Meanwhile - Hezbollah responds to Israeli attack on Syria

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah, said on Friday from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that Israel has placed itself in direct combat with Iran, referring to missile attacks that targeted military sites in Syria on April 9.

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The attack at the airbase, located 40km west of Palmyra, killed about 14 people, at least four of whom were Iranians from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps - a separate force from Iran's army that answers only to the country's supreme leader.

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Nasrallah described the attack as unprecedented in the region - something that could not be overlooked.

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He cautioned the US against a military intervention in Syria, saying it would pit the country in a battle with "the people of the region" rather than "armies or organisations".

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The missile strike followed a suspected chemical attack targeting Douma.

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Nasrallah's remarks came shortly before the Israel military announced on Friday that an Iranian drone it shot down in February was armed with explosives.

The drone that had entered Israeli airspace was "tasked to attack Israel", an investigation by the Israeli military has concluded.

  alJazeera

John Bolton will be dancing a jig..

Vice President Pence called Congressional leaders minutes before the Trump announcement about Syria strikes, according to two sources.

  CNN

How nice of him. Congress is derelict in its duty, fuck the Constitution.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May, in a statement, said that she has “authorised British armed forces to conduct co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian Regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use.”

Moments ago, President Trump said the UK and France were involved in the strike.

"A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now under way. We thank them both," Trump said.

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A senior US official told CNN that National Security Advisor John Bolton and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are both supportive of the stronger campaign of strikes that Trump has been pushing.

It's the Pentagon, and United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who were holding out.

This official said the resistance from military officials had upset Trump, who wanted to take quick action and feels like the options being presented don't go far enough.

Last year's US strike was launched from the USS Ross and USS Porter, two US Navy guided-missile destroyers, in the eastern Mediterranean. Mattis claimed that the US had taken out 20 percent of Syria’s operational aircraft, as well as hangars and fuel storage.

"The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons," Mattis said.

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Before Saturday's Douma attack, there were at least five other chemical attacks since last April's US strike, according to a report from the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

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[Responding to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma,] Mattis even signaled what he was advising the president while testifying on Capitol Hill on Thursday, telling lawmakers his biggest concern was "how do we keep this from escalating out of control, if you get my drift on that."

  Buzzfeed

Yes, I think we do. Unfortunately, none of you are going to stop it.





I won't be holding my breath.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.