Syria

Mattis urged caution and wisdom in Syria, 2013

This article today at The Intercept includes a video of a 2013 interview with Gen. Mattis. I had previously accepted all the hype about him being a mad dog, but he sounds reasonable here. I would recommend watching at least part of the video in order to see his demeanor. He argues against the no-fly zone concept, including whether it even would make sense in Syria:

Was Trump's strike all about North Korea?

Trump's missile strike hasn't made a lot of sense as something directed at Russia or Syria, minimally damaging as it was. Or as a message worth the blowback, to placate the neocons - they'll never be satisfied until we've annihilated ourselves.

So here's another interpretation, from Ilargi:

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2017/04/symbols-of-strength/

Tulsi strikes again

Bernie, still gotta love him, started a movement going, even though he has chickened out in pursuing it, which has encouraged rising stars such as Tulsi Gabbard, Nina Turner, Tim Canova and revitalized people like Alan Grayson and Jeff Merkley. My favorite, bar none, the real deal, the real straight shooter, the one with guts, is Tulsi Gabbard.

The Empire Strikes Back… and it's a foul ball!

The backstory:

While the Syrian government surrendered their chemical weapon stockpiles for destruction in 2014, evidence indicates that rebel groups in Syria have ramped up their own supplies of the deadly weapons and have not hesitated to deploy them in combat. In November 2016, the New York Times acknowledged that ISIS, alone, had used chemical arms at least 52 times in Syria and Iraq.

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