Deep state.
It's the only viable explanation, it also appears Trumps lost his twitter password. Lost the offhand style and is now being managed.
His plan is survive, i think that's as far as it gets now, he cannot control US foreign policy under any circumstances.

Posted by: david | Apr 11 2017 11:19 utc | 1

trump and putin are setting a trap for theneocons

Posted by: flickervertigo | Apr 11 2017 11:32 utc | 2

Touched on it somewhat in the open thread discussions, b.

The administrations motivations appear to be purely domestic political, defensive, under siege, and extremely short term reactionary.

The leaders of the Empires various vassal States openly declare they're just as confused, too.

Should this incoherent non doctrine, of 'Make it up as you go along from day-to-day', be formally christened, the 'Trump Doctrine', perhaps ?

Ah, we're the world's sole remaining superpower, supposedly, displaying our true colors, deep omnipotence and thorough deliberative forward planning, for all the world to see ... /snark

@ Posted by: flickervertigo | Apr 11, 2017 7:32:56 AM | 3

Hoarsewhisperer suspects a similar possibility ... have my doubts.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 11 2017 11:39 utc | 3

b, 'Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan. Help me out. What are his thoughts behind this. Or are there really none at all.'

tee-rump is stupid. he has no plan. he's reacting. everyone who thinks he/she has a plan is pushing it as tee-rump's plan. tee-rump lets them all go forward - probably isn't even aware of them all - will 'fire' those that fail, 'adopt' any that might not, that at least give him 'topical relief'.

the fools - the evil clowns - are in power in ac/dc.

Posted by: jfl | Apr 11 2017 11:44 utc | 4

It appears that US foreign policy is in turmoil and no longer well managed. The key goal has been to keep the US dollar as a reserve currency and every state in-line with their privately owned central bank. The petrol dollar is no longer working and debts are out-of-control. Libya and Operation Odyssey Dawn helped bring down a functional government but remember the first thing they did was establish a new private central bank and get rid of an independent one. Cuba, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan still have an independent bank and people at the top don’t like that. What a coincidence that having an independent central bank and being an enemy of America are the same.

In any case, it looks like the US is just winging it in Syria; anything to stop Russia, Iran, and Syria working together in peace. And make sure that central bank ownership is changed. Chaos may not be great, but it seems to generate profits and achieve goals for people at the top of the food chain. I do not hear much complaining about Libya. Why not the same for Syria?

Posted by: meshpal | Apr 11 2017 11:46 utc | 5

Whether or not Trump has a plan, he does have a trump card, Nuclear. After all, the Congress used it with the conformation process the other day. They might be similar in name only, but the fact 1/2 was used - i.e. the congress - means the U.S. might use the other 1/2. One has to wonder, just whose side are the pooh-baas really on?

Posted by: Eugene | Apr 11 2017 11:50 utc | 6

G7 in Italy today; French FM says it is just the calendar chance, but they spoke mainly about Syria (Tillerson was there before he flies to Moscow). Ayrault says they are 100 percent in agreement on the plan for Syria with ARAB and TURKISH allies...
i.e. they saved the Merkel-Turkey deal about the million Syrians in Turkey. No question about Erdogan's policies will be taken. Business as usual.

Posted by: Mina | Apr 11 2017 11:52 utc | 7

"Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan."
Absolutely, a "very stupid plan"....... Or he had a plan and that plan was blown away by the Deep Forces that Trump, obviously ,will not dare to challenge . So much for the "Good All USA Swamp Cleaning"
So, where is everybody now? On the streets? No, watching TV and eating Burritos.

Posted by: Ox | Apr 11 2017 11:52 utc | 8

The new Syria policy seems to be the plan of Kushner, who resembles/is a neocon:

nomoremister.blogspot.com/2017/04/in-trump-white-house-democrats-and.html

I don't see this plan working. The question is at what point does Trump give up and try something else, hopefully before igniting WWIII. Trump is in a real jam. He doesn't really have any ideas/solutions of his own, his advisors lack any real solutions, and he lacks institutional or public support. Will he end up surrendering to the borg? He may want to resign. He will try to blame others.

Posted by: Edward | Apr 11 2017 11:53 utc | 9

The US attack on Sha'riat airbase turned out to be much less than it was portrayed by the corporate presstitutes. As we know already, 23 of the 59 Tomahawk missiles reached their targets. Of the others, about 5 or 6 might have gone astray and the rest could have been intercepted and redirected by Russian forces near Latakia. The missiles fell around the perimeter of Sha'riat airbase, the main runway was not damaged and Syrian jets were using it not long after the attack. Russia was pre-warned of the US attack and managed to evacuate most personnel (as did the Syrians). The Russians also knew the US attack had been pre-planned even before the Syrian airforce dropped a conventional bomb on the terrorist warehouse storing sarin gas and chlorine gas components in Idlib.

The whole incident may have been staged in part to buy Trump time and to trick the neocon establishment on Capitol Hill into believing it has Trump by the short and curlies. Trump has a good opportunity to gauge the loyalty or treachery of his cabinet and administration, and of Congress, by observing how they react to the Tomahawk attack.

Also, is it necessarily a given that after the Sha'riat airbase attack, the US will engage in further attacks on Syrian territory? There's been some news that since the attack, US bombing flights over Syria have decreased. Perhaps there was some deal-making that we don't know about.

Posted by: Jen | Apr 11 2017 11:54 utc | 10

@ mesphal

... looks like the US is just winging it in Syria; anything to stop Russia, Iran, and Syria working together in peace.

Though the actual effect appears to actually be very much the opposite, as well as disrupting vassal State cohesion/alignment and stiffening resolve among the non-aligned States re blatant, outright, 'Rogue' conduct.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 11 2017 11:55 utc | 11

"trump and putin are setting a trap for the neocons"

the logic runs like this...

everybody's fed up with the neocons... the prospect of war with Russia makes americans sick to their stomachs,
jared and ivanka have three little kids and they probably love them

world leaders are fed up, including xi

so putin and trump will terrorize americans into doing some thinking, and xi is in on the gag

McCain and graham will go down in flames, along with the main media

that is admittedly the bright side... the dark side is: Richard perle has the negative of trump and that burro

.

Posted by: flickervertigo | Apr 11 2017 11:57 utc | 12

@ Jen

Given the RF promptly cancelled the de-confliction MOU and communication channel, that means any US/coalition aircraft in flight over Syria within ~250Km+ of Latakia or Tartus (S400/300+ complexes) are at extreme risk. This is because those aircraft fly at mid to high altitudes to avoid possible engagement by numerous Syrian AD SAM/Gun systems captured and in known use by ISIS/AQ & various moderate head-choppers ... if true US/Coalition have ceased overflights, may not necessarily indicate anything more than that for now, simple force protection measure in the interim, perhaps.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 11 2017 12:09 utc | 13

@ Jen

Given the RF promptly cancelled the de-confliction MOU and communication channel, that means any US/coalition aircraft in flight over Syria within ~250Km+ of Latakia or Tartus (S400/300+ complexes) are at extreme risk. This is because those aircraft fly at mid to high altitudes to avoid possible engagement by numerous Syrian AD SAM/Gun systems captured and in known use by ISIS/AQ & various moderate head-choppers ... if true US/Coalition have ceased overflights, may not necessarily indicate anything more than that for now, simple force protection measure in the interim, perhaps.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 11 2017 12:09 utc | 14

Posted by: Jen | Apr 11, 2017 7:54:42 AM | 11

Russia stopped to communicate on airstrikes - the deconflicting. It is the opposite of a deal, US planes risk running into accidents.

Posted by: somebody | Apr 11 2017 12:16 utc | 15

It is all about who will be the hegemon in the middle east, Aparthied Israeli expansionism in the West Bank, Golan Heights and beyond, not forgetting Israels claims on the Litani river. Plus Israels ability to influence the US electoral process through bundlers like Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban etc, plus the almost 100% support of Israel in Congress, winning US elections is what it is all about. Saudi Arabia also has good friends in Congress, just so long as they continue to use the petro dollar and continue purchasing 100's of billions of dollars on US arms.
Both countries are coming together in their fear of Iran, thinking that Israels military power and Saudi money will fix everything is delusional. US thinking has it that the 'arc of resistance' must be defeated and that Syria 'the low hanging fruit' of that coalition shall be the first to fall, followed by Hezbollah then Iran. The US realize their hegemony in the region is at stake, that is why they are thrashing about with futile gestures accusing Syria and Russia in turn of war crimes. In my opinion the 'arc' will prevail, such is the existential nature of the struggle, the US, Israel/Saudi Arabia and the head choppers are on the wrong side of history.

Posted by: harrylaw | Apr 11 2017 12:22 utc | 16

that blackwater guy met with Russians in the sychelles, set up a back-channel communications link between trump and putin

Jared's been meeting with Russians, a fact he "forgot" to put on his job application

.

meanwhile, McCain is making a leaping gaping asshole of himself, and so is the main media

it's a risky strategy, it may backfire, it may not even exist, but...

hope springs eternal, doesn't it?

.

Posted by: flickervertigo | Apr 11 2017 12:24 utc | 17

what makes you so sure Trump isn't Stupid? He is way over his head, he has no idea of policy, process nor much else. Our one hope was that he was isolationist, but I think that ship has sailed

Posted by: scottindallas | Apr 11 2017 12:26 utc | 18

Trump is a moron and is absolutely terrible,the end.

Posted by: aaaaa | Apr 11 2017 12:30 utc | 19

Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan.

I think at least part of this is because some of the things he naively thought were problems are actually dilemmas. Problems can be worked out or smoothed over by methods he's familiar with and comfortable with; dilemmas, not so much.

Posted by: PhilK | Apr 11 2017 12:33 utc | 20

As I see it little of the Syria policy has much to do with Syria policy. We see a naked struggle for power in Washington. This struggle has been brewing at least since the Syria operation started came out more in the open, more or less, in the 2013 false flag gas attack. You saw there the marriage of both Democrats and Republicans in pushing for War. Against this newly united faction realists in the military and other national security agencies opposed drastic military action and for three years there was a back and force--sometimes the War Party held some advantage and sometimes the realists dragged their feet. In late September of 2016 the realists seemed to have some momentum and the Kerry/Lavrov agreement was signed. With stunning swiftness the agreement was condemned by the War mongers and SecDef Carter mutinied and scuttled the agreement within a week. This was the first time I've seen such an open and obvious soft coup within the National Security State and Obama was stripped of his power. Part of why Carter did this is because everyone knew that Trump could not win so Clinton would hit the ground running and go into full-tilt war. Washington was held by the War Party and when Trump entered Washington he entered a town bent on War! Inc. all the way every day.

I'm guessing that the War Party made Trump an offer he could not refuse and he complied and probably convinced himself that he was doing the right thing--what else could he do? The office of the President does not grant you automatic rule over the Washington establishment as many people falsely believe--that power must be seized and few Presidents have been able to do that. I have no idea if Trump is playing possum and waiting to fight another day or if he is merely content in being Head of State and letting the bureaucracy (Deep State) run the government without interference.

Just so you know--by "Washington" I mean the entire apparatus of the Deep State which includes major corporations, foreign oligarchs, and governments like Saudi Arabia, Israel and the EU all who favor the War Party. This way they can utterly ignore the interests and prefernces of the American people whose interests are of no account in Washington.

Posted by: Banger | Apr 11 2017 12:34 utc | 21

The current US foreign policy depends on who last spoke to the president? Oh wait, wasn't that Ronnie 'Shoot first, ask questions later' Raygun?

Given the scary way things are going, so light relief may be in order, so here is a link I came across of Russian press call in which Lavrov expertly trolls Tillerson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl8126Iy6gM&t=4m40s

Posted by: Yonatan | Apr 11 2017 12:35 utc | 22

I think Trump (Bannon) gave a piece of rope to neocon guys in his house and they used it to make this current mess. Bannon excused himself so other guys can hang themselves without him being burn. They wanted a fire, they got one. DS is not stupid enough to really start WW3 and fireplaying guys will ultimately burn at some moment this whole Bannon stratagem plays out. It looks risky as hell, but given precision of other guys strategic arms nobody is crazy enough to play too far. Other side knows this, and just makes fire hotter an hotter - while helping SAA to became more and more of A and many other steps all around the world. Once this plays out somebody will pay and I think Trump will not be one paying. He will get out of this a winner, an empathic and wise leader. And Putin will still be smiling one.

Posted by: CasualObserver | Apr 11 2017 12:36 utc | 23

What are Trump's thoughts? Good question.

I really have no idea. It does look as if he was finally beaten down by the so-called 'deep state' (more properly, the oligarchy).

Or Trump was just another Obama: a tabula rasa on which a frustrated American public could project their desires, but who in reality was just another sell-out.

So sad.

Posted by: TG | Apr 11 2017 12:37 utc | 24

one last little thing, here...

google: fake chemical attack Syria
About 5,350,000 results

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=fake+chemical+attack+syria&spf=1020

*shrug*

,

Posted by: flickervertigo | Apr 11 2017 12:41 utc | 25

You are assuming that anyone elected to office has the power to do anything.

Politics is merely a sideshow.

Take Europe as a typical case in point.

In the past 40 years, Europe has experienced all manners of political ideology. From the Marxists and the military in Portugal and Greece to the Fascists in Spain and all manner of "Democrats" elsewhere.

Yet, the result is exactly the same across the board. We have stagnating wages, a sky rocketing cost of living, decrepit infrastructure that all result in increasing fiscal and legislative pressure.

Clearly, politics has absolutely no bearing on our quality of life.

Marxists, Fascists and Democrats all subscribe to a policy of perpetual fiscal deficits. No exception.

Regardless the underlying condition of the economy, Western governments run fiscal deficits and rack up sovereign debt perpetually.

But in a closed system where there is an entity that has been anointed as the owner of the currency and where the unit of account is imposed under penalty of law, perpetual deficits have arithmetical ramifications.

The ramification is the migration of profit towards the owner of the currency.

As profit migrates, so does title and political power.

Essentially, the central bank has been allowed to draw a boundary around society. The central bank doesn't care what happens within the boundary because their sole role is to push credit into the system.

Central banks have no other role.

In this regard, the central bank has the most to gain when the economy is faltering.

In this regard too, the roles of the World Bank, the IMF or the UN should become clearer. Hence the reason, for example, that the UN always, always, alway disburses funds even when corruption has been proven beyond reasonable doubt. Hence the reason that despite subsequent damning reports by SIGAR, USAid still spends hundreds of millions on white elephants in war zones.

Syria is but a side show. As is Yemen, Iraq, Libya and many other theatres prior.

The end game the transfer of title.

Title is transferred by precipitating chaos.

As you precipitate chaos, the fiscal strain compels the political construct to tighten the fiscal and legislative screws on people.

In a first instance, this monetary system can only result in the political construct having to, eventually, fight against the people.

Shortly after that, the political construct will have to fight against the owners of the currency too.

This arrangement however, also builds up and nourishes an increasingly necessary security apparatus to ensure its own survival.

As the fiscal situation worsens however, the Praetorians will, though gradually, inevitably take over.

The Praetorian Guard has now taken over.

That is what is happening in Syria

g

Posted by: guidoamm | Apr 11 2017 12:42 utc | 26

A bipartisan group called the war party now has control of the presidency and executive powers. The major flip flops in policy recently is the outward signs of the coup. Policy will soon steady to that of a tafiri suicide bomber.

Posted by: Peter AU | Apr 11 2017 12:43 utc | 27

I am thinking that the Putin plan of a stalemate is going well ...Most plebs in the west want the US out of the ME and most in the ME want the US out so its looking like a win win . >)

Posted by: terry | Apr 11 2017 12:52 utc | 28

You write:
"Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan."
Consider: Trump is indeed stupid. The "plan" he has at any given moment is as likely to be stupid as not.

Posted by: HouseDoc | Apr 11 2017 13:05 utc | 29

On further thoughts, it is clear thet there is no coherent persistent US foreign policy. Therefore Russia cannot trust a word the US says, especially in relation to issues concerning Russia's national security.

There are rumors in the British press that Tillerson is going to make Russia an offer, presumably one seen by the US as something Russia cannot possibly refuse. The deal in question - give up Assad in favor of returning to the G7.

This is totally laughable for several reasons.

i) The G7 probably has zero merit to the Russian government. At best, sanctions will be lifted, but they are actually of benefit to Russia.
ii) Assad per se is not important to Russia. The west really doesn't get that - they are so trapped in their own made-up world. The Russians are in Syria to kill the terrorists so they can't be used against Russia sometime later and to preserve the concept of the primacy of national territorial integrity / self-determination. However, it Assad was replaced before the terrorists are rmeoved, the possible pro-west replacement could kick Russia out of Syria before the key part is done. So in that sense, Russia's default is Assad stays.

If the romored deal is serious, it shows the west has either no concept of what Russia has been saying for years or they believe all leaders can be bought off for the right price.

Would Russia trade Assad for the removal of the supposed 'missile defense' (actually nuke-capable first strike) systems in Poland and Romania? I doubt it as those systems can be dealt with in other ways without compromising the prime mission of defeating the terrorists in Syria.

There is nothing the US can say now. It has totally destroyed its negotiating credibility in the eyes of Russia. All it can do is act. It either really supports the removal of all terrorists in Syria (no chance now?) or it tries to prevent Russia and allies destroying them. And that will mean military intervention.

Posted by: Yonatan | Apr 11 2017 13:17 utc | 30

best place to find out what US is up to is perhaps Russian inteligence.

https://www.rt.com/news/384333-putin-idlib-attack-provocation/
(Putin)...“We have reports from multiple sources that false flags like this one – and I cannot call it otherwise – are being prepared in other parts of Syria, including the southern suburbs of Damascus. They plan to plant some chemical there and accuse the Syrian government of an attack,”...
...“President Mattarella and I discussed it, and I told him that this reminds me strongly of the events in 2003, when the US representatives demonstrated at the UN Security Council session the presumed chemical weapons found in Iraq. The military campaign was subsequently launched in Iraq and it ended with the devastation of the country, the growth of the terrorist threat and the appearance of Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS] on the world stage,” ....
...A separate report of a potential false flag operation in Syria came from the Russian General Staff, which said militants were transporting toxic agents into several parts of Syria...

US is pushing to launch strikes against Syrian gov. Much propaganda build up now in prep for next chemical false flag attacks. These nuts are ready to go to war against Syria Air strikes, missile strikes) to destroy the Syrian government even with Russia in Syria.

Posted by: Peter AU | Apr 11 2017 13:36 utc | 31

"Help me out. What are his thoughts behind this. Or are there really none at all."
---

I suggest there are multiple agenda with one over-riding (or perhaps underwriting) theme that joins them all -- follow the money and it leads to the Saudi Regime (and other related gas stations in the region).

Media: silence when necessary -- 9/11; Yemen, little prince-lings delivering ISIS 'go' drugs in private jets via Lebanon; the weekly beheading and hand removal medieval style -- noise when necessary, "Assad Must Go!" at EVERY opportunity etc. I suggest it highly likely that all globalist politicians get a $kickback for the words sprouted in accord with the main themes. Easy to test the theory: just nuke Riyadh and see how quickly the ex-goat herders from the 11th century STFU. The war on Syria (and Islamic modernity) would end over night.

Trump: he looks bored already. Suggest he's just pressed the whiz button on the DC food processor -- Republicans are acting like they won the election. Wrong, Trump and Bannon and Flynn won the election. Payback will be the mid-term in 2018 where all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested. He's moving to hand these parasites back to 'the people' in one fine mess.

Neocons and enough rope: there may be a bit of that as well, but I suggest it is 3rd to the previous listed. What does the U.S. administration want with regards to Syria? -- Whatever the $money wants, and with an Economic Depression underway, the money wants distraction most of all. Bread and circus. In ancient Rome they crowded the Colosseum to watch the blood sports -- now they just tune in on CNN & Co for their daily dose of fact-less Hollywood narrative. Syrian kid gassed, and it's the end of the world snowflake sobbing stupor; Yemen, Gaza, Iraqi, Afghani, (and the list goes on) and it's the big yawn if it even gets a mention between the sponsor's adverts.

The only way this system of systemic corruption and abomination is going to stop is if/when the Russians/Chinese and any others simply target their "10,000" nukes on the GPS readings of the 0.01% cohort of individuals and start the countdown. Nations don't exist anymore, in practical terms -- as George Carlin said... the owners ... https://youtu.be/rsL6mKxtOlQ

Posted by: x | Apr 11 2017 13:39 utc | 32

In regards to the Trumpet's middle east mess I submit this link from Brandon Smith (Alt-market.com)

Economic End Game

An interesting blog. Brandon seems like someone willing to look beyond normal stereotypes and has a unique take on current affairs. I'd suggest checking-out some of his other blog post about the election. He also has information on making a ghillie suit which defeats thermal imaging (FLIR) – I'm sure this is something all MoA folks will be wearing come summer (snark).

Thanks to the patrons and especially b for keeping this place open and interesting. As a side note I prefer the commenters who comment on news and not bash each other.

I've been reading aleksandr solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, but I find I can't finish it. Too stark and too many moments that make me think the folks in the USA are about to experience the book first hand. Sigh.

Peace

Posted by: David | Apr 11 2017 13:41 utc | 33

Trumps rush to judgment instead of attacking fake news, as he has in the past, shows that the 'fix is in'.

In that light, Trump's business dealings with Qataris, Turks, etc. are suspect.

Trump's NY-sized ego forces him to seek to dominate. In Trump's world, that means $$$$$. By servicing wealthy ME interests, he can leverage his business to make billions.

Obama only got a $60m book deal. Trump's 'take' will rival the Clinton Foundation pay-to-play scheme.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Apr 11 2017 13:46 utc | 34

The weak attack on Shayrat was a 'shot across the bow'. Trump sent a signal that further R+6 advances will not be tolerated.

It is a 'one off' only if Putin agrees to a deal.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Apr 11 2017 13:48 utc | 35

@34 thanks for the blog recommendation - looks interesting at a first glance.

And I wholeheartedly agree with your statement: "Thanks to the patrons and especially b for keeping this place open and interesting. As a side note I prefer the commenters who comment on news and not bash each other."

Posted by: FecklessLeft | Apr 11 2017 13:48 utc | 36

I don't really see this one unified front when it comes to US foreign policy, one might view this administration, going forward, as schizophrenic as the last one.

Which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, after all, the US is considered to be an oligarchy, there are too many influental people, corporations and institutions pulling the strings of the empire.

The question is, how does one deal with the US considering its mental health issues?

Posted by: never mind | Apr 11 2017 13:49 utc | 37

1. Trump, like most of his inner circle and many of his most ardent followers, is a Christian Zionist, which is to say, a dispensationalist. He longs for the return of jesus and would like to take credit for brokering that, but also dreads the blame for Armageddon. He has brought Kushner, the Antichrist from Chabad Lubavitch, into the picture and would like to let him be the bad guy.
2. Trump controls nothing and never will. When Peter Dale Scott began talking about the Deep State many years ago he made it clear that the term derived from the Turkish "Donmeh". The donmeh has always been strpngly crypto Jewish and was the decisive force behind Kemal Attaturk that put the secular Turkish government in place. The donmeh includes Turkish, Israeli, and Saudi power factions with differing but allied agendas. The Syria situation is confused because the Turks are deeply confused about what would be acceptable to them.
. The Jews won the 20th century by stealth and rule most countries from behind the scenes. The details of the Jewish Empire are playing out now. We live already in the Jew World Order. Syria has at the resource level to do with Jewish control of oil and gas drilling and transport. Secondarily it has to do with Israeli theft of water and hydroelectric resources from the Khuzestan province of Iran, adjacent to Basra and easily pumped across the desert. There may be mineral resources as yet untapped in Khuzestan also. Khuzestan is primarily Arabic speaking and the CIA/Pentagon have been working for over a decade at splitting it off form Farsi Persia.
4. A thin appendix of Med shoreline fronting North West Syria was incorrectly given to Turkey in the 1930's and now has tremendously valuable associated oil/gas rights. Syria wants that coastline back. Tradeoffs with Turkey have not been negotiable. The fake gas attack was part of that process.
5. Russia does not want any new pipelines (other than their short one across Boetia from the Black Sea to Greece, which will provide the footing for retaking Constantinople and European Turkey). Russian interests are served by perpetual chaos that blocks Iran especially from the Europe market. The Russians have acted consistently in Syria to protect their national interest, which regionally coincides with that of Israel -- permanent chaos.
The South Pars gas can be sold off in dollars through Quatar or in gold through Iran. The vital national interest of the US is in preventing the latter. How to do that without blowback is now a source of major confusion that cannot be resolved.

Posted by: mireille | Apr 11 2017 13:51 utc | 38

36
The deal is, Putin pulls support of Syria totally. No weapons, no ammunition into Syria, no support whatsoever so AQ can get the upper hand.
Though I doubt the strike is a one off. The decision has already been made to hit Syria, Russia or no Russia.

Posted by: Peter AU | Apr 11 2017 13:54 utc | 39

b, "Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan." Everone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" [Albert Einstein]That punch... The Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah's acceptance of the Syrian invitation to help them defeat the headchoppers.Game set and match to Syria.

Posted by: harrylaw | Apr 11 2017 14:02 utc | 40

harrylaw, that was boxer Mike Tyson

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Apr 11 2017 14:06 utc | 41

All your answers can be found in Oded Yinon's 1982 plan to bust up the ME so Israel would be the only remaining dominant influence, and make it easier for that Apartheid nightmare to steal more land.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/pdf/The%20Zionist%20Plan%20for%20the%20Middle%20East.pdf

After Syria is destroyed, it will be on to Iran and the MSM will be more than happy to oblige in killing another nation.

Posted by: Greg Bacon | Apr 11 2017 14:10 utc | 42

The US policy is to install a pro-Western leader in Syria. An impossibility IMO but they won't stop trying. Tillerson is going to Moscow to deliver an ultimatum.

Posted by: dh | Apr 11 2017 14:18 utc | 43

Syria war: G7 fails to agree sanctions on Russia after 'chemical attack'
BBC News - 14 minutes ago
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says experience shows that Russia does not take well to threats or ultimatums. If Mr Tillerson thinks he can weaken Moscow's support for President Assad, he may need to re-think, our correspondent says, adding that ...

Tillerson Gives Russia Ultimatum: Side With The US Or Iran
International Business Times - 25 minutes ago
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was scheduled to meet with Russian diplomats this week to discuss Russia's obligation to drain Syria of chemical weapons under a 2013 agreement. Tillerson gave Russia an ultimatum Tuesday to side with the U.S ...

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 11 2017 14:19 utc | 44

B

Difficult to guess, what is rolling inside Trumps brains.
Author William Engdhal thinks, that "Trumps´s Job is to Prepare America for War."
But maybe we should better ask Kissinger, who once said:
"No one knows, what he (Trump) is going to do. So we can make of him anything we want to.
He is what we want to make him.

Guess that was the big, somehow erratic plan right from the beginning - I am afraid.

Anyway, most likely its a waste of time trying to find out, what big plans Trumps will be pulling out of the wizards hat.
On the other hand, it could be live saving to start to thing about the plan WE should come up to get us out of this mess.

mfg,

Posted by: maningi | Apr 11 2017 14:20 utc | 45

First, the American attack on Syria was a redux of the 2013 false flag event. Nothing more should be read into this. Secondly in trying to analyze American policy who says we are dealing with a rational entity? Who is in charge in Washington or are there multiple players all doing their on 'thing?' The Russians consider the USA as 'not agreement capable.' Meaning the USA is not capable of making any agreement and sticking to it.

It is my belief that some mid level people within the American agencies that facilitate Continuity of Agenda have taken the Trump election rhetoric and their oath to heart and are leaking information to these ends. This will initiate a spy versus spy scenario within the Deep State's agencies and operations and should not be confused with any serious divide within the Deep State itself but can been seen as such as multiple heads of departments act in uncoordinated measures under unseen pressures coming from the Deep State. Disarray rules the day as to what the Imperium's way forward should be as the Globalist cause seems to have suffered some apprehension from within. This despite carrot and stick being applied to those who command agencies. The rank and file may not be buying in anymore. This is why Trump has been vehemently opposed, not because he is not controllable but because his rhetoric can and has sparked dissension within the ranks, throwing what were previously smooth operations into broken fits and starts...IMVHO. Something is surely going on within the command and control structure with all the varied tactics been deployed across the spectrum, especially the domestic which from resistance is now effecting the external.

Posted by: BRF | Apr 11 2017 14:22 utc | 46

Jackrabbit@42, Thankyou, the quote worthy of Einstein though.

Posted by: harrylaw | Apr 11 2017 14:27 utc | 47

Addendum: by Deep State agencies that facilitate Continuity of Agenda I include both the Republican and Democratic party operations as both controlled and controllable but with dissension growing in the ranks here also to some small extent.

Posted by: BRF | Apr 11 2017 14:28 utc | 48

I'll elaborate later why I "hate the game, not the players". But, thanks to reading strategic policy plans (Yinon Plan, Wolfowitz Doctrine, PNAC policy document) and the "news" cohesively (rather than as unrelated events the way Big Brother Media frames them), the grand story arc in the ME seems to be unfolding in a manner consistent with Yinon's vision. Is the consistency due to (a) causation or (b) correlation?

(a) If "causation", then the US will likely keep increasing its activities and presence until Syria is partitioned and the US has permanent bases.

For us peaceniks, potential upside is to mitigate militant Israeli rulers lack of confidence in their long-term survivability:
- Permanent US bases in southern Syria place a buffer between Israel and Muslim countries. US would more directly guarantee Israel's security.
- With Israel's newest land grab, they'll secure substantial long-term energy supplies.
Once they feel substantially less threatened, then maybe a later generation of people living in the region will not know war so intimately.

(Still on their "to do" list is "relocate the Palestinians somewhere". Maybe relocate the Palestinians to a re-partitioned Syria or Libya, now that part of those populations has been sent to Europe as refugees?? Again, gotta wonder about causation versus correlation.)

About "hate the game, not the players", I understand why Israeli militant rulers feel the way they do. If they choose not to play brutal geopolitcal games, others will. Indeed, when you observe the ease with which they and others successfully excited Christian sheeple into becoming attack dogs, you can see they have no choice but to do so, because other irrational rulers could and would eventually come along and turn those same sheeple against them. The world is cruel and you cannot safely "choose not to play".

(If most self-professed "Christians" weren't so easily goaded into supporting killing people, then maybe they wouldn't need to be "wagged". But, I don't see that day coming. Especially with the way history is (not) taught.)

(b) It could simply be "correlation". After all, imperialist but self-professed "Christian" hordes have been killing each other, Muslims, and Jews with abandon for millenia. (What's that about "religion of peace"?? In recent memory, "Christianity as practiced" is far less a "religion of peace" than Islam.) What we see in the ME could simply be more ordinary US/UK/Western European imperialism, like the kind we've seen historically and continuing to present day everywhere else around the world.

The "light at the end of the tunnel" is that general artificial intelligence is coming soon. If it doesn't kill us, there's some "hope" the hegemon that emerges within 10 years will use its omniscience and omnipotence to impose/guarantee safety to all of us in the panopticon.

Posted by: dumbass | Apr 11 2017 14:37 utc | 49

@39, Jew this, Jew that... What you have written is a gift to the Zionists. They also want everyone to believe that Jews are a breed apart, entitled to their own special "state".

Posted by: ruralito | Apr 11 2017 14:41 utc | 50

guidomann @ 27

>> Clearly, politics has absolutely no bearing on our quality of life.

Not true. Capitalist colonies that transformed from capitalist to Marxist experiences giant improvements in literacy and longevity within just a few years. That in spite of a constant state of war imposed on them by their former and future masters.

Compare Cuba people's fortunes with any and every other tiny nation in Oceania's direct shadow. Heck, Cuba's biggest export was doctors. Better than "the world's greatest purveyor of violence" by a long shot.

Posted by: dumbass | Apr 11 2017 14:45 utc | 51

I'm afraid Trumps commitment to a non-interventionist agenda was only superficial. As a businessman he saw a niche in the political market (the interests of working class people, so against illegal immigration, offshoring jobs and neocon interventions) and he played it for what it's worth. An additional benefit is that it was contra Obama who he hates. So when Obama starts wars all over the Middle East, Trump claimed to want peace. When Obama struck a deal with Iran, Trump wanted to nuke it. Same with TPP, Obama care etc. In the same way I suspect that Trumps hatred for Mexico comes from several botched businessdeals in Mexico that cost him a lot of money.

Now that Trump has what he wants (the White House and giving Obama the finger), he is only interested in 'winning'. So when the Bannon-Flynn wing couldn't give him victories, he started to go with the Kushner-Cohn wing. Trump seems to be very opportunistic without any commitment to a principled policy. And with people he acts the same: anyone remember how he dropped Christy and Gingrich after they campaigned for him? Same with Flynn: he dropped him for no good reason. Now that Bannon is downsized too, there is only the same neoliberal-neocon administration left that we had with Obama, Bush and Clinton.

It looks like there is no deep strategy behind the sudden switch concerning Syria. Trump just wants to look good and he saw an opportunity to get it in an easy way. And he did get it: the MSM is suddenly loving him, the Trump-is-Putin-meme has all but disappeared, his approval rate just bumped up and the Israel-lobby is elated. It is not even that Trump sold out his voter-base. He was never committed to them in the first place and now they're in for a rude awakening - how sad!

Posted by: Jerry | Apr 11 2017 14:46 utc | 52

Team Chaos has found the perfectly inscrutable figurehead in Trump.

Confusing the hell out of their contrived adversaries 24x7.

Posted by: dumbass | Apr 11 2017 14:51 utc | 53

Trump buckling under to these policies (from neocon Robert Kagan Washington Post, Sunday, April 9)reported by Consortium News:

“The testing of Trump’s resolve actually begins now. If the United States backs down in the face of these challenges, the missile strike, though a worthy action in itself, may end up reinforcing the world’s impression that the United States does not have the stomach for confrontation.”

“Instead of being a one time event, the missile strike needs to be the opening move in a comprehensive political, diplomatic and military strategy to re-balance the situation in Syria in America’s favor.”

“Thursday’s action needs to be just the opening salvo in a broader campaign not only to protect the Syrian people from the brutality of the Assad regime but also to reverse the downward spiral of US power and influence in the Middle East and throughout the world. A single missile strike unfortunately cannot undo the damage done by the Obama administration over the past six years.”

“The United States’ commitment to such a course will have to be clear enough to deter the Russians from attempting to disrupt it. This in turn will require moving sufficient assets to the region so that neither Russia nor Iran will be tempted to escalate the conflict to a crisis, and be sure that the American forces will be ready if they do . . .”

“Let’s hope that the Trump administration is prepared for the next move. If it is, then there is a real chance of reversing the course of global retreat that Obama began. A strong response in Syria will make it clear to the likes of Putin, Xi Jinping, Ayatollah Khamenei and Kim Jong Un that the days of American passivity are over.”

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/10/neocons-have-trump-on-his-knees/

Posted by: Pislyak | Apr 11 2017 15:04 utc | 54

What Trump hasn't seen but Putin does see is that in order to become a leader recognized by history as great and ultimately able himself to face himself, one has to stand by what he has told the people he will do. In that illusory state of blindness he resembles Obama greatly and resides within a bubble of immediate, transitory acclaim. Our hope was that, in his later years now, he would have realized, with our support, what a sham that attitude has been - Obama has yet to realize it, but he eventually will, and his declining years will face him with that reality. It's a huge shame for both men that they seem unable to appreciate that they both had the potential to be great and have both shunned the prospect.

Putin will now turn away. Not belligerently, but with great sadness. Tillerson is taking, RT says, an ultimatum from the G7 which Putin will not accept. If he, Tillerson, presents this, he will quickly be shown the door. Politely, but quickly. Russia will not, cannot, accept any 'deal'. The best we can hope for is that they will ignore us and concentrate on the real tragedies of people under siege and lives lost. The best we can hope for is that our blustering 'leader' will find some other distraction that doesn't get in the way, for whatever sort of time he still wants to spend pretending to be president. Because that he is not. If Russia can manage without us, they will have to do so, and I really don't know how the US is going to be able to manage.

Movies and tv shows maybe. Movies and tv shows. And blue jeans. We could go back to making blue jeans; we were good at that.

Posted by: juliania | Apr 11 2017 15:06 utc | 55

I've never thought that Trump was capable of formulating his own plans. I thought it was clear from the campaign that he didn't have mastery of the details of any of his businesses or government policies to fend off attacks. He appeared to be the type of executive who left the details and the decision-making to his VP's. If you can surround him with the right people on his staff, they would essentially run the ship.

Posted by: Les | Apr 11 2017 15:10 utc | 56

Jerry @51

Was Obama 'forced' to give up his populist progressive agenda? No. He proved to be a servant of TPTB. His progressiveness was a shame. Obama barely tried to fight back, but his adoring fans made excuses for him at every turn. 11-dimension chess became a joke.

We are failing to learn from that history.

Trump has now proven to be the Republican Obama. He wasn't 'forced' to abandon 'America First'. That is a canard. And he is/will reap financial benefits from serving wealthy ME interests.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Apr 11 2017 15:12 utc | 57

Trump does not have a plan, he's a clueless eco-centric blowhard bully. He's dangerous!

Posted by: Hannibal | Apr 11 2017 15:14 utc | 58

"Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan."

The plan is to throw the neocon controlled media off their track. The momentum against Trump was strong - led partly hysteria around the Russia election meddling propaganda. Even Flynn had to be sacrificed. For Trump to survive, he knows he has to throw the media off its track and being the master of media manipulation that he is, he has just managed that. Look at the headlines in NYT or WaPo or the other neocon controlled media in the last few days. The round the clock negative coverage of Trump has been stopped in its tracks. In fact, in WaPo Robert Kagan recently wrote a post praising Trump and saying more is needed. Of course, he wants more bloodshed in the mideast.

Is it a wonder that in the age of fake news the master media manipulator won the elections??

In my opinion, there will be no escalation from here on. Trump has been silent on Syria. His various officials will go off in different directions and everyone (especially the neocons) will believe what they want to - just look at that Kagan article - it's so dripping with hope. That gives him the time to consolidate and carry on his own strategy. He just needs time and with this gambit, he has got it.

Also, with the war crazy neocons flocking to his banner, they have proved that they are neither republicans nor are they democrats. they just support whoever seems ablest to sow more war and chaos. A blight on their houses!

Posted by: ancient archer | Apr 11 2017 15:15 utc | 59

Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan

well, if he's not stupid the idea that he's been 'captured' doesn't really hold up. unless, of course, the man with no name put the old luger to his temple and talked to him softly about the well-being of his beautiful wife and children.

after all these years, decades really, the aggregate of lies, betrayals, and deceptions, criminality of the vilest nature, has sucked all the oxygen out of strategic thinking. off-the-cuff accusations of gas attacks without a shred of evidence, or even a sham investigation, followed hours later by a cruise missile bombardment pretty much confirms this. now it looks like raw imperialism on steroids.

of course the only viable plan would be to pack up and go home, start a political reconciliation process, and pay a massive reparations bill.

fat chance.

Posted by: john | Apr 11 2017 15:28 utc | 60

Greg Bacon - I agree with you 100% (the Yinon Plan is the key).

The Zionist influence in the US is scary ... I recently watched a video

(youtube) / watch?v=hUJHA9VhUZE

where Roger Mattson talked about his book "Stealing the Bomb" - how Israel acquired the knowledge and material to build their nuclear arsenal in the US ... what I found extremely disturbing is the fact, that after the AEC, found that 94 kg of HEU (highly enriched uranium) was "missing" in 1965, what happened? Nothing.

In 1968, the Tel Aviv CIA-station chief collected some samples outside Dimona and sent them to a forensic lab. Result: definitely of US origin, they could even tell from which plant because the unusual enrichment level (97,7%) did exactly match. So finally, the FBI starts to investigate .. (meanwhile Israel is producing plenty of plutionium...)and finds clear evidence of who did it and why ...

End result: huge cover-up .... according to Mattson:

"CIA-information withheld from NRC and FBI" ... "FBI did not look until too late" .. "FBI & CIA feared Israel's pushback" (!)

LBJ pretended it did not happen (he also knew what the Zionists had done to the USS Liberty but ordered it a "state secret" after the Zionists told him, if he spilled the beans, Jewish money would dry up for the Dems).. the relevant documents were classified for 50 yrs ..all this "frustrates US democracy" says Mattson ... (you bet)

So the Zionists did exactly what they accuse Iran of ... they do this all the time and then play the moral outrage card ... Zionism is a perfidious form of fascism ... the "Neo-cons" are all Zionists (or supporters of Zionism) so in reality fascism is driving US foreign policy ... (Allan Dulles did not bring all these Nazi-war criminals to the US for nothing ....)

Posted by: Miss Marple | Apr 11 2017 15:32 utc | 61

Trump undoubtedly has a plan, such as it is, but the competing plans from the many different major actors make it difficult to discern or execute. Imagine a football game where a dozen teams are all playing one another at the same time. Obama's plan was to kinda sorta do something, hoping nobody would notice the dearth of morality or coherence, and Trump may be falling into the same trap.

Posted by: Heliopause | Apr 11 2017 15:40 utc | 62

Trump and the US have a new strategy in Syria, which is having the United flight crew and police that dragged the poor Chinese doctor off the plane this week fly to Syria to forcibly drag Al-Assad from his office.

Posted by: WorldBLee | Apr 11 2017 15:41 utc | 63

@54 "If he, Tillerson, presents this, he will quickly be shown the door."

Tomorrow's headline "Putin Thumbs Nose At Trump".

Posted by: dh | Apr 11 2017 15:44 utc | 64

Ockham: every appearance points to no plan, ergo, until evidence directs otherwise, the hypothesis that there is no plan best explains the circumstances. Trump, like our past 3 Presidents, appears to be over his head, unable to reconcile streams of advice into a coherent policy, and close to flailing. He has thrown away his cover on the intelligent right; he has defaulted into cover from the borg where he is despised. If/when evidence is presented that the Syria 'gas attack' was a false flag, he is through. Better lucky than smart, but it sure looks time has run out on Trump with respect to both.

Posted by: Flavius | Apr 11 2017 15:49 utc | 65

Still funny how so many people fall for the "Trump is an idiot" scheme, go on underestimating him, that's what he wants.
Personally I think it's important to look at the "military action" he took. Sending a bunch of tomahawks on an unimportant target, all with a prior warning, is hardly a heavy retaliation, which makes sense since Assad did nothing worthy of retaliation, and Trump most certainly knew that. But look what happend, everyone is loosing their shit, complaining about how Trump will start WW3, and all the while, the warhawks flook to trump and endorse his actions, actions that the majority of the population condems because they're either pro-Trump, and hold him to his campaign promise of "america first", or are against Trump, and therefore condem absolutly everything he does. Imagine Hilary doing the same thing, her followers would have hailed her as a hero for fighting this Evil-Monster-Assad™. We will have to see how this situation plays out, but to toss in my two cents, I suspect that the war tension will get seriously hyped up by the media and Trump will play his part in that aswell, either by remaining silent or by resorting to vague politically meaningless statements. Once the public is outraged and people are frigthend enough Trump can handle syria without appearing weak or being attacked as a russian ploy. Afterall Trump has nothing to win by starting a war in syria, it wouldn't make sense for him to suddenly outobama Obama, for what reason? Money? Power? Sure the deepstate could blackmail him, but I'm honestly sure that after all these baseless attacks they could have a video of him in full SS-Garb shooting a bunch of puppies and the public wouldn't give a shit.

Posted by: Backdoor | Apr 11 2017 16:00 utc | 66

Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid.
He must have some kind of plan.

Welcome to the club.
Given his inaugural drain the swamp declaration, and the inherent hazards and complexities, there was no chance at all that His presidency would be anything other than a perpetual guessing game. Imo, Trump seems to be the first POTUS in modern times to fully comprehend, and exploit, the outer limits of the power and respect that the position confers on the incumbent. Everyone who matters on the World Stage is obliged to listen when POTUS speaks, and at least pretend to take him seriously, whether they agree or not.
----------------------
As Outraged has alluded to above, the G8-1 wank-fest was as anti-climactic as Xi's meeting with Trump. Perhaps someone stayed sober enough to suggest they all take a cold shower and stop talking a load of drivel that even they, themselves, were having trouble pretending to believe.
Howzat?!
Putin won, in absentia!

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 11 2017 16:00 utc | 67

Trump's "plan" seems to be to rush the net and provoke a sense of crisis, "danger" (to whom by what?) and "chaos" (no coherent storyboard or "message discipline" as many have mentioned).

No, I don't think Trump is "smart" ... pre-inauguration (even) he was described as a person whose opinion is most formed by the person he last spoke to ... and he appears to be an easily distracted, never-shuts-up (talking about himself), poor listener. He may not be "stupid" but he's not smart or disciplined either. He's impressed by his own mythology wrt flying by the seat of his pants through crisis after crisis, with multiple spinning plates ... he's a plate-spinner of some skill.

The G7 has declined to impose additional sanctions on Putin -- OR -- Syria, meaning, I hope, they recognize how overblown and opportunistically exploited this alleged use of chemical weapons incident has become. Guardian.

The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, had hoped to underscore the US position with a unified message from the G7, which condemned the chemical attack at a summit in Italy on Tuesday. However, G7 foreign ministers were divided over possible next steps and refused to back a UK call for fresh sanctions.

(It's likely not of much too much significance, but does represent at least detour or delay as opposed to an Anti-Putin and Anti-Assad rubber stamp)

Is R2P even part of Trump's vocabulary? Yes, sentence first, trial after (if anyone can be forced to remember the incident is disputed and the investigation is incomplete)

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Apr 11 2017 16:04 utc | 68

Bernie Sanders on Syria Strikes: Assad Is a War Criminal and a Child-Killer
https://medium.com/@pplswar/bernie-sanders-on-syria-strikes-assad-is-a-war-criminal-and-a-child-killer-6be6c1e32cb9

Posted by: Anon1 | Apr 11 2017 16:15 utc | 69

Banger | Apr 11, 2017 8:34:13 AM | 22

I have to agree with these comments. In 2002 the Bush admin had a plan for Iraq. We all know what that was. The problem for Bush was that he started losing the resulting war. After 2004 just about every decision was some ad hoc fix and compromise after another to avert a more obvious defeat. Obama inherited that situation and his policies, if they can be called that, were unchanged. The only initiative Obama has shown was to extend Bush's plan to Libya and Syria but without massive use of US troops on the ground. This has resulted in the destruction of the Libyan state and the Syrian War. Again Obama's wars have failed just as Bush's. Like Bush, Obama resorted to ad hoc fixes and compromises that led directly to the incoherent policies pursued by Kerry.

What Trump has added is a quantitative change, not qualitative. The frequency of incoherent and contradictory moves has just increased. Even the open split in current policy where Nikki openly contradicts Tillerson was seen in the Obama admin when Ash Carter shot down Kerry's efforts at a Syrian deal.

It is pointless to try to define a policy from this mess. It should be obvious that the incoherence is the result of some serious divisions inside the deep state and what is likely stirring the current crisis in US policy is an effort by part of the deep state to overthrow or neuter the Trump admin. Identifying the competing factions is not that difficult. Assessing the relative power of those factions and what policies those faction's prefer are more difficult.

Posted by: ToivoS | Apr 11 2017 16:17 utc | 70

Bhadhrakumar was poitint to Erdogan has not wanting an international enquiry on the chemical used. Who need an enquiry when you can provide the result you want?
http://www.rfi.fr/contenu/ticker/syrie-analyses-confirment-desormais-utilisation-sarin-ministre-turc-sante
We all have to believe the Turkish authorities...
While the Sweden attacker travelled to Syria (via Turkey) and one of the two EGyptians who blew themselves in Egyptian churches last sunday was expelled from Kuwait for links with IS (as tipped by.. the Egyptian authorities...), the EU probably think that they will manage to control the flood of former IS recruits (from Idlib to the rest of the world) by occupying Syria? i doubt it works.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/262728/Egypt/Politics-/Alexandria-bombing-suspect-was-extradited-from-Kuw.aspx

More demonstration of Arab solidarity and ethics
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/262777/World/International/African-migrants-seeking-Europe-sold-as-slaves-for.aspx
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/262773/World/Region/Lebanon-army-order-evicts-,-Syria-refugees-from-ca.aspx we enforce by selling them billions of dollars of weapons have nothing to say about that...
But the "moral authorities"

Posted by: Mina | Apr 11 2017 16:19 utc | 71

This:

https://twitter.com/PavewayIV/status/851830282164555776

Posted by: PavewayIV | Apr 11 2017 16:20 utc | 72

So many folks breathlessly anticipating mushroom clouds in our future, I fear we are being manipulated into gratitude and relief at anything less ... which also seems to have become a recognizable Trump (and MSM) tactic ...

Team Trump has apparently failed to "normally" and effectively stage-manage the annual White House Easter Egg hunt -- a logistical nightmare that a hotelier and beauty pageant magnate and staff might have been expected to ace... diminished expectations ... many fewer participants, military bands rather than A-list acts (Bieber apparently was a past entertainer 2010 to an onsite audience of 30,000 mentioned). Commemorative "eggs" ordered late, local schools still have not received their invitations. Apparently, they have only half the "normal" number of volunteers to staff the event

Washington-area public schools that normally receive blocks of tickets for as many as 4,000 children have yet to hear from the White House, according to representatives for school systems in the District of Columbia; Arlington, Va.; and Alexandria, Va. Several groups representing military families, who have accounted for as many as 3,000 guests in recent years, also said they had yet to be contacted.

This should have been a gimme --

NYT .

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Apr 11 2017 16:21 utc | 73

Look what's happened with Trumps initial moves in the whitehouse in some detail:

-Appoints Michael Flynn
-Flynn appoints Ezra-Cohn Watnik to senior director of intelligence at National Security Council
-Flynn alters national security council January 28
-removes director national intelligence
-removes chairman of joint chiefs of staff
-removes director of the CIA
-removes US chief representative to the UN (state department?)
-removes secretary of energy (nuclear weapons complex)
-adds chief strategist to the president (Bannon)

-Flynn gets removed by Vice President leaking that Flynn lied to him about Russia, Trump asks for Flynn resignation.
-Ezra-Cohn Watnik discovers who unmasked Flynn during Obama admin, leaks info to Nunes.
-NYT reveals Watnik is the leaker
-McMaster tries to transfer Watnik out of NSC, Trump and Jared intervene.
-April 4 McMaster succeeds in altering National Security Council back to original pre Trump configuration, removing Bannon's position and reinstating all of the others.
-within days of that move, events unfold in Syria and US policy shifts 180 degrees, both in Syria and apparently in North Korea.

-----
It's clear that Flynn's departure was the beginning of the end, it's just taken a little bit of time. Bannon, Watnik and Nunes were working to try and maintain control however they've clearly been crippled as Bannon's now off of NSC and Nunes recused himself from the probe into Russia.
There is no Trump master plan in motion, the people who he originally hired to enact his vision are either sidelined or fired.

Posted by: WG | Apr 11 2017 16:29 utc | 74

Some have suggested that Trump is practicing "Mad Dog" diplomacy, wherein an appearance of being dangerously unpredictable can be useful in getting your way.

Perhaps.

I do point out, however, that to be long-term effective "Mad Dog" diplomacy requires that one not actually BE a mad dog.

Posted by: TG | Apr 11 2017 16:35 utc | 75

@Posted by: guidoamm | Apr 11, 2017 8:42:40 AM | 27

Quote, "In the past 40 years, Europe has experienced all manners of political ideology. From the Marxists and the military in Portugal and Greece to the Fascists in Spain and all manner of "Democrats" elsewhere.
Yet, the result is exactly the same across the board. We have stagnating wages, a sky rocketing cost of living, decrepit infrastructure that all result in increasing fiscal and legislative pressure.
Clearly, politics has absolutely no bearing on our quality of life. "

I am not sure things are like that because of some sort of natural decline. I have a link that tells a whole different story, one of occupation of Europe by the USA since right after WW2.
That US occupation came most at the same time as the end of the European colonies (pushed by the USA with the Atlantic Charter). Unable to carry on plundering its colonies, the post-war, destroyed and impoverished Europe was left well-nigh totally dependent on US investments.
The US occupation of Europe (and Japan) was economic, military and cultural. And we are still ruled by the USA swamp creatures (I am French).
http://www.entelekheia.fr/how-did-europe-become-an-american-turf/

I also recommend the blog of the author, where I found historical absolute pearls of wisdom.
http://www.lpthe.jussieu.fr/~roehner/

Posted by: Lea | Apr 11 2017 16:39 utc | 76

Paveway 71

The blue pipeline in your link - why the need for it to skirt around Iraq? Why not up through US controlled Iraq and into Turkey?

Posted by: Peter AU | Apr 11 2017 16:52 utc | 77

Trump's plan is to stay in the presidential seat and try to deliver on at least 1 of his promises which he will so desperately cling to just like Obama clung so desperately to 1 of his promises, health care, that eventually became an abomination. Trump has no power over the chain of events occurring in Syria or beyond and is just there to give it legitimacy, to keep the illusion allive as if the pursued policy is being led by someone people voted for. It's like in Europe when NATO first bombed Libya and then the parliaments voted for the military action giving their approval while it should have been the other way round so it was just to give the impression that there is some democratic veneer to the pursued policies.

The policy of the US deep state/borg is chaos and fragmentation like Yugoslavia, Libya, Somalia, ... resulting in weak meaningless pliable statelets.

Posted by: xor | Apr 11 2017 17:00 utc | 78

A lot depends on Tillerson's reception in Moscow. It will be interesting to see how the Russians handle him.

It could be that the inconclusive result he got from the G7 has caused some second thoughts.

Posted by: dh | Apr 11 2017 17:08 utc | 79

Congratulations b, for your on-the-record giving in to Tavistock's smoke and mirrors.

Lest you forget, propaganda is still legal in the US of A, courtesy of the Patriot Act. You too must have noticed the Trump administration's decision to double down on their predecessors' efforts in spreading the 'fog of war' far and wide, by disseminating contradictory reports and opinions by .gov officials, "anonymous sources" and various psy-ops projects. Simultaneously Trump decides to black out all info regarding US troops deployment in the ME (as opposed to Obama's most.transparent.administration.ever. that at least reported some 'numbers') and send more boots on the ground in Jordan and with the Kurds.

Now all we have to do is just sit back, relax and wait for the next "barrel bombing by Assad's regime" to (not) take place and be "reported" by zionist presstitutes, the rest is a question of simple math...

Posted by: LXV | Apr 11 2017 17:08 utc | 80

"Trump is now losing the "America First" followers he will need to win another election. "...

Neither Trump nor his minders have need nor great desire for "must have" a 2nd-Pres. term. The deed is already done and more deeds are works in progress.

The DeepState, SecretTeam, DarkSide, 5thColumn and other clichés for CovertActions are the continuation of plans at least going back to Federal Reserve creation 1913 [which arguably involved blackmail-control of Woodrow Wilson via his alleged, late-stage syphilis].
So a 2nd pres term is a distraction.

When considering global movers-and-shakers, understand that old-wealth families have the privileges of generation-to-generation , continuous communication networks and accumulated implanted agents
and mutual benefits that are vital to continuing their wealth status, with its growing control networks that span generations.

Any "new money" lacks such time-honed privileges. BTW, "they" know all about assassination; there is no tech that rivals assassination when it becomes necessary to maintain old-wealth status.
The removal of the Russian Czar system and its 300-year old Romanov family reign, threatened and terrified all other old-wealth families and established an all-out war to maintain the status of the remaining "families". If you were looking for the real movers-and-shakers, you might start here.

Posted by: chu teh | Apr 11 2017 17:09 utc | 81

Peter AU | Apr 11, 2017 12:52:41 PM | 76

" Why not up through US controlled Iraq and into Turkey?"

Well maybe because the US does not control Iraq (at least to the level to secure a pipeline) and probably does not control Turkey either.

These pipeline stories as an explanation for every twist and turn in US actions in the ME are becoming tedious. Oil and gas are not the drivers of US policy in the ME. Maybe it was in the 1950s but it is not today. A much simpler explanation is the infiltration of the neocons (i.e. Zionist) into US foreign policy circles.

Posted by: ToivoS | Apr 11 2017 17:13 utc | 82

Here's why:

http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=1201

Netanyahu visits Trump; IsraHell bombs Syria; Netanyahu demands buffer zones into the Golan Heights; Tillerson says Assad can stay; ‘Sarin gas’ (fake news) explodes in Idlib; The Jew-owned media blames Assad sans any proof; War criminals Mattis and McMaster concur and Trump buys the JEW LIE; Tillerson caves; Trump BOMBS Syria; Tillerson reverses and says Assad must go and Russia is complicit; Jews applaud!

Posted by: B. Nathanael | Apr 11 2017 17:15 utc | 83

Add to WG's list that Trump now has a fully legal impeachment hanging over his head.

For the past twelve months or so, US has been building up forces on Russia's borders. Not enough for any sort of attack - apart from Kaliningrad perhaps - but enough that Russia must maintain sufficient forces in place to face that threat. The build up of US forces in Europe seems to have begun some time after Russia moved into Syria for the purpose of tying up Russian forces.

Syria - outraged has posted links to a couple of relevant articles further back in the thread.
Add to that what Putin has said to reporters -
https://www.rt.com/news/384333-putin-idlib-attack-provocation/

Russian MoD http://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12118216@egNews
...Moreover, according to the information, insurgents are delivering toxic substances to the areas of Khan Sheikhoun, Jira airport, East Ghouta and to the west from the Aleppo city.
The purpose of these actions is making another reason to accuse Syrian government of chemical weapons use and provocation of new US attacks.
The Russian party warns against making such steps.

Russia are now beefing up Syrian air defences and apparently other measures.

Has the decision to attack Syria already been made?
Was the Tomahawk attack a warning for Russia to get out before the main attack comes?

Posted by: Peter AU | Apr 11 2017 17:16 utc | 84

his "base" is beginning to turn against him.
all of a sudden, the Dems and Liberals are cock-a whoop for him
while those who actually supported him are turning against him.
i think he's probably lost it.

Posted by: chris m | Apr 11 2017 17:18 utc | 85

I would say the bombing of the Syrian airfield served the function of a valve - opened to relieve pressure. The pressure was the intense hysteria in the USA media and political culture over the "chemical attack" with the additional context of alleged Russian meddling in favour of the new administration.

As to the end of the de-confliction communications, I suspect this will be reinstated at some point. Based on statements by Russian military soon after the "chemical attack" - to the effect that the flight plan of the plane, which conducted a mission in the area at the same time as the alleged attack, had been shared with the Americans ahead of time, as routine, and the Russians assume this information was passed to the rebel groups who staged the attack so the theatrical presentation could be timed to coincide with the presence of that plane.

Posted by: jayc | Apr 11 2017 17:19 utc | 86

"Whatever one might say about Trump, he is not stupid. He must have some kind of plan."
His plan is to survive as Potus. That's all. He has pretty strong fascistoid beliefs, but of course surviving is more important. So the nihilistic neocons are on the march again.

Posted by: Pnyx | Apr 11 2017 17:44 utc | 87

Could we all just grab a clue please? Mr. Trump, in the role of Reagan, is nothing more than a salesperson selling whatever the corporate giants have to sell. He is here to sell his brand, and by way of that, the empire's goals also. Global hegemony is the game for the empire/NATO. This modern empire will not tolerate competition of any kind. So regime change is in store for any nation that will not comply.

Mr. Trump is a spoiled rich brat, but is is a superb "snake oil salesman". Like Reagan, perfect for the empire's needs.

Posted by: ben | Apr 11 2017 17:56 utc | 88

TG@74 We already have a mad dog on the Trump team 'Mad dog Mattis. here are some of his quotes.
"The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot."
(Business Insider)
3. "I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all."
(San Diego Union Tribune)
4. "Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact."

"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."

Posted by: harrylaw | Apr 11 2017 18:02 utc | 89

Perhaps we should take a deep breath and exhale slowly ... a short take on the G8-1 love-in:

After two days of the usual, a supplementary joint position/statement was sought, the primary driver being Perfidious Albion, UK, with US, Tillerson in support, the response of the Foreign Ministers of Italy, France, Germany, Canada & Japan, whilst diplomatic observers of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar & Turkey stand around looking on sternly:

1. We should all agree to launch action against Russkies to teach 'em a lesson: No.
2. Well what about agreeing to take action against Syria and that demon-head Assad: No.
3. Alright, lets agree to new sanctions against Russia then: No.
4. Can we at least agree to new sanctions against Evil Assads Syria: No.
5. What about we agree the chemical incident was a bad bad thing and it should be thoroughly investigated: Yes.

Righy-O then, says Tillerson, with that unanimous ringing endorsement and steadfast explicit backing & support I'm off to Moscow to present my credentials and on arrival immediately thereafter issue an Ultimatum to Evil Beelzebubic(sic) Putin and put him in his place !

Meanwhile Putin and the President of Italy are meeting and declare the reported chemical incident should be thoroughly investigated ...

The corporate owned MSM is hyping all this to the max and beyond ... meanwhile, later this week the foreign ministers of Syria and Iran will meet in Moscow ...

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 11 2017 18:04 utc | 90

@Peter AU

Exactly! Trump has traded threatened impeachment over groundless accusations for the threat of impeachment (if he doesn't play along) over legitimate impeachable offences. Seems at best a decision made in panic to buy time, and at worst an acknowledgement of capitulation.

I fear they've already decided to attack they're just not sure when. Perhaps they're just going to keep pushing until US soldiers are killed and then there will be the congressional vote for war.

Posted by: WG | Apr 11 2017 18:06 utc | 91

I suggest listening to Dr. Pieczenik on the Alex Jones Show... especially his appearance there on April 10th explains it probably pretty well... it is less than 20 minutes long.
Or even shorter, this report on that interview: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-10/pieczenik-explodes-issues-warning-trump-mathis-and-mcmaster-about-going-war-syria

Posted by: Christophe Douté | Apr 11 2017 18:08 utc | 92

Something is brewing. For Putin to publicly call the Americans out today during a press conference with the Italian President by stating US plans to bomb Damascus, is exceptional.

Posted by: Pat Bateman | Apr 11 2017 18:10 utc | 93

Of course Israel wants it. Having backwards salafist principalities on the Israeli border will be no threat at all.

Posted by: Matt | Apr 11 2017 18:10 utc | 94

@82, Brother Nate is here! Not all "Jews applaud", Bro Nate. Neturei Karta for one. http://www.nkusa.org/
Love your videos, you got a fire under you, and it shows. But your suggestion that Jews are born evil contradicts science AND Jesus whom you claim to venerate.

Posted by: ruralito | Apr 11 2017 18:11 utc | 95

Posted by: Peter AU | Apr 11, 2017 1:16:12 PM | 83

"Has the decision to attack Syria already been made?
Was the Tomahawk attack a warning for Russia to get out before the main attack comes?"

The US never had the power to do this - see Cuban missile crisis. Both militaries are careful not to get involved in any tit for tat that would finally lead to nuclear war. So Ukrainians and Syrians have to go to a proxy war against each other with outside support. It was better in the cold war when lines were drawn who was allowed to support which government.

The G7 countries have just refused further sanctions for Russia and are asking for proof.

The truth will come out, probably via Turkey, especially if Erdogan loses the referendum.

Peace would be easy if everybody took regime change from the table - the US, Iran, Saudi.

Trump means the end of US influence if he combines an aggressive foreign policy with a trade war. Countries just have no reason left to ally with the US.

Posted by: somebody | Apr 11 2017 18:20 utc | 96

Idlib province borders on Turkey. Yes, Turkey.

Posted by: Quentin | Apr 11 2017 18:28 utc | 97

David 34
Thanks for the interesting link. The US banking holiday of 1933, the Cyprus haircut of 2013, the Indian demonetization of 2017. There are precendents for the banking systems to take dramatic/drastic steps either as the result of economic change or precipitously/preemptively. Will TPTBs do such a thing to the US? Hopefully not anytime soon. But it does fit in with their stated overall game plan.

jayc 85
Perhaps Trump released the valve. It's sad that that's the best we can hope for. Meanwhile, Trump can now relish that - like his predecessors going back for decades - he is officially a wartime president.(with the associated madness that entails)
http://theweek.com/articles/691356/dcs-war-madness

Posted by: Curtis | Apr 11 2017 18:39 utc | 98

Unfortunately for everyone, the United States is utterly opposed to "peace" ... couldn't find it in the dictionary, much less the encyclopedia, much less draw a picture of it, except maybe one that has a tripartite Syria to match the tripartite several times proposed and rejected for Iraq and now apparently also to Libya. Balkanization or Bosnification appears to be one unifying "plan" under the pretense of dividing the pie "fairly" -- but, at least as proposed for Iraq, was absurdly unfair, in addition to having (IIRC) zero popular support and hitting the re-set button when it comes to reducing governmental legitimacy back to near-zero.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Apr 11 2017 18:40 utc | 99

89 outraged
French journalists are on another (qatari) planet. They report that evryone stand with the us, no mention ofthe Italian president talking with putin and give as a fact that the Turks have published the results of the analysis. Well yesterday they were convinced that the us strike had destroyed "20% of syrian aviation".

Posted by: Mina | Apr 11 2017 18:42 utc | 100