Has Trump started WW3

thumpingrug

So....my concern here is the Trump acted without any recourse to the UN and therefore acted alone.  Some may see that as a good thing, a clear indication of decisive action, but I believe its cause for concern that he is unwilling to follow a diplomatic route to see if pressure could be brought to bear before sending in the big guns. The russians have started making noises that they are deeply unhappy and will be strengthening assads forces.  Its a a position that escalates quickly and messily.

ICBM

thumpingrug said:

So....my concern here is the Trump acted without any recourse to the UN and therefore acted alone.  Some may see that as a good thing, a clear indication of decisive action, but I believe its cause for concern that he is unwilling to follow a diplomatic route to see if pressure could be brought to bear before sending in the big guns. The russians have started making noises that they are deeply unhappy and will be strengthening assads forces.

ie strengthening their hand in Syria. You might even think that teaching Assad to be a bit more careful and at the same time giving Russia a reason to play the restraining influence, while being able to portray Trump as a loose cannon might be to Putin's advantage… nah.

Steffo

Winny_Pooh said:

Steffo said:

Assad is bombing hospitals, that's bad enough to me.

So did Israel, be he's not bombing Israel.

They surely deserve it...

Sambostar

Dominic

Winny_Pooh said:

Steffo said:

Assad is bombing hospitals, that's bad enough to me.

So did Israel, be he's not bombing Israel.

No ,evil Palestinian Terrorists ,Hamas and Hezbollah are doing a good job of that on their own
Israel do not bomb hospitals -they bomb hospitals that cowardly terrorists use as munitions dumps and rocket launch hideouts
Shalom Israel

ToneControl

Selective Gunboat diplomacy
I think I know where they got the playbook for that from

I'm hoping that even an idiot can make the right choice sometimes, we'll have to see what happens
I've got no idea how anyone can predict the correct course of action in the middle east and North Africa, get rid of one tyrant, and the consequences can be worse. Clearly Assad is an evil thug, but so are many of the other parties. Should all his aircraft be destroyed? I think probably, to reduce air strikes, but ground forces can kill just as many. 

ICBM

ToneControl said:

I've got no idea how anyone can predict the correct course of action in the middle east and North Africa, get rid of one tyrant, and the consequences can be worse. Clearly Assad is an evil thug, but so are many of the other parties. Should all his aircraft be destroyed? I think probably, to reduce air strikes, but ground forces can kill just as many. 

I'd bet that simply keeping our noses out and doing nothing would, on balance, be better in the long run even if not perfect. And that's not to deny that Assad, Gaddafi, Saddam etc were murderous dictators.

In fact I would go further and suggest that we should never interfere in the affairs of other countries at all unless to protect our own citizens if necessary/possible, in support of the legitimate government having been asked to, or under UN mandate as peacekeepers.

joeyowen

ICBM said:

ToneControl said:

I've got no idea how anyone can predict the correct course of action in the middle east and North Africa, get rid of one tyrant, and the consequences can be worse. Clearly Assad is an evil thug, but so are many of the other parties. Should all his aircraft be destroyed? I think probably, to reduce air strikes, but ground forces can kill just as many. 

I'd bet that simply keeping our noses out and doing nothing would, on balance, be better in the long run even if not perfect. And that's not to deny that Assad, Gaddafi, Saddam etc were murderous dictators.

In fact I would go further and suggest that we should never interfere in the affairs of other countries at all unless to protect our own citizens if necessary/possible, in support of the legitimate government having been asked to, or under UN mandate as peacekeepers.

But how would we make our money as a country? 

ICBM

joeyowen said:

But how would we make our money as a country? 

I think you'd find it would save money.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10859545/Wars-in-Iraq-and-Afghanistan-were-a-failure-costing-29bn.html

For comparison, £29billion would pay for the entire NHS budget for three months.

Rocker

mike_l said:

boogieman said:

Obama's policy of appeasement towards Assad

Appeasement doesn't work.
See the rise of Hitler for proof.

These dictatorial leaders rule by fear, which makes them bullies. Bullies do not like when someone fights back.

I am not generally impressed with Trump but I do approve of his 'hit them hard' approach.  As @mike_l wrote 'Bullies do not like when someone fights back'. 

olafgarten

You have to remember that these dictators are terrible people, but the issue is that when they are removed it's always terrorists that take over. 

It happened in Iraq and Libya. 

Gassage

Who could have possibly predicted that Trump would make ill-advised, ego-driven, overly-emotive decisions that have potentially huge international ramifications and threaten the safety of the entire world?