NATO Allies Have Stopped Bombing IS Targets in Syria

Minister: Germany will not take part in further US attacks on Syria | DW |

Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that German Tornado reconnaissance jets would not provide assistance for further US attacks on Syria. Speaking to German broadcaster SWR von der Leyen said the German jets had a clearly defined role within the international coalition to carry out reconnaissance for missions against the so-called “Islamic State.”

Syrians suffer while diplomacy fails

○ IS targeted Coptic Christians in Egypt on twin suicide bomb attack on Palm Sunday

Reactions to the Syria Strike: A Brief Guide | The Atlantic |

Leave aside the humanitarian and strategic consequences: Trump’s decision to launch cruise missiles at Syria was a tactical political masterstroke worthy of Vladimir Putin. The Syria strike shattered the political coalitions gathered against Trump and assembled new ones from the pieces.

First and foremost, Trump won over the blob. The mainstream U.S. foreign policy community has harbored deep misgivings about Trump since the early days of his candidacy. But they certainly weren’t happy about Obama, either, especially when it came to Syria. In recent days, a number of former Obama officials have retroactively criticized his decision not to intervene in Syria, both on and, most colorfully, off the record.

Obama saw this coming. In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, he denounced the traditional formulas of American power. “There’s a playbook in Washington that presidents are supposed to follow,” Obama said. “The playbook prescribes responses to different events, and these responses tend to be militarized responses.” But, he explained, “In the midst of an international challenge like Syria, you get judged harshly if you don’t follow the playbook.”

In attacking Syria, Trump saw the political utility of playing by the rules once again. A foreign-policy community weary of its antagonism to the grand office of the president would snap in line behind him. And snap in it did, just as soon as the cable networks broke in with somber anchors explaining that America was, once again, unleashing its arsenal over Middle Eastern skies.

Even the centrist and liberal wings of the blob turned out for Trump. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a blob leader if ever one existed, noted that acting where Obama didn’t gave Trump the chance to define himself as the “new sheriff.” Anne-Marie Slaughter, a former Obama official who has advocated intervention in Syria in the past, said bluntly: “Donald Trump has done the right thing on Syria.” Even Hillary Clinton was supportive of the action in remarks she made before the strike.