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'What's the plan?' Confusion reigns on Syria as Trump sends secretary of state to Russia

The Trump administration has done little to clarify on how it will approach the situation in Syria.

US ALLIES ARE moving ahead with their own policies for dealing with Syria after attempts by top Trump administration officials to articulate a plan left key questions unresolved in the wake of missile strikes on President Bashar al-Assad’s military.

Left unclear was whether Assad must relinquish power, how displaced Syrians would be protected and when the US might feel compelled to take further action.

President Donald Trump ordered the strikes last week in reaction to Assad’s use of chemical weapons.

After meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson floated the possibility of new sanctions on both the Syrian and Russian militaries, an idea the US has only briefly mentioned.

In an unusual announcement for a foreign government, Johnson also said the US could launch more cruise missiles into Syria.

Tillerson himself raised fresh expectations for aggressive US action — and not only in Syria — as he visited Sant’Anna di Stazzema, a Tuscan village where the Nazis massacred more than 500 civilians during World War II.

As he laid a wreath, he alluded to the Syria chemical attack.

“We rededicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world,” Tillerson said.

Belgium NATO Defense Tillerson with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Virginia Mayo AP / Press Association Images Virginia Mayo AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Though such comments hint at a more activist US foreign policy focused on preventing humanitarian atrocities, President Donald Trump has consistently suggested he prefers the opposite approach.

His new administration has generally downplayed human rights concerns while promoting an “America First” strategy de-emphasising the concerns of foreign nations.

The uncertain view of US objectives prevailed as Tillerson planned to attend a meeting today of the “likemindeds” — countries that share a similar approach to resolving Syria’s protracted civil war.

The session, which was taking place on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Italy, was to include Middle East countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, which share a U.S. interest in resolving the conflict and resisting Iran’s influence in Syria.

This evening, Tillerson is scheduled to fly to Moscow, the first official visit by a Trump Cabinet official to Russia, Assad’s strongest ally.

The US has said its Syria strategy centers on persuading President Vladimir Putin to stop supporting Assad.

Yesterday, the US raised the stakes significantly by accusing Russia of knowing in advance of the chemical attack and using a Russian-operated drone to help cover it up.

Unanswered questions

No component of Trump’s Syria policy has engendered more confusion than Assad’s future — an issue that similarly befuddled the Obama administration, whose once-adamant position that Assad must go softened substantially by the time President Barack Obama left office in January.

Leading up to the US missile attack, Trump’s administration had said that Assad’s future was up to the Syrian people.

Then Trump, the day after the assault, said his thinking about Assad had changed. Tillerson answered a question about effecting regime change by saying the US was organising a coalition to do just that.

DC: President Trump and his staff returns to the White House SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

Yet after Trump’s retaliatory strike, the position became less clear.

Some officials, like Tillerson, said the US was confident Syrians would choose on their own to push Assad aside, while suggesting the US wouldn’t mandate it.

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and others said that ousting Assad was indeed a US goal, but only one of several.

Another unanswered question was: Did Trump’s strike set a precedent that any chemical attack will trigger a US response?

At the White House, spokesman Sean Spicer insisted that Trump wouldn’t box himself in by disclosing his actions in advance. But he added further uncertainty to the equation by saying that even barrel bombs, which Assad has used with frequency, would necessitate US action.

“If you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb in to innocent people, I think you will see a response from this president,” Spicer said.

Minutes later, the White House rushed to clarify that Spicer wasn’t announcing any new policy on barrel bombs. “Nothing has changed in our posture,” a White House official said in a written statement.

On one point, the administration has been consistent: Defeating the Islamic State group in Syria is the first priority. There’s less certainty about what comes now.

Tillerson and other officials have said the next priority is to create “zones of stability” in Syria where those displaced by civil war can live without fear of violence.

They say that entails negotiating cease-fires between Assad’s government and rebels who have been fighting both IS and Assad. With stability restored, they say, conditions would be ripe for a UN-brokered political transition.

Yet it’s unclear why rebel groups would agree to cease-fires with Assad, who would protect the zones, and how. Assad’s willingness to clear the way for political talks predicated on him leaving power is deeply in question.

Read: Syria airstrike: Donald Trump’s 180 degree shift on attacking the Assad regime

Read: ‘It crossed a lot of lines for me’: Trump says he’s changed attitude on Syria following alleged chemical attack

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41 Comments
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    Mute Peter King
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:21 AM

    The Brits must owe us a load of cash if that’s the way it works then.

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    Mute Oisin Murray
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:29 AM

    Peter! You can’t say that in Eire inc! We have to ‘forgive and forget’ in relation to the British atrocities, but yet just bash the PIRA (who any man with a spine would have joined or supported before they split into criminal gangs) and SF at every turn and show our growing ignorance as a political nation…!

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    Mute R M
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:32 AM

    Don’t forget what the British did to the Greeks at the close of the war. When the British saw the crowds of anti fascists celebrating in Athens square after the liberation of the country from the Nazis by the allies and partisans they got a little nervous. The British thought the anti fascists had become too strong and worst of all too left wing so they gave weapons back to Nazi collaborators and ordered them onto the rooftops surrounding the square to shoot at the people celebrating. Many innocent people were killed.

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    Mute Beano
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:40 AM

    Steady on Oisin…..not everyone would have joined or supported the PIRA. It might surprise you but the majority of people didn’t like to see innocent Protestant or Loyalist people murdered. Least we forget ‘the missing’ or members of our own Garda ?

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    Mute Peter King
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:42 AM

    I was being sarcastic. If Britain had to pay everyone back that they screwed over the years they’d be bankrupt a few times over. Things happen in the past. We still remember them. That’s the important thing.

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    Mute ProudIrishRepublican
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:43 AM

    Well said Oisin. The queen of England paid a visit so everything’s ok now. Let’s just forget all about the rampant collusion between the various British forces, RUC and sectarian psychopathic loyalist murder gangs. Let’s forget about Dublin, Monaghan, Ballymurphy, Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson, Aidan McInespie and all the other innocents who were murdered by the British. Certain individuals appear frequently here and say that the British army were here as peacekeepers. What a load of codswhallop. Now I in no way gloss over the terrible crimes perpetrated at times by the Provos. But the fact of the matter is that some of these crimes and victims are now being used as a stick to beat and stop the rise of Sinn Féin. How about our government make as much noise about the victims of collusion as they do about the disappeared? Or are some victims not as important politically as others?

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    Mute aidan gannon
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:01 AM

    Peter my parent’s are Irish live in Manchester worked there nuts off all there life’s and never played the victim Card very proud people .I’m living in Dublin for years Now I’m the same I would never take a hand out that’s what my Irish parents taught me Walk with pride Son

    92
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    Mute Kate Ellen Egan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:07 AM

    The British Gov gave 50 yr loans with interest to Irish farmers to buy back their own Irish land when they were leaving , that’s one reason why they were called Great Britain !!

    49
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    Mute John
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:08 AM

    Takes a bigger man to stand his ground unarmed than armed. Now that’s a man or a woman worth standing with.

    44
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    Mute Tommy Whelan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:17 AM

    Peter the brits or any other country that was involve in our history own us nothing as they are part of our history and where we came from . They are the reason you are here .

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    Mute Pat Mustard
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:24 AM

    John in the August 1969 riots unarmed nationalists tried to stand their ground and entire streets like Bombay st got burned to the ground because they had no weapons to defend their areas. Much good that did them.

    I see Tommy the comedian is back again, the joke that keeps on giving. So now the reason we are here in Ireland is because of the British-are you still drunk from last night??

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    Mute little jim
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:24 AM

    Thanks to the brits we feel we have the right to challenge kings while eating turnip sandwiches. They’re the only genes that survived the occupation.
    They made their own monster.

    33
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    Mute Tommy Whelan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:33 AM

    Pat correct the DNA of celts , Vikings , Norman’s and brits is what makes up the DNA of the Irish people . Or maybe you seem to think that for eight hundred yrs you had a line that seperated the Irish from the English . I believe our fellow country men call us jackeens for a reason .

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    Mute Pat Mustard
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:35 AM

    So the Celts, Vikings and Norman’s were British, read some history books ffs.

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:35 AM

    And Dev sorted that problem in the 1930s. Like the modern times the landlords had gone from boom to bust and the annuities was a convenient way to bail them out. The Irish farmers paid for what had been previously taken from them. At least it worker out for both unlike in Zimbabwe and to a lesser extent South Africa.

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    Mute fiachra29
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:40 AM

    So Tommy should we thank the British for the Famine? it’s part of our history and part of where we came from without a doubt and it was largely due to British policy.

    And by the way there was always a distinction between Irish and English historically, remember the “No Irish need apply signs” they never saw us as the same either, and also the presence of the Irish sea puts a fairly definite line between the English and the Irish all through those 800 years.

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    Mute Tommy Whelan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:58 AM

    Fiachra Patrick Pearce was the son of a English man . Connolly was a Scottish man . Two examples of how the Irish people came about . There was no line that seperated the genes of Irish or English or any other nationality that live here . The tragedy of the famine was 6 yrs of 800 maybe you should explore Irish history a little deeper and might discover how our country came about and the people that exist in it .

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    Mute Diarmuid
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    Apr 12th 2015, 11:27 AM

    PIRA/SF bombed innocent men, women and children, robbed banks, killed Gardaí, kidnapped businessmen, racketeered, fuel smuggled, relocated sex abusers…. nothing patriotic about any of that.

    Only deluded pathetic armchair “republicans” think otherwise.

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    Mute fiachra29
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    Apr 12th 2015, 11:36 AM

    Well Tommy I’m sure there are some genetic similarities, in the same way all European people share a lot of DNA it’s hardly evidence of Europeans belonging to the same nationality. Irish people do have a number genetic differences from English people even despite genetic mixing for example there are higher incidences of red hair and unfortunately the cystic fibrosis gene in Ireland.

    By the way I explored Irish history a little deeper other than the Famine, I saw mentions of various Plantations of Irish land, the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the Penal Laws, various smaller famines, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland which resulted in 200,000 deaths of Irish people and 50,000 Irish deported as slaves to the West Indies and the famous to Hell or to Connaught phrase and various intensive efforts to eliminate Irish culture in order to completely Anglicise the country as well as the famine, not to mention quite a few rebellions from understandably dissatisfied Irish people and mass emigration. I’m sure they all had a part to play in how our country came about and the people that exist in it.

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    Mute Tommy Whelan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:00 PM

    Fischer your a typical soo call republican who crawls through our brit history to find what you want to justify your hatred . The foundations of our society that we live by today came from our history . Democracy , capitalism , infrastructure , language , culture and the people . As I said our history is what makes us who we are like any other country around the world .

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    Mute fiachra29
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:12 PM

    Well Tommy I assume the word Fischer is an attempt at spelling my name. There are various things I admire about the British there engineering and industrial achievements, their literature, their sports, their architecture and so on. What I don’t like is your attempts to whitewash Irish history and pretend we didn’t suffer under British rule, we absolutely did and any respected historian with any knowledge about Ireland will tell you that. You’re clearly a very anglophilic person and there’s nothing wrong with that, but your attempts to latch on to their country’s historical legacy and pretend we have always been the exact same and agitations for Irish independence spontaneously arose from nothing have no basis in fact whatsoever. The British have had a lot of positive impacts on the world, but they also had a very negative impact on Ireland.

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    Mute Tommy Whelan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:28 PM

    Fiachra I like to put forward another side to a discussion . It gets a little bit boring when you get the same anti brit heads you see on here day after day with there bias tunnel vision of Ireland . It makes a discussion more interesting then listen to the same sh.te . By the way I opologise for getting your name wrong as I’m in the middle of doing something .

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    Mute aidan gannon
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:33 PM

    Its not the man who walks across the bridge its the man who design’s the bridge Thomas Telford?

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    Mute Dermot Mc Loughlin
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:34 PM

    Should we pay Spain reparations for fine gaels involvement in their civil war?

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    Mute Ivon Itchie Saq
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:40 PM

    Can you provide proof that fine geal sent any one to Spain to fight beside fascists.?

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    Mute ProudIrishRepublican
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    Apr 12th 2015, 2:02 PM

    Tommy, you say you like to put forward your side to the argument? That’s fine as long as you listen to and respect other sides to the argument. You call republicans like me anti-British? I’m not anti-British, I have family in England and Scotland. I have very good friends who are British. Your argument that both islands are inter linked is true but that’s not to say you can rewrite history as you like and pretend that Ireland was a better place under British rule. Britain carried out atrocities over the centuries on a scale that would make ISIS look like a bunch of altar boys.

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    Mute Arthur Krondich
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    Apr 12th 2015, 3:27 PM

    No their not British. But celts, Normans and vikings (Normans and vikings are the same really) are part of the make up of the British and irish people.

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    Mute Oisin Murray
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    Apr 13th 2015, 8:52 AM

    If you read my comment, I alluded to that! Up until a certain point, unfortunately the people of NI were forced into that position. But yes after a time it became more about criminality. My point still stands however in relation to our ‘forgiving’ nature avec les Brits but our outright condemnation without having to experience what the people of NI had to endure…@Peter – I fully got your sarcasm thanks! Mine was also tongue in cheek to a degree, thus the exclamation marks!!!!!!!

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    Mute Hilary Farrell-Naik
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    Apr 13th 2015, 1:22 PM

    Fiachra, there wasn’t a famine in Ireland, it was genocide, plain and simple. We call it the Great Irish Famine, but let’s be honest here, it was genocide. Shiploads of food were exported from Ireland to England to feed the “starving” English, while Ireland really did starve.

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    Mute Seamus Brady
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    Apr 13th 2015, 1:47 PM

    There would have been no need for the pira or any other republican so called terror groups if the brits had not folded to unionists and left our island alone in the first place. The northern conflict should never have happened. Also if we down south had been willing to take a stand instead of turning our backs on our countrymen we probably wouldn’t be condemning them for standing up for equal rights. Get off the soapbox and look at some history books before you start to judge people

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    Mute ÉireWarning
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    Apr 13th 2015, 10:03 PM

    Tommy,

    More About Genes – The Irish Really are a race apart
    By Dr. Emmeline Hill
    http://www.insideireland.com/sample19.htm

    Our DNA is so unique that we can be identified as being of Celtic origin, says Dr Dan Bradley of Trinity College, who is heading up the research team.
    http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/unique-celtic-genes-set-us-a-race-apart-26237637.html

    We are related mostly to the Brits, after that other western Europeans from which we share the same western European white origins.

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    Mute Jurgen Remak
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    Apr 12th 2015, 9:23 AM

    These are absolutely shocking crimes. I have great sympathy for the current plight of the Greek people, but this is going nowhere. The last Whermacht soldier left Greece over 70 years ago. There is no question Greece suffered terribly during WW2 and its resistance fighters performed admirably. But Germany does not need to constantly atone for the sins of its grandfathers. I recall Helmut Kohl back in the 80’s and 90’s apologizing many times for Nazi conduct.
    German reunification was perhaps the last appropriate time for it and the reparations argument. But enough. Greece got Marshall Plan dollars after WW2 and was helped back on its feet. This Greek administration would be better off seeking allies elsewhere in Europe and pressing on with reform of its economy. Some element of debt forgiveness is needed, and even perhaps even a secession from the Euro. But it’s a waste of time and a sign of desperation trying to link its current trouble with WW2 reparations.

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    Mute Anthony Lang
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:53 AM

    Although I like German people and have enjoyed close links with many Germans, who I have invariable found polite, warm and decent individuals, there is something in German culture which seems directed towards dominance and even imperialism in Europe. Germany has replaced military dominance with a notion of economic dominance.

    By running such massive surpluses, by the use of the euro to create cheap credit, and by German banks having offered enormous flows of funds to reckless and improvident Irish banks, which were unregulated, Germany has achieved massive levels of exports and has created deficits in other countries so as to match its own surpluses.

    The European Union worked well for a time and lived up to the ideals of the fathers of European integration when France and Germany acted as twin pillars, with Germany deferring to French political control.

    Regretfully, Germany has politically changed its approach. It ignores France and operates a sole hegemony over the rest of Europe. Small nations, such as Ireland, have decided to submit and to submit to their detriment.

    Germany now controls Europe in an economic sense. Greece will have to surrender. It has no option or face economic oblivion. Economic blitzkrieg of Germany cannot be resisted. That is the reality of Europe today. The euro was an admirable concept, but with the active complicity of Ireland, the euro has been used as an instrument of Germany’s economic dominance of Europe.

    Ireland reaps want it sows, as inevitably and painfully will Greece evebtually follow.

    Ireland has strongly aligned itself to Germany for reasons of expediency and appeasement. Germany has peacefully achieved economic hegemony of Europe. The ECB does Germany’s bidding and the political structure of the European Union facilitates this economic and increasingly political dominance.

    Greece belatedly realises what has happened, it sought valiantly but unwisely to resist but far too late. Behind the scenes, Ireland was a strong channel for undermining of the position of Greece. The approach of Greece was the opposite of Ireland’s. That could not be allowed succeed.

    The atrocities committed by German troops in Greece is an emotive and emotional reminder to Greence that it now suffers economically what was previously in military form. Greence feels offended and angered. By its realisation but it has to learn to understand that resistance to Germany’s economic and increasingly political dominance of Europe is futile. And so ends the great Europen peace experiment. Schumann, Monnet and others did not anticipate this outcome even France is now defeated.

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    Mute Simon Croghan
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    Apr 12th 2015, 11:19 AM

    The EU was formed with Peace as its founding idea.

    The United States is a similar successful model. And has worked peacefully.

    It’s insane not to learn from two world wars.

    The EU should be bigger than any one dominating nation. Where are the leaders and statesmen now when you need them ?

    From an Irish perspective, we succumbed to EU bullying, putting us massively in debt, which has transferred in taxes to the ordinary people. So a narrow number of rich are protected.

    And we, the Irish, having not stood up to the bullying, now we do not support the Greeks. While the EU threatens abandoning them. Shameful.

    The dominating forces in the EU conveniently forget how generously they were treated financially not too long ago.

    Short memories indeed !

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    Mute RoseDeBu
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:13 PM

    “Although I like German people and have enjoyed close links with many Germans, who I have invariable found polite, warm and decent individuals, there is something in German culture which seems directed towards dominance and even imperialism in Europe. Germany has replaced military dominance with a notion of economic dominance.”

    Sorry, but that is absolute nonsense. I’m not disputing that there may have been something in German culture in the past (although let’s not forget that a lot of other countries have exhibited these qualities over the course of history as well in Europe), but if you know anything about Germany and Germans, you will be well aware that even the mentioning of any form of dominance over other countries has been completely unacceptable for the past few decades.

    Your analysis, I’m afraid, is a wee bit too simplistic. There is no doubt that Germany is currently benefiting from the economic conditions in the EU in terms of trade surpluses etc., and clearly shows no desire to change their economic policies. However, this hardly constitutes an economic “Blitzkrieg”. The current malaise was caused primarily by the near-collapse of the global financial system, as a result of continuous financial liberalisation over the past few decades. The fact that the Euroarea as a common currency area is plagued with fundamental constructional problems has been pointed out for years, long before the crisis. Let’s be honest here, neither Greece nor Ireland complained about the benefits when money started pouring into their countries. In the case of Greece in particular, the problem is that the money was never properly used to build the foundation for sustainable growth, but rather was spent on private and public consumption.

    Should Germany do everything possible to help other European countries at the moment? Ideally, absolutely. Is this how politics works? Absolutely not. It is an absolute disgrace what is happening in Greece, and austerity is a terrible thing, as we all have experienced ourselves. But can we solely blame Germany or an economic “Blitzkrieg” for it? Sorry, but that’s just populist and simplistic. And so is this call for payments made by Greece. What happened in WWII is absolutely terrible and must never be repeated. I do not know of any other country that is so aware of this than Germany, and, again, if you really knew anything about Germans, you’d know that.

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    Mute Larissa Nikolaus
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    Apr 12th 2015, 5:34 PM

    Thank you Rose, I fully agree with you

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    Mute Hilary Farrell-Naik
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    Apr 13th 2015, 1:39 PM

    Anthony, you are so right. Excellent comments and so well put. I too like Germans, but it’s true,they do feel superior to most others and thus feel they should be the “top dog”.

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    Mute ÉireWarning
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:05 PM

    Lang,

    Such crap, I don’t believe you like Germans very much at all, you use every chance you get to demonise Germans to equate any opposition to multiculturalism with the so-called holoco$t, and in your multicultural pushing agenda to associate such opposition with the “evil” Germans, nazis. I have never come across a more polite and decent sincere people. They are a less faectious people, but one of the positives of that, is in general, they mean what they say and are genuine. If you have a German enemy, you know you have one, and if a German friend, they are the most loyal and trustworthy person you can rely on.

    You are usually first to say that people are people no matter where you go, and that when Irish people point out certain characteristics or crime due to one nation, you denounce it as generalising and racism.

    But here you are doing the exact same, thing, generalising about Germans. The people who have us in this mess, are not the Germans, but the Chosen One international finance system, the likes of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and all the other biggest world banking players based in Wall St and City of London financial districts, they call the western world financial policies. Even Deutsche bank is not German but run by the Chosen Ones. Even if Lang wants to ignore that argument, then his own argument is out because France were equally in this and the bondholders are of every nationality, yet in reality the main players are all subsidiaries and different hedge fund companies whose controlling shares are owned by the likes of rothschilds and other Chosen Ones.

    German economist Hans Werner Sinn talking to Pat Kenny to Burn the bondholders which 480 other German economists said to do:
    PK: If, for example, we decide we are not going to pay the 3.1 billion on the Promissory Note which is due at the end of March. That means that the former Anglo bank will not have the cash to do what it needs to do – to wind down. The ECB will say “that’s a default”.

    HWS: Why don’t you let it default? Default is the best way to solve such a problem. It doesn’t mean the bank comes to an end; it just means that the creditors have to forgive some of the debt and this is quite natural. They made the investment decision.

    PK: The ECB will allow us to do this?

    HWS: I don’t know what the ECB will say, but these economists whom you cite from Germany said that that should be done. And actually it was not just 270, it was a total of 480 professional economists in Germany who said it is much better to forgive the debt and ask those people who have miscalculated their chances to reduce their claims against the banks.

    I mean we can’t have capitalism in the way that, if there are profits they are being distributed to someone and once there are losses that the taxpayer steps in and solves the problem.

    PK: I think you would find many people here who would agree with you that the people who invested should have been burned, but they weren’t. Many of them have been paid from the very beginning and that debt is now being repaid by the Irish taxpayer. And people are saying…

    HWS: No, that was a big mistake as I said.
    http://economic-incentives.blogspot.com/2013/02/hans-werner-sinn-interview-transcript.html

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    Mute ÉireWarning
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:08 PM

    “I emphasized that the defeat of Germany and Japan and their elimination from world trade would give Britain a tremendous opportunity to swell her foreign commerce in both volume and profit.” – Samuel Untermeyer, The Public Years, p.347.

    “Britain was taking advantage of the situation to go to war against Germany because the Reich had become too strong and had upset the European balance.” – Ralph F. Keeling, Institute of American Economics

    MYTH 1. THE GERMAN NATION IS AN AGGRESSIVE NATION
    The facts prove otherwise. A Study of War by Prof. Quincy Wright, shows that in the period from 1480 to 1940 there were 278 wars involving European countries whose percentage participation was as follows:

    ENGLAND28%, FRANCE26%, SPAIN23%, RUSSIA22%, AUSTRIA19%, TURKEY15%, POLAND11%, SWEDEN9%, ITALY9%, NETHERLANDS8%, GERMANY (INCLUDING PRUSSIA)8%
    DENMARK7%

    Likewise, Pitirim Sorokin, Vol.111, Part.11, Social and Cultural Dynamics, shows that from the 12th Century to 1925 the percentage of years in which leading European powers have been at war is as follows. (p.352).

    COUNTRY PERCENTAGE OF YEARS AT WAR
    SPAIN67%, POLAND58%, ENGLAND56%, FRANCE50%, RUSSIA46%, HOLLAND44%, ITALY36%, GERMANY28%

    Sorokin concludes therefore, “that Germany has had the smallest and Spain the largest percent of years at war.” Of leading modern European states, England, France and Russia show clearly twice the aggressive tendencies of Germany.

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    Mute Alphonse delatouche
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    Apr 12th 2015, 10:47 AM

    I do hope no Polish people are getting any ideas…The Germans would have to melt down the world cup
    ..

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    Mute Tap Solny
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    Apr 12th 2015, 11:55 AM

    Wombats always remember SF/IRA supported these animals.

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    Mute Dermot Mc Loughlin
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:27 PM

    Still trying to airbrush fine gaels roots out of history Lyons?

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    Mute Ivon Itchie Saq
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:46 PM

    Sean russell wasn’t he the chief of staff in the IRA who died on a U Boat
    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se%C3%A1n_Russell

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    Mute ÉireWarning
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:14 PM

    you’ve been listening to too much allied victory propaganda, the same allied victors and their Chosen One puppet masters who have put the world in debt slavery and slaughtered millions around the world, the very reason the Germans fought them.

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    Mute Simon
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    Apr 12th 2015, 11:07 AM

    Alot of bitter people in this country ought to listen to Carl Sagan’s pale blue dot.

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    Mute O'Flaherty Karl
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    Apr 12th 2015, 1:20 PM

    A lot of people need to listen to 50 cents “in da club”. A triumph, a masterpiece!

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    Mute Jim Jetson
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    Apr 12th 2015, 4:20 PM

    Ridiculous. This is what we call selective emotional manipulation. Why pick on one act in the war, when millions of other atrocities were commited on both sides?

    Germany has settled ww2 payments. The Soviets took from East Germany literally one third of its entire industrial stock. Shipped it east on the railways. The value of that in todays money must be in the hundreds of billions. Similarly, the western allies took ALL patents from Germany after the war, an act of outrageous theft. This would also be worth many hundreds of billions of dollars, if not trillions. Germany has already paid its dues.

    And why only look for ww2 reparations? Isnt Vietnam owed billions by the US? Korea? Crimean War? Boer War? ww1? Why only Greece in ww2?

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    Mute Paul Freeman
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    Apr 12th 2015, 1:10 PM

    Pure gick,let’s stop blaming the past for today’s mess.

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    Mute RoseDeBu
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:24 PM

    “Although I like German people and have enjoyed close links with many Germans, who I have invariable found polite, warm and decent individuals, there is something in German culture which seems directed towards dominance and even imperialism in Europe. Germany has replaced military dominance with a notion of economic dominance.”

    Sorry, but that is absolute nonsense. I’m not disputing that there may have been something in German culture in the past (although let’s not forget that a lot of other countries have exhibited these qualities over the course of history as well in Europe), but if you know anything about Germany and Germans, you will be well aware that even the mentioning of any form of dominance over other countries has been completely unacceptable for the past few decades. Also, the fact that Germany is generally dominant in Europe is not exactly surprising, given that has Europe’s second-largest population.

    Your analysis, I’m afraid, is a wee bit too simplistic. There is no doubt that Germany is currently benefiting from the economic conditions in the EU in terms of trade surpluses etc., and clearly shows no desire to change their economic policies. However, this hardly constitutes an economic “Blitzkrieg”. The current malaise was caused primarily by the near-collapse of the global financial system, as a result of continuous financial liberalisation over the past few decades. The fact that the Euroarea as a common currency area is plagued with fundamental constructional problems has been pointed out for years, long before the crisis. Let’s be honest here, neither Greece nor Ireland complained about the benefits when money started pouring into their countries. In the case of Greece in particular, the problem is that the money was never properly used to build the foundation for sustainable growth, but rather was spent on private and public consumption.

    Should Germany do everything possible to help other European countries at the moment? Ideally, absolutely. Is this how politics works? Absolutely not. It is an absolute disgrace what is happening in Greece, and austerity is a terrible thing, as we all have experienced ourselves. But can we solely blame Germany or an economic “Blitzkrieg” for it? Sorry, but that’s just populist and simplistic. And so is this call for payments made by Greece. What happened in WWII is absolutely terrible and must never be repeated. I do not know of any other country that is so aware of this than Germany, and, again, if you really anything about Germans than you’d know that.

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    Mute RoseDeBu
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    Apr 12th 2015, 12:24 PM

    Double-post ;-(

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    Mute O'Flaherty Karl
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    Apr 12th 2015, 1:23 PM

    Bucks fizz said it best.”when you gotta speed it up , then you gotta slow it down ” . You are downtrodden and suffer at the hand of your wife , get a friend and cease posting epics on a forum of this nonsensical nature.

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    Mute RoseDeBu
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    Apr 12th 2015, 1:59 PM

    Goodness, is it not possible to comment without attracting some eejit hurling insults one’s direction these days? Feel free to disagree with my opinion, Karl, but then have the decency to add something to the discussion, will ye.

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Apr 13th 2015, 8:33 AM

    The trouble with Ireland is that. So many people keep looking to the past and not the future.Without the UK where would generations of Irish have got a job and make a life for themselves there.
    Yes its important that we dont forget history, and thats what it is…history, be proud of it but look to the future and stop playing the victim.This from a relative of a man who fought beside Collins!

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