SYRIA : MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (ALMOST).

Trump, losing ground home, tried to regain some stature by way of Syria. The French and British stood by him. Everything started when alleged chemical weapons were used by the Assad forces against civilians. The images were terrible indeed, but no less heartbreaking than the non-stop accounts of the thousands of Syrians who have lost their lives during six years of hell.  Frankly, one can wonder what this outburst of outrage means in a sea of indifference.

After this "measured" strike nothing changed.  The slaughter will go on. Syrian TV showed Assad entering his "office", carrying his attache case, like a Jacques Tati comic malgre lui. Nikky Haley ("locked and loaded"), Trump's Joan of Arc, read as usual her little prepared brief in the Security Counsel. It is too early to comment on the predictable declarations of Prime Minister May and President Macron who had no choice, by the way, other than to play the minions to the fool.

At the end of the day, Assad does not have to worry. Years ago he could have been part of the solution. Now he is co-owner of the problem, together with Russia. The main difference being that Putin has a strategy, while the West has Staffan de Mistura. Putin got his warm sea port facility in the Mediterranean and can rely on a barrel bomb freak who does the dirty work for him. The Syrian rebellion is splintered, the country lies in ruins and ISIS remains a moving target. This nucleus of wars--hybrid, proxy, genocidal--is an affront to the core of Western beliefs but is a godsend for the "new sorcerers" in the anti-globalization wave.

Trump's performance was all about pecs and not about ideas.  It is doubtful that his base, which is world indifferent, will pay too much attention. His problems pile up, notwithstanding.  If only there were room for some long-term thinking after the noise.  Dream on...