Now that Nikki is fully on board

“Uh, what? Haley seemed to be quite clearly announcing that regime change was a priority in Syria. Tillerson pointedly said it was not and that nothing at all had changed in terms of America’s policy and priorities in Syria.

 

Why the confusion? My guess is that it’s not confusion at all. It’s two factions within the foreign policy wing of the Trump White House trying to convince the president of the rightness of their positions on Syria via public channels.

 

At first blush that might seem odd. Wouldn’t these sorts of debates be better hashed out in private so as to show a united front to the political world and the American people once a decision is reached?

 

In a traditional White House with a president who plays by the political rules, sure. But this not a traditional White House. And Trump loves breaking the rules much more than he likes adhering to them.”

 

Nikki Haley says ‘regime change’ in Syria. Rex Tillerson doesn’t. What gives?
Chris Cillizza, CNN Politics

 


 

Now that Nikki is fully on board
With distract and retract in accord
We won’t know what we know,
‘cause she spins like a pro
Her investment will reap her reward

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

 


So his heart inexplicably warms,

“Defense contractor stocks have risen in the months since Trump was elected, spurred by his promises of a ‘historic’ increase in U.S. military spending. The budget Trump proposed last month includes an additional $52 billion for the Department of Defense.”

 

Syria Airstrikes Instantly Added Nearly $5 Billion to Missile-Makers’ Stock Value
Fortune

 

Graphic by Rafael Barker


 

So his heart inexplicably warms,
And he suddenly cares whom he harms?
No, he’s rushing to war
Specifically for
Enriching the dealers of arms.

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

 


Tonight, as the gibbous moon waxes

“The notion that military action salvages a president on the defensive, boldly underscoring his role as commander in chief, is nothing new. But there’s a fresh wrinkle in this case, because those bombs put Trump at particular odds with Russia at a moment when there’s enormous advantage in that.”

 

The Riddle of Trump’s Syria Attack
Frank Bruni, Opinion, The New York Times

 


 

Tonight, as the gibbous moon waxes,
Consider how crisis distracts us:
Eighty million-plus bucks
Spent on Tomahawk strikes—
What portion of that from his taxes?

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

 


In a show of dramatic incaution

“Of course, as many people have pointed out, there were scores of images of dead and injured Syrian children well before this chemical attack — like the photo of young Aylan Kurdi laying face down on a beach and Omran Daqneesh, covered in dust and blood after being pulled from the rubble of an airstrike — but instead of being compelled to act in their favor then, Trump took measures to ban them from coming to the United States in search of safety.”

 

People Are Pointing Out Trump’s Hypocrisy In Bombing Syria Instead Of Accepting Its Refugees
Bustle

 

Graphic by Rafael Barker

 


 

In a show of dramatic incaution,
He’s suddenly full of emotion
For children who die,
Though he’s turned a blind eye
To small refugees drowned in the ocean.

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

 


The devious merchants of war


“In a coincidence we all hope isn’t prophetic, the US entered World War One exactly 100 years ago on the day Trump ordered the military intervention in Syria.

 

“On April 6 1917, Congress voted to enter the then bloodiest war history had ever seen, which had already been raging for three years.

 

“The war took the lives of more than 17 million worldwide.

 

“Historians argue that US’ intervention altered the outcome of the war, and the course of history.”

 

Donald Trump bombed Syria exactly 100 years after the US joined the First World War
Indy100

 


 

The devious merchants of war
are busily picking the sore
so it never starts healing
and they can keep dealing
their killing machines evermore.

© 2017 Mary Boren