If Donald Trump has made anything clear during his presidency it’s that he will do absolutely anything to stop refugees from receiving help and entering the US. This is why many people feel that his decision to airstrike against Assad is a bit hypocritical.
It is reported that one of the reasons why the airstrike took place was because, “Trump was affected by images of dead children among casualties and felt compelled to act.” However, being exposed to images of defenseless dead or injured Syrian children seems to have become reality nowadays. For example, the image of Aylan Kurdi lying on the beach. However, at the time this this image was published, Trump was talking about taking action to ban muslims from coming to the United States.
It seems ironic as if Trump really did care about Syrian children, surely he wouldn’t ban Syrian refugees. PBS Frontline reported that, Between 2011 and 2016, at least 470,000 — more than 11 percent of Syria’s entire population were either wounded or killed. Instead of opening the US, he signed an executive order declaring that the US would not issue new visas to travelers from particular countries for 90 days.
Claude Taylor, a one of Clinton’s staff wrote, “Now that there’s been a chemical gas attack and Trump felt compelled to act, will his policy change?” “Ok Trump. Put your policy where your mouth is. Reverse your refugee ban. Open our borders to Syrian refugees. Do it now.”
There is also a large amount of hypocrisy surrounding the idea that the military decision to launch an airstrike on Syria was something which he once claimed was “very bad” and “dangerous”.
Three years ago when Barack Obama was debating whether or not to take action on Assad after using chemical weapons on his civilians in 2011 when he was trying to stop a rebel uprising.
I swear if Trump randomly, like, tripped on a squirrel or something we'd find an old tweet of his saying only fat losers trip on squirrels https://t.co/8AA8ghczLV
However, in a large amount of tweets published from June through to September in 2013, Mr Trump made it clear that it was a bad idea for Obama to attack Syria and claimed that, “The president needs Congressional authorization for military action as required by the Constitution”. Congressional authorization didn’t seem to concern Trump when he launched the attack yesterday, something which left the democrats very concerned; highlights the hypocritical actions of Trump.
Watch Donald Trump order the military strike below:
Donald Trump calls on the world to help the US end the devastation which Syria is being exposed to, highlighting that there may be more attacks.
Donald Trump ordered an airstrike after seeing the damage which was caused in Syria; the White House has claimed that, “This is a reaffirmation of America’s moral leadership in the world.”
The airstrike shows a clear difference between Donald Trump and Barack Obama, as Obama had always talked about “red lines” when it came to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, however in contrast to Trump, he didn’t react to them when they occurred.
There is no doubt that Donald Trump’s supporters will feel that the decision shows strong leadership qualities, however his critics may feel that the reaction may have been to sudden and needed further debate.
Trump was quoted saying that his actions were a direct response towards a “vital national security interest” in an attempt to stop the use of chemical weapons on anyone around the world.
Opinions in the US remain divided:
We don't want WORLD WAR THREE. we don't want the war in Syria. let's stand together & end all wars.
The airstrike which involved 59 missiles hitting a Syrian airbase has also weakened US-Russia relations, recently a Russian defence ministry statement was read on Russian television and claimed that the US attack had been “ineffective” and claimed Syrian authorities were looking for 36 Tomahawk missiles which fell outside the base and missed the target.
The statement also pointed out that Russia would now stop further cooperation and communication with US forces in Syria.
The question which seems to have come to the forefront after the airstrikes is whether or not there are more strikes to come. A US official has called the strike a “one off” but Donald Trump’s request for other countries to join the US to stop the “bloodshed” seems to say something different.
This attack has put Trump in a direct confrontation for the first time with Putin, a supporter of the Assad regime, who was until now a man the US has stayed impartial about.
In response to the attack, Russia has called it, “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law”, with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman saying he felt that the US had carried out the strikes as part of a “far-fetched pretext”.
In response to this, the US stated, “How many more children have to die before Russia cares?”
It is clear that the American people are not ready for another long military operation; definitely isn’t willing to put troops on the ground at the moment, but how long will they continue to airstrike?
The majority of nations seem to be supporting the US military strikes, perhaps suggesting that they will get involved:
BRITAIN: Revealed that it ‘fully supported’ the strikes, calling them an ‘appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack’.
JAPAN: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated that Japan ‘supports the US government’s resolve that it will never tolerate the spread and use of chemical weapons.’
FRANCE/GERMANY: President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Assad needs to take ‘sole responsibility’ for the US strike following the chemical attack.
Trump is expected to abolish the J-1 Visa, the one widely used by international students to enter into summer internships. WNOL spoke to Yana Hadzhigeorgieva, who took part in an internship with Southwestern Advantage last summer.
Motivated and adventurous students have expressed their concerns about the future of summer internship programmes and the uncertainty around their right to take advantage of what they have to offer.
Southwestern Advantage, founded in 1855 in Nashville, Tennessee, is a company with a long tradition of securing millions of American families the most accessible, up-to-date and useful educational tools.
In 1986, they went one step further. In allowing foreign university students to enter into the already established summer sales and leadership programme, hundreds of students were tempted with promises of rapid, if ‘seasonal,’ success.
Independent conductors, as participants are trained to become, are taught sales, leadership, communication and organizational skills. Most importantly, they are given a chance.
Yana was keen on changing her life; then she found out about Southwestern Advantage. Source: Yana Hadzhigeorgieva
People like Yana Hadzhigeorgieva, 21, from Bulgaria, who participated in Southwestern Advantage last summer. She is currently doing a degree in the Netherlands and has agreed to share her life-changing experience.
What made you consider participating in the programme?
It was an internship, so I had the opportunity to go there to build my CV and see a different country. I am a person, who likes experiences, so I decided to gain some knowledge in the United States.
Did you expect to get chosen?
Definitely not. The requirements for the programme are very challenging. You need to cover a couple of steps in order to get accepted.
Yana ranked among top first years, for which she was awarded. Source: Yana Hadzhigeorgieva
How would you describe a perfect candidate for a first-year experience?
A very motivated person and a person, who is able to overcome every challenge that can come on the ‘bookfield.’ A person, who is not afraid to challenge him of herself.
Is this experience for everybody?
Honestly, I do not think this is for everyone. Usually, people especially in my country think that it is a crazy programme, although the European students get it very easily.
Was there any tension in working with an international team of people?
I do not think there was any, while I was working with Americans, people from the Czech Republic, Russia, the Netherlands. It was actually a competition between us, but we respected each other.
Do you think you need to be competitive in order to succeed?
I do not like competition that much, but somehow you get really motivated to beat the others. So, you become competitive, if you were not before.
Yana had a life-changing summer at Southwestern Advantage. It was the friendly and prepossessing environment above all other, that changed her character and motivated her throughout.
This is what a Southwestern Advantage experience sounds like in her own words.
What did it feel like to be a foreign student in America there and then?
As Americans say: ‘Awesome.’ It was a wonderful experience. I was really well accepted.
Would you say you felt welcomed?
Even though Trump was elected and he does not really want international people in his country, I felt really welcomed to go there again, to meet a lot of nice people, to meet the best families and get inspired for life.
Independent conductors with Southwestern Advantage work with special permits. Source: Yana Hadzhigeorgieva
You are planning to go for your second summer this year. What might be different in a post-Trump America?
I do not think that Americans are going to change for nine months. But maybe it is going to get really difficult to get the J-1 Visa, the one we are using.
Will people be treating you differently?
If they had voted for Trump, that does not mean they are going to change their whole ideal system just because they have another person as a president. Let’s not forget, not everybody voted for Trump, right?
Who will lose if the programme is cancelled?
The people, who are going to lose most are the Americans and their GDP. The students, who go there to work from Europe, they work for their lower-paid working force just for the summer. They are pushing the American economy.
Is there something you regret about the experience?
I regret that I could not finish my programme. I had to leave three weeks earlier because I needed to start school.
Working for Southwestern Advantage teaches you how to handle life, as well as your customers. Source: Yana Hadzhigeorgieva
With what Trump has in store for international summer programmes, we might be seeing experiences coming to a premature end much more often. And, quite unfortunately, for entirely different reasons.
In other terms, this bill is designed to make all the muslin political organization as terrorist organizations, from the US and worldwide. CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) Is one of the largest Muslin groups in the US since 1985 they never had connections to any kind of terrorist organization, but if this bill pass they get consider like a terrorist organization. Sussan Siavoshi a Political Science Professor chair her concerns with The Independent ” If CAIR, a civil society group, becomes designated as a terrorist organization, what are people options if they want to get involved in politics? Some may become inactive, but others may start underground violence or movement”
This is not the first time that this bill is going to the Congress to the Republican party, but it never pass, but this year with the Muslin ban and the fact the most of the congress is republican the possibility of this bill pass is too high.
This bill would just aggravate the anti-Muslim situation that is already happening in the United States, with the Muslin ban that rejects refugees from 7 Muslin countries.
This bill would not just affect the people but the relationship between the US and other countries, mostly in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates where the Americans have business if this business fails it can have a big effect at the American economic, as is most of them oil business.
On the course of the next weeks, we should have a decision from the Congress and know if the bill passed or not.
WNOL 