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World News See other World News Articles Title: Mattis warns Trump on risks of escalating US involvement in Syria Mattis warns Trump on risks of escalating US involvement in Syria By Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer 6 hrs ago UK: Russia spied on Skripal and daughter for at least 5 years Russia says alleged chemical attack in Syria staged by UK © Pool/Getty Images North America/Getty Images Trump has pushed military leaders to develop plans for a sustained assault on Syrian regime targets in response to last weekend's chemical attack, the officials said. But Mattis and other members of the President's national security team cautioned Trump during the meeting that such a strategy could pull the US into direct conflict with Russia and Iran. Nevertheless, the officials told CNN that there is a view among Trump's national security team that the President's tweets earlier this week -- including one threatening US missiles "will be coming, nice and new and 'smart' " -- forced their hand and made some type of strikes inevitable. But there is an effort to calibrate the response, even as Trump is pressing his team to act. Trump huddled with his national security team for roughly 90 minutes Thursday, but the White House said soon after the meeting ended that no final decisions had been made. National security officials were expected to confer again on Friday. A delay in strikes after Trump publicly previewed them earlier this week could allow Syrian, Russian and Iranian forces to better prepare for them, multiple US officials said. But questions remain about a lack of firm evidence pinning the chemical attack on the Syrian regime, despite expressions of confidence from France and the UK. Mattis raised those concerns during Thursday's meeting at the White House Both Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the Syrian regime was likely responsible for the attack. Trump spoke with both leaders on Thursday evening. In his conversation with May, the two "agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime," according to May's office. Despite foreign allies' expressions of confidence in the Syrian regime's culpability in the attack, US officials have not ventured that far in public. During Thursday's meeting at the White House, Mattis advised Trump to wait for more definitive proof before ordering strikes. International observers with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have yet to reach the Damascus suburb of Douma, where the attack took place. The organization said they were due to arrive on Saturday. Medical sources and activists in Syria say following the alleged chemical attack last Saturday that blood, urine and hair follicle samples were smuggled in batches to Turkey during evacuations by the Syrian regime of rebel groups and their families. But the sources did not know what happened to the samples after they reached Turkey. Appearing on Capitol Hill earlier Thursday, Mattis publicly raised his concerns about escalation in Syria. Russian and Iranian forces have bolstered Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad as he clings to power after a bloody seven-year conflict. The US and Russia maintain a "deconfliction line" between the US al-Udeid air base in Qatar and Russia's Hmeymim military base in Syria to prevent conflicts. But an accidental US strike on Russian or Iranian positions could dramatically escalate tensions in the region. "We are trying to stop the murder of innocent people. But on a strategic level, it's how do we keep this from escalating out of control, if you get my drift on that," Mattis said in morning testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. Speaking before a meeting with farm state lawmakers on Thursday morning, Trump said he and his team were closely monitoring events on the ground. "We're looking very, very seriously, very closely, at that whole situation," the President said from the Cabinet Room. "We have to make some further decisions. So they'll be made fairly soon." Trump's new national security adviser John Bolton has been ever-present in the deliberations, US officials said. He sat in the Oval Office with Trump last evening along with chief of staff John Kelly when Trump phoned May, and was the leading voice telling Trump to cancel a planned trip to South America to remain in the United States and monitor the Syria response. In meetings this week, Bolton has relayed Trump's views that a more muscular response is needed. But he has viewed his role as ensuring Trump has all the necessary information to make an informed decision, according to an administration official. Poster Comment: Trump had better have good enough advisers to warn him the Putin has said that any attack on Syria could start WW III. Even if Trump walks softly and carries a big stick, it may not be enough to scare off Russia. Russia has been annoyed by the gradual and steady eastward advance of NATO. And if Trump attacks Syria, it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. ;) Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
Yes, and in the mean time, while Trump is deciding whether to start WW3, it's a great time for Comey to come out with his new book and encourage various liberal media sites to taunt Trump about his marriage quality in regard to allegations of Russian prostitutes and pee. Hopefully it's not enough to make Trump use Syria to say "FU" to the world. It comes down to avoiding the situation where one side no longer has enough to lose. And Russia is much closer to reaching that point than the USA is. Unless you count Trump in his personal capacity.
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