"People Are Dancing In The Streets": Syria, Russia, Iran Shrug Off Trump's Airstrikes

And just like that, Trump's second Syrian attack appears to have come and gone.

Sure, over a 100 cruise missiles were fired on Saturday morning local time at three mostly empty military installations, including one research and two storage facilities in airstrikes that last no more than 70 minutes ...

... Syrian air defenses may or may not have intercepted many, if not a majority of the launched missiles, and Trump got to wave his "mission accomplished" flag on twitter, but did anything change?

Not if one observes the response of the targeted nations: on Saturday, Syria, Russia and Iran largely shrugged off the strikes by the United States, United Kingdom and France (but not Germany and Italy) against three Syrian chemical weapons facilities, which naturally drew angry condemnations but no indication that there would be a wider escalation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the U.S.-led strikes against Syrian chemical weapons facilities as an “act of aggression,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatalloh Ali Khamenei tweeted that the attack represented “a war crime,” and the Syrian Foreign Ministry described it as “barbarous aggression.”

But, as the WaPo reported, the pre-dawn volleys of cruise missiles launched by the United States, Britain and France "were limited to three sites linked to Syria’s chemical weapons program and triggered no retaliation."

In saving face, Russia said they did little damage and that most of the cruise missiles targeting Syrian sites had been intercepted by Syrian air defenses, including all of those that were bound for the site from which last week’s alleged chemical attack originated.

Syria quickly trolled Trump, and shortly after the attack the Syria presidency tweeted a post saying “the honorable cannot be humiliated." A few hours later, the account tweeted a video of him walking nonchalantly to work through the halls of the Syrian presidential palace. The text said: "The morning of resilience."

Meanwhile, in the capital Damascus, there was defiance and relief as residents jolted awake by explosions at around 4 a.m. realized the strikes would be limited. Syrian state television broadcast scenes of citizens taking to the streets to celebrate and demonstrate their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, waving Syrian, Russian and Iranian flags. As WaPo Beirut bureau chief Liz Sly wrote:

Damascus is shrugging off the US strikes, which turned out to be more limited than feared. People are dancing in the streets, waving Assad’s portrait & saying Trump has failed.

“Thank God this was less than we had feared. We were scared of a bigger assault that could be devastating, but we are happy it was limited and less powerful,” Mayda Kumejian, a Damascus resident, told the WaPo by phone. She described being jolted awake by explosions and the sound of jets roaring overhead.

"This strike is only muscle flexing by Trump to show his power," she said. "Assad’s regime is much stronger now."

"We tell Trump, you can do nothing. Here we are celebrating to show that you are bankrupt,” said a jubilant woman interviewed on state television.

* * *

By morning, the Western countries said their bombing was over for now and "democratic" world leaders sought to tamp down any tensions associated with the strike. The United States and its allies said three facilities associated with Syria’s chemical weapons program were targeted: a scientific research center in the greater Damascus area, a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs, and a chemical weapons equipment storage facility and command post, also near Homs.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Damascus’s allies saying the buildings hit had been evacuated in advance.

According to Reuters, French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes had been limited so far to Syria’s chemical weapons facilities. Paris released a dossier that it said showed Damascus was to blame for the poison gas attack on Douma, the last town holding out in a rebel-held swathe of territory near Damascus that government forces have recaptured this year.

British PM Theresa May described the strike as “limited and targeted”, with no intention of toppling Assad or intervening more widely in the war. She authorized British action after intelligence showed Assad’s government was to blame for gassing the Damascus suburb of Douma a week ago, she said.

So far, there has been no publicly released evidence that the Assad regime was indeed behind the chemical attacks; instead in its briefing on Saturday morning, the Pentagon referenced a "2000% increase in Russian trolls". It now appears that the same excuse the left used for Hillary's loss is what the Trump admin is using to justify ceding power to the military industrial complex.

And while most of the west has been united in its condemnation against Syria, lack of evidence notwithstanding, Germany and Italy said on Saturday that they refuse to participate in the strikes.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon also said the United States had “deconfliction” contacts with Russia before and after the strikes, that Syrian air defense systems had been largely ineffective and there was no indication that Russian systems had been employed.

In comments on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes did little damage and claimed that of 103 cruise missiles fired in the U.S.-led airstrike, 71 were shot down by Syria’s Soviet-made air-defense systems. The intercepted missiles included all 12 of those bound for the Al-Dumayr military airfield near Damascus, where the chemical attack that triggered the crisis was allegedly launched.

In de-escalating the airstrikes' aftermath, Russia said its own air defenses were not activated because none of the missiles passed through its zone of influence. Russia also said there were no immediate reports of military or civilian casualties. The Syrian army command said three civilians had been injured in the attack on Homs.

One reason why there was no escalation: the strikes had been flagged so far in advance that Syria and its allies had plenty of notice to evacuate the likely targets of civilians and assets, possibly also including key components of the chemical weapons program, leaving it unclear how much of an impact they would have.

* * *

Saturday's strike against Syria was the second time in little over a year that the Trump administration had launched "retaliatory strikes" against Syria in the wake of chemical attacks. Last year’s attack, which took place on April 7, 2017, targeted the Shayrat air base outside Hama, which U.S. officials said was used to launch a sarin gas attack that killed 70 people in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun. Within a week of last year’s strikes, Syrian media broadcast photographs showing that the base was operative again.

* * *

So what, if anything changed, and what was the point of the airstrikes?

Some, observing that Russian air defenses did not engage, and that the US & Russia are now in full deconfliction mode, claimed that "the whole thing was just a charade."

Meanwhile, according to NBC Chief Foreign Correspondent, Trump's message was simple: "Assad wasn't targeted.  His air force remains intact.  US efforts taken to prevent escalation with Russia. So the message seems to be that the Syrian regime can continue its war and Assad still gets to win, just not by using chemical weapons."

Finally, one proposed angle is that what happened last night will have little consequence for Syria, whereas the real impact will be on Iran-Israel relations: "Russia may forego escalation after Western strikes. But there is every indication that Iran is unlikely to let the Israeli killing of its soldiers go unanswered."

The best news, however, is that Trump got his "mission accomplished" victory parade, if only in his own eyes.

It remains to be seen if the brief foreign distraction will prove dramatic enough to distract from the president's ever growing list of domestic scandals...

Comments

Belrev VAL THOR Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:58 Permalink

They strike "chemical weapons factories" and warehouses with missiles and are not concerned about releasing the poisonous agents into the surrounding area and killing thousands of people?

It tells us that they knew there was nothing in those targets.

And they did it the day before the chemical weapons inspectors were due to arrive and check things out on the ground.

In reply to by VAL THOR

Slack Jack curbjob Sat, 04/14/2018 - 11:14 Permalink

This latest chemical attack in Syria is yet another FALSE FLAG.

Just like all the previous chemical attacks in Syria were FALSE FLAG events.

Just like the Skripal "chemical attack" in Britain was a FALSE FLAG event.

Trump is a Jew (so are Macron and Theresa May, by the way).

http://www.preearth.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=630
http://mileswmathis.com/trump.pdf

It seems the Jews want war,.... yet again.

If Putin does not respond, with force, to force,....

We can only conclude that Putin is a Jew too; Putin the new Hitler.

If you wish to see how real wars are conducted, read:

Proof that Adolf Hitler was a double agent.

http://www.preearth.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1174

It seems pretty weird when you first read it, but its clearly true.

------------------------------------------------

Does anyone actually think a single missile was fired?

OR,... is it all massively coordinated false news.

HAS ANYONE ACTUALLY SEEN VIDEO OF THE DAMAGE THAT THESE MISSILES CAUSED?

The 30 or 40 missiles that got through should have left a few holes here and there.

Unless, of course, it is all BS.

It is 2 PM in Damascus; the video clips should have been up-loaded hours ago.

But there don't seem to be any.

"That's not the way the world really works anymore. We (Jews) are an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality (by outright lies)... We're history's actors (the creators of huge wars)... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do (and get away with it)."

IT IS NOW 6 PM IN DAMASCUS;

AND STILL NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE THAT THESE STRIKES TOOK PLACE.

FireBrander "Video will come, Aerial photos will come"

But it will take some time and many will see that everything is BS.

If the missiles had really flown we would have videos of the results all over the internet, long ago.

This time they messed up big time. SAD.

If they rush the cover up, it may turn out worse than not having any evidence at all.

In reply to by curbjob

Adolph.H. beepbop Sat, 04/14/2018 - 11:18 Permalink

What exactly did Americans wanted to achieve before leaving? 

Looks like they achieved nothing, except uniting Syrian people even more against them. 

And Russia already replenishing Syrian inventory:

https://mobile.almasdarnews.com/article/pictures-russia-ships-rarely-se…

They also said they would reconsider selling them S-300. Who wants to bet there are already some onboard for them? 

70% interception rate with S-200 is a very nice number. It can only go higher with some shiny new S-300.

----

It's okay not to be a Jew.

In reply to by beepbop

IH8OBAMA FireBrander Sat, 04/14/2018 - 11:58 Permalink

They are all dancing in the knowledge that Assad can't gas them anymore.  Over 50 gas attacks by Assad in the last few years despite Putin promising that he would make sure all of the chemical weapons in Syria would be destroyed.

BTW, Russia vetoed the UN resolution to have an independent country investigate this gas attack.  Go figure.

“The U.S. will push to accelerate the Geneva process to reach a political solution in Syria,” Ayman Abdel Nour, founder of Syrian Christians for Peace, and a key player in Washington and opposition dialogue, said regarding the conflict. “Russia asked to reduce the strike in order to keep its face, in exchange to push for a real political solution, which requires Assad to be out.” 

 

In reply to by FireBrander

CatInTheHat IH8OBAMA Sat, 04/14/2018 - 12:25 Permalink

There was no chemical attack. It was staged by US, UK, SAUDI ISRAELI FUNDED WHITE HATS.

Syrian CW were all destroyed in 2013. 

UK PORTON DOWN sending the US, UK, SAUDI ISRAELI FUNDED TERRORISTS chemical weapons. Russia and Syria government discover abandoned chemical weapons lab in terrorist stronghold abandoned by terrorists. 

 

In reply to by IH8OBAMA

Blankone JimmyJones Sat, 04/14/2018 - 14:23 Permalink

psst, psst - does not matter. Regardless if Syria is or is not telling the truth, PUTIN DID NOTHING.
Putin exposed himself as a bunch of hot air. All Putin's threats that he would counterattack the sources of any attack on Syria were show to be lies.

Putin simply confirmed that he is a phony, a coward. This is going to make things worse for him.

In reply to by JimmyJones

kralizec Blankone Sat, 04/14/2018 - 16:14 Permalink

There is an element of truth here...if indeed the American allegations are true then Russia will not respond...if the American allegations are bullshit then Putin has to respond...yes?

Wait, what if America is right and Russia is wrong and responds anyway?

Ah screw it!  It's not going to expand anyway...Trump saved face by firing off a load...Putin can blow some people up.  It's all it is.

If America isn't blowing up pipelines they aren't serious and if Russia isn't killing Americans they aren't serious.

Relax, crack a cold one, enjoy the show.

https://youtu.be/EVESMxs4rbA

In reply to by Blankone

shovelhead CatInTheHat Sat, 04/14/2018 - 13:13 Permalink

"Today the Axis of Evil...er, the Allied Forces struck terror into the hearts of Bashir Assad and V. Putin by making a large number of holes in the desert.

Confirmed deaths due to this recent spate of chemical attacks in Salisbury and Syria are two hamsters and a black cat."

"Excuse me, Weren't the pets dead from starvation?"

"Well, yes, because they were to weak from gas to feed themselves."

"This is CNN reporting live from our green screen studio."

In reply to by CatInTheHat

RumpleShitzkin Mr. Universe Sat, 04/14/2018 - 12:07 Permalink

Depends who you ask.

I will say this. Not a single swinging dick on this site can verify a single target. Nobody can verify who was hit, who fired what.
Unless, you believe twitter, Fox, CNN etc.

And I don't.
I do, however, believe my lying eyes and know for 100% FACT that Indiana DID NOT RECEIVE the full fire and fury of Russia and China. Pretty certain the Donald Cook and others are still afloat, but can't say so for sure. That is correct up to this minute.

This was coordinated, just as I said.

In reply to by Mr. Universe

Andre RumpleShitzkin Sat, 04/14/2018 - 15:24 Permalink

Fair point, and, IMO accurate.

But it raises the question - for this cooperation to work, both sides must have seen a benefit.

Which makes me ask if this was something done by the US or the UN? There is a roll of tinfoil here, admittedly, but consider that in order to sell things like Agenda 21, you also have to unsell the idea of effective individual nation-states. Having the US act out does do that job of unselling.

In reply to by RumpleShitzkin

LaugherNYC Mr. Universe Sat, 04/14/2018 - 13:19 Permalink

Last night was what we call a Live Fire Exercise. Of course the Russian military rolled out their shiny S400s. Do you believe for a MOMENT they did not want to see how they performed against incoming fire from The Great Satan? And the US rolled out a structured and layered attack of los and slows and fast movers to see the results. As predicted, Russian tech is not what is is cracked up to be. Of the approximately 15% beta test front line projection, virtually 100% penetration and success to target. Intel gathered on Russian radars and laser tracking tech. Some surprises, but not many. Sacrificial dummy missiles detonated in proximity to air defenses after collection complete.

In any rollout of new generation tech, no more than 25% of launches will be the “latest and greatest.” With a self-reported strike rate of 29%, which translates to more like 50% at worst, rollout was an overwhelming success. REALITY is that success rate is most likely approaching 100% - manned aircraft were utilized in the attack, including well within range of standoff Syrian defenses and zero were shot down. If there had been anything approaching a 3/4 kill rate, there would be planes littering the ground and pilots being paraded in front of the cameras.  Vlad now knows there is much more work to do. 

Announced intention to strike low value targets to limit civilian casualties was delivered as promised. Assad now knows he can be touched wherever he goes, even if he sits in a ring of S400 batteries. Had there been a strike rate of 10% or less, mission would have been a failure. 80% or more would indicate no defense was undertaken, or a catastrophic and total failure of the defense systems confronted with advanced ordinance. It appears to be the last.

”Mission accomplished” means “message delivered.” The West are not butchers like Assad and Vlad. The demonstration got its message through loud and clear to the recipients. A higher value target was destroyed, after allowing lead time for human evacuation.  Expect the Syrians to be dragging school desks and butchered children to the site to claim it was a school or some such disinformation bullshit. Sadly, the US has gotten something for its money, wanted to use it, and it worked. The real dancing in the streets was at Raytheon and Boeing.Expect their stocks to surge in this twisted calculus.

Dance in the streets, Syrian morons. Trump wants nothing to do with you. Live out your short sad lives as slaves.Expect future live fire tests, if Bashar goes scientific again to offer a diversity of weaponry. Syria is now a USMIL test range.

In reply to by Mr. Universe

east of eden LaugherNYC Sat, 04/14/2018 - 15:25 Permalink

Well, that all sounds quite logical and very long winded.

Did you ever consider that perhaps (a) the Russians don't want to waste missiles on an attack carried out by ancient Mirage and Tornado's, carrying missiles that were clearly ineffective, or (b) the Russians, as usual, are showing incredible restraint and don't want to escalate.

I've studied all these weapon systems, and frankly, what is possessed by the US/UK/France is not all that great, and certainly not equal to first line Russian equipment, nor are their soldiers any where near as battle ready and competent as the Russians. It's been shown many times before that a well trained army can defeat an army of much greater strength. Even one of your own Colonels, the guy that won the famous tank battle in Iraq, admits that the US ground forces would be 'annihilated' if it ever fought the Russians.

So the UK is claiming that it launched 4 Tornado GR4's from England that were used in the 'strike'. Now that is funny, since for one thing, England has two military airfields in Cyprus (Greek southern portion), AND, the range of a Tornado GR4 is only 1300 KM's, which means that if they did indeed use those aircraft, and flew them from England, they would have had to refuel 6 times, there and back. The Tornado is NOT a long range strategic strike aircraft. It's rate of climb is only 15K feet per minute (which means they are really fucking slow and would be taken out with no trouble at all), while the Russian SU3x series climbs at 50,000 feet per minute and outdistances them by triple. AND, 2 of those 'refuels' would have had to be done well within the defensive area of the S-400's in northern Syria. It would take an S-400 8 seconds from launch to target, so refuelling aircraft, and their host supply aircraft, wouldn't even have a chance to evade, they would just be gone.

What has been 'proven' here? That very low flying cruise missiles can get through defensive radars? Well, yes, but then it is also well known that B-52's were also capable of very low level flight, even at jet speeds, so that is nothing new. And apparently, these Storm Chaser 'cruise' missiles have to climb to altitude before they begin even their target analysis phase. So, once they pop their heads up, ka-boom, gone. 

So, their story doesn't seem to match up with the reality they are trying to present. Nice story though.

I call total bullshit on your comment.

In reply to by LaugherNYC