memeorandum: What the Syria Strikes Mean (The American Interest)

2:45 PM ET, April 8, 2017

Top Items:

CNN:

Syria strikes: Site of chemical attack hit again — (CNN)New airstrikes have targeted a town in northwest Syria that was hit by a deadly chemical attack earlier this week, activists said. — It wasn't immediately clear who conducted the strikes on Khan Sheikhoun, which hit on Friday and Saturday …

Discussion: Fox News, New York Magazine, IJR, BuzzFeed, TheBlaze, The Week, Vocativ, RedState, Raw Story, Mashable, Washington Post, The Hill and Defense One

Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:

Tulsi Gabbard ‘skeptical’ Assad regime behind gas attack … (D-Hawaii) said Friday she was “skeptical” that Syrian leader Bashar Assad's regime was behind this week's chemical weapons attack in northern Syria. — “There are a number of theories that are out there,” Gabbard said during …

Discussion: CNN, Political Wire, Hot Air, Business Insider and Lawfire

Washington Post:

Warplanes return to Syrian town devastated by chemical attack — BEIRUT — Residents of the Syrian town devastated by a chemical-weapons attack last week said that warplanes had returned to bomb them Saturday as Turkey described a retaliatory U.S. assault as “cosmetic” unless it removed President Bashar al-Assad from power.

Discussion: Progress Pond, ThinkProgress, ABC News and IJR

Mark Hemingway / Weekly Standard:

Obama Administration Knew Syria Still Had Chemical Weapons, Despite Saying Otherwise — DNI James Clapper said as much last February. — Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is announced as national security adviser, Feb. 20, 2017. — National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster delivered remarks …

Discussion: RedState, The American Interest, Power Line, The Last Tradition, The Daily Caller and IJR

The American Interest:
What the Syria Strikes Mean

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Post, National Review and Gothamist

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Trump's foreign policy is dangerously impulsive

Discussion: The Atlantic, Shareblue, Telegraph, Politico, IJR, The Diplomat, The Guardian and Washington Post

New York Times:
Which Countries Support and Which Oppose the U.S. Missile Strikes in Syria

Discussion: Just Security, Towleroad, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, NPR, Business Insider and Al Jazeera English

Morgan Winsor / ABC News:
Nikki Haley warns the US is ‘prepared to do more’ in Syria

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Washington Free Beacon, The Last Tradition, CNN, Balloon Juice, Politico and Red Alert Politics

Joan Walsh / The Nation:
TOO MANY OF TRUMP'S LIBERAL CRITICS ARE PRAISING HIS STRIKE ON SYRIA

Discussion: Business Insider, Infowars, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Althouse, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and RT

New York Times:

Trump Fires Warning Shot in Battle Between Bannon and Kushner — WASHINGTON — As he grappled on Thursday with his first major decision involving military action, a fed-up and frustrated President Trump turned to his two top aides and told them he had had enough of their incessant knife-fights in the media.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Business Insider

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Bannon's Views Can Be Traced to a Book That Warns, ‘Winter Is Coming’ — WASHINGTON — Stephen K. Bannon has read the book three times. He still keeps a copy of it — one that's creased and copiously underlined — in a library with the rest of his favorites at his father's house in Richmond, Va.

Axios:

Bannon's allies are scrambling to save him — Steve Bannon's allies both inside and outside the White House are worried Trump is going to fire him. They're scrambling this afternoon to figure out a way to persuade the president he'd be making a grave mistake.

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Bannon and Kushner hold sit-down in attempt to bury the hatchet — Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner, two warring senior White House aides, had a bury-the-hatchet meeting ordered by President Donald Trump, after arriving at Mar-a-Lago this week. — The sit-down, which was confirmed …

Discussion: RedState, CNN, IJR, Fox News, The Root, Joe.My.God., The Week, Balloon Juice and Axios

David Ferguson / Raw Story: DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Even as the White …

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
White House frustrated by palace intrigue

Discussion: CNN, RedState and Raw Story

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

The media loved Trump's show of military might. Are we really doing this again? — The cruise missiles struck, and many in the mainstream media fawned. — “I think Donald Trump became president of the United States last night,” declared Fareed Zakaria on CNN, after firing of 59 missiles …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and New York Magazine

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Inside the failed secret mission to save the filibuster — A week before Republicans gutted the filibuster to put Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, nine senators gathered in John McCain's office to see whether they could save the Senate from spiraling further into disrepair.

Discussion: Hot Air

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Mitch McConnell, the man who broke America

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Atlantic

NBC News:

Trump's Options for North Korea Include Placing Nukes in South Korea — The National Security Council has presented President Trump with options to respond to North Korea's nuclear program — including putting American nukes in South Korea or killing dictator Kim Jong-un …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Hot Air, RedState and The Last Tradition

Alyssa Madruga / Fox News:
Expert: Watch to see if Kim Jong-Un goes into hiding after Syria strike

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review and The Daily Caller

Reuters:
Chinese state media cheer Xi-Trump meeting, say confrontation not inevitable

Discussion: The Week

CNN:
Trump, Xi have ‘candid,’ ‘positive’ talks in Florida

Discussion: The Daily Caller

John Sharp / al.com:

Rebekah Mason suggested closure of DMV offices in majority black counties, report shows — Governor Robert Bentley's former top advisor and secret paramour Rebekah Mason led a politically-motivated effort in 2015 to close 31 driver's license offices in mostly black counties, a move that embarrassed the state and was later reversed.

Discussion: Politicus USA, Political Wire, WTVM-TV, NPR and WHNT-TV

NBC4 Washington:

Man Accidentally Shoots Himself at NRA Headquarters: Police — The employee suffered a minor wound to his lower body and was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to Fairfax county police — A National Rifle Association employee accidentally shot himself while doing firearms training …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Hill and Talking Points Memo

Reed Abelson / New York Times:

No ‘Death Spiral’: Insurers May Soon Profit From Obamacare Plans, Analysis Finds — In contrast to the dire pronouncements from President Trump and other Republicans, the demise of the individual insurance market seems greatly exaggerated, according to a new financial analysis released Friday.

Bettina Elias Siegel / New York Times:

New Mexico Outlaws School ‘Lunch Shaming’ — What is “lunch shaming?” It happens when a child can't pay a school lunch bill. — In Alabama, a child short on funds was stamped on the arm with “I Need Lunch Money.” In some schools, children are forced to clean cafeteria tables in front of their peers to pay the debt.