Trump Authorized The Bombing Of A Syrian Air Base. Neocons Are Back In Control.

President Trump authorized the launching of 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles against a Syrian airbase, allegedly in retaliation for a chemical attack earlier this week that was blamed on Syrian President Assad. In spite of the long record of chemical attacks blamed on Assad that turned out to be from US-backed rebel forces, Trump apparently believed his globalist advisors that this time, the attack really was launched by the Syrian government – in spite of the fact that Assad has nothing to gain and everything to lose from such an attack. –GEG

Trump Orders Strikes Against Syrian Regime Airbase in Response to Chemical Attack

WASHINGTON – President Trump ordered a cruise missile strike against a Syrian regime military airbase, in response to a chemical weapons attack carried out by the regime earlier this week.

At 8:40 p.m. EDT, the U.S. launched 59 Tomahawk land attack missiles at the Shayrat Airfield located in the Homs Governorate in Western Syria, according to Pentagon officials. The strike lasted minutes.

“This was in response to the Syrian chemical weapons attack April 4th in Khan Sheikhoun… That attack killed and injured hundreds of innocent Syrian people, including women and children,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.

“The strikes were intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again,” he said.

The missiles were launched from U.S. destroyers USS Porter and Ross, which were in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea at the time, he said.

The missiles hit aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage areas, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radars, he said.

Davis said the U.S. military took care to avoid any human casualties. It notified Russia – and “many countries” – of the planned strikes ahead of time. There were Russian troops at the airbase, although it’ is not clear if they were still there during the strikes.

Davis said the U.S. struck an area where Russian and Syrian troops were not located.

“In this case in particular, every precaution was taken to execute these strikes with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield,” Davis said.

The strike was aimed at deterring another chemical weapons attack by the regime.

The airbase was the same one the regime used to carry out the chemical weapons attack, Davis said. The U.S. military said it tracked the two aircraft that the regime used to conduct the attacks.

The airbase also housed one of Syria’s main chemical weapons storage facility prior to 2013, he said.

Trump had hinted on Wednesday during a Rose Garden briefing with the King of Jordan that he would take action against the regime.

He said the attack had crossed “many, many lines, beyond a red line — many, many lines.”

“That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact,” Trump had said. “That was a horrible, horrible thing, and I’ve been watching it and seeing it, and it doesn’t get any worse than that.”

Trump reportedly spoke with lawmakers before the strike.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called on the president to come to Congress to seek congressional authorization for military action in Syria.

“While we all condemn the atrocities in Syria, the US was not attacked,” he said in a statement. “The President needs congressional authorization for military action and I call on him to come to Congress for a proper debate on our role. Our prior interventions in this region have done nothing to make us safer and Syria will be no different.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a “monster” and a “puppet of Russia and Iran” but said he looked forward to the president “making the case to Congress and the American people” in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic defense hawks praised the airstrikes.

“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump confronted a pivotal moment in Syria and took action,” said Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

“I think it was an important step,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on CNN. “This was not some symbolic measure.”

“I support the admin’s strike on the air base that launched the chemical attack. I hope this teaches Assad not to use chemical weapons again,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).

In a statement, President Trump explained the urgency behind the strikes:

My fellow Americans, on Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many, even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.

Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where a chemical attack was launched. It is in the vital, national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the U.N. Security Council.

Years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed, and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies. Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types.

We ask for God’s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed and we hope that as long as America stands for justice, that peace and harmony will, in the end, prevail. Good night and God bless America and the entire world. Thank you.

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Ron Paul Asks An Interesting Question: Could Nuclear Threats By North Korea Be An Insider Game That Provides An Excuse To Increase Military Spending?

Ron Paul analyses recent nuclear threats by North Korea and concludes that, while one should never be complacent about such things, we should be aware that the greatest power of nuclear weapons is psychological, meaning that merely threatening to use them can produce benefits that could not be achieved by actually using them. Paul says that, in the past, North Korea manipulated the US by making threats in order to receive large amounts of money to cease the rhetoric. On the other side, the US military industrial complex profited immensely by using the nuclear threat to justify even more military spending. The ongoing threat of war can be profitable for both sides in this game. –GEG




President Trump’s Senior Advisor On His National Security Council Has Resigned

Steve Bannon, President Trump’s senior advisor on his National Security Council, has stepped down, claiming that his mission is complete. Bannon says his role was to monitor the transition.  New members, including Rick Perry, were added to the Council. –GEG

Steve Bannon Leaves National Security Council After Susan Rice Takedown

President Donald Trump’s Senior adviser Stephen K. Bannon has exited his role on President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, claiming that his mission is complete.

“Susan Rice operationalized the NSC during the last administration. I was put on to ensure that it was de-operationalized,” Bannon said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.

The council suffered a tumultuous transition after Trump’s first National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn resigned less than a month after he took office and was replaced by Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.

“General McMaster has returned the NSC to its proper function,” Bannon said in his statement. Other sources told reporters that Bannon was part of the council to monitor Flynn’s activity in the early days of the Trump administration.

Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Obama allies were furious that Bannon was allowed on the council, even though he rarely attended meetings. Rice was exposed earlier this week by reports revealing that she requested the unmasking of key members of Trump’s transition team.

A White House source confirmed to Breitbart News that Bannon will retain his security clearance in the West Wing. Other reporters noted that Bannon could still attend NSC meetings even though he was removed from the National Security council principles committee.

Trump’s Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was added to the council. Nikki Haley, the Representative of the United States to the United Nations was also included as well as Director of National intelligence Dan Coats, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, and CIA director Mike Pompeo.

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China And Russia Replace US Dollar As Reserve Currency

China and Russia are coming into the final stage of replacing the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The first step is to trade with each other in their own currencies. This will greatly reduce the impact of the current US economic sanctions against Russia. The US dollar will lose $59.5 billion in foreign-exchange support – and that is just the beginning. –GEG

Two years ago, ICBC, the largest and most valuable bank in the world by total assets and market capitalization, was planning to open a clearing bank in Russia for trade settlements in Yuan (Renminbi) and Rubles. ICBC’s business involvement include electricity, mining, chemical, oil and gas, telecommunication, retail, machinery and metallurgy sector in Russia.

It makes perfect sense to get rid of US dollar. Why must China and Russia conduct their business transactions using their rival’s currency? The US dollar is so strong because 80% of world trade take place in US dollar. Besides military might and power, the high demand for US dollar is also driven by perception that it’s the safest currency simply because US is also the world’s biggest economy.

Last month, China and Russia decided to break their dependency on US dollar in their bilateral trade and investment. Bank of Russia, the Russia’s central bank, opened its first overseas office in Beijing on March 14. A week later, ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) officially opens for business in Moscow – as a clearing bank for Yuan / Renminbi.

“Financial regulatory authorities of China and Russia have signed a series of major agreements, which marks a new level of financial cooperation. The launching of Renminbi clearing services in Russia will further expand local settlement business and promote financial cooperation between the two countries.” – said Dmitry Skobelkin, deputy governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

With the creation of the clearing banks, they enable the two countries to further increase bilateral trade and investment while decreasing their dependence on the US dollar. At the end of 2015, the Russian central bank announced the inclusion of the Yuan / Renminbi in its national foreign exchange reserves, making it Russia’s officially recognized reserve currency.

More importantly, the “de-dollarization” cooperation between Beijing and Moscow is also part of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism efforts. However, amusingly, by creating a huge pool of Yuan / Renminbi liquidity in Russia, it appears China is creating a workaround solution to the sanction-hit Kremlin – a backdoor economic relief.

Coincidently, the setup of clearing banks at each other’s side was timed in such manner that Russian Ministry of Finance is to launch US$1 billion worth of Yuan bonds. The bond issuance, scheduled to take place in one or two months, could be used as test bed for Moscow to raise more money in the future.

Suddenly, Beijing is seen as providing a new breath of life to Russia’s struggling economy. Screw the U.S. for slapping Russia with an “indefinite” sanction for its annexation of Crimea. And with President Trump screaming, whining and bitching about China’s currency manipulation, the U.S. could do something as crazy as sanctions on China too.

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