Trump on poison gas

Here is Trump:

Trump didn’t just praise Hussein for keeping terrorists at bay, but seemed to tacitly accept the dictator’s use of chemical weapons. During a December rally in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Trump took a cavalier attitude toward Iraq’s use of chemical weapons under Saddam.

“Saddam Hussein throws a little gas, everyone goes crazy, ‘oh he’s using gas!'” Trump said.

But then he was shown pictures of beautiful babies who had been cruelly murdered.

PS.  Think of Trump as God.  People often ask, “How could an all-powerful God have allowed X to happen.”  Last year Trump was just a private citizen.  Syria was just a small country far away about which Trump knew little.  Now Trump is omniscient and all-powerful.  He has the intelligence services to show him awful pictures from all over the world.  He has weapons to crush tyrants who cruelly murder little babies.  Will he just stand by (as our universe’s actual God just stands by) and allow all this carnage?  What would you do if you were God?  How about if you were President?  Are the two answers different?  If so, why?

(FWIW, I don’t know the correct answer to any of those questions.)

HT:  Matt Yglesias


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26 Responses to “Trump on poison gas”

  1. Gravatar of fnn fnn
    11. April 2017 at 05:52

    Hillary Approved Sending Libya’s Sarin to Syrian Rebels:
    http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/04/28/seymour-hersh-hillary-approved-sending-libya-sarin-syrian-rebels.html

  2. Gravatar of mbka mbka
    11. April 2017 at 06:09

    Makes you wonder what would happen if Trump ever talked to an illegal Mexican just getting by in an honest job somewhere in Texas.

  3. Gravatar of E. Harding E. Harding
    11. April 2017 at 06:20

    I, for one, do not believe for one second Trump has the least bit compunction about using chemical weapons or cares at all about the people killed by them. His views on the campaign tail were his real ones. He was just manipulated by his advisors into thinking not attacking supposed (still unproven) Syrian govt chemical weapons use makes him look weak. He does not look weak now; he just looks like a dangerous, aimless, and easily manipulable moron who has no idea what he’s doing.

  4. Gravatar of E. Harding E. Harding
    11. April 2017 at 06:23

    If Trump does have humanitarian instincts (as evidenced by his refusal to end DACA and initial response to the 2011 Libyan war), they are highly schizophrenic (and, to be honest, I don’t believe they exist).

  5. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. April 2017 at 08:17

    mbka, Nobody has a bigger heart than Trump!!

    Harding, You said:

    “He does not look weak now; he just looks like a dangerous, aimless, and easily manipulable moron who has no idea what he’s doing.”

    I agree.

  6. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. April 2017 at 08:38

    fnn, You said:

    “Hillary Approved Sending Libya’s Sarin to Syrian Rebels:
    http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/04/28/seymour-hersh-hillary-approved-sending-libya-sarin-syrian-rebels.html

    Seymour Hersh? Very fnny.

  7. Gravatar of Bob Murphy Bob Murphy
    11. April 2017 at 08:38

    This post took a weird turn. It seems like Scott is simultaneously criticizing Trump and the monotheistic God, for doing opposite things with their power.

    In any event, I believe it was Aquinas who first tackled the thorny problem, “Why would a competent God allow nominal spending to fall?”

  8. Gravatar of Stephen Dedalus Stephen Dedalus
    11. April 2017 at 08:54

    Right E. Harding, a “moron” who pulled off what is probably the greatest upset in the history of democratic politics.

    I was listening to NN Taleb talking the other day, and he said “These people can’t get Trump right, because they can’t face the fact that he is so much smarter than they are.”

    Yup.

  9. Gravatar of Scott Freelander Scott Freelander
    11. April 2017 at 09:30

    The attack on the Syrian airfield is certainly a step in the right direction, but there needs to be at least a proxy war against the Assad regime, and those supporting him such as Russia and Iran. I’ve advocated carving out a part of Iraq and Syria for an independent Kurdistan for some time now, in which the US would establish a permanent base of operations to try to turn the balance of power in favor of the US and to try to stabilize the region.

    The idea is that an active US presence there at that strategic crossroads can help restrain Shiite and Russian-supported attempts at dominance over Sunnis, along with suppressing, if not destroying, Sunni forces like ISIS. Ultimately, a deal needs to be cut that divides Syria and Iraq formally into Kurdish, Sunni, and Shiite areas, with more independence for each.

  10. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. April 2017 at 09:35

    Bob, Here’s a tip. When it “seems like” I’m saying something, odds are I am not.

  11. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. April 2017 at 09:39

    Stephen, You do know that Harding has been Trump’s biggest fan here over the past 12 months, don’t you?

    And yes, people who think that unemployed workers who have given up looking for jobs are counted as “employed” (by the government) are typically described as geniuses.

  12. Gravatar of Massimo Heitor Massimo Heitor
    11. April 2017 at 09:40

    Kevin Williamson at NR has a convincing argument for non-intervention:
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/446563/trump-syrian-bombing-illegal-pointless

    Sumner is trolling Trump supporters, and being snarky and spinning against Trump, but Trump definitely did flip-flop on this. During the campaign, he advocated what Williamson is saying that the Syrian conflict is not a fight that the US should be involved in.

    I’m less convinced Trump flip flopped based on photos of dead babies and more because several generals who have access to much more information than we do and have thought this through advised Trump to authorize the air strikes.

    Also, remember Abraham Lincoln quite deliberately mass murdered American civilians in the civil war and inflicted brutal civilian casualties. I don’t see how Assad is any worse than Lincoln.

    I don’t understand Sumner’s admiration for brutal mass murdering tyrants like Abraham Lincoln, but I am not convinced.

  13. Gravatar of Austin Riediger Austin Riediger
    11. April 2017 at 10:49

    Massimo Heitor

    “If you are a racist than I will attack you with the north”

    – A. Lincoln

  14. Gravatar of Bob Murphy Bob Murphy
    11. April 2017 at 11:05

    Scott, here’s a tip: When you are by far the most “misunderstood” blogger in the econosphere, odds are it’s not because all your readers are idiots.

  15. Gravatar of Massimo Heitor Massimo Heitor
    11. April 2017 at 11:47

    Austin Riediger:

    “There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people to the idea of indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black races.”

    “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races. There is physical difference between the two which, in my judgment, will probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality, and inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong having the superior position.”

    “I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.”

    “In the language of Mr. Jefferson, uttered many years ago, “It is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation, and deportation, peaceably, and in such slow degrees, as that the evil will wear off insensibly; and in their places be, pari passu [on an equal basis], filled up by free white laborers.”

    – A. Lincoln

  16. Gravatar of E. Harding E. Harding
    11. April 2017 at 12:59

    “Right E. Harding, a “moron” who pulled off what is probably the greatest upset in the history of democratic politics.”

    -The only reason it was considered an upset was because he was a moron in his campaign strategy and wasn’t winning in the polls by ten points (which he easily could have been had he actually been a campaigning genius).

    “I was listening to NN Taleb talking the other day, and he said “These people can’t get Trump right, because they can’t face the fact that he is so much smarter than they are.””

    -I predicted Trump would win the general election from November 2015 right up until mid-October 2016. Most Americans are hacks and ignoramuses (I’m neither, BTW), and Trump appealed to enough of them to win. BTW, Hillary could not have won the primary without even bigger ignoramuses than most Trump voters, so it’s not like I have a high view of Her base, either. I have a high view of Ron Paul’s base, especially that portion which didn’t vote for HRC.

  17. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. April 2017 at 14:19

    Bob, Here’a a tip. When I say “FWIW, I don’t know the correct answer to any of those questions.” you really shouldn’t write a comment implying that I do have a position on any of those questions.

    Especially given that in the post I never offer my personal opinion on anything.

  18. Gravatar of Christian List Christian List
    11. April 2017 at 14:34

    You put it quite well, Scott. Even if it wasn’t intended. Trump’s change of mind is understandable. When you have no power and responsibility, it’s easy not to do anything. For example because you aren’t able to do anything in the first place and because you bear no responsibility. But when you are in charge, when you have the power and the responsibility, then things might (and in my opinion must) change.


    Especially given that in the post I never offer my personal opinion on anything.

    You agreed with Harding who gave his straightforward opinion about the issue like always. Or was this one of your (in)famous “ironical” statements???

  19. Gravatar of Tom Brown Tom Brown
    12. April 2017 at 08:04

    In any event, I believe it was Aquinas who first tackled the thorny problem, “Why would a competent God allow nominal spending to fall?”

    Ok, that was kind of funny.

  20. Gravatar of Floccina Floccina
    12. April 2017 at 10:28

    The way I was thinking about how our elites think about these interventions might go like this: Suppose you where in a room full of 11 year old boys and you are a big guy and you happen to have a knight stick but you are just minding your own business. A few of the boys start to fight and it gets bad, you are worried that they are going really hurt one another or even kill someone. Even though you have nothing to do with the boys they are neither relatives or friends you have the means and so you feel that you must get up and end the fight. The cost on intervention looks trivial to you and so you break up the fight.

  21. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    12. April 2017 at 13:35

    Christian, I agreed with Harding that Trump’s no humanitarian.

  22. Gravatar of Major-Freedom Major-Freedom
    12. April 2017 at 19:12

    Sumner, here’s a tip: when you say “FWIW, I don’t know the correct answer to any of those questions” after a flurry of rhetorical questions, none of your readers buy it.

    Also, this response:

    Seymour Hersh? Very fnny.

    is ad hominem (against a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, but whatevs)

    Surely as a left-wing socialist you would accept what msnbc reported:

    https://nsnbc.me/2013/10/07/top-us-and-saudi-officials-responsible-for-chemical-weapons-in-syria/

    oops

  23. Gravatar of Major-Freedom Major-Freedom
    12. April 2017 at 19:17

    I still chuckle at this Obama water carrying comment that has already aged worse than Krugman’s internet criticism in 1998:

    So Trump completely made up a story that his predecessor had committed specific criminal impeachable offenses. Then he failed to provide any evidence to back up this claim. Then he failed to provide any coherent reason for failing to provide evidence backing up the claim. Then when caught lying he refused to apologize, or even to admit he had lied.

    Now read this:

    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3537528/posts

    inb4 “Free Republic? Very fnny”

  24. Gravatar of Major-Freedom Major-Freedom
    12. April 2017 at 19:25

    typo, nsnbc

  25. Gravatar of Major-Freedom Major-Freedom
    12. April 2017 at 19:31

    The NYT are holocaust deniers:

    http://archive.is/3MnSL

    ———————

    Chris Matthews is a holocaust denier:

    https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/852280725290139648

    ———————-

    Not everyone here is going to get the joke

  26. Gravatar of Postkey Postkey
    19. April 2017 at 00:50

    “ISIS Launches Second Mosul Chemical Weapons Attack In Two Days
    This is the second chemical weapons strike from ISIS in just two days, as the jihadist forces try to push back Iraqi government forces’ advance in Mosul.”
    By Alex Christoforou | April 17, 2017

    http://www.mintpressnews.com/isis-launches-second-mosul-chemical-weapons-attack-in-two-days/226880/

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