Tomahawk Missiles As P.R.

He launched the missiles the next day, 4/6/17.

After a few days reflection, it's clear to me and others that Dolt 45's Syrian missile launch was just a Trumpian method of changing the subject:  "I'm sick of being criticized about Russia and health care and Jarrod & Ivanka and my cluelessness and my stupid tweets.  So watch this!"

To a degree, it has worked.  Trump captured the news cycle and his missile gambit received good reviews in some quarters.  "Presidential!" some said.  Oh, bullshit!  Stop praising him for his reckless action.  (Praise is like crack to a narcissisct like him.)  There was and is no strategy, no long term plan.  He just opened his toybox and reactively scratched an itch with 59 Tomahawks.  Did it change anything in Syria?  No.  The Syrian airbase resumed operations promptly.  (John Oliver said you'll experience longer delays on any Delta Airlines flight!)

Perhaps now Trump has a new appreciation of Obama's relutance to entangle the U.S. in the Syrian morass.  Perhaps he'll reflect on the wise words of Dan Rather:

"War must never be considered a public relations operation.  It's not a way for an administration to gain a narrative, it is a step into a dangerous unknown and its full impact is impossible to predict."