Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Trump Went Easy on Putin? Get a Load of Churchill on Stalin
Winston Churchill to the House of Commons in 1945, shortly after returning from the Yalta Conference:
Published in GeneralThe impression I brought back from the Crimea is that Marshal Stalin and the Soviet leaders wish to live in honourable friendship and equality with the Western democracies. I feel also that their word is their bond. I know of no Government which stands to its obligations…more solidly than the Russian Soviet Government. I decline absolutely to embark here on a discussion about Russian good faith.
“Cordial” doesn’t really sum it up. He blamed us (moral equivalency) for problems in the relationship and questioned the capabilities of intelligence services whose help he needs. I agree the over-the-top condemnations are tiresome, but his remarks weren’t smart.
Isn’t this a matter of confusing Hillary’s server with the DNC’s IT operation? Haven’t I read that the so-called “bathroom server” was never turned over to the FBI?
Ukraine is a divided country in which the Putin regime has sewn discord, interfered in and invaded. Yanukovych is not a good example in your context. His previous elections were rigged, the ‘Party of the Regions’ a monstrous organisation. His government aligned itself with Russian security interests, its own oligarchy simply reallocated ownership and control over industrial assets from the previous (other side) oligarchy, employed its tax police to hunt down adversaries and punish the opposition, and institutionalised a system of money laundering and skimming across the board from business transactions to an extent which won him a galleon. In his park.
Yep. Higher urban densities coupled with advanced technology allowing for both regular warfare and cruelty to take a significantly worse effect.
It’s a little of that, it’s a little of not understanding how modern IT infrastructure works, its a little self serving conspiracy mongering.
Are you saying this was manufactured outrage? Again?
WWI was clearly a continuation of 19th century European politics, and so arguably was WWII though I think by that point the ideological turmoil was creating a new dynamic in geopolitics, dividing the world up in to totalitarian and liberal camps destined to square off against each other.
I am sure Czechoslovakia, 1938, would have warmed to your attitude as well. Sure let aggressive powers that are currently weak grow stronger through unopposed conquest. That never leads to more trouble. Let the little countries sort things out for the themselves. There is certainly never a price to paid for letting a bad actor get away with abusing weaker countries on their border.
Georgia has never asked us to fight wars for them. They have fought for us in our wars. They think an alliance with America will bring peace not war. An not an ally nor one worth having good lord.
Why do you want us to join Russia in breaking our commitments and not backing our word? Why do you want Russia to grow stronger and more confident to what benefit does having a more aggressive Russia on Europe’s doorstep help us? It is better to stop the possibility of a big war instead of ignoring the signs of one growing until it is too late.
This post is good and barely scratches the surface of what was wrong with the Ukrainian puppet government overthrown by the people.
Part of Trump’s appeal is that he doesn’t speak “politics.” B.Clinton or Obama might have obfuscated their way out of addressing any of it. That’s not in Trump’s skillset.
Our intelligence agencies are hostile towards the President, and he responds in-kind. I see this as more of a problem with the leadership of the agencies than with the president (who is hamstrung when it comes to reforming them). With them and the media trying to create or exacerbate conflicts with Russia, I think Trump did a typically clumsy but adequate-for-him job of navigating between three hostile entities. Ironically, Putin is currently outwardly the friendliest of the three. It’s a situation in which any answer from Trump would’ve been seized upon by critics. The smartest thing would’ve been not to take questions, but we’re not in “smartest thing” territory right now.
My perspective is that it’s simply dumb to throw our intelligence agencies under the bus in an ad hoc setting. We don’t even need to debate the degree to which they are, or are not, “hostile” to question the wisdom of Trump’s remarks in a world where the country and Trump need their cooperation going forward. These issues can and should be addressed in-house or on the Hill. Some of the publicized issues are just the tip of the intelligence iceberg, and there is absolutely no indication that newly-appointed Director Haspel–a lifer who likely knows all of the nooks and crannies at Langley–bears Trump any ill will. But now she has to deal with the fallout.
9/11 and lack of WMD’s in Iraq cost thousands of American lives and were clearly the fault of bad intelligence.
Philsophically that makes sense, but it also pretends that we live in a world in which our country’s internal squabbling is not all already well known around the world. A typical politician would pretend that we are unified when speaking abroad, and everyone would know they were full of it but accept it as a trope of politics. Trump has no interest in that kind of stuff (and is full of it in other ways), but I’m not sure there’s any real substance to the facade for it to matter much.
Maybe we should collate some thoughts on a series of more detailed accounts in regard to what happened lest we forget or allow a reinterpretation of what actually occurred.
#MRGA!
And after those nice things he said about you a few weeks ago. Maybe you eed to have a sit down and re-examine your life. ;-)
There’s a poll out saying Republicans overwhelmingly support Trump regarding the Helsinki press conference. This was posted on National Review, but it’s a CBS poll.
I have been thinking about such a post but have not had the time to fully research and put it together yet. But I think it is necessary.
Query whether 68-32 in his own party is all that impressive.
Also there’s the whole notion that Republicans see such polls as referendums on Trump as a whole and they generally side with him over the media asking the question.
Even I would be tempted to treat such poll questions as asking me if I supported the Democrats or Trump and tend to give a pro-Trump answer. If I new the poll was for internal Republican use only I would much more willing to give a full and honest opinion.
The Left is so over the top crazy in so many ways I find it hard to give them anything. I mainly want Trump to do better at beating them then he is. His strategy often seems to me to just ignore his mistakes and troll the left hoping the make an even bigger mistake. I hate hoping the bad guys make mistakes. I want to beat them whether they make big mistakes or not.
It is true the Trump has been very fortunate in his enemies but fortune is a tricky mistress…