening. You need to follow different news. It is clear that Trump pulled a stunt on his neocon minders by announcing a withdrawal. When it abruptly ended by the chemical false flag — the Trumpian web sites exploded with anger. For each article in Syria there are approx 1,500-2,500 comments, and 99% virulently opposing. The movement he created has a life of its own, they are not letting go of Trump’s message against stupid wars, and neocon policies. They are convinced that Syria is all about Israel, and that US economy, infrastructure, or debt burden cannot be improved, not even military modernization undertaken while spending on interventions. They blame neocons controling deep state. And are wuestioning their manhood and hanging invto guns, while only venting about the problem.
Yes everyone listen to Bianca because she’s always correct on her assessment. Hey Bianca you said Turkey was going to push America out of Manjib what happened??? More speculation with a biased spin. NICE.
Bingo
Not socalled uncle sam again. Bianca actually has brains and commonsense plus knowledge, all of which you appear to lack.
Says the Zombie commenting on an enemy sympathizer propaganda platform that doesn’t have a thought process for herself so she just repeats what Bianca says….
NEW “EVIDENCE” for war before inspectors arrive: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-france/france-has-proof-syrian-government-conducted-chemical-weapons-attack-macron-idUSKBN1HJ1M5
Reuters are a bit like the NYT and the Guardian- do not believe them!!
As for Micron(sic)- he is against all the French workers, students, functionaries, is delighted with his friend the revolutionary MbS,and of course the Rothchild background helps his policies of aiding the rich to be even richer.
Actually, Trump didn’t want to launch a missile attack on Syria in the first place; he had already announced that he’d soon withdraw all US troops who are illegally in Syria. This sent the Trotskyists into a foaming at the mouth hysterics, led by John “Bonkers” Bolton, Trump’s nominee for National Security Adviser. Time for him to revoke “Bonkers'” name and nominate a stable, experienced individual to succeed the fired H. R. McMaster as NSA. “Bonkers” is a total delusional lunatic who’s a serious threat to world peace and who belongs in a padded cell at some remote insane asylum, instead of within the White House.
Trump did the right thing by reversing back to his first statement on withdrawing all US troops from Syria and sending them back home. He gave serious thought to what the consequences would be if he went on with the strikes and rightly turned 180 degrees back to his plan to withdraw all troops from Syria (where they didn’t belong) and bring them back home, and let others in the region help rebuild that nation.
If Trump were to go “full tilt boogie” in Syria I think you can start kissing the US government goodbye.
I hope you are right.
Bolton is not “Trump’s nominee for National Security Adviser.”
Bolton is “Trump’s National Security Adviser.” That position is not a nomination that requires Senate confirmation. It is a position which the president can hire for and fire from at will.
Indeed.
Flynn was in, then Flynn was out. Bannon was in, then Bannon was out. Sean Spicer, in and out. Jared & Ivanka, in and out. Tillerson, McMaster, Hope Hicks, wife-beater Porter, in/out. Anthony Scaramucci barely in before he was out. Comey. Yates, McCabe, out, out, out.
Trump critics scream “Chaos!” I say nimble decisiveness. He’s quick to act, and when mistaken, quick to change course (even though he never admits to any “mistake”). Presidentially unqualified, or much-needed innovator of a broken system? Time will tell.
Re Bolton…
Friends close, enemies closer?
Let’s see how long “Bonkers” lasts.
It would be a good thing if he was realizing his mistakes, even if he won’t call them mistakes, and replacing those mistakes with someone that isn’t a mistake. Bolton is a bigger mistake than McMaster and McMaster was a big mistake. It’s one mistake after another.
Right, and Bolton could not pass a Senate confirmation, just like he couldn’t get passed for U.N. ambassador so Bush had to appoint him during the recess.
Earth to Eileen!!!! Bolton is in, there is no confirmation needed. I’m only saying this in case you have Thomas on ignore since he has reminded you a couple of times of this fact.
If China and Russia have the forces and willpower then I hope its time to kick my country out of Syria completely. Do not take the time and effort(money) this event has created and waste it. It can all be done quietly of course. Wouldn’t want to offend the precious egos of my idiotic leaders.
Anybody dumb enough to believe China will risk nuclear war with the free world to help Russia keep a dictator that’s gassing his people in power is a moron. Listen gullible enemy sympathizer propaganda zombie you are dreaming . Russia helped get Trump elected because of a color revolution that hit Moscow during Clinton’s term as Secretary of state but, it’s backfiring because they trusted a slick talking New York conman that sold them a dream. You know the kind of things you and your brain dead comrades sell each other everyday on this site in the form of deep state conspiracy theories, the end of the world scenarios, Russia and China are going to wipe out America’s military, America is going to implode and collapse, North Korea is going to nuke America it goes on and on. Go back 2 years ago to the archives the same people on this forum complaining about how evil America is predicting the end of the world and America’s destruction it’s so comical I swear y’all people are either a bunch of cowards that stay scared or just drunk on the kool aid. Antiwar where being a traitor is cool….Hahaha. …
“Anybody dumb enough to believe China will risk nuclear war with the free world to help Russia keep a dictator that’s gassing his people in power is a moron.”
Here’s an interesting question:
When China announced live fire exercises in the Strait of Taiwan yesterday, was it:
1) Taking advantage of the US being distracted in Syria to give the Taiwanese a shock without fear of confrontation by the US?
2) Trying to distract the US FROM Syria?
3) Some combination of the two?
4) Something else?
I can’t say that I care too much about e.g. the Spratly Islands, but if US foreign policy makers do care about that stuff, they are wondering right now just how much the Chinese are going to do by way of building up and further securing their claims on the Pacific Rim seascape if the US decides to let itself get more distracted by its weird belief that it should get to decide who rules Syria.
Kim Jong Un is probably calculating how much more time that whole thing would give him to build more nukes to negotiate with, too.
US military doctrine used to be that the armed forces must be prepared to fight two WW2-scale wars at the same time. The 21st century blew that idea out of the water when the US discovered it couldn’t even subdue insurgencies in two small Middle East/Central Asian countries.
How’s that relate to Syria and the people commenting China will come to help the Russians protect the dictator Assad? Is what you’re doing deflecting from the moronic comments made by the Zombies on this forum? ??
“Is what you’re doing deflecting from the moronic comments made by the Zombies on this forum? ??”
No, I don’t deflect from your moronic comments. I respond to them — when I feel like it, anyway.
You seem to think that China is afraid of the US.
The last time China and the US tangled directly, they kicked our ass and killed 30,000 Americans soldiers.
They do consider the US adversaries to a degree, but they’re not nearly as scared as you might think. They have nukes, they have both ICBM and submarine launch capability for those nukes, and they can likely take a lot more damage from nukes without wussing out than the US can.
Your whole worldview is based on the stupid idea that everyone on Earth is too afraid to say boo to the US. That’s the kind of worldview that gets Americans killed.
I’m not the one predicting China is coming to help Russia prop up Assad and help defend Russia’s interests, that’s the Zombies on this forum that believe any nation that’s an adversary is capable or is going to destroy America so,save the rants for the people on this site that think it’s going to happen every single day. Go back to the archives if you don’t believe me it’s so entertaining.
My guess is that if the US escalates in Syria, China will make bank selling arms to the Iranians while simultaneously doing whatever it feels like it the maritime areas it is disputing with Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam while the US is distracted losing yet another war.
That is probably a good assessment. The US loses if it doesn’t win. Other countries win if they don’t completely get their heads handed to them.
If the US hits Syria they will spend 20 million dollars destroying a parking lot. Which Assad will rebuild in a week for less than a thousand.
Assad and Putin are still thugs.
“Assad and Putin are still thugs.” This childish name-calling is useless, especially from a country which constantly attacks others and has succeeded in making every one of them much worse off, at least this century.
As for Hezbollah, it is part of the Lebanese government and protects as well as it can the people in Lebanon from onslaughts by Israel.
and Hizzbollah not only attacks Israel but goes after jews in other countries.
Another apologist for Hizzbollah or Assad
The US ought to take this as an opportunity to get Europe to sanction Hezzbollah. If Hezzbollah gets completely sanctioned it will hit both Assad and Iran.
No cost to the US
Tom, there’s little point in debating an obvious troll.
Yes Tom just stick to the script America evil,Russia, Syria, North Korea,China good.Lead the Zombies dear leader, no real facts just made up conspiracy theories!!!
“Yes Tom just stick to the script America evil,Russia, Syria, North Korea,China good”
The next time you see me saying that will be the first time you see me saying that. And there won’t be a first time.
Hint: If you can’t make your argument without lying about what the other person is saying, you don’t have an argument.
Very sound points!
Traitor? All you need to do is look in the mirror. How many more millions will have to die for our “Democracy”.
None because nothing you ever say is going to happen ever happens. If you don’t believe me go back to the archives and see for yourself. I’m not the one advocating and defending an adversary nation’s interests that’s you the real definition of a traitor.
Glad you can’t predict the future. You certainly don’t represent the interests of everyone who lives in the US.
Those on this board who support Putin and Assad are traitors.
“He also expressed anger in the Tweet that no one had thanked him for ridding the region of ISIS.”
The fuckwad keeps recapitulating over and over again that the US rid the region of ISIS. That is a colossal lie. Only Russia is responsible for ridding ISIS (in Syria). ISIS is the US, and the US has even evacuated ISIS fighers many times by helicopter from Syria.
Trump is taking the path of least resistance. Like always. Nobody should have expected anything else.
It’s not just Iraq – only the steady stream of body bags coming home forced Amerikastanis – whose children were being drafted so they had skin in the game – to turn against the Vietnam War. To this day it’s portrayed as an “American tragedy”, as though America was a victim and not an aggressive imperialist criminal.
Chinese ships really? ?? Hahaha…Sounds like something you’re making up..Just because you say these things are happening doesn’t mean they are. If half of anything you and the mindless enemy sympathizing Zombies that comment on this propaganda platform were true America would’ve collapsed or been turned into ash by now. If you don’t believe me go back to the archives it’s the same people saying the same things to each other day in and day out and guess what,they’re never right about anything!!! How do I know that because America’s still here!!! You people are so entertaining.
Is he or isn’t he? I agree with others here that Trump painted himself into a corner. But Trump is inflated by the archetype mercurius and can turn on a dime irrespective of logic or facts.
Jishd es aper.
Trump’s owner will be very, very disappointed. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c9567da28754e501c2c092243d2851d17078c4204005ea75755f0783085f16d9.jpg
personally I am heartened by this news, it’s good…. and I don’t give a damn if any person changes their mind after considering the many (negative) consequences of any course of wrong action – it seems to be sinking in that another war in the middle east, especially one that might involve direct confrontation with an other nuclear power, is a very very very bad idea.
I hope the US and its foolish allies don’t attack, and this will be something like the situation in Korea several months ago, where the US sent 3 aircraft carriers….. and then toned things down significantly, after all things were considered
“No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back.” – Turkish proverb
We truly do get the leaders and government we deserve. I want Trump to succeed and be a good President (as I do all our Presidents, even the ones I don’t like) but he’s making rookie mistakes and getting a lot of bad info from people pushing their own agendas. As it stands, he’s his own worst enemy by not thinking before he speaks and I fear he’s going to get more Americans killed when someone decides to take him seriously. What would he have done if Putin had interpreted his ‘missiles are on the way’ sort of statements and decided to unload on us first? In the larger scheme of things, Putin will have been perfectly justified in doing so as a pre-emptive strike against imminent attack.
There is lots of deep discussion here but how many have called the number that Jason Ditz posts above.
Enough with the Psychobabble about Trump. Leave that to the Very Smart (Ask them.) Elite at the the NYT, NPR, ETC. Do not imitate their gibberish.
Call that number and tell Trump, No War on Syria. He campaigned as an anti-interventionist of sorts and we expect him to follow through – or be labeled as a big phony just like Crooked Hillary.
CALL THAT NUMBER, Dammit.
Seems like Trump speaks “bigly” and carries a soft stick. I for one am not complaining. I suspect, however, that there will be massive attempts to shame him by the neolib/neocon media.
A question for the AWC commentariat: Which would be more ***politically beneficial*** for President Trump?
(1)To be rhetorically cautious, discreet and statesman-like, that is, “Presidential” in the conventional sense (clearly not Trump’s m.o.); or
(2)to jump up in a precipitate rush to judgement, declare his righteous intent to immediately annihilate global war-criminal monsters, but then, when the truth begins to emerge that the accusations possibly/probably are false, and the people declare their opposition to a new imprudent war, for the President to revise his commitment and step back from the brink?
I withold my view on this, (though I suspect you can guess) so as not to prejudice your response.
Putin and Assad = war criminal monsters
“What’s past is prologue.” William Shakespeare- The Tempest
http://stephenlendman.org/2018/04/air-naval-task-force-assembling-attack-syria/
Trump reversing himself… this one area where he seems to lack much arrogance or hubris is certainly positive in this situation. Perhaps there is a price to that, but it’s far less than extinction of humanity.
I’ve just been on the phone, again, to the WH, after hearing Nikki Haley spew the most horrendous lies at the UNSC. Please, take the time to do this. The phones are ringing off the hook and that is a good sign. I am sick to death of all of this bs.
And yet, the Brits and French are joining up with the US to form a ‘coalition of the willing’. The ‘Unwilling’ seems to be Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Canada, among others. I was shocked yesterday to find out that the US is exceptional but the Russians, while ‘unique’ are not. (I am feigning shock.) This is according to Pompous-Ass Pompeo… Then Mad hatter Mattis (affectionately known as Mad-Dog), said he has no evidence of any chemical attack in Syria but that does not mean the US does not have the right to preemptively strike Syria anyway. This is clearly the definition of US exceptionalism.
At least some of the American public are awake and some may even remember 15 years ago and Colin Powell!!
Ths is an awesome video. New respect for Tucker Carlson. And shame on these fake liberals like Andrea Mitchell and Howard Dean.
Mattis seems to be the most rational of the lot. Could it be there is some truth in Putin’s announcement of New superior weaponry developed in Russia and is Mattis afraid the US will loose or will be dealt a more serious blow then generally anticipated. Putin does not seems to be a guy who makes outrageous statements and bragging.
Obama’s administration saw through the destruction of chemical weapons as per the agreement with Syria.
So how come anyone in the media not challenging the warmongers in both parties including Trump? BEcause the media loves war too.
https://www.opcw.org/news/article/destruction-of-syrian-chemical-weapons-completed/