"These are dark, even dangerous days in Scotland. The stramash between the country's two most famous politicians, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, has resulted in vital public documents being censored or banned, important information being suppressed, the media cajoled and cowed, the legal system brought into disrepute, the Scottish Parliament neutered and even bloggers being threatened with jail. [...]

"What is happening in Scotland is a clear and present danger to democratic accountability, the impartial rule of law and a free Press - an integral part of these islands. [...]

"Westminster stands by powerless as rights meant to be UK-wide - independent law officers, a parliament prepared to hold government to account, a press strong enough to speak truth to power - are trammelled by the power of a near one-party state. [...]

"Scotland's destiny was surely never to resemble a banana republic - without the bananas."

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The Pentagon said that the attack was launched at 6 pm eastern time on Biden's order, and resulted in the destruction of "multiple facilities" believed to be run by Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria. The Pentagon spun the assault as a "defensive precision strike," saying it was in retaliation to rocket attacks on the US and coalition troops in Iraq.

However, it appears not everybody bought that narrative. People online were quick to remind Biden and his staffers of previous statements denouncing such incursions as dangerous escalations that encroach on Syrian sovereignty.

Online sleuths dug up a tweet by Biden's current spokesperson Jen Psaki, denouncing the Trump administration's missile strike on Syria in April 2017 as illegal.

"Also what is the legal authority for strikes? Assad is a brutal dictator. But Syria is a sovereign country," Psaki tweeted at the time.

In January last year, Biden also chided Trump's decision to assassinate Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, calling it "a hugely escalatory move in an already dangerous region."

Some observers pointed out the irony in the Pentagon's claim that the bombing raid somehow aimed to "de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq."

For some, the airstrike poured cold water on expectations that the Biden administration was poised to rejoin the landmark nuclear accord in the near future, though prominent 'Never Trumper' Jennifer Rubin suggested that the attack is compatible with the Biden's administration declared interest in the JCPOA.

The BBC's Suzanne Kianpour also praised the bombing raid, arguing it is part of the Biden administration's negotiating tactics.

The move also drew accolades from Mark Dubowitz, the head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), described as a hawkish neo-conservative think tank set up after 9/11 to push the War on Terror.

"Credit to the Biden administration for responding. Turning a blind eye to regional aggression and offering economic relief will only encourage more destructive behavior by the regime in Iran and their proxies," he wrote.

While Washington claimed that the strikes were in retaliation to recent attacks on American and coalition personnel in Iraq, it did not specify which one. Tehran denied any involvement in the recent rocket attack near a US military base in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan that killed one non-American civilian contractor and left nine others injured, including one US service member, on February 15.

The attack was claimed by a Shia group calling itself Saraya Awliya al-Dam at the time.

While it's unclear what prompted McConnell's apparent change in attitude toward Trump after weeks of infighting, a poll conducted by Suffolk University and USA Today last weekend found that 46 percent of rank-and-file Republicans would abandon their party if Trump were to form his own. Just 27 percent vowed to remain loyal to the GOP, indicating a major split within the org and potentially explaining the senator's sudden about-face.

The Senate minority leader's comments followed a bitter dispute with Trump in recent weeks, in which McConnell accused the former president of a "disgraceful dereliction of duty" over his actions leading up to the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, for which he was impeached by the Democrat-majority House. While McConnell ultimately voted to acquit, he nonetheless blasted Trump for "false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole" while insisting he was "practically and morally responsible" for provoking the unrest.

Trump shot back at those charges in a blistering letter last week, calling McConnell "a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack," also saying "the Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political 'leaders' like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm."

"McConnell's dedication to business as usual, status quo policies, together with his lack of political insight, wisdom, skill, and personality, has rapidly driven him from Majority Leader to Minority Leader, and it will only get worse."

In his first pair of interviews after leaving office last month, Trump said he would not rule out a 2024 presidential bid, adding that the poll numbers in his favor were "through the roof" and showed "tremendous support." However, he noted it was still too early to discuss the next race, declining to commit to another run just yet.

McConnell sought to dismiss divisions among Republicans during Thursday's interview. Asked by Baier whether there is a civil war within the GOP, the senator insisted the party is "actually in very good shape."

"The Republican Party had a very good day on November 3," he went on. "We're sorry we lost the White House, but the Republican Party demonstrated once again [that] this is a 50/50 nation, we are very competitive and will be competitive again in '22" for the next congressional race.

Instead, McConnell argued the 'civil war' label is more appropriate for Democrats, pointing to progressives in the House making it "extremely difficult" for party leadership to operate given their narrow margin in Congress.

Nonetheless, the senator closed out the interview with a call for unity among Republicans, urging them to set aside their differences for now and keep the focus on 2022.

"What I would say to everybody who's inclined to support our right-of-center Republican Party, let's focus on winning the House and the Senate in '22," McConnell said. "That will set up the next nominee for president, whoever that may be, with the best chance to be victorious."

© Ground News

© Ground News

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