War

Immediately after Israel's latest unprovoked strike on Syria we posed the question, did Benjamin Netanyahu just panic? The answer is yes, Israel is now acting from a position of desperation as it has failed in its goal of regime change in Syria. Overnight (Wed. evening/Thursday early morning), Israel attacked a Syrian military base near the town of Masyaf at about 3:00 a.m. which Syria has now confirmed in a statement that warns of "serious repercussions". Syria reported two troop deaths in the attack.

Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

When the US government decides it doesn't like a foreign regime, it's become something of a tradition for US politicians — with the help of a compliant media — to portray those leaders as irrational, unhinged, or even downright insane. 

This was true of Saddam Hussein, and it was true of Slobodan Milosevic. In both cases, a foreign head of state was condemned as irrational in order to help justify US invasions and bombings of foreign nations that were no threat to the United States. 

Only a few days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the US and North Korea were “on the verge of a large-scale conflict,” seeming to imply that a war – possibly more than just conventional – was inevitable, as North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un would never shutter the country’s nuclear program, according to Russia Today.

Today, in what appears to be a reversal, Putin – speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok on Thursday - cautioned that there would be no conflict involving nuclear weapons in northeast Asia.

Submitted by Stock Board Asset

South Koreans clashed with police ahead of the deployment of four more Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems in southern South Korea. Per Yonhapnews, the clash occurred as police were trying to disperse about 400 residents from their community center near the U.S. missile defense base in Seongju, some 300 kilometers south of Seoul. 

In yet another attempt at de-escalation by the US, moments ago as president Trump was leaving the White House, he responded to a reporter question on whether there will be military action in North Korea, saying that "it's not his first choice", but adding that "we'll see what happens."