Peter Ford is a fine example of the âwet ragâ brigade! Of course it could be that the chemical weapons were already there & were set off by Assadâs bombs although the rebels donât have a history of using such weapons (Assad, however, has) so the implication by Mr Ford is that provided Assad continues to bomb his own people with conventional bombs that is perfectly acceptable.
With regard to Trumpâs ownership of stock in Raytheon, well, he might own stock in a company that owns stock of the 923 institutions who do & he is not in the top 10 private individuals who own stock The share price is down today.
Hopefully the missiles used components from a company I have shares in but it would not be a motive for me to launch them!
So Donna, the civil war in Syria benefits the rich does it? How??? I really do not understand that for a dictator to fight his own countryâs population causing what must be the worst humanitarian disaster for years is allowed to continue unchecked rather than have an unpopular outsider actually do something to stop it. I fail to see your logic.
âŚand the moon landings didnât happen either!
Oh come on Mark - youâre not one of those spooky deniers are you?
Clearly you are not well educated about electoral systems, and far be it from me to educate you, but perhaps you might want to take it upon yourself to look it up. If I tell you you, will refuse to hear what I have to say, but if you look it up yourself, you will understand. However, if you choose not to that is your choice, but just know that you will be choosing ignorance. but just know that First past the Post allows the potential for a majority of seats to be held by a minority of voters.
The day Trump was elected he had the lowest support rating of any president in the history of the United States. There is a reason for that.
Just because it is the system they have always used does not mean that it is either efficient of good in any way. Both Canada and the UK use FPTP as well with equally unrepresentative results. David Cameron won 50.9% of the seats in the UK 1n 2015, with only 39% of the popular vote. He got just barely over one third of the popular vote and yet has a majority of the seats. In Canada, in 2011, Stephen harper had a majority government with only 31% of the vote, and Justin Trudeau won in 2015, with 39.5% of the votes. it is an unfair system that does not represent the will of the people.
Hey Mark,
You started this thread with a question - But seem unable to comprehend that others have an alternative view to you - What was the point of posing the question - were you seeking support for your own, in my opinion, small minded bigoted views, or were you honestly seeking a lively, intelligent debate about current affairs. You started this thread with some very personal and, again in my opinion, ill informed views about Trumpâs bombing of Syria. At every point during this discussion when somebody disagrees with your Pro Trump stance you attack. Open your eyes Man - the world is an extraordinary dangerous place at the moment and when the most powerful man on the planet is not capable of recognising that; we should all be fearful. The man was elected on the back of a proven Russian effort to discredit his opponent - He has NOT delivered on his promises, far from it - the man is incapable of stringing more than a few words together - just look at his pre - election speeches that support a âMuslimâ ban, building a wall, bombing jihadist families etc.
Hey Mark - what did you expect - The man goes golfing within hours of bombing another country thatâs your idea of a âHeroâ - really; Get a Life.
Hey Dan,
I can easily accept that others may have an alternative view but for them to be credible it would be nice to read a sensible, well thought & written reply. Trying to convince me that your view is relevent should not, when referring to me, include the words âsmall minded, bigoted, ill informedâ, & especially, from someone who does not know me, âGet a lifeâ.
People have strong views about Trump, thus the point of the discussion.
But that does not take away the fact that he has started to do the things he said he would do in his pre election campaign, but I have never said whether they are good or bad, just that he is keeping his promises, at least as much as Senate will allow - a rare thing with todayâs politicians.
What I do respect about the man is that is prepared to try something which may, at last, prevent & bring to an end the suffering of innocent Syrian civilians & the largest humanitarian disaster for many years. So the man went golfing within hours of this happening. What was he meant to do, sit in his office & watch TV? Would it have been bad if he had something to eat, went to bed, visited a school instead? If you think he is a villain then say so & cite reasons backed up with fact, not rhetoric, & try not to make your point by belittling other posters. It would make your post more credible.
Derek,
Thank you for your lesson in electorial systems & I certainly take your point regarding its fairness. I donât understand why you think that I would not listen & would choose ignorance - where is that coming from? Whether the voting system is fair or not has never been questioned in my post but at the moment the FPTP system is the one used in the USA & Trump won it.
My personal view of Trump the man is quite different to Trump the president - I donât like the way he speaks, his mannerisms make me cringe! And the way he deals with the press, although one or two of them wonât give him a fair hearing & do print bs - this site would recognise the Daily Mail as a UK equivalent - he does not help the situation. There are other traits that he has that do not endear him to me but would Clinton be much better? Fortunately it was not our choice.
My only reason for making him a hero is that he is prepared to actually do something to bring the Syrian issue to an end whereas everyone else in the world seems content to allow it to continue & for the past 5 years we have watched Syrian civilians be gassed, killed, maimed & driven from their homes in their thousands to live in squalor or take their lives in their hands to escape to countries that have no room or inclination to take them. The answer is to stop Assad & allow these people that basic human right - To GO HOME.
Please explain why Trump is wrong to tryâŚ
Exactly. Itâs all about the money.
He does not fill me with confidence at all.
Gets the country name wrong and talks about chocolate cake! 
Martin
Look on the bright side, he got the country name wrong AFTER launching the missiles. It would be much worse if he got it wrong when ordering the attack.
Just imagine that heâd been thinking of a round of golf on his course in Scotland, or, groping someone in Trump Towers,
âyeah, yeah, fire 59 cruise missiles to Scotland, New York, last place I thought of,â
Hey Mark,
Itâs been an interesting few days for your âheroâ and his team - The American battle fleet and nuclear submarines are heading for the Korean peninsular - Trump tweeted on April the 11th that âN. Korea were looking for trouble and that if China helped that would be greatâ he went on âif not we will solve the problem without themâ - Meanwhile Kim Jong Un is reportedly continuing to develop his nuclear capability and continues to provoke with Missile testing along his borders and in the direction of Japan. As a result of the missile strike in Syria relations between the US and Russia are described, yesterday by the American Secretary of State at a low point with Putin continuing his support for Assad. Recently Trump said that NATO was obsolete but this week reversed that view as he will need itâs support in the coming months. Trump, in a foreign policy speech said he would not intervene militarily in another foreign country unless he could achieve âVictory with a capital Vâ - Doesnât seem to be the case with Syria - And he promised to âwipe ISIS from the face of the Earthâ - that doesnât seem to be going too well. My point being that the World does not seem to be a safer place with Trump in the White House - He, in my opinion, is the villain who is doing exactly what he accused Obama of in this tweet from Sept 2013 - AGAIN, TO OUR VERY FOOLISH LEADER, DO NOT ATTACK SYRIA - IF YOU DO MANY VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN & FROM THAT FIGHT THE U.S. GETS NOTHING!.
Oh and a little aside Mark, about Hypocrisy - To quote your post to me
" & try not to make your point by belittling other posters. It would make your post more credible".
And this from you earlier in this thread to another poster
"If only you were as bright as you are sarcastic!
Dan, now that is a response! All good stuff except your last.Did you read Simonâs post where he says âCrikey what was your subject on Mastermind - The Blee*ing Obviousâ ?â However you dress it up there is no need to be rude to other posters & if you are then expect back a little bit of what you give - within the bounds of decency, of course.
Awwwww some people, soooooo sensitive and never heard of humour! Just the type of thing I love at a dinner partyâŚ
Trump is neither hero nor villain, but rather a mostly ignorant and petulant bully who is learning on the job.
My first objection to the premise of this thread is the idea that Trumpâs decision to attack Assad somehow differentiates him. In fact it is an about-face for him. Clinton was the most vocal advocate of addressing Assad in the campaign, and she was roundly criticized for it, being labeled a war hawk. I find it hypocritical for those people who criticized Clinton when she said it was necessary to intervene in Syria to now cheer Trump for doing the same. At least those Trump supporters that are now criticizing him have some integrity.
Second, Trumpâs decision-making is seriously questionable in general. He seems to make decisions based on the smallest amount of information about very complex subjects. I can offer three examples in the past week. 1. His decision to address Assad after seeing the âimagesâ of the chemical attack despite the fact that Assad has done such things in the past. 2. His about-face on China currency manipulation following one meeting with the Chinese President. 3. His about-face on the need for NATO following one meeting with the head of NATO. These examples demonstrate an extreme ignorance of both facts and policies.
Third, Trump is one of the most most dishonest people I have ever witnessed. Not politicians, but people. He creates his own reality, and ignores facts. He repeats lies until people believe them. The press has largely been a pawn in this, although they are finally starting to call him out like they should have been for the past two years or more. I am still surprised how people can be so ignorant as to believe his lies.
Finally, back to Syria, his attack on Assad does nothing long term except to change the dynamic with Russia. I still donât see a strategy. This was Obamaâs problem too, he really didnât have an overall strategy when it came to Syria and ISIS. Trump is so short-sighted that I cannot imagine he has a long-term vision for what that part of the world should look like in five years, let alone a path to get there. I only hope that some of his more educated advisors (apart from that white supremacist Bannon, who looks on his way out) will be able to develop a comprehensive strategy for Syria. And I also hope that Tillerson is capable of monumental diplomacy, because it is going to be needed.
âthis is a man of actionââŚyeah. So was Hitler, Mugabe,Amin,Stalin,Mao Zedong etc. Heâs still an up-his-own-arse Knob!
I have to admit that his actions since the initial missile attack (and my initial post) have not done his cred any favours & as usual his speeches still seem to be aimed at 7 year olds. Are the recent decisions his alone? Does he not have advisers & more importantly, the restraint of Congress? I am sure that any information POTUS has far exceeds that available to those who judge him. Just how autonomous is he?
Tim, I hope you are wrong about his attack on Assad & I wonder if Hilary will speak up in his favour as it was her idea but I fear not. In politics no-one will ever give credit to their opponents for doing what they themselves thought was a good idea!
Even the most evil of dictators seem to have done something good even by accident - Hitler gave us the Beetle.
Hillary did call for an attack immediately prior to Trump launching one. She also has called for a no fly zone over Syria.
Are the recent decisions his alone? Yes and no. Of course he has advisors. But in the case of use of military action, the buck really does stop with the POTUS. As for Congressional Authorization, this is something that most Presidents have dealt with. Congress will usually say that something requires authorization, and the POTUS will almost always claim that he (unfortunately I canât say he or she here) has the power.
Those against military action, indeed most isolationists in general, tend to be on the extremes of both the left and the right. Personally, I do believe that military action is necessary, but I believe that there must be some type of diplomatic approach to Russia to somehow remove the Assad regime without necessarily granting powers to the rebellion. The issue with Petulant Trump is that he needs someone smarter that Pence and that arrogant prick Miller to advise him on this. He needs an elder statesman, someone who actually has experience in this stuff. He really should call in McCain and Graham to give some advice. They are both hawks but know a lot more than he does, by a factor of infinity. Of course, had Hillary won, all this wouldnât be necessary.