Video transcript:

What a relief that attack on Syria was. When it comes to Western powers pointlessly bombing messed-up little countries, it was about as noncatastrophic as it gets.

It was no Libya. When the West bombed there the result was anarchy, chaos, ISIS, refugees flooding Europe, and terrorism. Last weekend no one died. A few buildings got flattened.

The big fear had been harm to Russian forces there, leading to nuclear confrontation. But that all got choreographed in advance between U.S. and Russian generals. Syria and Russia got their people out of the way. Next morning, we saw the thug, Assad, strolling into his office. He looked content.

All the main players seemed satisfied.

U.S. defence boss, Gen. “Mad Dog” Mattis, stressed it was a one-off, contradicting Trump’s claim about applying “sustained” pressure. It was the opposite of Vietnam Syndrome, where the U.S. military was supposedly backstabber by politicians. Here the generals undermined Trump and the real mad dog, his new adviser, John Bolton.

For the record, I think it’s likely Syria had used chemical weapons because they were suffering losses trying to retake the only part of Damascus still not under control. But none of the major players really care about chemical weapons. The U.S. drenched Vietnam in Agent Orange 50 years ago and still hasn’t apologized. It was just a big show.

So, all in all, relief. Not for Syrians, where the carnage continues. But for us: our nuclear anxiety can recede to its status as background noise. Till the next time, of course.

What a hellish state of mind we’ve gotten used to.

Rick Salutin’s video commentary appears Tuesdays. video commentary appears Tuesdays.

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