It’s official. Donald Trump is now a full-blown neocon.
This was obvious even before he appointed the war criminal John Bolton to be his senior advisor. In fact, as predicted before he was elected, it was inevitable he would join the neocon club, although most neocons dislike him, just like the establishment dislikes him — not because he won’t follow instructions, but because he’s an interloper, an outlier, somebody who didn’t come up through the ranks, never mind he’s moving the agenda forward.
Trump earned his gold star on Friday night. He violated the Constitution, didn’t bother with the United Nations, and bombed Syria based on a lie. That’s pure neocon.
However, after the dust settled, it was apparent his multi-million dollar bombing raid didn’t really accomplish much.
John McCain was appreciative, but said Trump needs to do much more—not only in Syria, but in the entire region.
I applaud the President for taking military action against the Assad regime, and I am grateful to our British and French allies for joining us in this action. To succeed in the long run, we need a comprehensive strategy for Syria and the entire region. https://t.co/2xrHwVGYKK
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) April 14, 2018
McCain’s buddy, Lindsey Graham, said there should be a “three strikes and you’re out” approach to Bashar al-Assad. Because he responded to the attempt to undermine his government and managed to defeat the US-Saudi backed Salafi heads choppers—with the help of Russia and Iran—it would be okay if the US or one of its proxies killed him, maybe in Gadaffi fashion.
Top neocon Bill Kristol didn’t say much. He merely posted three flags. I guess that’s his way of saying he supported the illegal attack without mentioning Trump. Bill led the “Never Trump” movement and pushed a former CIA guy during the election. Kristol will never admit Trump is now a neocon, at least in spirit. Trump didn’t come up through the ranks, he wasn’t a senior fellow at one of the think tanks.
Max Boot and other neocons didn’t say anything—not because they don’t support taking out Syria, but rather because Trump is doing it and most of them can’t stand him.
Meanwhile, Richard Haass, boss over at the Council on Foreign relations, said the illegal bombing raid was “legitimate,” but more bombing and killing must be done.
Trump earned his neocon gold star, albeit begrudgingly, and his base, what’s left of it, is grousing and grumbling over serial betrayals.
