Poetry is truth dwelling in beauty.
Our priority in Syria, really hasn't changed. I think the President Donald Trump has been quite clear. First and foremost, we must defeat ISIS.
I think the Russians have played now for some time the role of providing cover for Bashar al-Assad's behavior. The alternative explanation that the Russians put forth is simply not plausible.
We're hopeful that Russia will choose to play a constructive role in supporting ceasefires through their own Astana talks, but also, ultimately, through Geneva. And if we can achieve ceasefires in zones of stabilization in Syria, then I believe we will have the conditions to begin a useful political process.
I think what we're hopeful is through this Syrian process, working with coalition members, working with the U. N. , and in particular working through the Geneva process, that we can navigate a political outcome in which the Syrian people, in fact, will determine Bashar al-Assad's fate and his legitimacy.
Obviously, the United States' own founding principles are self-determination. And I think what the United States and our allies want to do is to enable the Syrian people to make that determination. You know, we've seen what violent regime change looks like in Libya and - and the kind of chaos that can be unleashed.
The military progress both in Syria and in Iraq has been remarkable since President Donald Trump's inauguration. We have continued to liberate areas. We are making tremendous progress in liberating Mosul in Iraq, working with coalition forces, we're moving to position to liberate Raqqa.
In Japan, it's strange to openly take credit for giving to charity or even to donate publicly.
Rich people don't have to have a life-and-death relationship with the truth and its questions; they can ignore the truth and still thrive materially. I am not surprised many of them understand literature only as an ornament. Life is an ornament to them, relationships are ornaments, their “work” is but a flimsy, pretty ornament meant to momentarily thrill and capture attention. Why didn't I reread my F. Scott Fitzgerald sooner? I might have saved myself some time.
The thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.
Someone needs to encourage us not to brush aside what we feel. Not to be ashamed of the love and grief that it arouses in us. Not to be afraid of pain. Someone needs to encourage us: that this soft spot in us could be awakened, and that to do this would change our lives.