# American missiles fired at Syria **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 7, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944 "2017-04-07T02:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/41 "2017-04-07T04:20:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > **snip** > > A military attack has to be part of a bigger plan. Assuming there _IS_ a plan. More likely this is dick waving because “they” told him it is what is done. Making it part of a _plan_? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/42 "2017-04-07T04:25:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What authority did Trump use to launch this attack? Rand Paul is saying Congress didn’t authorize it. The President is the Commander-in-Chief but he can’t order a military attack against any country he wants to. > [@](#): > > When he was running for president in 2007, Obama, a former constitutional law professor, told reporter Charlie Savage that “ **the president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.** ” That was an accurate description of U.S. law. > The drafters of the Constitution assigned Congress the power to declare war. Records from the constitutional convention in Philadelphia show the framers recognized that, in an emergency, the president could act unilaterally to repel a sudden attack against the United States. This was a consensus view. Even Alexander Hamilton, who had the broadest view of executive power, acknowledged that under the Constitution, “ **it is the peculiar and exclusive province of Congress, when the nation is at peace, to change that state into a state of war; … it belongs to Congress only, to go to war.** ” [LA Times, 2013](http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/30/opinion/la-oe-edelson-obama-syria-military-action-20130830) > [@](#): > > We strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973. > While the Founders wisely gave the Office of the President the authority to act in emergencies, they foresaw the need to ensure public debate — and the active engagement of Congress — prior to committing U.S. military assets. Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution. [Congressional Letter to the President, 2013](http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/87-house-members-sign-syria-letter-to-obama) ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/43 "2017-04-07T04:37:03Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Surely far less. > > Also are there B-2s at Diego Garcia right now? There are at least 2 B-2s deployed in England right now. They were moved in 2014 when things with Putin started getting tense following the annexation of Crimea. I haven’t found any record of them redeploying back. England to Syria would be a significantly shorter round trip. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/44 "2017-04-07T04:51:45Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > During the press conference, Trump also invoked god and prayers. He’s checking off the demagogue boxes one by one. [QUOTE=ABC (Aust) newsfeed] •President Trump calls on “all civilized nations” to help "end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria. [/QUOTE] Does that that mean he wants to rejoin the club? FWIW I’d categorise this as swift, targeted, justified and proportionate. ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/45 "2017-04-07T04:52:56Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > Neither Syria nor Russia is claiming that it was a false flag BTW, they were bombing that location because it was a staging area for the Hama offensive. The claim is that they set off a rebel stockpile of chemical weapons. And [per DoD](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/06/trump-launches-tomahawk-missile-strikes-after-syria-chemical-attack.html), they have identified the site of the suspected chemical attack, showing the bomb crater to be in a road and not actually inside any kind of structure, let alone something that could resemble a depot, warehouse, or secure site to store or manufacture chemical weapons. The side by side pictures are a bit confusing because they are from different directions. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/46 "2017-04-07T04:56:43Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > FWIW I’d categorise this as swift, targeted, justified and proportionate. I would categorise this as Trump being just as impotent and useless on the subject as Obama was. They warned the Russians beforehand for God’s sake. Don’t you think the Syrians hadn’t already scrambled their fighters long before the Tomahawks hit? It just shows the facts on the ground. There is a choice between doing something cosmetic or doing something concrete, and risk a war with the Russians. Obama sent TOW ATGM’s to the rebels. Trump launched Tomahawks. Accomplished? Fuck all. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/47 "2017-04-07T05:05:20Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Assuming there _IS_ a plan. > > More likely this is dick waving because “they” told him it is what is done. > Making it part of a _plan_? I don’t think so. I’m guessing his “plan” is to ocassionaly appear to be taking his role as leader of the free world seriously. I’m pleasantly surprised, but far from impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/48 "2017-04-07T05:21:41Z")
ABC News is reporting the US notified Russia before the attack. ABC News also reports that eyewitnesses saw the Syrian military moving out of the attacked airport before it was hit. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/49 "2017-04-07T05:34:10Z")
Personally, I’m not convinced it’s a bad thing to bomb Assad. Fuck him. Doesn’t make me a Trump supporter though. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/50 "2017-04-07T05:41:29Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > There are at least 2 B-2s deployed in England right now. They were moved in 2014 when things with Putin started getting tense following the annexation of Crimea. I haven’t found any record of them redeploying back. England to Syria would be a significantly shorter round trip. Yes and no. Shorter if going as the crow flies, but doing that would have required getting permission to cross the airspace of a number of European countries (also Turkey), or at least give them early warning in order to avoid diplomatic fallout and/or a missile up the keister. Each of which could have refused/warned Assad/delayed the works. To avoid that, the B2s would have had to circumnavigate western Europe, over the Sahara and into Syria. That’s a long detour. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/51 "2017-04-07T05:44:59Z")
Sounds like Trump cashed the check Obama wrote. Even though he said it wasn’t a check that should have been written. Just looking at it without snarking about our idiot Presidents, it was the right thing to do. WMD use is unacceptable and there should be a price to pay for any country that uses them. Especially since we made an agreement with Syria to get rid of their chemical weapons as a condition for not attacking them the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/52 "2017-04-07T05:47:40Z")
I’m more worried about the bump he will surely see in his poll numbers. Means he’ll probably start finding someone to bomb every week to keep those numbers up. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/53 "2017-04-07T05:50:37Z")
No doubt coincidental, but doing this right before meeting Xi Jinping does give Trump some credibility\* over his stance of being ready to deal with North Korea on his own. - yes I know , I used credibility and Trump in the same sentence. . ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/54 "2017-04-07T05:53:46Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’m more worried about the bump he will surely see in his poll numbers. Means he’ll probably start finding someone to bomb every week to keep those numbers up. Don’t worry. He may have done the right thing this time, but I’m confident he’ll find some way to fuck it up. (Hopefully, without bombing someone new each week, although it may be time to teach those uppity French bastards a lesson. ;)) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/55 "2017-04-07T06:01:27Z")
“Right thing”? How is creating jobs for the local cleanup crew “the right thing?” The Syrian were long gone when the base was hit. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/56 "2017-04-07T06:15:52Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > “Right thing”? How is creating jobs for the local cleanup crew “the right thing?” The Syrian were long gone when the base was hit. I know it’s frustrating but they had to warn the Russians and they would inevitably warn the Syrians. America couldn’t have any Russian blood on their hands. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/57 "2017-04-07T06:26:55Z")
So this accomplishes, what exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/58 "2017-04-07T06:35:31Z")
Possibly as much as Reagan’s missile attack on Libya. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/59 "2017-04-07T06:41:37Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > So this accomplishes, what exactly? You know how sometimes when one country is mad at another, the head of state summons their ambassador? It’s like that but with missiles. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/60 "2017-04-07T06:43:54Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > So this accomplishes, what exactly? Probably bugger all, unless he heads in there headlong - hopefully Congress would pull him up short. I doubt he’ll even try to go all-in, though he might make noises making it sound like he might. As it is, he’ll get a bump in the polls, which might even take him out of the negatives, for a bit. And since he warned the Russians, I’d say it’s safe not to discount collusion yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944.md?page=4)