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Mattis on Russia
You may be interested in our Secretary of Defense-nominee’s views:
This, interestingly, was president-elect Trump in 2014:
“Mitt was right … Russia’s our biggest problem.” More of a problem than al Qaeda? Yes. “Look at what Russia is doing with Iran.” … “He’s rebuilding the Russian Empire.”
No real lack of clarity there.
But if he’s such a tough negotiator, why has he conceded everything to Putin in advance? We’re waking up to this:
President-elect Donald Trump viewed Russia as the United States’ No. 1 threat in 2014. He now appears to have embraced policies that align “exactly” with President Vladimir Putin’s priorities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a speech Tuesday.
I know some here have confidence that there’s a strategic genius at work here. I sure hope you’re right.
Published in General
Perhaps someone could explain the precise mechanism by which Trump saying mean things about Putin on his twitter feed leads to Russia abandoning their successful efforts to influence European affairs.As opposed to, say, pledging to strengthen the armed forces of the US and seeking to force Western Europe to do likewise.
It seems a powerful negotiation tactic might just consist of charming someone when it’s harmless, but having a big stick at the right moments. Why is this so beyond the comprehension of so many?
Hey! That first strategy sounds familiar. Who was it that did it? Obama? #BringBackOurGirls. Why is it that what goes up on Twitter carries so much weight?
I expect that from high-schoolers and college students. They are silly and spend their lives on computers distracting themselves from homework.
But I fully expect full-grown adults to understand that policy does not and should not happen on Twitter. Please, for the love of all that is respectful in this world, STOP putting so much stock into Twitter feeds. I am so glad that is a medium I never got into.
I’m worried by Trump’s friendliness towards Putin, but I’m more worried by this: “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed….stated, the practical way to defeat America was through immigration.”
From my extended family and friends in Poland I can say that Merkel is just as despised as Putin, if not moreso. Eastern Europe just doesn’t want to be invaded.
Claire, you’re asking us to play a game we’ve learned not to play. We were more pro-Viet Nam than the Vietnamese, we were more pro-Iraq than the Iraqis and now you want us to be more pro-Europe than the Europeans. How do you recommend we save the Europeans from themselves?
Being a history buff (especially ancient and European), it is so depressing that I care more about their history and heritage than they apparently do.
The most striking thing about the Mattis video was his remark that he lives in the San Francisco area. I’m amazed they haven’t had him evicted.
Claire, I’ve been told walking around the Southside of Chicago is very pleasant and you would never recognize from the friendliness of the people there that it has such a negative reputation either. Go in wearing a police uniform [or, I assume, the wrong gang colors] and your perception is changed.
Edit: Sorry, posted in response to another conversation.
They have already made headway on that in Europe. Islamic immigration is the biggest threat to our heritage and way of life. And i’m not talking terrorists. I’m talking moderate Muslims.
That caught my ear too…LOL. My first thought was, what the heck is he doing living in San Fran?
Palo Alto more precisely, I believe. He is with the Hoover Institute…not to be confused with the carpet cleaners.
If I may…
@Claire is probably the most anti-Trump person on Ricochet; close enough, at least. Top among her reasons has been the president-elect’s statements on Russia and Putin, issues Claire believes to be (literally) of vital interest to the United States.
Now, here she is, unprompted, writing that the man he’s chosen to oversee our national defense is talking sense about Russia and that Trump actually said some similar things three years ago. If you think Claire* misjudged Trump, I would suggest that this represents an opportunity to begin to persuade her that she might have been wrong and you might have been right.
* Or me, or Jon, or NR, or whomever.
As I recall, he and Peter worked down the hall from each other as recently as a few months ago.