Why Trump's limited strike on Syria probably won't work

"My fellow Americans" "At 7 o'clock this evening, eastern time," "I ordered our forces to launch a cruise missile attack" "We targeted tanks, military assets that had been choking off towns and cities" "It is a part of a strategy." This is the first time President Trump authorized
a limited strike on Syria. "Tonight I ordered a targeted, military strike on the airfield in Syria, from where the chemical attack was launched." And this, almost exactly a year later, is
the second time. Both in Syria, both in response to chemical
attacks. "Precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad." A limited strike can really be whatever the
President wants it to be, could be an airstrike, a plane flies over, hits a building, they
could use ships and shoot missiles, again at buildings or other kinds of targets.

It could be simply just dropping a bomb, one big
bomb, on one target like we did in Afghanistan last year. If big option is go to war, the small option
is do nothing, there's a lot of space in between. A limited strike is a fairly good in-between option, if a President wants
to send a message but not commit vast resources. Its low-cost, and relatively low-risk to
american troops and limited strikes are also relatively low risk
politically: a President can get credit for taking action, even if that action fails.

Which is likely why the past six U.S. Presidents have all taken actions that could be defined as limited strikes. In 1986, Ronald Reagan ordered a one night
bombing raid in Libya Launched a series of strikes against the headquarters, terrorist facilities and military assets that support Moammar Gaddafi's subversive activities." To punish Moammar Gaddafi for an attack in
Germany. In 1993, George H.W.

Bush destroyed an Iraqi
industrial complex to compel Saddam Hussein to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors. "It was quick, it was decisive, and in the words of White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, it was a mission
accomplished. In 1995, Clinton used the limited strike option,
in the hopes that airstrikes in Bosnia would compel the Serbians to negotiate the end of
the war. "American pilots will continue to take to the
skies over Bosnia." And it ended later that year.

The presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia,
have reached a peace agreement. And In 2001, George W. Bush destroyed Iraqi
air defenses to deter them from targeting US planes. Trumps first limited strike in April 2017
was intended "to prevent and deter the spread and use of
deadly chemical weapons." And his second use of a limited strike, in
April 2018 was to establish a strong deterrent against the
production, spread, and use of chemical weapons.

So, the first strike didnt really work. And the data confirms this. After the 2017 strike, Assad continued to
use chemical weapons. Trumps limited strike failed to achieve
its publicly stated goal.

So, how often do limited strikes even work? A study by expert Micah Zenko looked at 36
instances of limited strikes, between 1991 and 2009. He found that only 16 achieved their military
goals; meaning the intended targets were destroyed. And furthermore, he judged that 25 achieved
mixed-success for their political goals while only 2 were out-right successful on
all counts. Thats only 6%.

In these instances; the strike had a clear,
defined and measurable goal. My fellow Americans Take Clintons strike in 1993 for example: Where the goal was to punish the Iraqi government
for attempting to kill George H.W. Bush. There is compelling evidence that there was,
in fact, a plot to assassinate former President Bush.

It was deemed a success because, well, they never
tried it again. Trumps first limited strike, on the other
hand, damaged an airfield, but not Assads ability to use chemical weapons. And that airfield was back up and running
the following day. Zenko found that in the cases that did not
achieve full political success; the level of force used was often incorrectly drawn
up or insufficient to achieve the political intent.

Its not that damaging an airfield had no
effect at all on Assads regime, its that it didnt produce the intended effect. If youre interested in the bigger goal,
that the Assad regime should stop using chemical weapons, then the strikes last year did not
work. The April 2018 strike doubled the force and
did focus on chemical weapons facilities, But its unclear what the long term results
will be. Politically, for Trump to use these strikes, because he looks tough.

He has done something, right? There is an impulse in the United States to "do something", anytime something bad happens around the world. Thats what limited strikes ultimately are: a way for the President to do... Something. Even if that something is only successful 6% of the time..

Where Does Trumps Border Wall Stand TodayNYT News

I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls
better than me, believe me. And Ill build them
very inexpensively. This was President Trumps
campaign announcement in June of 2015. Since then,
President Trumps efforts to build his
long-touted wall have run into
political realities.

He doesnt have the funding, and he couldnt
reach a compromise. Look, I made it so,
so clear to the president that there is not going
to be a wall. And his voter base is
beginning to take notice. Right now, if I were
a betting woman, I dont think were
getting a wall.

So Trump instead has tried
to use a series of distractions to get around the fact that his border barrier
is running behind. President Trump had
eight wall prototypes built near the border. But thats where
construction has stalled. These monoliths stand
as a $20 million testament to his ambitions,
but not much more.

President Trump has repeatedly
stated that construction is already under way for the wall. We need the wall. Weve started building the wall. Were going to have the wall.

Weve already
started building it. We started building our wall. Im so proud of it. But its almost entirely
routine maintenance being done on existing
sections of the wall, plus 33 miles of new fencing.

When efforts to fund
the wall failed, President Trump said he wanted
the National Guard deployed, a move he said was significant. Until we can have a
wall and proper security, were going to be guarding
our border with the military. Thats a big step. We really havent done
that before, or certainly not very much before.

But this is not a dramatic move. Both President Obama
and President Bush did the same
during their terms. Trump suggested
the military could pay for the wall with
part of their budget, a proposal with few backers. We cant rob money and resources from the military that
so desperately needs them at a time of growing
international crisis.

President Trump said he
was willing to compromise for wall funding in the
2018 budget bill in exchange for protecting young
undocumented immigrants known as DACA recipients. The Democrats would not do it. But in reality, Trump was the one
who ended the DACA program in the first place. Trump has tried various ways
of getting Mexico to pay, including a border tax
on Mexican goods or through renegotiations of the North American
Free Trade Agreement, also known as Nafta.

But Mexico has
yet to pay a dime. Isnt it true at this
point that Mexico is just not going to pay
for that wall? Im not going to go beyond what
the presidents already said. I think he still has
plans to look at potential ways
for that to happen. But this kind of
hedging is a far cry from Trumps
original promise.

I will have Mexico
pay for that wall. Mark my words..

Watch Highlights From Zuckerberg's Testimony, Day 2NYT News

You and your co-founders started
a company in your dorm room thats grown to be one of
the biggest and most successful businesses in the entire world. While Facebook has
certainly grown, I worry it may not have matured. I think its time to
ask whether Facebook may have moved too fast
and broken too many things. Who do you think owns an
individuals presence online? Who owns their virtual you? Is it you or is it
them? Congresswoman, I believe that everyone
owns their own content online.

And thats the first line
of our terms of service, if you read it, says that. After this new algorithm was implemented, that there
was a tremendous bias against conservative
news and content and a favorable bias
towards liberal content. Was there a directive
to put a bias in and first are you
aware of this bias that many people have looked
at and analyzed and seen?  Congressman, this is a
really important question. There is absolutely no
directive in any of the changes that we make to have
a bias in anything that we do.

Well, you have a long
history of growth and success. But you also have a
long list of apologies. In 2003, it started at Harvard. I apologize for any harm
done as a result of my neglect.

2006: We really
messed this one up. 2007: We simply did a bad job. I apologize for it. This is proof to me that
self-regulation simply does not work.

Are you aware of other
third-party information mishandlings that have not been disclosed? Congresswoman, no, although we are currently going through
the process of investigating every single app So youre not sure? That had access
to a large amount of data. All right, but I only have four minutes. Was your data included in the data sold to the
malicious third parties? Your personal data? Yes. If you don't,
youre not listening to us on the phone, who is, and do you
have specific contracts with these companies
that will provide data that is being
acquired verbally through our phones
or now through things like Alexa or other products? Congressman, were not collecting
any information verbally on the microphone, and we dont
have contracts with anyone else who is.

Facebook has
detailed profiles on people who have never
signed up for Facebook. Yes or no? Congressman, in general,
we collect data from people have not signed up for
Facebook for security purposes to prevent the kind of
scraping that you were just referring to. As C.E.O., You didnt know
some key facts. You didnt know about major court
cases regarding your privacy policies against your company.

You didnt know that the F.T.C.
Doesnt have fining authority and that Facebook could not
that have received fines for the 2011 consent order. You didnt know what
a shadow profile was..

Russia's warning of 'chaos' is a 'threat' US ambassador to NATOIn The News

Well, of course it's a threat, they know
they're on the wrong side of this, they know that the international community is standing against their use of chemical weapons in the U.K., That they guaranteed that Syria
would not have chemical weapons again, and yet here we have seen another
mass destruction of innocent people. And I think that Russia should be getting the
message that we are not going to back down, That we are going to stay within the
rules of international engagement, we have now tried to degrade
some of the capability in Syria, but Russia was supposed
to do that on their own. It's time for Russia to step up and
keep their international commitments and stop breaking the treaties
time and again, like the INF treaty, like, most certainly the agreement they
made after 2013 that they would assure that Syria would not have
chemical weapons again. Then going into the U.K.

And putting
chemical weapons or nerve agents in their country to try to
murder someone. Those are beyond the norms of international civil behavior and Russia needs to step up to the plate and start trying to do things in the right way, which
would be accepted in the international community. Ambassador, one final question for you then
on Russia's behavior and the U.S. Response to it.

A Russian analyst told The Washington
Post over the weekend that the U.S. Currently seems to have three
separate Russian policies. You've got the president's, the
executive branch's and congress', and I wonder that now that we're
hearing slightly more muscular language from President Trump about his
opposite number President Putin, do you think those three separate strands,
you yourself, as a former Republican senator, do you think they're aligning
more closely at last? I certainly think that America is
speaking with one voice, I think the president has been very bold
in the sanctions against Russia, to say, "Stop this kind of behavior," and Congress is, in a bipartisan way, very
forceful on the issue of Russia stepping back and looking at what they're doing,
looking at who they are supporting, supporting a president of a country that is
killing his own people by whatever means. They should know better
and they should do better.

And that's what Congress is saying to Russia,
it is what the president is saying to Russia, it is what his whole administration
on every level is saying to Russia, "Stop the bad behavior, the malign influence
that you are sowing all over the world, it's time to come into the community of nations
and if you do so, we will welcome you..

News Wrap Trump to confer with UK, France on Syria action

JUDY WOODRUFF: The Pompeo confirmation hearing
to be secretary of state is taking place as the administration confronts urgent questions
about Syria. President Trump and Russian officials swapped
warnings today about whether to strike the Middle Eastern nation over a suspected chemical
weapons attack. The president first said that a U.S. Response
could come -- quote -- "very soon or not so soon at all." Then, at a White House meeting, he was pressed
on whether the U.S.

Is indeed getting ready to attack. DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:
We're looking very, very seriously, very closely at that whole situation. And we will see what happens, folks. We will see what happens.

It's too bad that the world puts us in a position
like that. But, as I said this morning, we have done
a great job with ISIS. We have just absolutely decimated ISIS. But now we have to make some further decisions,
so they will be made fairly soon.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Later, the president met with
his National Security Council to discuss next steps. Afterwards, officials said he plans to speak
tonight with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May. Today, May announced that her Cabinet has
approved a plan to work with the U.S. And France to coordinate an international response
to Syria's actions.

Meanwhile, Russia asked for the U.N. Security
Council to meet tomorrow. Its ambassador to the U.N. Said Moscow wants
to avoid a war.

VASSILY NEBENZIA, Russian Ambassador to the
United Nations: We hope that there will be no point of no return, that the U.S. And their
allies will refrain. The danger of escalation is higher than simply
Syria, because our military are there on the invitation of the Syrian government. JUDY WOODRUFF: The back-and-forth came as
international inspectors headed for Syria.

They will begin a fact-finding mission on
Saturday. Amid the tensions over Syria, there's another
shakeup in President Trump's national security team. It's widely reported that Ricky Waddell will
step down as national security adviser -- deputy national security adviser. He's the latest of several top staffers to
leave since John Bolton took over as the new national security adviser.

The president today played down talk that
he might fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the Russia investigation. Instead, the president tweeted that he's cooperating
with the probe. He said: "I have agreed with the historically
cooperative, disciplined approach that we have engaged in." Later, White House lawyer Ty Cobb denied an
NBC News report that negotiations with Mueller have broken down. In London, international investigators have
confirmed that former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve
agent.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons didn't say who was responsible. Britain charged again that it was Russia,
but Moscow insisted the findings mean nothing. MARIA ZAKHAROVA, Russian Foreign Ministry
(through translator): Russia will not trust any conclusions in the Skripal case until
Russian experts have been granted access to the relevant materials linked to the OPCW
expertise and all the information London has on this incident. JUDY WOODRUFF: Britain has asked the U.N.
Security Council to meet next week to discuss the report.

The National Enquirer's parent company is
denying that it suppressed a story that President Trump had a child out of wedlock in the 1980s. American Media Incorporated said today the
claim wasn't credible. "The New Yorker" and the Associated Press
reported that AMI paid a former Trump Tower doorman $30,000 in late 2015, but never ran
the story. The doorman maintained today that his story
was true.

The U.S. Senate today confirmed Andrew Wheeler
to be the number two at the Environmental Protection Agency. He is a former coal lobbyist who has opposed
regulations affecting that industry. Wheeler will now be line to run the EPA if
the agency's embattled Director Scott Pruitt were to be forced out.

Oklahoma teachers say they're going back to
class, after an most two-week walkout that shut schools across the state. The teachers union celebrated what it called
a historic funding increase. The Republican-controlled legislature had
approved tax hikes that provided $450 million in new funds. That's $150 million short of the teachers'
demands.

And on Wall Street, stocks rose as fears of
a trade war with China eased again. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 293
points to close at 24483. The Nasdaq rose 71 points, and the S&P 500
added 21..

Netflix Vampire Drama Series 'V-Wars' to Star Ian SomerhalderTHR News

Netflix has handed out a 10-episode, straight-to-series order for vampire drama  'V-Wars' and fans of 'Vampire Diaries' will be thrilled  to learn that Ian Somerhalder is set to star. 'V-Wars,' based on the IDW book of the same name, revolves around  Dr. Luther Swann -- played by Somerhalder -- who enters a world of  horror when a mysterious disease transforms his best friend, Michael Fayne,  into a murderous predator who feeds on other humans.  As the disease spreads and more people are transformed, society fractures  into opposing camps pitting normal people against the growing number  of these vampires.

Swann races against time to understand whats happening,  while Fayne rises to become the powerful underground leader of the vampires.  The series is based on IDW Publishing's 'V-Wars' franchise,  written by New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Maberry.  'V-Wars' was first announced in 2014 as part of a straight-to-series  deal with Entertainment One. The pickup comes as IDW's Locke and Key'  is being shopped to other outlets, as the company looks to find a new home  for the Carlton Cuse drama based on Joe Hill's beloved comic series.

Despite several attempts to bring the series to the big or small screen,  IDW remains committed to finding a home for the project. For Somerhalder, meanwhile, 'V-Wars' arrives a year after he signed off  of The CW's 'Vampire Diaries' after its eight-season run.  He currently has a pod deal with TVD producers Warner Bros. Television  with actress Nikki Reed, his wife, via their Rare Bird Productions banner.

To read more about 'V-Wars,' head to THR.Com and tell us,  are you excited to see Ian Somerhalder in the Netflix show?  Let us know in the comments.  For The Hollywood Reporter News, Im Lyndsey Rodrigues. .

Monaco open the door for Liverpool FC to make move for Thomas Lemar this summerNews Now#LFC

One-time Reds target still harbours hopes
of move to Anfield. Monaco have opened the door for Liverpool
to reignite interest in Thomas Lemar  but warn the France international will not come
cheap. The Reds failed in an attempt to sign the
forward on deadline day last summer with Monaco having slapped a 90million price tag on
the player. Jurgen Klopp, though, chose not to pursue
a deal for Lemar in January despite the 142m sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

Liverpool are presently not actively interested
in Lemar, who last month issued a thinly-veiled come-and-get-me plea having expressed his
disappointment a move didn't materialise during the last two transfer windows. However, the Reds continue to be linked with
the 22-year-old in France, along with Arsenal  who also wanted to sign him last summer
and Bayern Munich. And Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasiley spoke
on Lemar ahead of Sunday's Ligue Un clash with Paris Saint-Germain. A few hours of the match against Paris
is not the time to talk about the transfer window, he said.

But good luck to those who want him. When asked about whether bids of over 110million
would be sufficient to land Lemar, he replied that the winger would "cost a lot". It should come as no surprise for supporters
of the Ligue 1 side, who won the title and cruised to the Champions League semi-finals
last season..

Liverpool FC's home kit for the 201819 season has been leaked onlineNews Now transfer#LFC

Weve reached the business end of the season. League titles around Europe are being wrapped
up and relegations will soon be confirmed. In the Champions League, Liverpool, Roma,
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have all booked places in the semi-final. And while the players and coaches are still
hard at work, the focus has shifted away from the pitch.

Its common these days for clubs to launch
their kits before the season is over. Last year, Liverpool wore their home kit for
the current season in the final match of the 2016-17 campaign. It is, of course, done to ramp up excitement
and create a buzz in the hope that supporters will buy the latest kit. But one thing that clubs can do to ensure
fans part way with their money is to ensure the new kit looks the part, obviously.

New Balance are Liverpools current suppliers
and they did a fine job with this seasons number. Liverpool supporters are eager to find out
if New Balance can follow it up next season and based on leaked images, they have done. The Reds home shirt for the 2018-19 season
has surfaced online and its gone down a hit with the clubs fans. Featuring a collar, its a break from tradition.

It looks incredibly smart, with Mohamed Salah,
Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk modelling the new uniform..

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp keeping tabs on Napoli ace Piotr ZielinskiNews Now transfer#LFC

LIVERPOOL could reportedly raid Napoli for
Piotr Zielinski when the transfer window opens this summer. The Poland international has made 38 appearances
for Napoli so far this season, with 29 of those coming in Serie A. And Jurgen Klopp is said to be keeping tabs
on the 23-year-old as he plans to bolster his squad this summer. Italian outlet Tutto Mercato Web claim Liverpool
have had their eye on Zielinski since he played on loan at Empoli.

And he is apparently still on their radar
having scored seven goals and provided one assist at club level this term. Tutto Mercato Web reckon Liverpool are paying
a great deal of attention to Zielinskis contract situation at Napoli. The midfielder is currently tied down at the
Stadio San Paolo until the summer of 2021. But it seems Liverpool might pounce if it
emerges he is unwilling to extend his stay beyond that point.

Zielinski is one of a number of players who
will be on Klopps mind as he plots a run at the Premier League title for next season. Liverpool are on course to be playing in the
Champions League again then too having tightened their grip on third place on Saturday. Goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto
Firmino handed Klopps side a comfortable 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield. Liverpool return to Premier League action
next Saturday when they take on bottom-of-the-table West Brom at the Hawthorns.

And theyll follow up that away trip with
the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against Salahs old club, Roma..