Trump, Syria and the Derangement of the Establishment

If there is one thing that Trump has accomplished is ripping off the mask of neocons and neoliberals and exposing the hypocrisy of both. This week alone has been very illuminating as two developments revealed the breathtaking lunacy of the political establishment. I am not one to pull punches when it comes to holding both parties’ feet to the fire when it comes to their negligence nor do I bite my tongue when it comes to criticizing the petulance and cancerous personality of Trump. However, I will give him credit when he deserves it, in between trolling America on Twitter and insulting decorum with his rants, he actually managed to do something decent.

Two days ago, Trump accomplished to undo what twenty four years of Clinton-Bush-Obama wrought us. Though it was but a small step, a bipartisan effort managed to work together to push through a criminal justice reform bill that promises to reduce draconian sentencing guidelines that have turned America into the world’s largest prison colony. Though the bill has yet to be signed, Trump signaled his support for an initiative that put a small dent in the racist sentencing guidelines instituted by Reagan/Bush and took a chunk out of the prison-industrial complex on steroids that was implanted by the Clintons.

What was met with bipartisan support during the announcement of the prison reform bill was greeted with mass hysteria and howls when Trump announced that he wanted to pull to pull troops out of Syria. You would have thought Trump had just announced that he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a sculpture of his likeness. Democrats, Republicans and the punditry across the spectrum jumped into hyperbolic mode as they flooded the airwaves with talking points that could have been written by Chicken Hawk Little. Click To Tweet

The Washington Post, which should be renamed to the Langley Times, immediately noted that Trump’s announcement was a victory for ISIS, Iran and of course Russia. David Axelrod, one of the most instrumental people during the rise of Obama, tweeted that Trump had called it quits on Syria and mocked him by bringing up the reference of Bush’s famous “Mission Accomplished” gaffe. Seven years after his boss started droning and bombing Syria without the consent of the American people, Axelrod thinks that it’s too soon to say enough.

Along with the Kim summit, Trump's Syria withdrawal (assuming it happens) is one of the few times he's legitimately bucked bipartisan "natsec" consensus. Mostly he's capitulated, but these are the two major exceptions. (As such, they're also what provoke the most media outrage) — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) December 19, 2018

This perpetual war of terror is never enough because ending these immoral wars undermines the profit margins of the military-financial corporations who are underwriting these criminal acts. In their quest to spill blood and profit from the deaths of countless US military personnel and non-combatants overseas, Democrats and Republicans are united as one. It is far too soon to announce that Trump is any different than the establishment who he keeps pissing off; after all he was the same man who dropped a MOAB in Afghanistan and stands by his Prince Mohamad Bin Salman as the Saudis indiscriminately bomb men, women and children in Yemen.

In all honesty, the only common thread that could be found between Trump’s grand pronouncements, both the ignorant and the enlightened ones, is his desire to have his name in headlines. Trump is willing to do anything in order to feed his incessant ego. Nonetheless, his manic tweets and grandiose proclamations serve a good purpose, like smoke being blown into a vent, they draw the rats on all sides out. Occasionally, Trump manages to do something that makes sense, too bad he will erase whatever good will he might have earned by reverting back to his juvenile antics before we can say thanks.

War profits the financiers and arms makers and impoverishes humanity::

Support truly free and independent journalism, not the kind with corporate backing that uses independence as a slogan but writers and thinkers who are not beholden to big money and have a passion for speaking truth to power. 100% of the proceeds from the tip jar goes to the individual writers of the articles you are reading. Click on the picture below to contribute as you are able. Thank you for giving us a voice so that we can give a voice to others.