Deep Moral Conviction or Shameless Dog-Wagging?

Over 400,000 people have died in the Syrian war including tens of thousands of innocent children, and it's common knowledge this latest chemical attack was far from the first. And yet, after six years of mostly ignoring Syria ("What's Aleppo?"), we as a nation are suddenly overcome by outrage and concern?

Does the president's missile strike on Syria reveal deep moral conviction, or a bit of shameless dog-wagging? (Illustration created by ChatGPT 4 using prompts written by Darren Phillips on May 29, 2025. Illustration modified by Darren Phillips using Adobe Photoshop)

Despite the president declaring repeatedly for years that "Syria is not our problem," and even after he ran his campaign on an isolationist pledge to put "America first," Trump supporters and non-supporters alike are giddy over the all-too-familiar site of Tomahawk fusillades streaking through the night sky.

"It's for the babies!" we cry, as Trump dispassionately declares his love for the deceased "children of God." (Do you suppose he knows they were Muslims? ) More importantly, the 29 million white evangelicals who voted for Trump feel both vindicated and reassured after a disastrous start.

See, God really did send Trump to save America (and the world) through his naming of that "pro-life" judge to the Supreme Court, and now this brave military strike in defense of innocent children. "It's for the babies!" (Did anyone ask the president if these precious babies were "children of God" three months ago when he ended the Syrian refugee program?)

Of course, the media talking heads fall right in line as they pivot away from "less important" stories of Russian election interference or the present dismantling of education, health care, environmental protection and workers' rights. "Trump became the president today," declared one particularly giddy left-wing pundit as the Tomahawk tape rolled one more time. Nothing like a bit of missile porn to unify Americans and get them energized.

Clearly there is room to argue this strike is morally justifiable (that's a conversation for a another day), but I'm not buying the bogus narrative that this anti-Muslim, anti-Arab president is suddenly acting out of deep moral conviction and concern for the people of Syria. Please.

Trump's public statements about Syria dating back to 2013, his history of anti-Muslim rhetoric including his call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," and his recent move to abruptly end the Syrian refugee program, all reveal a high degree of callousness and blatant disregard for Syria and the human rights abuses the Assad family regime has perpetrated against its own people for more than 60 years. No, this missile strike looks and sounds a lot like shameless dog-wagging. ☕︎

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Note: Illustration and additional web links added in 2025. 

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Is Trump Wagging the Dog in Syria?