yall got bamboozled
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/stephen-moore-we-knew-we-werent-going-to-get-5percent-growth.html
No, we’ll have to agree to disagree on all of the above. The reason I moved on from the point of abandoning allies is because you obviously don’t consider the Kurds to be allies so that’s that. What am I going to do, enter into a pointless debate with you over what constitutes an ally and then, later, how we should tier our allies so we know who to defend and who not to? No, that’s a pointless exercise. I had that as my fourth question, “do you believe it’s okay to not only abandon allies in need, but actually make it easier for their mortal enemy to destroy them?” But I think your opinion there is clearly stated in previous comments.
But, if you want my opinion on the matter…Turkey can suck it. They’re strategically very important for US military operations, but otherwise, no, I don’t consider them to be a strong ally of the US. You know who would be though? Kurdistan. We have exactly one ally in the middle east that worth a damn (sorry, Jordan) and that’s Israel. Thinking long-term, we could have helped the Kurds finally get their own country and gotten a second ally in the region.
The other issue you’ve ignored is how this move is good for Russia and Iran. There’s no other way to see it. It makes them stronger, which last I checked, is not in America’s best interest. Which, last I checked, is pretty much the one thing the President must consider with every action he takes, not just militarily.
But hey, what do I know? Only both political parties, the Pentagon, every talking head not run by Steve Bannon (yes, even Fox News), and people with any common sense agree with me.
So, now that that’s out of the way, how do you feel about how this went down? Trump playing 4D chess or is he just an idiot? Something about Occam’s Razor…
Totally off topic - Trade talks happening tomorrow. . . Chances we get any good news out of them are… low??
Agree 100%
No trade deal. I think the odds of any significant deal before the election are extremely low.
Because basically what this all boils down to is you didn’t like the outcome, so now you’re angry at the process or lack thereof, that’s why all this really comes down to is your argument about what constitutes allies, etc. Kurdestan would not be a great ally to the US, because frankly the Kurds do nothing but fight, as I mentioned earlier, even when we essentially gave them a state in Iraq in the 90’s and they finally had everything they had b*tched about, they immediately began a civil war and fought with each other. The idea of the noble Kurdish sovereign entity is a fantasy, for the last 100 years when organized Kurds haven’t been fighting they’ve been resorting to terrorism. As I outlined earlier, that’s why we use them as mercenaries in the region and that’s all that relationship is. Talking about Kurdestan as a great ally also ignores the fact that the region they inhabit and fight over is impoverished, they offer nothing. Even if you did establish an artificially built country you’d just have created a new Israel over there and it would further destabilize everything.
It’s just an endless parade of delusions from people like Bannon and Lindsey Graham of all people who is a world class idiot. Graham doesn’t know a map dot from his left hand, but all he knows is he wants troops there. It’s funny the people who are considered “anyone with common sense” now.
I don’t even disagree with overriding the pentagon. They may or may not be mediocre or better at fighting given their endless resources, but they are abysmal at delineating a problem, dimensioning it and solving it. If they were a management team that answers on performance, they would have been fired decades ago. First it’s Afghanistan in 2001 (guess what, 2019, we’re still there and they’re asking for more troops), then they back a push into IRAQ of all places (still ~5000 there in 2019), they wanted to get into Libya and now in Syria they just manufacture one reason after another to keep us involved. If they had their way we’d be drafting people.
The simple reality is when you’re not at war, the military answers to foreign policy, not the converse. If the idiots that be were so worried about strengthening Russia they never would have burned an actual ally that put billions into the F35 over some short term stupidity (driving them in a HUGE win to Russia) and sent a clear negative message to the countries we rely on for long term development weapons systems partnerships.
Common sense or not, I’ll settle for just being someone with a reasonably educated grasp of the region and its history.
What if we just delay tariffs? Is that going to be enough to prop up markets through Q4? Goldman is forecasting a year close of 3,100 on the S&P.
I can’t speak for what markets will do, but my personal view is that I doubt they not will delay tariffs, I just get the sense that talks are breaking down and the Chinese are stepping away from major concessions until after the election to see if they get a leadership change. I think Trump for all the criticisms is sticking to his guns on trade and has shown no signs of wavering. His administration has wavered but he’s been pretty clearly at one position, so to me, I just see this whole thing cooling off until after elections.
Fair enough. Let me know when you get there and I’ll look forward to an informed debate.
Nice try Susan.
Instead of going to wars with our military. The us should just turn them to laborers. It’s what the great Caesar Augustus did to make their military more productive during the Pax Romana. The military actually built necessary infrastructure all over shitty Egypt after the stole the money from their rich and gave away ubi to every Roman citizen. This boosted both the economy and redistributed the wealth to the common man!
With that said, it’s really funny to see the 4d chess people try to spin on this turkey issue. If we pull out and Kurds die, it’s not an American problem as no American has died.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1S38lRHfH8]
“President Trump spoke at the White House today saying that the hardest thing he has to do is sign letters to the families of fallen soldiers. Trump went on to share stories of mourning with families of fallen soldiers and his visit with wounded warriors.”
I’ve listened to President Trump a lot, the rallies, the soundbites, and the stuff that doesn’t get picked up or discussed, like this. His supporters know that he’s one of the most compassionate leaders out there who only wants the best for his country.
what a moron
When I first read Trump’s comment about that I wrote it off as him just being his usual moronic self. But then I read the full quote and I think I understand what Trump was trying to say. I believe he was saying at a certain point you have to do it yourself and not rely solely on your friends to keep fighting your battles. Of course, we had help from our allies on D Day (though we definitely did the heavy lifting) so the analogy isn’t perfect. But, if I interpreted Trump’s stream of consciousness correctly - and I admit that’s a huge “if” - then it’s not quite as stupid as it appears. He’s fundamentally incorrect, but that’s another matter.
Two Giuliani Associates Who Helped Him on Ukraine Charged With Campaign-Finance Violations
Indictment here…
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6466334/U-S-v-Lev-Parnas-Et-Al-Indictment.pdf
#2 and #3 from the left in this picture are two of the guys who just got indicted.
More fun notes on the indictment noted above…
* Parnas and Fruman were spotted having lunch with Giuliani at the Trump hotel in DC yesterday
* They were arrested at Dulles last night before getting on an international flight for which they had one-way tickets
* The attorney that joined them at their arraignment today also represented Paul Manafort
* They were supposed to testify to the House tomorrow
Barr Meets With Murdoch as Trump Steps Up His Criticism of Fox News
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/us/politics/fox-news-poll-trump-impeachment.html
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuHZ3xZf7To]
The truth straight from the President of the United States.
At least four national security officials raised alarms about Ukraine policy before and after Trump call with Ukrainian president
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Overvalued! Worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever!