Here it is, then:

You heard him – Donald Trump has dragged France and the United Kingdom into pointless air strikes against targets in Syria that are believed to manufacture chemical weapons.

There was no vote in the US Congress, just as there has been no vote in the UK’s Parliament. These strikes have no democratic legitimacy at all.

And the British public don’t want them:

Public opinion on the social media is – well, see for yourself:

https://twitter.com/Angry_Voice/status/984435857749938176

https://twitter.com/TheMendozaWoman/status/984726487621361664

Jeremy Corbyn has been the voice of reason in this – as with so many other issues lately. He demanded that Parliament should have a chance to debate any proposed military action – especially as it risks a huge escalation of conflict in the Middle East:

https://twitter.com/gaurangmorjaria/status/984392719832420353

But Theresa May was determined – absolutely adamant – that this was a chance to show her utter weakness.

I know she thinks it will be a display of strength, but Mr Corbyn had it right when he said she was sitting by the phone, “waiting for instructions” to do whatever Donald Trump told her.

Here’s her statement. She is trying to look like a statesperson – speaking slowly and seriously:

But she just looks like she’s patronising us – talking down, treating us all like children.

Mrs May’s Cabinet backed her plan to support action in Syria on Friday (April 13). And look at this:

So the plan has been to link Russia into the Syrian chemical attack, using the dubious connection of a chemical attack here in the UK, to which Russia has not been successfully linked?

That is miserably weak.

It comes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad invited UN chemical weapons inspectors – the now-ubiquitous Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – to investigate the attack that triggered the current hostilities, in Douma. They were due to arrive today (April 14).

Russia has warned that western military strikes would risk triggering a much larger war.

Is this what Trump, May and possibly even Macron want?

Interestingly, the French president spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin only yesterday. Both agreed to aid the OPCW inspectors in Syria wherever possible, and to ensure their foreign and defence ministers stayed in close contact, to prevent the situation from escalating.

France’s contribution to the air strikes must seem a betrayal. How will that affect the wider international situation?

UPDATE 3.10am: According to the US military, all planned airstrikes have been carried out and no further action is currently being contemplated.

The bad news is that the United States did not notify Russia of its attacks.

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