U.S. Navy warships fired 50+ Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian military base a few hours ago. It was the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and Donald Trump’s most dramatic military order since becoming president. This attack was in response to the chemical attack in Syria that killed over 70 people, including up to 30 children. The attack has been blamed on the Syrian regime, but little evidence has been supplied thus far.
The surprise strike marked a striking reversal for Trump, who warned as a candidate against the U.S. getting pulled into the Syrian civil war, now in its seventh year. Unfortunately, he was right then as a reality TV star/businessman and wrong now as President.
I always ask “cui bono?” during times like this and have little trust in the mainstream media. It really makes no sense for Assad to drop chemical weapons on his own people and draw the ire of the world, just as he was winning the war in his country and the U.S. was backing off their insistence on regime change. Of course, I don’t know for sure what happened, but something does not seem quite right about the narrative. Hopefully we get more details in the hours ahead and there is a clearer picture of what evidence compelled Trump to order the attack.
Was Trump fooled into believing that Assad would drop chemical weapons on his own people? He would be risking his power, life and legacy at a moment when he has everything to lose and nothing to gain from such an attack. This is the same old playbook they tried once before. It failed when alternative media revealed it was actually the Western-backed, anti-Assad rebels that used chemical weapons on innocents in Syria, not Assad. And here we are again, with the same line.
The bigger picture here is that the Russian and Iranian militaries are both operating alongside the Syrian military. If the U.S. deliberately or accidentally attacks the Russian military, things could escalate very quickly. A war between two nuclear superpowers does not benefit anyone. Let’s pray that the conflict remains contained to a few surgical strikes against Syria and not full-scale war with Russia.
Rand Paul who has been vocally against any strikes, opined on twitter:
I think it is worth considering that Trump knew Assad did not use chemical weapons, but wanted to impress Chinese President Xi Jinping, currently staying with Trump at his Mar a Lago resort. It also takes pressure off Trump’s various media scandals, real or fabricated, and unites the nation behind the President in a time of war. If he made sure to clear it with Russia and strike what has been described as a shell of a miliary base, with little to no causalities, it actually may benefit Trump. It should certainly quieten down the Democrats’ Russian narrative for a while. But we are going deep down the rabbit hole of possiblities.
At roughly $1.5 million per Tomahawk missile, Trump was sending a $100 million message to Assad via taxpayer money. The mainstream media will have a hard time trying to figure out whether to cheer this act of war as usual, or criticize it since they hate Trump so much. What did it actually accomplish?
Gold and silver have spiked higher following the news, with gold up $14 (1%) and silver up 15 cents (0.8%) so far tonight.
S&P futures tanked on the news, erasing previous gains.
I think we are likely to see follow-through buying of gold as western markets open in the morning. Since this attack has the potential to escalate, I think the push higher in precious metals may just be getting started. Money often flows into safe haven assets such as gold during times of political uncertainty. The Gold Stock Bull Portfolio is already positioned to profit from this move higher in gold, but we are likely to increase exposure tomorrow and pick up a few of the junior miners that we have been highlighting for subscribers. You can become a premium member by clicking here.
