Bloomberg View columnist Eli Lake joins the podcast today to discuss Joe Biden’s plan for withdrawing all NATO forces from Afghanistan on, of all dates, the twentieth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. What are they thinking? Also, the fallout from the decision to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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  1. FredGoodhue Coolidge
    FredGoodhue
    @FredGoodhue

    Out of an “abundance of caution” medical experts stopped the use of a vaccine that seems to have a 1 out 1,000,000 side effect.  How many people will die, or get very sick, because of the delay in getting a vaccine?  This is like the lock down, which in some cases was excessive.  How many millions of people lost their jobs?  How many millions of children have had their education retarded?  How many millions of people have been badly affected in other ways?  It is the job of political leaders, after consulting with experts, to try to come up with the right answers that deal with the trade offs.  There are no good answers, just less bad answers.

    Yet again, we will be abandoning an ally.  But now we see China preparing to invade Taiwan, and Russia preparing to greatly increase their invasion of Ukraine.  I see this as encouraging China and Russia to attack.  They will not think that the US will do anything meaningful about it.

    • #1
  2. OwnedByDogs Lincoln
    OwnedByDogs
    @JuliaBlaschke

    FredGoodhue (View Comment):

    Out of an “abundance of caution” medical experts stopped the use of a vaccine that seems to have a 1 out 1,000,000 side effect. How many people will die, or get very sick, because of the delay in getting a vaccine? This is like the lock down, which in some cases was excessive. How many millions of people lost their jobs? How many millions of children have had their education retarded? How many millions of people have been badly affected in other ways? It is the job of political leaders, after consulting with experts, to try to come up with the right answers that deal with the trade offs. There are no good answers, just less bad answers.

    Yet again, we will be abandoning an ally. But now we see China preparing to invade Taiwan, and Russia preparing to greatly increase their invasion of Ukraine. I see this as encouraging China and Russia to attack. They will not think that the US will do anything meaningful about it.

    This is why I so reluctantly voted for Trump in 2020. Trump was a fool surrounded, for the most part, by smart people that he, for the most part, listened to. Biden is a fool surrounded, completely, by leftist fools that he, completely obeys.

    • #2
  3. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Is being a great power worth it? It just seems like the Middle East is irredeemable. 

    • #3
  4. OwnedByDogs Lincoln
    OwnedByDogs
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is being a great power worth it? It just seems like the Middle East is irredeemable.

    There will always be a great power. I prefer it to be the USA. 

    • #4
  5. FredGoodhue Coolidge
    FredGoodhue
    @FredGoodhue

    OwnedByDogs (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is being a great power worth it? It just seems like the Middle East is irredeemable.

    There will always be a great power. I prefer it to be the USA.

    A British friend said that to me once a long time ago.  He was glad that the US was the successor great power to the UK.

    • #5
  6. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    FredGoodhue (View Comment):

    OwnedByDogs (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is being a great power worth it? It just seems like the Middle East is irredeemable.

    There will always be a great power. I prefer it to be the USA.

    A British friend said that to me once a long time ago. He was glad that the US was the successor great power to the UK.

    It seems that we need to counter China but we are incapable of making Islamic societies decent. 

    • #6
  7. colleenb Member
    colleenb
    @colleenb

    OwnedByDogs (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is being a great power worth it? It just seems like the Middle East is irredeemable.

    There will always be a great power. I prefer it to be the USA.

    Yes. I think people in the US and around the world do not realize how much better it is under Pax Americana than Pax?? China?? or some other non-western combo. Being a great power is a burden but not being one may be a lot more miserable  than we think.

    • #7
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