The first crisis
It won’t be the last
WHAT TO make of the United States’ bombing of Syria the other night? One thing that does appear certain: This is a different president and a different presidency. The previous occupant of the White House was quick to draw red lines on international matters—specifically in Syria—only to watch them turn pink then disappear altogether. Sort of the way Middle Eastern sands can cover up pathways, roads and highways in a dust storm. Pity the poor Syrian who thought that Barack Obama would come to the rescue. Or punish the Syrian regime effectively. The new president’s warnings, it seems, are more serious. No doubt they’re paying attention not only in Damascus, but also in Pyongyang, Tehran, Moscow, Beijing … .
If you listened to President Trump’s statement about the bombings, you might have noticed that several times he used the word “God.” After the Syrian regime gassed a village, killing 80 people with a weapon that not even Hitler would allow his troops to employ, the new American president said, “No child of God should ever suffer such horror” and “We ask for God’s wisdom.” Which may mean the new president has discovered the seriousness of the job.
Yes, many people in the world look to the United States—and the president and commander-in-chief of its armed forces—for leadership. For courage. For wisdom. For protection. And the leader of the free world can’t lead from behind. While we’re talking about God, tonight in your prayers, say one for Donald J. Trump, who needs all the wisdom and good advice he can get just now. As all presidents do in any crisis.
One thing is for certain: This won’t be the only crisis Donald Trump faces in his presidency. He’ll need more prayers on frequent occasions.
In the Middle East, there are always uncertainties, condundrums, and mysteries about what is the best course of action.
ONE OF the best things about the movie Charlie Wilson’s War, besides the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman, was the last scene in which Gust explains his thinking on America’s arming of the Afghans to fight the Soviets: A boy in a village got a new horse, and the villagers asked the wise man, isn’t that wonderful? And the wise man said, “We shall see.” And then the boy fell from the horse and broke his leg, and the villagers asked the wise man, isn’t that terrible? And the wise man said, “We shall see.” And then the army came through and grabbed boys for the war, but didn’t take the child with the broken leg, and the villagers asked the wise man, isn’t that wonderful? And the wise man said . . . .
We shall see.
For now, let’s hope the phone lines stay open between Washington and Moscow. And that no mistakes happen in this very serious business.
For years, the Syrian people thought nobody else in the world cared about them, or how horribly they died. Thursday night might have changed their minds. Certainly Donald Trump changed his mind after seeing the atrocities of killing innocents, including children and infants. He may have changed the the minds of others, not just about the Syrians, but about America’s new leadership in the world.