World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

 The world is returning to feudal times even as it seemingly transforms itself in terms of technology.  The trend will be very difficult to reverse:  the power of labor has been seriously compromised and it can only be restored through political change:  market capitalism will always reward capital, not labor.

There are reports of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government against rebel-held areas near the city of Douma.  The reports are as of yet unconfirmed, but the videos released are horrific.  Both Russia and Syria have denied any responsibility, but the reports assert that the chemicals were released in barrel bombs dropped by aircraft and the rebels opposing Syrian Assad do not have access to airplanes.  US President Trump released a series of Tweets about the incident (I cannot believe that I actually typed that phrase) but it is difficult to determine what Mr. Trump intends to do.  On 7 September 2013 Mr. Trump , then a private citizen, urged President Obama not to bomb Syria.  The chemical attack also comes a year to the day after President Trump launched a missile attack (which consisted of 59 cruise missiles) against Syria for using chemical weapons in 2017, a strike that clearly did not communicate the message Mr. Trump wished to send.  If Mr. Trump wishes to communicate a stronger message, it is hard to imagine one that would not provoke Syrian allies–Russia and Iran–to respond to protect their ally.