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President Donald Trump made a surprise statement to the American people on the evening of April 13, 2018, calling the Syrian president a monster and announcing that the United States, France and Great Britain had launched precision strikes against Syria to stop chemical weapons attacks that he labeled as barbarism.
The surprise press conference sparked a wave of “Wag the Dog” comments and jokes on Twitter from Trump critics. Others consider the military action necessary to stop atrocities, including the gassing of children, and note that Britain and France joined the U.S. in launching the missile strikes against what the Pentagon called the chemical weapons infrastructure in Syria. However, the term “wag the dog” quickly became a trend on Twitter.
A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!
Seth Abramson, a professor, wrote on Twitter, “Syria needs to be dealt with. But any military decisions Trump makes under these circumstances will be presumed fraudulent by the nation and the world. This is wag-the-dog shenanigans and everybody knows it.”
Some had a contrary view:
Is there a wag the dog element to what Trump is doing in Syria? Yes. Do we have a strategy in Syria? No. Will the attacks make a long term difference? No. But does the international community have an obligation to hit Assad and make him feel WMD use is too costly? Absolutely.
Others were more succinct:
Wag the dog
WH press being called in. Mattis advice for caution appears to be ignored. Trump about to wag the dog and sow death/destruction in Syria to attempt distraction from his corrupt and conspiring cronies.
Won’t work.
#TheResistance can multitask. We have many eyes.
#ProtectMueller
While I don’t think this a wag-the-dog motivated military action, it is a fact that tv networks will not be talking about all sorts of insanely bad Trump news tonight.
Stop saying Trump bombing Syria to get Stormy off the front page is “just like Wag The Dog”. In the movie they PRETEND to start a war to distract attention from the President screwing around, they don’t start a REAL one.
Our world is crazier than satire.
What is “Wag the Dog”? The term derives from a Hollywood movie by the same name starring Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. The Amazon blurb for the 1998 film says: “After being caught in a scandalous situation days before the election, the president does not seem to have much of a chance of being re-elected. One of his advisors (De Niro) contacts a top hollywood producer (Hoffman) in order to manufacture a war in Albania that the president can heroically end, all through mass media.”
Essentially, wagging the dog has come to stand for the belief, by some, that a president would distract from other troubles by staging a war. Wag the dog was also a term applied by critics of Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky saga. Trump, of course, has been hammered by reports that the FBI raided the office of his lawyer Michael Cohen and continued allegations of payouts to cover up affairs.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Lewinsky affair came to light right after the movie’s release and “six months later (on the day Lewinsky was to appear before a grand jury), Clinton launched 75 Tomahawk missiles at al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, a timetable some said was more than coincidence.”
Here are some of the other Twitter comments on “wag the dog”:
Donald Trump is trying to “Wag The Dog”, but the real story is what happened in Prague.
Two weeks ago Trump announced he would take US troops out of Syria.
Monday the FBI raids his lawyer’s home & office.
Tonight he announces he’s bombed Syria.
“Wag the Dog”
You can watch a live stream video of the Trump press conference on Syria here:
“A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway,” Trump said. He said that the Syrian leader had launched a “savage” chemical weapons attack previously and again recently. The regime “slaughtered innocent civilians” in the recent attack, the president stated. Trump called the attack “evil” and “despicable,” saying that it left mothers, fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gasping for air.
Defense Secretary James Mattis called the “atrocities inexcusable.” He said that the “United States has a vital national interest in averting a worse catastrophe in Syria.” He said the latest attack was designed to destroy the Syrian regime’s ability to produce chemical weapons. “Clearly the Assad regime did not get the message last year,” Mattis said. “We have sent a clear message to Assad and his murderous lieutenants.”
“These are crimes of a monster,” said Trump, adding that Bashar al-Assad’s “recent attack… are a direct result of Russia’s failure…Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path or if it will join with civilized nations… hopefully someday we will get along with Russia and maybe even Iran, but maybe not.” He evoked chemical weapons attacks in World War I and said, “today the nations of Britain, France and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power” against what he called barbarism.
The New York Times reported that Trump’s announcement would deal with Syria. On April 11, 2018, Trump set the stage for the action labeling Syrian president Bashar al Assad a “gas killing animal.” Fox News reported that U.S. military strikes would “go forward in Syria” and said the decision was made by Trump on the evening of April 13.
Assad gives an exclusive interview in Damascus. (Getty)
“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!” Trump tweeted. According to ABC News, “President Donald Trump’s national security team met Friday evening at the White House as Washington and the world waited for word of any decision on a military response to Syria’s alleged chemical attack last weekend.”
Trump stressed that “America does not seek” a permanent presence in Syria. “We look forward to the day we can bring our warriors home,” he said. He stated, “We can not purge the world of evil or act everywhere. There is tyranny.” He called the Middle East a “troubled place. We will try to make it better, but it is a troubled place.” He said the fate of that region “lies in the hands of its own people.”
This post will be updated as more information is learned about Trump’s announcement on Syria. Assad and Russia have denied roles in the attack.