What did Donald Trump do today?
He gave away US military plans to enemy forces in Syria.
This was this morning's Trump tweet on Syria:
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
As many people immediately noted, Trump used to be against warning enemies of attacks--and for that matter, against attacking the Assad regime at all.
Incidentally, Trump is probably right that Russian forces would be unable to shoot down most US missiles, though not because they are "new" or "smart." Decades-old missile designs are more than enough to defeat the world's most advanced missile defense systems.
Russia also threatened to destroy the sources of missiles launched at Syria, which in this case would almost certainly be U.S. Navy ships in the Mediterranean. Trump has said nothing about this.
Recently, Trump seems to have reluctantly concluded that he must at least pretend to be willing to check Russian aggression against the United States and its allies, although in his other tweets today he lamented the recent "bad blood" and seemed very anxious to have the Putin regime blame it on the Mueller investigation. The "get tough" tone of this tweet is in sharp contrast to its function, which is to help Russia and Assad avoid the consequences of any attack. By all accounts, Trump still intends to leave "Gas Killing Animal" Assad in power following his sudden announcement of the United States' withdrawal from the conflict.
Trump has never been shy about communicating directly with Russia through the media, and this is not even the first time that he has given the Assad regime advance notice of his plans to attack out of deference to the Putin regime.
Incidentally, Trump is probably right that Russian forces would be unable to shoot down most US missiles, though not because they are "new" or "smart." Decades-old missile designs are more than enough to defeat the world's most advanced missile defense systems.
Russia also threatened to destroy the sources of missiles launched at Syria, which in this case would almost certainly be U.S. Navy ships in the Mediterranean. Trump has said nothing about this.
Recently, Trump seems to have reluctantly concluded that he must at least pretend to be willing to check Russian aggression against the United States and its allies, although in his other tweets today he lamented the recent "bad blood" and seemed very anxious to have the Putin regime blame it on the Mueller investigation. The "get tough" tone of this tweet is in sharp contrast to its function, which is to help Russia and Assad avoid the consequences of any attack. By all accounts, Trump still intends to leave "Gas Killing Animal" Assad in power following his sudden announcement of the United States' withdrawal from the conflict.
Trump has never been shy about communicating directly with Russia through the media, and this is not even the first time that he has given the Assad regime advance notice of his plans to attack out of deference to the Putin regime.
Why should I care about this?
- It's bad if a president has to be shamed into even talking tough against a nation hostile to the United States.
- No actual enemy of the United States can be hurt in any way by tweets.