and he is also painting himself into a corner with his friends. This is exactly what he criticized Obama for. He's drawing a red line in a way he may come to regret later.

I agree Obama made a big mistake by not retaliating for the 2012 Sarin attacks, but at least he did manage to eliminate a massive strategic stockpile of nerve gas that Syria was planning to use against Israel. In the long term, that may be seen by history as his greatest triumph. Obama had good reason for his hesitancy and caution. He went to Congress looking for Congressional support for a dangerous potential major escalation and they responded by going on recess, leaving him holding the bag, (desnudo con las manos en los bolsillos) and running home to raise campaign funds from their fat cat contributors instead. If I had been in his shoes I would have done the same thing he did. Congress didn't have the courage to cover his back, or go on record to say why they didn't and it was clear no matter WHAT he did, they were going to use it against him.

Trump is committing our allies to a potentially dangerous course of action without even consulting them. I don't doubt the French and the UK will help us in any military action which may be necessary in Syria, but he is not giving them much in the way of options. He is publicly committing them to his fight, to share the blame but not the glory. If I were them, I'd tell him to go fuck himself.

I am rather hawkish in my foreign policy so I am not necessarily opposed to strong military action in Syria. Assad, Putin and the Ayatollahs need to be brought down a peg or two. But Trump has already started to bungle this, from a purely tactical point of view. It is clear he has no business leading us into a conflict, his only strategic skill is the bluff, and he has revealed it prematurely.

I don't have to tell anyone here Trump is unqualified to be President. Its not a question of politics or ideology or policy, its a matter of competence. But the real villain here is his party, and the philosophy they ultimately represent. They are showing themselves incapable of controlling the Frankenstein monster they have created, or the fascist beast they have awakened that lurks in the depths of the American psyche. All they really care about is maximizing their tax cuts, minimizing worker salaries, and dismantling all regulatory protections and the social safety net.

The Middle East is the New Balkans, a shatterbelt of conflicting interests and entangled alliances. Its starting to look a lot like 1914.