Dear mhaze,

Well “masterstroke' got a laugh from me as well. I think the only master stroking going on is when he looks in the mirror after he puts in a good round of golf.

Nixon engaged the “Madman Theory” for some of his foreign policy with admittedly questionable results. In his own words;

“I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I've reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We'll just slip the word to them that, "for God's sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communism. We can't restrain him when he's angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button" and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.”

He at least had the rat cunning to use it as a calculated manner. Trump has none of those qualities. He is a real class A egotistical nutter and it should concern any thinking human being on this planet. What we are all banking on are the few sensible heads around him although I don't put it past them using Trump's erratic behaviour to advance their own objectives. I am very skeptical about them being able to keep a lid on him for 4 whole years though.

I know it will give the old codgers here a little stirring in the loins as they see each cruise missile being sent on its way. I'm just not sure that is a decent enough reason to put the rest of us at risk.

Hey Bazz,
"Armchair, that story about a plan of regime change is a really old story.
The idea is now obsolete as everyone now realises that changing the
head man or head party or head religion is to no avail."

What do you mean by 'avail' ?
I hope you're not implying that anyone 'actually' cares about the interests of the actual people living in Syria.
That'd be buying into propaganda; all the foreign entities party to the Syrian conflict are concerned with their own interests.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-10/trumps-bombing-syria-continuation-policy-which-started-only-3-years-after-syria-beca
http://williamblum.org/essays/read/overthrowing-other-peoples-governments-the-master-list

Hey Jayb,
I only want to add one comment to this statement:
Quote "Hmmm, you didn't mention that Israeli Planes attacked Hezbollah targets after they shell & used missiles against Israel first. They were very selective."

Remember this story?
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950631000607
I grant that some may consider the source questionable, but the story certainly indicates that Israel were up to more than just retaliation.

As another point of interest the Democrats are going after Tulsi Gabbard for not being a team player.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/09/politics/democratic-leaders-gabbard-syria/

And hows this; I don't exactly know how to respond to it...
Maybe 'Don't worry Ivanka, Daddy will punish the bad man that made you cry'...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/10/ivanka-trump-influenced-father-launch-air-strikes-against-assad/

It's a shame she isn't aware of the missiles that did not hit their targets, overshot, hit towns and killed more innocents...
And did anyone hear why it was only 59 missiles?
Apparently it was 60 but one of them was a dud and fired straight over the side and into the drink...

AC said;
What do you mean by 'avail' ?

I mean no matter who you install they just start fighting amongst
themselves again, again and again.
We all have to get used to the idea that that is what they do !

They have never been any different from before Islam and it has just
been made worse by their religion as it gives them an excuse
to attack anybody.

Bazz: I mean no matter who you install they just start fighting amongst themselves again, again and again.We all have to get used to the idea that that is what they do ! They have never been any different from before Islam and it has just been made worse by their religion as it gives them an excuse to attack anybody.

Yep. I've said that many times. That's what the ME does. Now they want to do that in the rest of the World & complain when we try to stop them. They are forever stuck in 639 AD with their crazy dangerous Religion.

If everybody in the Middle East had a job and equivalent to US$100 a day take home pay there would be prosperity and peace in the region.

Chronic hardship involving lack of income and relative high cost of food leads to hunger, irritability, civil unrest, fighting and revenge and desperation.

Hardship and desperation leads some people to gang up within religious or tribal or other groups that then engage in enacting revenge.

I think long term sustainable solutions in the Middle East and elsewhere worldwide appear to be review of international fiscal policy and economic development involving generation of business and adequately remunerated employment and profit.
Not impossible.

I thought election of business developer Trump might lead the way but at present I think the opposite.

JFA: If everybody in the Middle East had a job and equivalent to US$100 a day take home pay there would be prosperity and peace in the region.

Nah! that would allow them to buy more guns & ammo & kill more of their own people. Hmmmm... come to think of it, might be a good idea after all.