Neoconservatives could not be happier after President Trump bombed Syria last night in a retaliatory measure against President Bashir Al-Assad for alleged chemical attacks that were released on video for the world to see.
“This is the challenge of Bashar al-Assad and then we’ve also got ISIS, so we’ve also got ISIS so we’ve got a long way to go,” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said to MSNBC. “But, the signal that was sent last night is a very, very important one.”
McCain wasn’t the only neocon jubilant with the prospect of more war. His great friend and fellow militarist Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was also delighted with Trump’s unauthorized and extrajudicial military strikes.
“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump confronted a pivotal moment in Syria and took action. For that, he deserves the support of the American people,” Graham said in a press release. He went on to champion further measures that would decimate the Assad regime, and create a situation similar to what occurred after American intervention in Libya and Iraq.
It isn’t just neoconservative politicians who are thrilled. The establishment pundits who frequently criticize Trump and vehemently opposed his rise to power are celebrating as well.
“Have to give Democrats credit for supporting Trump strike on Assad,” Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Max Boot said in a Tweet hailing the bipartisan consensus in Washington D.C. behind attacking Syria. “Quite a contrast to GOP opposition to threatened Obama strike in 2013.”
“This strike will save lives—in Syria, by preventing Assad from daring to use chemical weapons again, and in unknown future conflicts where the losing side will be tempted to employ chemical weapons, and will think twice and not do it,” George W. Bush advisor Elliott Abrams said in a Weekly Standard column. “Trump saved more lives in Syria by his action this week than Obama did in all his years in office.”
While Trump’s neoconservative critics applaud, many of his most fervent supporters on the right are criticizing his actions. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, populist upstart Marine Le Pen of the French National Front, media commentator Ann Coulter, tech journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, author Mike Cernovich, radio host Laura Ingraham and Infowars reporter Paul Joseph Watson have rebuked Trump’s Syrian intervention to varying degrees.
