Let us start with the usual words of caution. The Mainstream Media (MSM) in North America and Europe cannot be believed. All reporting is disguised propaganda in support of an agenda. ‘Facts’ are routinely withheld or twisted.
Neither can the governments of the Western World be believed, for their politicians and bureaucrats serve the same hidden Ruling Class Alliance as do the reporters. Given the absence of truth-in-news, ordinary people are kept ignorant, and vulnerable to dangerous manipulation.
It is within such constraints that those who attempt to make sense of events and discern the truth, have to work. All Broad Right commentators, from Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh, to me (George Wellor), wrestle with the same handicap.
Yesterday Michael Savage warned that President Trump was being misled by some of those around him, and being propelled to war with Russia. Savage, who can blow hot and cold but is sometimes extremely insightful and alert, asserted that Syria’s Assad had no reason to use chemical weapons because:
- He is already winning the Syrian civil war.
- He was not likely to risk the international outrage that chemical weapons generates.
Trump obviously did not take note of Savage’s argument, and launched missiles on Syrian airfields. There is no doubt the reports of the missile attack are factual, as Trump has confirmed them. It is also reported that Trump gave the Russians an early warning. Many on the Broad Right – from Nigel Farage to Rand Paul – have denounced Trump’s decision.
On this website we call it Trump’s ‘Syrian adventure’, because the attack is more a gesture than a decisive move, and all foreign interventions have unintended consequences that can be good or bad but are not part of the original calculation.
Savage’s arguments for doubting that Assad was responsible for the chemical attack, are persuasive, though we would add another that is even more persuasive. It is our belief that Assad does nothing without approval from Putin on whom he is militarily dependent. And surely Putin would veto a chemical attack that has little military value, but hands a huge propaganda gift to Assad’s enemies.
It is possible that Assad is a madman and indifferent to Putin’s opinions. It is also possible that Putin gave permission and is playing a deeper game. We doubt both these explanations. Nevertheless, Trump may have been shown very convincing evidence that set him off on a military adventure.
There are four explanations for Trump’s decision.
One is that he saw irrefutable evidence of Assad’s guilt and was emotionally so moved by the horror, that he felt obliged to act. This is a possibility – and shows Trump in a good light – for he is not a calculating, cold politician; he does not act in pursuit of an ideology; nor as a college geopolitical strategist.
The second explanation is the Savage one. Trump is naïve and is being manipulated by war-mongers seeking profit from war, or by Jewish neo-cons acting for Israel, or by Putin-hating perverts, all of whom want war with Russia. This is a worrying possibility and shows Trump in a poor light.
The third explanation is that ahead of meetings with China and Russia he is flexing his muscles.
The fourth explanation is that he has seized an opportunity to distract from his defeats at home and is doing what petty tyrants often do with little regard to long-term consequences. Let us hope that this is not the explanation.
For the record, on this website we do not believe that Trump is easily manipulated by those around him, nor do we think he would depart from his election promises in search of a quick popularity fix.
On balance, our view is that Trump has embarked unwisely, on an adventure out of good motives.
We find it hard to get enraged about chemical weapons, as though other weapons like bombing do not inflict as much suffering on the innocent. Their ownership and deployment are not nearly as dangerous as nuclear weapons.
We don’t see how it is in America’s interests to bring down Assad, and in any case piecemeal attacks will not bring him down, but will alienate Russia. If we should have any measurement for interference in the Arab dictatorships, it should be (i) creating a bulwark against ISIS, and (2) are they protecting our brother Christians.
We still think Trump is a good man and a much better man than any of America’s Presidents since Reagan. We think he is dedicated to America’s best interests, sincere and humane. He is no fool, but he is new to the job. He has inherited a near-completed Revolution, a debt-ridden Nation, is facing massive obstacles, and is surrounded by enemies like no previous President. We think the Syria attack was a mistake but not a fatal one, and the Broad Right should speak out but cut him some slack.
Meanwhile, two stars for Mitch McConnell’s Gorsuch victory. It is also a victory for Trump who has kept a campaigning promise. Whether Gorsuch will be a real conservative on the crucially important social issues, remains to be seen, but Trump and McConnell have done their best.
The victory is not that great, for Gorsuch is replacing a genuine conservative. It is the next vacancy created by the departure of the ACLU representative Ginsberg that will count. The Revolutionaries – if they are still out of office – will really fight on that one!
Despite the dishonesty of the Swedish MSM, our MSM and the Swedish officials, it looks like the Muslims have truck-struck in Stockholm. Too bad!
Last word.
Visit the BNP website and learn that 80% of the UK’s moderate Muslims support ISIS, and especially the young who were born in the UK.