MOVING FORWARD IN SYRIA? – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  A new cease-fire went into effect in Syria.  If it holds, it could be a major step toward peace.  From Fox: 

An open-ended cease-fire in southern Syria brokered by the United States, Russia, and Jordan went into effect Sunday.

The agreement, announced Thursday after a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, went into effect at noon, and is the first initiative by the Trump administration in collaboration with Russia to bring some stability to Syria.

Trump tweeted Sunday, "We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives. Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!"

The initiative followed weeks of talks in the Jordanian capital, Amman, to address the buildup of Iranian-backed forces, in support of the Syrian government, near the Jordanian and Israeli borders.

COMMENT:  We hope the cease-fire works.  Obama's policy in Syria was an abysmal failure, but Trump may succeed.

We also hope that Trump's Russia policy is wise.  But please note that he's playing good cop, bad cop with Moscow.  He smiles at Putin, yet bashes Russia in speeches, and has our wonderful UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, go to town on Russia at the UN.

Trump is a serious man – a man with defects, but a serious man – and I'm finding him fascinating as a president.

July 9,  2017