Trump attacks Syria

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carey
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Trump attacks Syria

Post by carey »

He launched 60 tomahawk missiles at Syria and didn't even consult Congress. He did however inform the Russians so they could make sure no Russian soldiers would be harmed. He said yesterday we would not use the chemical attack as an excuse to strike against Syria. He changed his mind in 24 hours.

No plan. No debate. What a joke.
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Flagrant Fowl
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Flagrant Fowl »

I think you might be overreacting a bit.

Yeah, Trump is a flip-flopping gasbag, but I think anyone in his position would've done the same thing or something similar.

I have a strong feeling that Trump doesn't actually make a decision like this. He probably allowed the military generals to make the call.

And making sure no Russian soldiers were caught in the attack is a good thing regardless of what it's perceived motivations may or not may be.
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ShelC
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by ShelC »

Don't love this and don't think we should get drawn into the conflict. I'm honestly sick of the Middle East.

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O_Gardino
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by O_Gardino »

ShelC wrote:Don't love this and don't think we should get drawn into the conflict. I'm honestly sick of the Middle East.
Buy an electric car. ;)
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O_Gardino
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by O_Gardino »

carey wrote:He launched 60 tomahawk missiles at Syria and didn't even consult Congress. He did however inform the Russians so they could make sure no Russian soldiers would be harmed. He said yesterday we would not use the chemical attack as an excuse to strike against Syria. He changed his mind in 24 hours.

No plan. No debate. What a joke.
He's not the first president to launch missiles. What worries me is his inability to stick to a plan, and his inability to gather allies in congress or internationally. This act in itself isn't that scary, it's just the feeling that Trump could get out of control and come to like the feeling of power and the attention he gets.
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Nodack
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Nodack »

I am not sure if I dissagree with the attack but, the way it was carried out I am not sure.

Obama drew a red line in the sand. Syria crossed it. Obama threatened military action. He asked Cngress to authorize military action. They refused. Trump Tweeted several times to Obama not to attack Syria because of the attack and that it would be a mistake to attack. Obama ended up negotiating Syria getting rid of all of their chemical weapons and we never heard of another chemical attack until now.

Trump-"The President must get Congressional approval before attacking Syria-big mistake if he does not!"

Trump- "AGAIN, TO OUR VERY FOOLISH LEADER, DO NOT ATTACK SYRIA - IF YOU DO MANY VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN & FROM THAT FIGHT THE U.S. GETS NOTHING!"

Trump- "President Obama, do not attack Syria. There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your "powder" for another (and more important) day!"

Trump-"If we are going to continue to be stupid and go into Syria (watch Russia), as they say in the movies, SHOOT FIRST AND TALK LATER!"

Trump- "Let the Arab League take care of Syria. Why are these rich Arab countries not paying us for the tremendous cost of such an attack?"

Trump ignored his own advice/attacks on Obama.

Syria and Russia say that a Syrian jet dropped a bomb on ISIS and it hit an ISIS chemical weapon storage and that is what caused the gas attack. There is probably a good chance that was just BS and that after Trump signaled to them that he didn't want any part of Syria they probably thought the had a green light to do what they wanted. Perhaps this was a test for Trump and they wanted to see what he would do if the did a chemical attack to test him.

Now Trump was faced with the exact same scenario as Obama had. He didn't ask Congress for approval, he just launched strikes. A complete reversal of his stance under Obama and as late as a week ago. Perhaps Trump thought this would distract from the Russian ties thing.

Dangerous times.
Last edited by Nodack on Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:22 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Nodack
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Nodack »

O_Gardino wrote:
ShelC wrote:Don't love this and don't think we should get drawn into the conflict. I'm honestly sick of the Middle East.
Buy an electric car. ;)
I did several months ago.

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Superbone
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Superbone »

Nodack wrote:
O_Gardino wrote:
ShelC wrote:Don't love this and don't think we should get drawn into the conflict. I'm honestly sick of the Middle East.
Buy an electric car. ;)
I did several months ago.
Watcha get? I'm holding out for a 2nd or 3rd generation Tesla Model 3.
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ShelC
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by ShelC »

A few other things: I do "trust" and "have faith in" Mattis. Obviously I don't know him personally or know his complete history, but he's been universally praised for his military record and knowledge and as a very careful and deliberate person who doesn't take things lightly. As long as he's advising Trump and the admin on military actions and some policies, I'm OK for now.

The other thing this signals is that maybe Bannon is losing power with Trump. He's been the one pushing the "America First" mentality/policy and the "economic nationalism" philosophy. I doubt he'd have advised Trump to take this kind of action.

Hopefully this was just sending a message and won't lead to a bigger conflict. And I do hope we haven't forgotten Iraq and Libya if talks begin about going in and removing Assad.

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O_Gardino
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by O_Gardino »

Superbone wrote:
Nodack wrote:
O_Gardino wrote:
ShelC wrote:Don't love this and don't think we should get drawn into the conflict. I'm honestly sick of the Middle East.
Buy an electric car. ;)
I did several months ago.
Watcha get? I'm holding out for a 2nd or 3rd generation Tesla Model 3.
Seriously, what did you get? I'm seriously considering electric for my next car, although that is 3 or 4 year away.
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Nodack
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Nodack »

I bought a new Chevy Volt. I did a lot of homework. I had 3 Nissan pickups in a row before that. They are fairly cheap and are real dependable. I got about 16 mpg and that was fairly lame. I decided the next vehicle was going to get good mileage. I need to haul my gig stuff and thats why I always had pickups. Unfortunately I never had a shell and was afraid to stop anywhere with my band buddies because I was afraid my stuff wouldn't be there when I got back.

I checked out Hybrids and Electric cars. All electric kind of scared me. Run out of electricity and you are dead in the water. They have made more and more charging stations but, they still aren't convenient enough to convince me to risk it. The distance you can drive on electric is getting longer and longer over time so one day I might be all electric, just not today.

The Teslas are cool and go a long way but, I didn't see one that acts like a pick up and is affordable enough for me. They are still all electric and I'm not ready for that commitment.

I was considering a Prius. They get great mileage and have a decent storage area. I was waiting for the long awaited upgrade to the style because they just don't look cool enough for somebody as cool as me. :) They came out with the new style update and it was better looking but, not quite enough for me.

The Chevy Bolt goes a long way and is fairly cheap but, is too small to haul my gear and I still am afraid to commit to all electric at this time.

I was also looking at the Volt for a long time and was waiting for it's new upgrade as well since they hadn't changed anything since they came out years ago. Last year it happened and the new Volt looked pretty cool and they increased the electric range. Unfortunately the Volt was only available in a few states. This year they finally became available in AZ.

The Volt is electric and gas. It plugs in and goes around 50 miles before the engine kicks in and powers the electric motor. Most of my gigs around town are within the 25 mile range. I can go to the gig and back without using any gas. If it is longer then I use just a little gas and it gets 30 something mpg on gas. If you have to go on a long trip it's not a concern. The fuel tank I think is only 9 gallons. I filled up, went to Tucson and back, did 3-4 more gigs in town and still had 80 miles range left on gas after a week.

I can store all my stuff inside and is fun to drive. The rear seats fold down and with the hatchback there is a surprising amount of room. I am a Mac guy and they have Carplay built into the car which is a big thing for me. My phone plugs in and the large screen becomes an iPad basically. It has all the latest bells and whistles. Collision alert and auto braking, a lane assist feature that keeps you between the lines on the freeway if you aren't paying attention or something. I call it the drunk driver button. It will steer you back into your lane if you start to drift into the other lane. Perfect for drunk driving I guess. :). Somebody in your blind spot? A yellow light lights up on the side mirror letting you know. My biggest surprise was the performance. I was afraid it might be a slow dog. It's not. It's so weird to step on the gas and feel the G force knock you back and yet there is no sound. It probably won't win any races but, it has plenty of acceleration. It will even spin the tires from a start.

The minuses? It's a little difficult for a 6 foot+ guy to get into compared to my pick up days since it's low to the ground and fits like a cockpit. The rear area has lots of room but, the sides in the rear are plastic like all cars and I use it as a pickup mostly so I am afraid of trashing the interior. I installed thin carpet with velcro and that has protected the sides pretty well. The Carplay can be a little temperamental sometimes. Electric cares get better mileage for in the city driving moderate to slow speeds. 75 on the freeway and it will drain the battery in probably 40+ miles. Drive all city and get 50+. It has a mode button selecting Normal (electric until you run out), Sport (more performance), Mountain(combines electric and gas power), Idle (gas only). I use the gas only feature if I am going someplace on the freeway and then city driving at the end. I just switch to normal when I pull off the freeway.

So far I am loving the car. A lot more fun to drive than a pickup and I got the Premium package which has all the bells and whistles including a nice stereo.

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Cap
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Cap »

So if we drive electric cars, that means we can wall off the Middle East and forget about it?

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O_Gardino
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by O_Gardino »

Cap wrote:So if we drive electric cars, that means we can wall off the Middle East and forget about it?
We elected Trump for his walls.
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Indy
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Indy »

'Dack wrote:I got about 16 mpg and that was fairly lame
I just bought a 4-door AWD truck and get between 18-20, with almost no highway driving. What was going on with the Nissans?

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ShelC
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

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Superbone
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Superbone »

Cool, Nodack. A guy I work with bought a Volt when they first came out. Great car. I've traveled to Vegas and back with him in it a couple times.
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Nodack
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Nodack »

Indy wrote:
'Dack wrote:I got about 16 mpg and that was fairly lame
I just bought a 4-door AWD truck and get between 18-20, with almost no highway driving. What was going on with the Nissans?
I don't know. The 4 cylinder trucks got a little better mpg. My last truck was a V6. Decent power but 16 mpg kind of sucked. I did expect better. I thought the Chevy V8's got aroubd 20 so I thought a V6 Nissan would get around 20-25. I was wrong.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Mori Chu »

I wrote this about the attack on Facebook:

The T***p administration strikes a military base in Syria in response to recent chemical weapons and attacks in that country.
I have mixed feelings about this. I was horrified by the recent story of what happened to the innocent people in Syria. Chemical weapons are nightmarish, especially when unleashed on ordinary civilians who have done nothing wrong.

I also strongly believe that the USA should mostly stay out of the fights of other nations, unless we have been asked to do so by a multi-national body such as the UN. I don't really want the USA to be the "police" of the world, especially without explicit permission from our allies. So I don't really like seeing us bombing military bases of another country, even if that country did something reprehensible.

But I am not really upset/mad at President T***p for this. I have to admit that it is probably exactly what hypothetical President Hillary Clinton would have done. She's asked for strikes in Syria and other places when she was Secretary of State, and it fits her somewhat hawkish persona. So I don't think the US response here is a particularly bizarre Tr*mpy thing to do. It's just what the President would be likely to do in a situation such as this.

I also worry about the cumulative effect of the string of policies and rhetoric such as:

- calling for a total shutdown of Muslims entering the country (during the campaign)
- enacting a 7-nation Muslim travel/refugee ban
- then after it being struck down, re-enacting it as a 6-nation Muslim ban (struck down a second time)
- then bombing a majority Muslim nation.

One could easily infer that such words and actions are making new enemies out of otherwise moderate people in those areas.

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O_Gardino
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by O_Gardino »

Indy wrote:
'Dack wrote:I got about 16 mpg and that was fairly lame
I just bought a 4-door AWD truck and get between 18-20, with almost no highway driving. What was going on with the Nissans?
Nissans are more about reliable power than gas mileage. Beside that, I'm sure 'Dack's Nissan was a lot older than your Honda.
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Nodack
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Re: Trump attacks Syria

Post by Nodack »

My Nissan was a 2001. I got my moneys worth out of it I think.

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