'Most Beautiful Piece of Chocolate Cake' Trump Orders and Tells Xi of Syria Strike over Dessert

US President Donald Trump gave an intimate account of his state of mind as he ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles on Syria last week, and implied that China’s leader Xi Jinping agreed with his decision.

Can Russia Abandon Assad? – Inside Story

US President Donald Trump's inauguration was expected to usher in a new era of close ties with Russia. The past week, however, shows that's not happening. Harsh words have been traded over the Syrian conflict. It started with the chemical attack in Idlib last week, blamed on the Russian-backed Assad regime, followed by the US strike on a Syrian airbase.

Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow has done little to ease tensions. Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss the future of the Syrian President. The US wants Assad gone. But Russia wants to know what America's real intentions are. And what the West is planning for a Syria without Assad?

Presenter: Sohail Rahman. Guests: Alexander Nekrassov, Russian political analyst and former Kremlin adviser; Wa'el Alzayat, former senior Syria adviser to Samantha Power, the US Ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama; Ian Black, visiting senior fellow at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics.

Trump Undercuts Bannon, Whose Job May Be in Danger

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s grenade-lobbing pugilist of a chief strategist, has a fitting nickname for his West Wing office: “the war room.”

But more and more, war is being waged on Mr. Bannon himself. And it is unclear how much longer he can survive in his job.

His isolation inside the White House, after weeks of battle with senior aides aligned with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, appeared to grow even starker this week after Mr. Trump undercut Mr. Bannon in two interviews and played down his role in the Trump presidential campaign. » | Jeremy W. Peters and Maggie Haberman | Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Bannon’s Worldview: Dissecting the Message of ‘The Fourth Turning’ »

White House Accuses Russia of Cover-Up in Syria Chemical Attack

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The White House accused the Russian government on Tuesday of engaging in a cover-up of the chemical weapons attack last week by Syrian forces that prompted American missile strikes, saying that United States intelligence and numerous contemporaneous reports confirmed that the Syrians used sarin gas on their own people.

In a declassified four-page report that details United States intelligence on the chemical weapons attack and contains a point-by-point rebuttal of Moscow’s claims, the White House asserted that the Syrian and Russian governments had sought to confuse the world community about the assault through disinformation and “false narratives.”

The strongly worded document calls for international condemnation of Syria’s use of chemical weapons and harshly criticizes Russia for “shielding” an ally that has used weapons of mass destruction. Read on and comment » | Julie Hirschfeld Davis | Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Eric Trump Says President Bombed Syria Because Ivanka Told Him To

According to the President’s son, Eric, the President made the decision to bomb Syria because Ivanka urged him to. Supposedly, she was so broken-hearted over the images on the news that she told daddy he had to do something.

Alt-Right Actually Believed Trump Was Anti-War

Published on 10 Apr 2017 You’ll never guess who the Alt-Right is blaming for Trump’s bombing of Syria… Ana Kasparian and John Iadarola, hosts of The Young Turks, discuss.

Steve Bannon's Role Being Questioned: President Trump 'Never Needed' Him | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Is Steve Bannon backing down from his feud with Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner? The New York Times' Jeremy Peters discusses his reporting on Bannon's rôle in the White House.

President Donald Trump To Save Syrian Babies But Cut Meals On Wheels | AM Joy | MSNBC

Joy Reid and her panel discuss why Trump is suddenly inspired to intervene in Syria, after not being so moved in recent years, or in his current domestic policy.

Boris Johnson Slapped Down as Syrian Air Strikes Reverberate

Tillerson, on Eve of Russia Trip, Takes Hard Line on Syria

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson is taking a hard line against Russia on the eve of his first diplomatic trip to Moscow, calling the country “incompetent” for allowing Syria to hold on to chemical weapons and accusing Russia of trying to influence elections in Europe using the same methods it employed in the United States.

Mr. Tillerson’s comments, made in interviews aired on Sunday, were far more critical of the Russian government than any public statements by President Trump, who has been an increasingly lonely voice for better ties with Russia. They seemed to reflect Mr. Tillerson’s expectation, which he has expressed privately to aides and members of Congress, that the American relationship with Russia is already reverting to the norm: one of friction, distrust and mutual efforts to undermine each other’s reach. Read on and comment » | David E. Sanger | Sunday, April 9, 2017

US Strike Helping ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Enemy US Supposed to Fight against – Ron Paul

The UN security Council is holding an emergency meeting on the US missile attack on a Syrian airbase. To discuss the UN Security Council meeting we're joined by Ron Paul, chairman and founder of The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

‘No Rhyme or Reason to Trump’s Incoherent Policy in Syria’ – Historian to RT

The U.S. says its missile strike was in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack in Idlib province on Tuesday - Damascus has constantly stressed it does not use toxic weapons. However, now just days after President Trump ordered the airfield strikes, his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says participation with the current Syrian government is needed to end the conflict there.

Kevin MacDonald - Neocons to Remove Assad, Trump Buys the MSM Lie

Sen. Rubio on U.S. Strike on Syria Air Base, Removing al-Assad

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio joins "CBS This Morning" from the Capitol to discuss the U.S. military strike on the Syrian Shayrat air base, believed to be the origin of the plane that launched the latest chemical attack on Syrians. Rubio also discusses the risks behind the strike and how President Bashar al-Assad could be ousted.

Marco Rubio doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He has a simplistic solution to an extremely complicated problem. Sorry, Mr. Rubio, you’re wrong! – Mark

Trump Turns On Assad: How Will US Strikes Impact War in Syria? (Parts 1 & 2)

U.S. Attack on Syria Cements Kremlin’s Embrace of Assad

THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — If Russia once maintained at least a semblance of distance from President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, it rushed to his defense after the American missile strike ordered by President Trump on Thursday. The attack cemented Moscow more closely than ever to the notorious Syrian autocrat.

Even as the United States condemned Mr. Assad for gassing his own citizens and held Russia partly responsible, given its 2013 promise to rid Syria of chemical weapons, the Kremlin kept denying that Syria had any such capability.

By championing Mr. Assad and condemning American “aggression,” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia seemed to be burying the idea that he could somehow cooperate with the Trump administration to end the conflict on his terms. » | Neil MacFarquhar | Saturday, April 8, 2017

US Syria Strike Was Illegal, No Matter Who Carried Out Gas Attack

The US had no right to launch a unilateral attack on Syria Phyllis Bennis tells Paul Jay, and it’s a violation of the UN charter

Democrat Lawmaker Who Met with Assad Blasts Trump

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sparked criticism a few months ago for meeting with Syria leader Assad and now tells Tucker why she believes Trump's airstrikes on Syria were illegal, 'counterproductive' and 'reckless'

Lawmaker Questions Gas Attack Evidence

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) talks about the chemical attack in Syria and the US military strike of a Syrian base with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Wilkerson: Trump Attack on Syria Driven by Domestic Politics

Former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, tells Paul Jay that the Syrian Government may not be responsible for the chemical attack and that Trump's response was a violation of international law