Re: OT: Cracking Speech by JDV!

On Sun, 16 Feb 2025 08:41:15 -0800, john larkin <JL@gct.com> wrote:

On Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:32 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
(Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
>

Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>

On 17/02/2025 12:50 am, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
 

On 16/02/2025 11:48 pm, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>

On 16/02/2025 6:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Sat, 15 Feb 2025 10:53:37 -0700, Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
>

On 2/15/2025 3:07 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

>
<snip>
>

So, if he was afraid of having a NATO Ukraine on his border, he
hasn't yet realized what a threat a re-ARMED Europe would pose in
that same geographical position.  Trump's trash talking may result
in a EUTO (without the US) that feels empowered to push back on
future issues without "consent" from the US.

>
Getting Europe's military up to the job would take at least a decade.
But there's no money available. Germany - once the economic powerhouse
of the continent - is on its knees and France likewise. And even if it
could be afforded - which it can't - we now know Putin can call upon
China and N. Korea, so if push ever came to shove, continental Europe
would be toast.

>
The US Abrahams tank relies on a German gun and UK (Chobham) armour.

>
But the Americans won't have to fight if Trump has his way.  He thinks
he can just keep Putin happy by feeding him European countries,
one-by-one.

>
NATO exists so that he can't do that. An attack on one NATO member is an
attack on all of them. Ukraine is a not a member of NATO (and Putin
doesn't want it to join).

 
A flourish of the pen is all it needs to destroy that.  Trunp has pulled
out of other alliances when it suits him, why not this one?

 
Trump pulling America out of NATO won't destroy the agreements between
all the other countries involved.

>
I know, but he thinks he rules most of the World and NATO will fall
apart without him.  Then, once the unity is broken, he can manipulate
the individual countries in any way that suits him.

>
He is acting in the interest of the people who elected him. That is a
radical concept nowadays.

War has a heavy price in blood and treasure and Trump - quite rightly
- wishes to avoid such expendiiture if it can possibly be avoided. A
novel standpoint for a US president, I grant you, but a welcome one
AFAIC at least.