After an alleged "nerve gas" attack which killed several people in Syria, the CFR connected media immediately pointed the finger at president Assad followed by cries to "do something" about the atrocity. The Israelis called for airstrikes against the Assad government forces. The obsequious Hillary Clinton, interviewed by CFR member Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times as if her opinion really mattered, echoed the Israeli demand.

President Trump quickly obliged after consulting his security advisors, led by CFR member Gen. Herbert McMaster and CSIS trustee Rex Tillerson. Dozens of million-dollar cruise missiles (purchased from CFR corporate sponsor Raytheon) were fired from U.S. ships targeting the Shayrat airbase near the city of Homs, damaging the base facilities and killing several people in a nearby residential area. CFR member Brian Williams of NBC provided color commentary during the action, gushing over the "beautiful" missile launch. Former CFR director Fareed Zakaria of CNN called the action "presidential".

Trump was rewarded by the establishment media with several days of favorable publicity, after his theatrical statement lamenting the death of "beautiful babies" in an attempt to justify the U.S. assault -- which caused even more deaths. This is the sort of nauseating, hypocritcal performance one would expect from a CFR sponsored "liberal" harpy like Hillary Clinton or Madeline Albright. Trump was supposed to be different.

The hasty counter-strike, planned well in advance, was launched without a U.N. investigation of the incident, without any proof that the Assad regime was actually responsible, and without authorization from the U.S. Congress. Back in August 2013, the Assad regime was falsely accused of a similar attack which was later shown to have been perpetrated by the rebel forces in an attempt to justify overt U.S. involvement in the conflict. Trump and his "advisors" are surely aware of that precedent. Back then, he said:

"We should stay the hell out of Syria. The 'rebels' are just as bad as the current regime. What will we get for our lives and $ billions? Zero!"

-- Donald Trump tweet, 2013-06-15

Photos at the scene appeared to show gassing victims being handled by people who were not wearing proper protective equipment. If a "nerve agent" had actually been used as reported by the media, those responders would likely have died from contact with the victims. Who would take such a risk? If the airbase actually held a stockpile of such deadly chemical weapons, who would be foolish enough to detonate them with a missile strike?

The selected target of the counter-strike was the same airbase where Syrian forces had successfully repelled a squadron of Israeli jets on an illegal bombing mission inside Syrian territory a couple of weeks ago. The alleged "nerve gas" attack provided a convenient pretext for a retaliatory strike against the base and its air defense systems.

Trump said he would "make America great again". He would "put America first" in policy decisions. He would withdraw from counter-productive foreign conflicts, including the war in Syria. He would cooperate with the Russians. Instead, it appears that he is continuing the same pro-war, pro-Zionist imperial policies of previous administrations. Who benefits from this?

UPDATE: See this commentary from David Stockman, who called the fiasco "surely the most impetuous, thoughtless, reckless and stupid act from the Oval Office that we can remember." The CFR script writers are devious, but not stupid. Every scene in the play, including the election of Donald Trump, is a setup for the next act. So what if a few "extras" are killed in the process?

UPDATE: The CFR journal Foreign Affairs is complaining that the populists are now threatening the "liberal" world order they have dominated for the past century. There is nothing "liberal" about corporate socialism, imperial wars and debt slavery, comrades! The hypocrisy of the CFR oligarchs and their minions -- led by the likes of David Rockefeller, George Soros and David Rubenstein -- is exceeded only by their arrogance.

UPDATE: In late June, investigator Seymour Hersh published a detailed report on the event which refutes the official story. The "advisors" apparently knew the facts, but allowed (encouraged) Trump to proceed with an unjustified and ineffective military strike against Syria as a prelude to further escalation:

"Trump issued the order despite having been warned by the U.S. intelligence community that it had found no evidence that the Syrians had used a chemical weapon... There had been no chemical warhead. And yet it was impossible for the experts to persuade the president of this once he had made up his mind."

-- Seymour Hersh article

The Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also released a report claiming that "people were exposed to sarin, a chemical weapon" without conducting an on-site inspection. Since the OPCW is not authorized to "identify who is responsible for alleged attacks", the U.N. is now starting an investigation. Note that Israel, which supports the Syrian rebels, is one of only 4 nations which is not a member of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Also note that the U.N. organization itself is one of the key institutions created by the CFR following WW2.

UPDATE: In June, David Rubenstein, Jewish billionaire and founder of the Carlyle Group, became the new Chairman of the CFR, succeeding Robert Rubin. The Carlyle Group is a major "defense" contractor which profits from the wars and suffering in the Middle East, while advancing the strategic goals of the Jewish State and their Saudi allies. Several other Carlyle officers have also been CFR members, including George H.W. Bush, James Baker and Frank Carlucci. Former CFR director George Soros is a Carlyle investor.

"The Carlyle Group is essentially a hedge fund for war-making and high tech espionage. They are the people who brought you the Iraq war [2003] and all those intrusive niceties of 'Homeland Security'... Many of Carlyle’s executives and investors have spent decades in the Pentagon, the CIA or the State Department, before cashing in for more lucrative careers as war profiteers. They are now licking their chops at the prospect for an all-out war against Syria, no doubt hoping that the conflagration will soon spread to Lebanon, Jordan and, the big prize, Iran."

-- CounterPunch article (Sep 2013)