Trump Blows Up Obama’s Foreign Policy Straw Men

Diplomacy with Iran is over — and so is the era of Obama’s straw men.

Matthew Continetti at National Review  "President Trump did more than retaliate for Bashar al-Assad’s illegal and inhumane use of nerve agents against civilians when he ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles to destroy al-Shayrat airbase in Syria. He also detonated a few shibboleths of his predecessor’s foreign policy. 

First is the idea that President Obama’s 2013 deal to remove Assad’s weapons of mass destruction was a success. Susan Rice and John Kerry have lauded the agreement with Russia to supervise the extraction and destruction of Assad’s weapons stockpiles as recently as the last year. But Assad’s brazen attack on civilians in Idlib Province exposed their celebrations as premature. Trump’s swift, decisive, and limited response ended more than a half decade of vacillation toward’s Assad’s behavior. Obama diplomacy failed, but hard power may yet deter Assad from using weapons banned for almost a century. 

"The second casualty of the U.S. strike was the absurd Obama line that the only alternatives available to a president are inaction on one hand and a massive ground invasion and occupation on the other. Obama and the architects of his echo chamber would slam any advocate of military measures as a bloodthirsty warmonger ready to repeat the worst mistakes of the U.S. experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the reality has always been that there are a range of intermediary steps America can take to pursue her objectives and enforce the standards of Western civilization. " . . .

Expert: Watch to see if Kim Jong-Un goes into hiding after Syria strike

Retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News on Wednesday that the U.S. is "rapidly and dangerously heading towards the reality that the military option is the only one left when it comes to getting North Korea to denuclearize and not weaponized [intercontinental ballistic missiles]."

Alyssa Madruga, Fox News

"The U.S. bombardment of a Syrian airbase just outside of Homs Friday was likely seen by North Korea as a clear warning that President Trump will use his military if United States interests are at risk.

"The immediate focus after the strikes was on Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s reaction. Russia was not happy with the U.S., it spoke in defense of Syria and moved warships. But now the attention is on the next move by another world leader: Kim Jong-Un.

"Gordon Chang, a Daily Beast columnist and author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On The World,” said in an emailed statement to Fox News Friday that the U.S. strike on the Syrian airfield “tells North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he must now heed American military power, something that he probably dismissed before.”

“ 'Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, disappeared from public view for about six weeks in 2003 at the time of the Iraq war. Kim Jong-Un loves the public spotlight, and it will be telling if he similarly goes into hiding,” the author said.

"The airstrikes are “a warning to China’s People’s Liberation Army, which had grown dismissive of the U.S. Navy and Air Force.  Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader visiting Mar-a-Lago, almost certainly interpreted the strike as a sign of disrespect to him,” Chang said." . . .

U.S. airstrikes in Syria a smackdown for Iran's mullahs  . . . The mullahs’ “influence” is something which should not be taken lightly. The Syrian people’s peaceful uprising against the Assad’s dictatorship in 2011 could have taking a different turn had it not been for the IRGC and Quds Force stepping up in full support of the regime in Damascus.

"The Assad regime was on the edge in 2013 and outside the capital it had no control over the rest of the country. With the aid of mullahs who spent billions in Syria while their own people at home were hungry, and the inaction of Obama administration by turning a blind eye to Assad’s crossing its established “red line,” the Syrian dictator survived.

"Now it seems that a new plan is unfolding in Washington to stop the genocide in Syria with the U.S. administration’s firm respond to Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his people. The attack may not have a major military significance but it has firm political tone to it. The action no doubt has resonated as far east as Tehran." . . .

Trump's strikes on Assad; dare we be optimistic?

Tom Cotton: A Strike in Syria Restores Our Credibility in the World  . . . " 'It's hard to overstate just how low the standing of the United States had fallen because of President Barack Obama's failure to enforce his own 'red line' against Mr. [Bashar] Assad's use of chemical weapons in 2013," Cotton wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

" 'I was one of the few Republican members of Congress who supported strikes against Syria then," he wrote. "Because of that, I've heard from dozens of world leaders expressing their doubts about the security commitments of the United States.' " . . .

US Vows To Keep Up Pressure On Syria After Missile Strikes

Obama’s red line decision got rebuked this week (and his former staff aren’t happy about it)  . . . "But not everyone who was part of the previous administration is playing defense for their former boss this week. Politico Magazine reports some Obama alumni say the strike was long overdue:" . . .

Uh-oh; be careful what you predict:  Haley: Regime change in Syria 'we think is going to happen' . . . " 'This is a complicated situation. There are no easy answers and a political solution is going to have to happen," Haley said. "There's not any sort of option where political solution is going to happen with Assad at the head of the regime, if you look at his actions if you look at the situation, it's going to be hard to see a government that's peaceful and stable with Assad.' ". . . 

Weakened Putin's last great bluff: Military experts dismiss Russian president's threats to block further US attacks on Syria, saying he's desperate to avoid a clash with America  . . . "He has also dispatched a warship to patrol Syria’s coastline and thwart further US action.

"But senior defence analysts told The Mail on Sunday that President Putin is actually desperate to avoid a clash with the US and wants to cut a deal to end the six-year Syrian civil war which has cost more than 400,000 lives.

"Igor Sutyagin from the Royal United Services Institute said last night: ‘Putin is raising the stakes but he is bluffing, because he knows he cannot do anything militarily to cause a direct confrontation with the US." . . .

I worry when America counts our bridges before they're hatched. TD

"Dayenu, President Trump! For each thing you’ve done, it would have been enough"

Bookworm Room  "Passover is around the corner and I have an ear worm: The Passover song Dayenu. The Hebrew word “Dayenu” (דַּיֵּנוּ) means “it would have been enough,” or “it would have sufficed.” The pattern of the song is to list the miracles God performed for the Jewish people, with the chorus being “Dayenu” — it would have been enough.

"Here’s a short sampling of the lyrics:

Verse 1:
If He had brought us out from Egypt,
and had not carried out judgments against them
— Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
Verse 2:
If He had carried out judgments against them,
and not against their idols
— Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
Verse 3:
If He had destroyed their idols,
and had not smitten their first-born
— Dayenu, it would have sufficed!

"And here’s the Maccabeats’ delightful version of Dayenu, which will give you a nice sense of the song:"

Obama likes these boys singing about him.

“I want to thank the Maccabeats for their outstanding performance. They just did an outstanding number for me — it was very brief — that said, “four more years.” It was good. I really liked it. So thank you.”  BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States 

Nikki Haley Receives Text At UN: “Thank You For What You Said Today. It’s So Good To See America Lead.”

NoisyRoom.net

. . . "Our allies are cheering the action and breathing a huge sigh of relief. Our enemies are calling it an act of aggression. It’s an act as old as time. But President Trump is no ‘lead from behind’ president as Barack Obama was. Peace through strength has once again taken center stage." . . .

Post- Obama America earned the respect of this Syrian

"Watch Syrian Refugee Call Out CNN/Dem Hypocrisy, Praise Trump For Action"

As Dr. M.L. King once asked, this Syrian judges Obama only by the content of his character

California Watch: California Split Back in the News Again

Nigel Farage jump-starts break-up talk in the not so Golden State.

American Spectator

"The latest news about California — a break-up plan touted by the leaders of Brexit — could serve as a case study of how mischaracterizations spread across the Internet, and how many media outlets echo what others have published or tweeted without apparently doing much checking.

"Reports suggest that the so-called “Bad Boys of Brexit,” Nigel Farage and Arron Banks, came to Huntington Beach, Calif., where they raised $1 million for a “Calexit” plan and championed a two-state solution to our ungovernable wreck of a state.

"The two were reportedly recruited by former Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh to work on a break-up initiative that would slice the liberal coastal areas away from less-tony inland areas. Published maps show the new coastal state starting with Los Angeles, and lumping more conservative, urban coastal counties (Orange and San Diego) with the new eastern state." . . .

And it is always time to stay focused on the facts: Breaking up the state is not the same thing as seceding from the union. There’s still no map in play, but some serious, well-connected Californians are indeed raising money for a run at the ballot. However accurate the reports, I’m thrilled that the Farage and Banks visit has jump-started this debate.

“State of Jefferson” Backers Remain Optimistic, While 6-Way Partition of California Heads for 2016 Ballot

Then there is outright secession, which is a big thing:

Prof. Adams: "Why I’m Banning Illegal Aliens From My Classes"

Adams' has a way of making you look, doesn't he?

Mike Adams

"The sky must be falling. Just a few hours ago, a Marxist feminist professor sent an email that I agreed with completely. It explained why she doesn’t allow people to cut in line by enrolling in classes for which they have not yet satisfied the enrollment requirements. I’m so inspired by her eloquence that I am extending her logic and banning illegal aliens from enrolling in my classes. Her inspirational email is printed below: 

“I do not provide overrides for students who haven’t completely satisfied the pre­requisites for the senior seminar to enroll. That would be like allowing (cutting) in line in front of someone else who has been waiting (his or her) turn. Once (they) have senior standing, then (they) can enroll in the class provided all the other pre­requisites are completed too … Several faculty members have sent advisees to me to request an override. I’m not doing them. I would appreciate it if advisers would not send their advisees to me with these requests.” 

"In case you did not follow that, let me provide a little context. Our majors are required to take a senior seminar before they graduate. However, before they enroll in the senior seminar, they have to take two classes – one in research methods and the other in statistics. Students usually take these two classes their junior year so they can be prepared to take senior seminar their senior year, which, of course, makes intuitive sense." . . .

 Bonus pick:  At Awards Ceremony, Walter Williams Slams PC Campuses, Thanks His Teachers For ‘Not Giving a Damn About His Self Esteem’

Williams credited his teachers for treating him like an adult and “not giving a damn about his self esteem.” He contrasted his academic experience with the snowflakes of today, noting that too many teachers and employers “care more about people’s feelings rather than their performance.”
He elaborated on the usual suspects.

Karma, precedent and the nuclear option

Charles Krauthammer  "For euphemism, dissimulation and outright hypocrisy, there is nothing quite as entertaining as the periodic Senate dust-ups over Supreme Court appointments and the filibuster. The arguments for and against the filibuster are so well-known to both parties as to be practically memorized. Both nonetheless argue their case with great shows of passion and conviction. Then shamelessly switch sides — and scripts — depending on the ideology of the nominee.

"Everyone appeals to high principle, when everyone knows these fights are about raw power. When Democrat Harry Reid had the majority in the Senate and Barack Obama in the White House, he abolished the filibuster in 2013 for sub-Supreme Court judicial appointments in order to pack three liberal judges onto the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Bad karma, bad precedent, he was warned. Republicans would one day be in charge. That day is here and Republicans have just stopped a Democratic filibuster of Neil Gorsuch by extending the Reid Rule to the Supreme Court." 

To be sure, there are reasoned arguments to be offered on both sides of the filibuster question. It is true that the need for a supermajority does encourage compromise and coalition building. But given the contemporary state of hyperpolarization — the liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats of 40 years ago are long gone — the supermajority requirement today merely guarantees inaction, which, in turn, amplifies the current popular disgust with politics in general and Congress in particular. In my view, that makes paring back the vastly overused filibuster, on balance, a good thing. . .

Obama Wrote America Is A ‘Racist Society’ In An Unreleased Manuscript

Daily Caller  . . . "Weinstein appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Wednesday, and Carlson read out from a portion of the unreleased manuscript that focused on race.

“ 'Racism against African Americans continues to exist throughout American society, [which is] an admittedly racist culture,” Obama and Fischer wrote. “Precisely because America is a racist society we cannot realistically expect white America to make special concessions toward blacks over the long haul. The greatest testimony to the force of racist ideology in American culture is that it infects not only the mind of whites, but the minds of blacks as well.”

"Garrow told Weinstein that if Republican opposition researchers had obtained the manuscript in 2008, it could have derailed Obama’s candidacy."   Full article.

Prager U.: Is America Racist?    Presented by Larry Elder  "Is it -- as President Barack Obama said -- "part of our DNA"? Author and talk-show host Larry Elder examines America's legacy of racism, whether it's one we can ever escape, and in the process offers a different way of looking at things like Ferguson, crime, police and racial profiling."

Fake News Leader CNN Rushes to Susan Rice’s Defense

Jammie Wearing Fools   "If you had any doubt left CNN is in the tank for the Democrats, consider Monday’s coverage of the Susan Rice bombshell.  The pathetic cable TV leaders in fake news first ignored the story, then rushed to Rice’s aid, led by … wait for it … a former Obama administration employee.  

Jim Sciutto‏Verified account @jimsciutto  Apr 3MoreReplying to @jimsciutto @TheLeadCNN
Point 1: Unmasking is not leaking. The information is revealed only the official requesting it.

Jim Sciutto‏Verified account @jimsciutto  Apr 3MorePoint 2: The NSA must approve each unmasking request and is, one fmr. sr. intel official told me, "notoriously conservative" in doing so.

Media praised the ‘nuclear option’ when Democrats did it

Washington Times

"The mainstream media were all for the “nuclear option” when it was Democrats doing the nuking.

"The press showered praise upon the Senate for removing the filibuster for lower-court judicial nominees and executive appointments in 2013 in the effort spearheaded by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow assured her viewers at the time that “judges can be blocked on an up-or-down vote, a majority vote, like always.

“ 'But they cannot be blocked anymore by just a minority of votes,” Ms. Maddow said, reported the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters. “Republicans cannot force that anymore.”

"MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes similarly hailed the 2013 development as “an affirmative win for democracy,” while his colleague Al Sharpton said “Democrats took the bold step of changing Senate rules, scaling back the filibuster that Republicans have unfairly used to block the president’s nominees.”

"CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill said Republicans should have taken the Senate back if the party wanted to preserve the filibuster." . . .

Trump vs Assad and Putin; what next?

UK Daily Mail: Putin calls US airstrikes an 'illegal act of aggression' and suspends deal to avoid mid-air clashes with American fighter jets over Syria  
We'll soon see if the Russian Communist Party still holds the same authority over the Western left as Stalin once did. TD

. . . "The Russian President warned of grave damage to relations between Washington and Moscow after 60 
"Tomahawk missiles were fired at al-Shayrat airbase near Homs.

"Syrian Army officials described the attack as an act of 'blatant aggression', saying it had made the US 'a partner' of ISIS, the ex-Nusra Front and other 'terrorist organisations'. 

"The US insists the base was used by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces to launch a deadly chemical attack that killed 80 on Tuesday.

"America used a special military-to-military hotline to warn Russia it was launching an airstrike on a Syrian air base about 30 minutes in advance - but the Trump administration did not ask Moscow for permission. It is likely Russia alerted the Syrians about the incoming strikes but this has not been confirmed." . . .  Full article

Syria: After the Airstrikes    The U.S. needs to play a very long game.

Expect the Russians to take note of anti-Trump protesters here in the US and advise Assad that America is incapable of any sort of a protracted conflict. The left here will be the enemy's best ally, as always. TD

. . . "The strike was notable for its rapidity – about 72 hours after the Assad chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians — and for the swift reversal it represented in what had been the administration’s tolerant attitude toward the Assad regime. 
"If it is a one-off, this strike is the very definition of a symbolic pinprick. It was launched with highly precise weapons against the airfield from which the Syrian chemical attack emanated. According to reports, we apprised Russian personnel at the base beforehand, meaning the Syrians effectively had advance warning as well. 
"We are skeptical of the wisdom of this approach. It may be that the strike is enough to deter Assad from future chemical attacks, but it also could have unwelcome unintended consequences. If Assad decides to defy us, we will be forced into further action against his regime without any idea of what would replace it." . . .   Read more

US punishes Syria for gas attack with missile barrage  . . . "Congressional reaction to the strike was generally supportive, but some members – including Senator Rand Paul – warned the administration to work with Congress if the strike represented a significant change in American policy." . . .

. . . "Since President Obama reneged on his "red line" threat four years ago, there have been dozens of gas attacks on civilians using chlorine – a gas that has commercial and industrial applications but is prohibited by international law from being used as a weapon.  In this specific attack, medical observers have evidence that the deadly nerve agent sarin was also used.  That may be the "red line" Trump spoke of in his statement.

"I think there's a good chance that the attack was a specific response to a specific incident and does not represent a sea change in American military policy in Syria."  Rick Moran.

Unpacking the Latest Chemical Attack in Syria  . . . "We're in for long haul against radical Islam, and it's going to get nasty, because it already is nasty.

"Leaders puff and posture.  It's not always what it seems.  No doubt, repugnance for President Trump is a good first response.

"But I hope "America First" isn't just a slogan, because it's the only America that we've got, and the rest of the world just plain isn't."