I'm reading "Trump meets Syria’s ‘attractive, tough’ president after lifting US sanctions/US president meets Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia as lifting of sanctions is met with jubilation in Damascus" (The Guardian).
In Syria, people watched the images of their president standing beside the leaders of the US and Saudi Arabia on their TV screens in amazement....
“For 15 years the world had this picture of us Syrians as refugees. Now they see us as we are. You can finally see light and you can see hope,” said Hossam al-Khouli, 50, the owner of a handicraft shop in Damascus’s old city.... “When Trump spoke last night, it was the first time in my life that I listened to any president in the world and began to clap. He’s a great man, really, he is a great man,” Khouli said, smiling....
“[I am] ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start,” Trump told the GCC. “It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful.”...
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70 comments:
Well...... beauty contest aside, I'm not sure how much of an improvement this guy will turn out to be, over those Assad sh*tweasels. They were truly awful, father, son, and camp followers: execrable human beings. But this guy, he's a jihadi so he's eminently untrustworthy. I think part of this might be Trump deciding to keep Israel and Iran on their toes. Not hearing much about Iraq these days.
I assume we are hearing about the carrot the guy took.
Hah. Well, men all want to be told they're handsome, they just don't hear it often. Is this really the biggest takeaway from a speech that lasted more than an hour? President Trump repeatedly excoriated the DrWeevil class of neocons, so they should be alarmed that the President would rather deal with HTS. Bad times coming for the secret kings.
This will give the media a chance to notice that there was recently a genocide in Syria.
doctrev said...
Hah. Well, men all want to be told they're handsome, they just don't hear it often. Is this really the biggest takeaway from a speech that lasted more than an hour?
It also depends who is doing it and how much social status that confers.
Ann is extremely status conscious so the parts that affect social status are going to interest her.
You and I are more system oriented and look at what elements of the system will be affected by events and what the likely outcomes will be.
It does look like the warmongers are in for a tough time of it. Trump is going straight to the reality setting and is ignoring any possible dissident groups in Syria.
Way to go, Donald. Let's keep engaging with sand people more. This has worked so well for the USA for the last 75 years that we should continue engaging with bedouin "tough guys" for another 3/4 of a century. I was just thinking about how much I enjoyed watching Southwest Asian goat thieves get blown to bits by quarter-million dollar ATGMs, and that my young children and their children's children may not have that pleasure. 2100 is a nice round number...what's another lifetime?
All I'd ask is that when this "young, attractive, tough guy" camel raider starts his own baath party and attacks some of his neighbors that at least we'll refrain from training his minions on the weapons we won't sell him. That would be nice. That way I, and we, can all watch him and his die violently on whatever replaces the television without having to actually, you know...participate in yet their latest tribal bloodbath.
I'm in more or less agreement with RSM, but Islamonutters make me nostalgic for the Baathists.
As far as Trump's admiration for the strong and handsome, it's just an instance of the deep homoeroticism that permeates American popular culture. NTTAWWT.
OMG! Is President Trump gay!
This changes everything!
Or not.
I don't care, do you?
John Henry
" -- a former jihadist --"
Almost all of Israel's leaders have been (former) terrorists. Mostly Irgun. So, what's a little (former) jihad among friends?
Aren't our allies the Israelis dropping bombs on Syria? Oh, well. Run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds.
Honey > vinegar.
Women are inconsequential so there's no need to show them they're your friend if you're making political deals.
We don;'t have much to work with over there - do we.
Might as well give it a shot and hope for the best.
Democrats (Cheney/Kristol types) just want more war.
Words don't often fail me, but wordsmithing is never tougher than when I try to communicate how much I vehemently loathe those people and the lands they come from. I seldom wish people the worst, but I wish it upon them, even more so because they deserve it.
They're a never-ending dumpster fire, and the planet's answer is to throw every accelerant known to man atop them to extinguish the inferno, everything except water which figures since they have so little of it.
How does the Guardian know he's a former jihadi?
Has the jihad ended? Did he renounce the jihad? Did the other jihadis ask him to please find another line of work? Was he deemed too good looking for the jihad? How did he attain the dubious status
Is politics jihad by other means?
doctrev lies when he calls me a 'neocon' (1:29pm). I'm a three-time Trump voter, and enthusiastically support him on just about every policy except Ukraine, where I think he is horribly mistaken, for reasons I have explained here many times.
As for Syria, so far al-Sharaa is acting very much like a former Jihadist. Other former terrorists (Nelson Mandela, Gerry Adams, and a very few Israeli leaders - Jupiter's "Almost all" is a lie) have turned to electoral politics and stayed on the strait and narrow.
I've read that half a million Syrian refugees have already returned home, and the quickest way to get the rest to do so is to help restore the Syrian economy by eliminating sanctions. Al-Sharaa has also kicked the Russians out of their bases in Syria, which is a very good thing. The only chance they have of getting them back is to hand over Assad for trial, which Putin is not going to do: it's hard enough for such a thuggish loser to attract allies even if he doesn't betray them.
Of course, Trump also holds a very big stick: if Al-Sharaa starts slaughtering Kurds, Druze, Christians, or Alawites, or forcing women to wear bags over their heads, or allows the Iran-to-Hezbollah arms pipeline to reopen, Trump can put the sanctions right back on. (Yes, there was a spasm of murders of Alawites a few weeks ago, but Al-Sharaa seems to be suppressing it as best he can.)
Hmm. Same was said of Castro, I think. Lotta good-looking tough guys.
In the woke of the nonviable Pelosi-rrection, Trump is having a gay old time, and his antagonists are Guardedly transpositively besides themselves. Publish this, ye olde Guardian. Climate change is a progressive condition.
Tali... me banana. Here's to progress. To cismasculine pride parades. Forward! And so on and so forth.
Trump's gonna run out of shit to fix
“Women are inconsequential so there's no need to show them they're your friend if you're making political deals.”
I’ll go on record as saying I would pony up cash money to see a PPV “Cage-Match” between rhhardin and Tina Trent. I know who my money would be on.
The engagement with the sand people that ride space mountain refers to consisted of bankrolling tyrants and providing them weapons and intelligence to oppress their own people so that we could steal their natural resources.
What surprises me is that they're not even more pissed at us.
For the first time in a good while, one of my comments has vanished.
I was agreeing with most of what RSM laid out about the ragheads, but his mention of Baathists almost makes me nostalgic--better them than Islamonutters.
As for Trump's admiring words for the strong and handsome new dictator of Syria, besides being an instance of the homoeroticism of a lot of American popular culture (NTTAWWT), it's the sort of thing Arab and Muslim men feel is their due.
Trump is ready to lay it on thick to get what he wants.
at some point, you run out of people to oppress... and running your nation the correct way - might be more appealing.
we shall see.
"Jupiter's "Almost all" is a lie".
Well. Perhaps an exaggeration.
Menachem Begin? Yitzhak Shamir?
Howard: "What surprises me is that they're not even more pissed at us."
I dont disagree, and I believe their degree of "pissed-off-ness" has been mollified by a clear and undeniable acceptance on tbeir part of Trump's actual concern and respect for them as a people and society.
This is very very new to them and its also clear that Trump is not sugarcoating potential consequences for certain regimes.so he's giving them a choice.
What changes will occur? Could occur in the ME? There is no question the Gulf regimes have taken stock and they want alignment with a tech superior west (see the movement to turn the Kingdom and other gulf states into an AI Compute Nirvana) and there is a strong sttempt at the highest levels of some of these islamic govts to try and push modernization of the faith. All topics raised in Trump's speech in SA that have gone viral across the muslim world.
But I dont blame the islamic modernizers for being wary. One more New Soviet Democratical victory in the US and the absolute worst islamic elements will be rewarded by our dems and LLR-dems and the modernizers could be whacked.
Jupiter can only think of two Israeli leaders that could be called former terrorists, and claims "almost all" is only an exaggeration, not a lie. There have been dozens and dozens of Israeli leaders, so calling two of them "almost all" is in fact a lie.
Another comment of mine "published" but not seen. Maybe my comments have triggered the spamguard.
Time will tell.
If nothing has worked for decades and decades of murder and mayhem, maybe a new approach is in order since the full Golden Horde strategy is unacceptable to us.
The only people still willing to immediately claim Trump is stupid and doesn't know what he's doing are the ones who would say that no matter what and they probably sold their stock that day last month when he said "it's a great time to buy."
I can’t help but think that the recent flurry of diplomatic moves— cutting deals with the Saudis and Gulf states, engaging directly with Iran and the Houthis, and reaching agreements with the Houthis, Syria, and potentially soon with Iran—must be making Netanyahu nervous.
Trump has come to realize that Netanyahu has little to offer him. He sees that Netanyahu has no real interest in resolving the Palestinian issue. The U.S. invests heavily in Israel’s security but receives little in return beyond some cooperation on cybersecurity and defense technology.
The U.S.-- Israel relationship is largely built on intangibles, but Trump, rightly or wrongly, doesn’t view the world through that lens. He evaluates relationships based on a simple calculus: “Are you providing a monetary and strategic return greater than the cost of the headaches you cause me?” For a long time, even before Trump’s first term, Israel has generated more headaches than returns.
Israel’s push to further destabilize and fragment Syria is the final straw, and it’s not a strategy Trump supports.
These developments highlight a growing rift between Trump and Netanyahu. Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., recently told the BBC that Israel’s true aim in Syria is its dismemberment and fragmentation. This puts the U.S. and Israel on a collision course, as their goals are irreconcilable. With no other friends or allies, Israel finds itself increasingly isolated.
kaKA is a Discount John Harwood… and he’s as honest and makes as much sense as that assclown did.
So, who are we supporting this time: Northern Alliance or Taliban, East or West Ukraine, women or trans/sim feminine gendered, babies or fetuses, browns or blacks, Albinos or Rainbows, Americans or illegal aliens? Be very, very, wary.
ABACUS BOY LLR-democratical Rich: "..must be making Netanyahu nervous."
LOL
Latest Loser Lefty talking point already debunked! Completely!
Pre-debunked, if you like!
So pathetic that Rich has been pushed into the rhetorical ditch by the forces of success that have already achieved so much!
This Boeing deal with Qatar along with the other deals cut by Trump which positively impact Boeing's long term prospects provides an up and out profitability trajectory that will realign the company with a reputation for success.
Anyone else picturing kamala-la-la-la pulling this off?...besides Rich of course, who called kamala the most brilliant and capable presidential candidate in the history of our nation.
It's the exciting new reality show that he's producing: "Death Race Mid East". Tune in next week to see if the handsome new contestant gets a lethal drone strike or a new hotel. Many contestants but only one can win the fabulous new hotel. We're all rooting for this handsome new guy, but stay tuned. Remember how that romantic lead Hugh Grant morphed into a super villain. This is what makes the game so much fun to watch.
Thanks for the prompt to check out the spam folder. Multiple comments released
"There have been dozens and dozens of Israeli leaders, so calling two of them "almost all" is in fact a lie."
Well, OK, Weev. There have been 14 Israeli PMs, and only two of them are universally recognized as "former terrorists". Of course, there are quite a few people who would say that Ben-Gurion and Sharon were also terrorists, but that still only gets us to 4/14. So, yeah, "almost all" was tendentious, and I withdraw it. Only one seventh of Israel's Prime Ministers have been universally recognized terrorists, and a couple more are arguable.
And since I wrote "almost all", and knew better, it was, in fact, a lie. I apologize. Please substitute "a lot of".
So, are we OK now, Weev? "A lot of Israel's Prime Ministers were former terrorists"? Agreed? I'm not lying now?
My name's not 'Weev' and that's obviously a contemptuous pseudo-nickname, not a fond one. When you stop lying only under pressure, and start insulting in juvenile ways, you demonstrate you're still a total asshole, who will no doubt lie again whenever you think you can get away with it. Got it, Jup?
BTW, when Israel was developing its atomic bomb factory at Dimona, JFK was putting very heavy pressure on Ben-Gurion to allow inspections. Which would, of course, have revealed that the Israelis were not pursuing atomic power, they were pursuing atomic bombs. This pressure became so intense that Ben-Gurion resigned from the Prime Ministry. Shortly before JFK was assassinated. By, of course, a "lone gunman".
LBJ was happy to let the Israelis do whatever they wanted, at Dimona, and also with the USS Liberty.
"Got it, Jup?"
Well, yeah, I think I've "got it", but let's just make sure;
a) At least one seventh, and quite possibly more, of Israel's Prime Ministers were (former) terrorists. Assuming you can stop being a terrorist.
b) I am an asshole.
Those are two points, on which we are in perfect agreement?
I suppose it's possible, that Ben-Gurion resigned from his position, at the head of the Israeli government, because that government was preparing to assassinate the President of the United States, and he was not willing to be a party to that action. If so, that might indicate that he was not a terrorist.
Kind of squeamish, if so. The Israelis had assassinated numerous British officials, and considered assassinating Truman and Churchill. Assassination has, from the beginning, been the goto tool of Israeli statecraft. Why negotiate, when you can assassinate?
I named two other terrorists who gave up terror and turned into statesmen: Nelson Mandela and Gerry Adams, but Jupiter (rhymes with 'stupider') only cares about the Jewish ones. Suggesting that Israel had anything at all to do with JFK's assassination, and that the Liberty incident was anything more than a horrible mistake, shows that s/he is in fact an antisemite and a fool as well as an asshole.
And here comes more shit about Israel and assassinations. Does Jupitest not know that the bombing of the King David Hotel included three warnings, ignored by the authorities? Palestinian bombers aim to increase the casualties, while the Irgun tried to decrease them. S/he apparently believes anything, as long as it makes the Jews look bad.
"a horrible mistake".
"S/he apparently believes anything, as long as it makes the Jews look bad."
a) In English, the pronoun for a person of unknown gender is "he".
b) Is it really the case, that anything which makes the government of Israel "look bad", makes "the Jews look bad"?
Yes, a horrible mistake. Anyone who thinks unz.com is a reliable source for historical events - particularly historical events involving Jews - is a fool.
It is true, that an awful lot of Jews, wherever they may live, and whatever passport(s) they may carry, are prepared to break the laws of the nations they live in to further the interests of Israel. They are known as "sayanim" -- "helpers".
"Anyone who thinks unz.com is a reliable source for historical events - particularly historical events involving Jews - is a fool."
Mmm-hmm. OK, Weev. I've agreed that I am an asshole --everyone is someone's asshole. Whose asshole are you? -- but I'm afraid we are going to have to agree to disagree, as to which of us is the fool.
I do not "agree to disagree". You are simply, horribly, embarrassingly, antisemitically, disgustingly wrong. And just as men who say "every man cheats on his wife" are revealing only that they cheat on their wives, though many men don't, so anyone who says "everyone is someone's asshole" are revealing only that they are such gigantic assholes that even they can't pretend they're not, though many people are not assholes at all.
OK, Weev. I'm an asshole, you're not. And two of the seven Prime Ministers of the State of Israel were former terrorists. Which, if I understand you, doesn't mean they were assholes. Right?
BTW, Ron Unz does not endorse the articles published on his web site, unz.com. Indeed, they frequently contradict one another. He provides a platform, and often seems rather bemused at what turns up there. But his American Pravda series is a fascinating reconsideration of a lot of the things we Boomers grew up regarding as rock-bottom reality, from a very intelligent guy who has had his eyes opened. I don't say he is right about everything, but I would be very surprised if he isn't hitting well over 500.
The original question was whether a terrorist can give up terrorism and turn into a statesman. I offered three examples to show that it is possible, and therefore we can be hopeful that Al-Sharaa will do the same. He's certainly been behaving like a statesman for 5+ months, since his troops expelled Assad. And this self-admitted asshole insists on changing the subject so s/he/it can trash Jews.
And s/he/it can't stop lying, now changing 'two out of fourteen' to now 'two out of seven'. Why this obsession with Israel? And this subconscious compulsion to lie and lie again about it? Jupiter (rhymes with 'Stupider') desperately needs to seek professional help: whether a psychiatrist or an exorcist would be more helpful is hard to say, but either would help.
Trump seems to love to comment on the good looks of men.
Trump’s not shy when he likes the cut of a sailor’s jib but in this case he stopped short of the full Arnold Palmer treatment.
Howard said...
The engagement with the sand people that ride space mountain refers to consisted of bankrolling tyrants and providing them weapons and intelligence to oppress their own people so that we could steal their natural resources.
What surprises me is that they're not even more pissed at us.
And every time we find out where Al Quaeda or the Taliban or ISIS got their start the CIA consistently pops up.
@ Iman - rhhardin for precision strikes, Tina Trent for ferocity.
Ha. Cage match it is. Thank you for the compliment. I actually enjoy rhhardin's grumpiness, and I suspect he has a lot more respect for conservative women than he admits. Them's my fightin' words.
Correction: Trump loves to flatter people he's trying to sway in a deal.
A bit late to the discussion, but, for/to Jupiter-
What percentage of the Founding Fathers of this country were considered "terrorists" or worse by the British/American establishment in the late 18th century?
Something, something "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter..."
Dude personally fought US troops in Iraq. He probably killed some. He was captured in the act of planting an IED.
I am surprised the MSM is not making more out of Trump being nice to an American-killing terrorist. Would seem like a natural wedge to drive between Trump and his veteran supporters.
Possible explanations: Not enough research? They already crafted a narrative of the new Syrian regime as enlightened? They don't think killing US soldiers is that bad?
Silly me - all of the above.
JSM
The new Syrian regime has in fact been acting enlightened for more than five months now. Women are walking around barefaced, bars openly serve alcohol, foreign visitors, including Jews and inquisitive journalists, walk around unmolested, and (as already mentioned) refugees from Assad's brutal tyranny are returning in droves.
You don't have to like Al-Sharaa to support him in his efforts to restore Syria to civilization, any more than you have to like Gerry Adams. Adams is a disgusting human being, and deserves a gruesome death and an eternity in Hell, but it's still a good thing that he made peace with the U.K. Helping Syria become prosperous again is the best way to keep Al-Sharaa on the path of peace.
"What percentage of the Founding Fathers of this country were considered "terrorists" or worse by the British/American establishment in the late 18th century?"
Yeah, I thought about that. But I believe they were regarded as traitors, rather than as terrorists. I suppose the treatment of the Tories could be regarded as terrorism. But George Washington didn't blow up hotels, or rob banks.
Like treason, terrorism doth never prosper. For if it prosper ...
Weevil at 9:53: all of that is true. None of that would normally stop the MSM from calling Trump a Qaeda-lover in hopes of chipping away supporters.
JSM
Everybody is somebody's asshole, but only a select few are everybody's asshole.
As Odi suggests: Maybe the President's just blowing smoke UHA to get what he wants.
Harry Caray often said, "He's a good looking young man".
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