Following last week’s deadline, a number of the most important stories of the year occurred. The most riveting one was the missile strike launched Syria while President Trump and the Communist leader of China were enjoying chocolate cake in Florida.
The missiles were launched from two US ships in the Mediterranean. It took a half hour for them to reach their target. Sixty were launched and only one failed. On the retaliatory strike that was in response to the Syrian Air Force dropping chemical weapons on civilians, this was President Trump’s version of “crossing the red line”.
By that single action Trump’s stature rose world-wide. It proved his contention that there was a new sheriff in town. It also marked a sharp demarcation from the previous timorous approach of President Obama.
Second in importance was the confirmation and swearing-in of Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch. The Republicans in the Senate had to resort to the “nuclear option” in order to get Gorsuch confirmed. In spite of the fact that the Democrat decried such action, it is well to recall that it was first initiated by their own beloved Harry Reid.
Next in line was the continuing escalation of the inquiries into the questionable actions of Susan Rice in the matter of “unmasking” several Trump supporters before and after the election. The Princess of Prevarication, as she is known in Washington circles, was at her best in defending her actions by saying that it was a matter of national security concerns and not a political maneuver. The fact that her information was disseminated through a host of other intelligence agencies, per President Obama himself, smacks of political collusion. By passing out the names of certain individuals to so many outlets she was assured that there would be eventual leaks to the compliant Press. Speaking of that Press, it is interesting to note that the Rice matter received zero coverage on the major networks and their cable stations while Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s misstep about the use of chemical weapons by previous dictators was the lead story on the day it broke.
The Syria situation proves that the dissemination of falsehoods is not limited to the United States, but rather is international in scope. Putin and Assad are united in their latest comments about the Syria strike. Putin has said that he wants an independent investigation of the entire matter and Assad has called the incident a hoax in order to attack his own nation.
Television clips as recent as January of this year have Susan Rice vehemently stating that all chemical weapons in Syria were removed during her tenure. Additional TV clips of previous statements by President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have shown the same stance.
Another strong move by President Trump was the re-routing of an aircraft carrier task force to the North Korean coastal area. This was in response to the North Korean leader’s latest saber-rattling. It was to reach some sort of confrontation over the past weekend so we will have more to say about it next week.
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