Donald Trump, the Syria Strike, Holy Week, and Last Chances

PALM SUNDAY AND FUNDAMENTAL THINGS. • • • Yesterday was Palm Sunday in the Christian calendar -- the beginning of Holy Week leading to Easter and the Resurrection. St. Luke, who, being Greek, told the Gospel in Greek fashion, gives this description of Palm Sunday in Luke 19:28-44 (King James Version) : "And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, 'Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.' And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, 'Why loose ye the colt?' And they said, 'The Lord hath need of him.' And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, 'Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.' And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, 'Master, rebuke thy disciples.' And he answered and said unto them, 'I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.' And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 'Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.' " • St: Matthew, being Jewish, added to St. Luke's account with these words in Matthew 21:4ff : "This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet : 'Say to Daughter Zion, See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'....The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!' When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?' The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” • St. Mark, also Jewish, in Mark 11:10-11; adds the additional words of the crowd : " 'Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.' And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." • St. John, the philosopher of the Gospel writers, gives a different view of Plam Sunday in John 12:12-19 : "On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, 'Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.' And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, 'Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.' These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The people therefore that were with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bear record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, 'Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.' And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the Twelve." • • • THE FUNDAMENTAL THINGS ARE RELIGIOUS AND POLITCAL. I don't any more often than necessary invoke Christian or Jewish religion into the blog, because we are almost always talking about political affairs. But, for me, in one way, Easter is the endtale of the message delivered by Jesus in his actions and words of Palm Sunday. That message was that the world had been warned again and again by God about its errors -- that finally there would have to be a reckoning for mankind. That's why I posted the strange poem on the Popshots this week -- its title is "Armageddon" and it speaks of the Last Things, the time when humankind will have to pay the bill for its long refusal to live by God's rules. Those rules are not only Christian, they are almost universally recognized by people in every sovciety in every epoch. What does this have to do with politcs? Everything. Because politics is nothing less than the means by which people live together under rules that protect everyone while giving them the opportunity express themselves individually as the children of God. • • • SYRIA AND PRESIDENT TRUMP. The Mirror, a UK tabloid, published a long article on Saturday about the Thursday night US military missile attack on the al-Assad airbase from which the latest Assad regime che,ical attack was launched. The Mirror used the headline : "Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were last night urged to hold emergency talks as growing tensions in the Middle East threatened to explode into war." We know the details of the raid. If you want to get a full range of information about its strike and aftermath, go to < http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/donald-trump-warned-one-step-10181568?service=responsive > • For present purposes, the gist of the Mirror's long report is that the world has supported President Trump's decision to act. Only Russia, Iran and Hezbollah -- and British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (the Mirror is after all a British paper) -- gave negative reviews of the strike. Beleaguered Arabs -- whom, we often forget are the chief targets of islamic terrorism -- are now apparently calling President Trump "Abu Ivanka" (Ivanka’s father) because of the story circulating that his decision "was sparked" by daughter's 'heartbroken' response to the gas attack. But, there can be little doubt that Trump felt deeply aobut the gassing of children on his watch as US President when he told the American people and the world : “Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the life of innocent men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many, even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror." • Russia's response was to send its Navy frigate Admiral Grigorovich to the Mediterranean to confront the US ships that carried out the Tomahawk cruise missile attack. But, NATO allies, including Germany, France and Canada, backed Trump’s raid. In a joint statement, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande said Assad “bears full responsibility” for the attack following his use of nerve gas against his own people. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said : “Here we have an action that is a condemnation of what this criminal regime is doing.” The EU also supported the raid. EU President Donald Tusk tweeted : “US strikes show needed resolve against barbaric chemical attacks .EU will work with the US to end brutality in Syria.” Western allies in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia and the UAE hailed the strike as a “courageous decision.” Turkey and Israel also praised it. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was a “positive” first step but demanded an escalation against Syria from the West, while White House officials insisted the raid was a “one-off” intended to deter future chemical weapons attacks, and not an escalation of the American role in Syria. • But the swift action is certainly a huge warning to Russia, as well as to other countries such as North Korea and Iran to steer clear of gas warfare. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson noted : “This clearly indicates the President is willing to take decisive action when called for. I would not in any way attempt to extrapolate that to a change in our policy or our posture relative to our military ­activities in Syria today. There has been no change in that status.” Jane’s analyst Reed Foster said while the airstrike will further weaken the Syrian air force’s capabilities, he warned “it will not significantly diminish the ability of the Assad regime to conduct further chemical weapons attacks.” Bruce Jones, another analyst at Jane's Defence Weekly was positive : "The President's strikes will have been reviewed carefully either by special forces, unmanned drones or satellites. The question is, what happens next? Had any target not been destroyed, there may be additional strikes by cruise missiles or by aircraft now able to fly with impunity if local ground-to-air defences have been degraded. Trump has not lost initiative, he has created a mood of expectancy and nervousness -- and Russia and Syria will now find him unpredictable. A very useful posture in conflict. I strongly believe there will now be a lull, a period of assessment by the US military, and of the reaction from Syria and Russia -- and then it is entirely possible we will see more strikes by the US. Crucially, Trump has sent a message to Syria and Russia -- and other players now know he is prepared to take lethal action when someone crosses the line." • • • THE AFTERMATH OF THE STRIKE. The price of petrol and diesel has risen. That is the momentary response. The real impact of President Trump’s decision to strike the Syrian airbase is that it may be a watershed in the bloody Syrian civil war. It will have implications for America’s already-crumbling relations with Russia, and it will surely mark Trump’s presidency positively in much the same way Obama's drawing of the red line in the sand and then his cowardice, or indifference, in refusing to follow through marked his presidency negatively, and subjected the world to years of unbridled islamic terrorist atracks. The strike sent a clear message -- the West has, at last, drawn a line in the sand. Al-Assad knows he has overstepped the mark. The idea that he will use chemical weapons again seems unlikely. His Russia sponsors know the West means business, unlike in 2013 when al-Assad last gassed his people. But, as the Mirror put it : "the US has crossed a Rubicon, showing it is ready to intervene to save lives....any sustained Western attack could lead to direct conflict with Russia. That would bring the world to its most dangerous point since the end of the Cold War. Everyone knows the US is primed for lethal action." • • • THE RUBICON FOR THE WORLD HAS LONG SINCE BEEN CROSSED. On Sunday, Fox News reported that the ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility for two separate Palm Sunday bombing attacks at Coptic Christian churches in Egypt that have killed at least 37 people and injured more than 100. The first blast happened at St. George church in the Nile Delta town of Tanta, where at least 26 people were killed and 71 others wounded, officials said. Television footage aired by Fox News shows the inside of the church, where a large number of people gathered around what appeared to be lifeless, bloody bodies covered with papers. A second explosion was later reported at St. Mark's Cathedral in the coastal city of Alexandria, leaving at least 11 dead, and 35 injured. Sky News reported : " 'Either a bomb was planted or someone blew himself up,' provincial governor Ahmad Deif told the state-run Nile TV channel." The attack came just after Pope Tawadros II -- leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria -- finished services, but aides told local media that he was unharmed. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks via its Aamaq media agency, after it had recently released a video vowing to step up attacks against Christians, who the group describes as "infidels" empowering the West against Moslems. The Associated Press quoted eyewitnesses who reported that deacons ran out of the church, many of them with blood on their white robes. • The murderous bombings came at the start of Holy Week, and just weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country. Francis decried the bombings, expressing "deep condolences to my brother, Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic church and all of the dear Egyptian nation." Word of the attacks came as Francis was holding Palm Sunday services in St. Peter's Square. • The attack in Tanta was the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt's Christian minority, which makes up around 10% of the population and has been repeatedly targeted by islamic extremists. Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, head of Egypt's Al-Azhar -- the leading center of learning in sunni Islam -- condemned the attacks, calling them a "despicable terrorist bombing that targeted the lives of innocents." Both Israel and the islamic Hamas movement ruling neighboring Gaza also condemned the bombings, which add to fears that islamic extremists who have long been fighting Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula are now focused on civilians. • It is beyond reason to continue to call the islamic terrorists a tiny deranged minority of a great religion, implying that re-education of young men and tolerance for radical Islam culture being planted in the West can be supported. The Rubicon was crossed on 9/11, but there has been little effort from Progressive globalists to call it by its name or to stem its encroachment either in America or Europe. There have been loud demands -- I have been among those demanding -- that the Middle East Arabs and Moslems generally clean up their own house. It hasn't happened, for many resons -- fear, indifference, financial support for radical Islam from powerful shiite ruling families, lack of preparation to manage such a war. But, above all, the Middle East has been used to American leadership. That leadership totally failed under President Obama, leaving Arab states and sunni groups wandering in a wilderness they had not experienced since World War II. Perhaps now, with Trump as a strong American leader, the Middle East will be moved to act more aggressively against islamic radicalism. • • • THE ABILITY TO SEE IT COMING. The American Thinker published an article by Deana Chadwell on Palm Sunday, titled The Point of No Return. In it, Chadwell who is an American Christian professor and writer, says : "According to the gospels, on Passover of A.D. 30-something, Roman soldiers nailed an obscure rabbi from Nazareth to a cross propped between two thieves. One thief made the deadline just in time and secured his place in Paradise. The other missed it. Forever. Throughout the entire Bible there is one theme: God will fix the problem of sin -- our job is to believe that, to accept the free gift of salvation. God was able to offer this because His Son was willing to take on the punishment for that sin. Our part is to just receive the gift -- before death takes us. If a person misses that deadline, there is no going back. In the most permanent and irrevocable way imaginable, there is no going back. And we never know exactly what that due date is. The point of no return, the place of no more chances, the door that slams forever shut -- these are concepts that make us cover our ears and holler, 'La-la-la-la.' The Western world in the 21st century works hard to mask final realities. A pregnancy used to be a point of no return, but now a woman can abort (same word used to end a mission -- how odd is that?) the inevitable, even just before birth. A student can fail a test, and then retake it and retake it. Some folks even freeze their dead bodies, counting on science to eventually provide a second chance. No deadline is really a deadline, no expectation must really be met, nothing is really due when it’s due. So very many of us just assume that every can can be kicked down the road to infinity, but those of us who still live in reality know better; sometimes it’s just permanently too late." • Permanently too late? I leave the question of religious permanence to Chadwell and others. But, in political issues, am an optimist by nature. I think it is never 'too late' if a person or society really wants to change. "Really" is the operative word. Chadwell uses the Seven Plagues as her example of "permanently too late" : "Remember the Pharaoh of the Exodus? For the first five plagues Pharaoh hardens his own heart -- digs in his own heels and won’t let the people go. But by the time the sixth plague hits -- the plague of boils -- it’s too late. At that point “God hardens Pharaoh’s heart.” He uses up all his chances; God imposes this plague and the following four, “that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.” Each time Pharaoh rejects Moses’ demands, he adds more callus to his soul until, by the plague of boils, he is so encrusted, so inflexible that he can’t make a positive choice. He passed the point of no return; after that, he, and his nation were doomed. Egypt has never really recovered." She then moves on to Europe : "Look at Western Europe -- Sweden, Germany, the UK. Their reproductive rates have dropped so low that immigration must have seemed a good way to deal with that problem. A society can run into a population dead end if, on the average, each person doesn’t reproduce him/herself. When the birth rate falls below two children per couple, eventually that society will implode; there will be an inadequate number of young people to do the work. So Europe imports Moslems from the Middle East and now they’ve lost parts of their countries and their culture. Can this be undone? The problem with the point of no return is that those involved never see it coming." • • • DEAR READERS, there is a lot of debate about the future cultural imposition of radical Islam on European Christians. Many think the 'tipping point' has arrived and Europe will inevitably become culturally radicalized. But, we can say that President Trump "saw it coming" last Thursday. He may not have felt that the "due date" was at hand. He may never have considered the Pharoah or European laxity in the face of evil hidden among refugees. He may not even have thought of 9/11. But, he did think -- of "beautiful babies" and his reaction was, "No child of God should ever suffer such horror." Reality struck home. Donald Trump was hit by the universal human reaction to horror. And reality never loses. It may take days or years or centuries to win, depending on the nature of the issue, but it wins every time. Lies and visions of a wished-for non-reality outcome may survive for long periods, but, they are no match for reality. Reality always has its revenge over lies and imagined possibilities. That truth registered with President Trump as he watched video of dying children and adults gassed by state-backed and state-led terrorists who are willing to use any means, even the brutal death of sarin gas, to hold on to power. And he acted. For America. For Europe. For the Middle East. For the world. Every politician and every reporter who has ever accused Donald Trump of being anti-Moslem or racist should memorize his phrase. "No child of God should ever suffer such horror." It is a universal expression of the brotherhood of humankind. And, that one sentence may be the reason it is not "permanently too late." It is a fitting way to begin Holy Week and Passover.