# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/61 "2017-04-07T06:44:36Z")
So, _that’s_ what he’s been talking to Russia about, these past few months! A secret plan for peace in Syria! What a visionary pair, Putin and Trump! Anybody else smell Peace Prize? ---
**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, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/62 "2017-04-07T06:47:30Z")
> [@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. Telling the Russians beforehand obviously wasn’t the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/63 "2017-04-07T06:48:19Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > 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. It’s a legitimate question. You don’t bomb a country because you’re mad at them. You’re supposed to have a purpose. Were we warning Assad not to use chemical weapons? Warning him not to attack rebels? Trying to oust him from power? Trying to get the Russians to withdraw from Syria? What’s our goal here? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/64 "2017-04-07T06:50:15Z")
It’s a test by Putin to see how the new Pres responds to a modest ‘international crisis’. Putin has done Trump a favour by delaying the ‘crisis’ and keeping things simple. Kind of helps it comes after the US blew 200 civilians into small pieces - lots of images of pieces of pregnant women and small children. Thank God everyone is so concerned for the people of that country and their lives aren’t international bargaining chips… ---
**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, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/65 "2017-04-07T06:50:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s a legitimate question. You don’t bomb a country because you’re mad at them. You’re supposed to have a purpose. > > Were we warning Assad not to use chemical weapons? Warning him not to attack rebels? Trying to oust him from power? Trying to get the Russians to withdraw from Syria? > > What’s our goal here? Good questions. It’s a safe bet Trump didn’t give that much thought. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/66 "2017-04-07T06:50:53Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Telling the Russians beforehand obviously wasn’t the right thing to do. Attacking a military base where Russians are stationed without giving them advance warning would have been a worse idea. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/67 "2017-04-07T06:52:13Z")
without warning? Like all of this isn’t choreographed by the rules of Welcoming the New President? ---
**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, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/68 "2017-04-07T06:54:11Z")
That was my legitimate answer. I honestly think it was a splashy warning. Probably to a large degree playing to the home audience. ---
**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, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/69 "2017-04-07T07:01:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Attacking a military base where Russians are stationed without giving them advance warning would have been a worse idea. Then don’t make it a target. Really, they should have just done what they tried to do to Saddam in Mar. 2003: get intelligence on where he is and drop a bomb on that place. Even if it misses, it is a very real deterrent to Assad. Not directly targeting foreign leaders is an executive order, one that Trump might want to pointedly consider reversing. ---
**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, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/70 "2017-04-07T07:06:40Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Telling the Russians beforehand obviously wasn’t the right thing to do. …if you wanted to start a nuclear war by next Monday, midweek tops.:rolleyes: ---
**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, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/71 "2017-04-07T07:14:21Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > So, nuclear war over the weekend? The Donald himself [seems to think it’s a possibility](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/373743492151136256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fforums.somethingawful.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Fthreadid%3D3726437%26pagenumber%3D291%23lastpost). ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/72 "2017-04-07T07:24:03Z")
> [@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. Well the Magical Cleanup Crew is busy right now in Mosul; making it all look good as new with a fresh coat of paint. But I’m sure they’ll soon get round to un-tomahawk-missiling the air base. ---
**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, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/73 "2017-04-07T07:28:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Then don’t make it a target. Really, they should have just done what they tried to do to Saddam in Mar. 2003: get intelligence on where he is and drop a bomb on that place. Even if it misses, it is a very real deterrent to Assad. It is very difficult to get and simultaneously decipher/analyze SIGINT or other ISR that would allow the pinpointing of a particular individual on relatively short notice. It is even more difficult when trying to get accurate information about a high level target like Assad, who fearing Israel, the rebels, and ISIL, has likely been maintaining some fairly decent forms of security and protected movement to prevent such an easy targeting. The other major downside is that if the U.S. were to kill Assad directly, then it also bears some responsibility for everything that happens afterwards (a la Libya). If the Assad regime collapsed without him, there would likely be genocide in Latakia where the Alawites would try to hold the line against Al Qaeda and Sunni rebels and the possibility of ISIL making major gains from all the places where the Syrian Army would retreat or collapse. If the Syrian Army and many of the other mercenary forces fighting for Assad collapsed, then ISIL could get a fresh infusion of arms and equipment, besides gaining ground. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/74 "2017-04-07T07:32:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Then don’t make it a target. Really, they should have just done what they tried to do to Saddam in Mar. 2003: get intelligence on where he is and drop a bomb on that place. Even if it misses, it is a very real deterrent to Assad. > > Not directly targeting foreign leaders is an executive order, one that Trump might want to pointedly consider reversing. You don’t think there are Russians in the vicinity of Assad himself? So you’re back to same situation; do you kill a bunch of Russian soldiers in a surprise attack or do you give them advance warning knowing they’ll pass it on to the Syrians? It’s a tough question with no obvious good answers. But it’s the kind of decision Presidents are expected to deal with. ---
**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, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/75 "2017-04-07T07:34:52Z")
Lets see, . S\*hould we take action that will very likely lead to a shooting war against a country with 5,000 nukes, most of which are poised to be launched at us within minutes on a good day.? \* Nope, not a tough question at all. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/76 "2017-04-07T08:12:23Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Lets see, . S\*hould we take action that will very likely lead to a shooting war against a country with 5,000 nukes, most of which are poised to be launched at us within minutes on a good day.? \* > > Nope, not a tough question at all. I am holding a strong belief that this was something the two “bestie superpower buds” had set in place beforehand. We fruitlessly hit an airbase in Syria to “look tough on terror”, Russia is made well aware of it beforehand, Putin denounces it in the media **wink, wink, nudge nudge** and Americans get to feel like _they’ve done something_…unlike that pansy Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inbred_Mm_domesticus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/77 "2017-04-07T08:20:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Attacking a military base where Russians are stationed without giving them advance warning would have been a worse idea. Why? The Turks shot down a Russian plane for crossing into a smidge of their terrain and now Putin and Erdogan are besties. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/78 "2017-04-07T09:12:53Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Possibly as much as Reagan’s missile attack on Libya. Which of Assad’s daughters did Trump kill? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/79 "2017-04-07T09:19:06Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The Syrian were long gone when the base was hit. [But their jets weren’t](https://twitter.com/CombatChris1/status/850213249710645249) ---
**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, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944/80 "2017-04-07T09:41:43Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > [But their jets weren’t](https://twitter.com/CombatChris1/status/850213249710645249) :dubious: Says a source on Twitter who is **checks** an artist in Canada? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-missiles-fired-at-syria/783944.md?page=5)