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FYI Angela Merkel has a doctorate in quantum chemistry.I like that trump is abusive to the female leaders.
What a piece of work that guy is.
Trump is probably saying, "What's the big deal!"
weasel words !! )Sounds like there wasn't enough
before I respond to hal, I want to commend you on your choice of avatarChoosing to take Putin's word rather than the CIA or the FBI.
I can’t put into words the rage I feel at this
-lobbing for Russia to get into G8
-chipping away at the foundations of NATO in an attempt to divide and weaken the alliance
-ditto for the EU
-de facto cancellation of sanctions against Russia and warming diplomatic relations despite the hot war against Ukraine and annexing Crimea
-weakening American leadership and projecting weakness in the face of Russian aggression
-destabilize the US
-information warfare against media outlets
-legitimizing a dictator who has a history of brutality, murderous tactics, and poisoning people on foreign soil.
these are just the ones I can think of without googling.
OK, let's dive in
"lobbing for Russia to get into G8" -yes, this is odd
"chipping away at the foundations of NATO in an attempt to divide and weaken the alliance" - I'm assuming your are talking about his calling out the Euro members of NATO on their inability to meet treaty requirements for defense spending levels, which has been a constant issue since the 80's? LOL
"ditto for the EU" - That is an economic experiment which is on the participants to make work. Giving up your own currency in the hope that some basket currency will work better, severely limits your options as a Nation State when TSHTF. Please do expand on how Trump's actions re: The EU have benefited The Russians in something other than an "own goal" paradigm
"de facto cancellation of sanctions against Russia and warming diplomatic relations despite the hot war against Ukraine and annexing Crimea" - We (the USA) negotiated these various treaties in order to speed the transition from Soviet Monolith to Post Communist Iron Curtain. The Russians have been repeatedly violating the terms of the treaties. So his opting out of those treaties, for most Nation States, will be a sign of increased risk for Russia, not for the US or Europe
"weakening American leadership and projecting weakness in the face of Russian aggression" we've killed - at a minimum - dozens of Russians in Syria, have given lethal aid to Ukraine and have unilaterally pulled out of multiple agreements put in place to stabilize our relations with the Russians
"destabilize the US" - I think you're confusing your day job (fancy bear) with reality
"information warfare against media outlets" - see above
"legitimizing a dictator who has a history of brutality, murderous tactics, and poisoning* people on foreign soil' - Please do expand on how Trump has legitimized a dictator that has been in power since December 31, 1999.
PS - * the poisonings happened in 2004 (Bush era, Viktor Yushchenko/Ukraine) and 2018 (Obama era, Segei and Yulia Skripal)
- I'm hoping Trump's statements on NATO do have an effect - namely that the member countries meet their spending obligations so that we are not funding more than we should be. I don't view Trump as trying to divide or weaken Nato, I think he wants it to endure and thrive, but on the terms we all agreed to.tl/dr version:
Trumby received a written briefing on the bounties:
Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say (Published 2020)
The investigation into Russia’s suspected operation is said to focus in part on the killings of three Marines in a truck bombing last year, officials said.www.nytimes.com
____________________________________________________________________________
-Nobody has ramped up the rhetoric against NATO or called into question its usefulness like Trumby has. If you don't think the most powerful (but not for long) office in the world conducting an information war on an institution has an effect you're naive and/or just plain stupid.
-The EU has been around for roughly 70 years, hasn't it? It's past the point of "nice little experiment". The UK leaving the EU has Putins fingerprints all over it, as the Russians interfered via information warfare, propaganda efforts, and cyber attacks. Destabilizing the EU is Russia's goal, possibly because UK-Russia relations are in the shitter. Possibly because Putin wants to expand his sphere of influence. Trumby definitely threw his full support behind Brexit.
Maybe a weaker EU means a stronger Russia. Or maybe Putin is looking to annex parts of Europe that were previously part of the USSR. Annexation is in Putin's playbook. Weakening the EU also allows Putin to consolidate power as he tries to regain territory in Ukraine, which has become more and more cozy with the EU.
-cancellation of sanctions has only emboldened Russia. Your assertion that their flouting the treaties is a risk, doesn't seem to be the case. The Russians have continued to widen their sphere of influence, and with a U.S. president who's more than happy to do a lot of the leg work, it would seem that the gamble is paying off for Russia, at least for now. Putin has Trumby by the small hairs. Trumby's actions continually line up with Russia's tactical and strategic goals.
-Our government has attempted to manipulate Ukraine, even going so far as to extort their president. He even demanded that Zelensky demanded an investigation into the Ukraine's interference in the 2016 election AND asserted that Ukraine framed Russia for the 2016 election interference. What are you not getting here?
-You're naive if you don't think that Trumby's warming relationship with Putin and calling him his "friend" aren't an attempt to legitimize Putin and bring him into the fold. I'm pretty sure that if you do some research on the matter, most credible foreign policy assessments would say that a) that's what Trumby is doing and b) that this is a very bad thing. He's constantly praising Putin. He constantly praises dictators. Again, what are you not understanding?
-Explain how the Skripal poisoning was "Obama era". It happened during 2018.
Trumby, May 8, 2020 (after he already knew for a year about the bounties): “We had no calls from Russia for years. And all of a sudden, we have this great friendship. And, by the way, getting along with Russia is a great thing, getting along with Putin and Russia is a great thing."
May 21: Trump says, “Russia and us have developed a very good relationship. As you know, we worked on the oil problem together. I think we have a very good relationship with Russia.”
May 30: Trump postpones the G-7 summit and renews his calls for Russia to be reinstated into it.
(two days before the news breaks): June 24: Trump attacks the Obama administration for allegedly having been weak on Russia. After Polish President Andrzej Duda brings up Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its attacks on the country of Georgia, Trump says, “I just want to add: 2014, which the president was talking about — that was a year where Russia had a good time with the United States. To the best of my knowledge, President Obama and Sleepy Joe Biden, they were in power. They were the ones that were doing it. This was before us. It hasn’t happened with us, and it won’t happen with us, either.”
June 25: One day before news of the Russian bounties and the lack of a U.S. response breaks, Trump repeats his claim to having been tough on Russia. “I was tougher on Russia than any president that’s ever lived — any president,” Trump tells Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity when Hannity asks him about the gravity of being president. “Nobody has done what I’ve done with sanctions and all — exposing the pipeline deal going into Europe. Nobody did that. Nobody even talked about it.”
Trumby found out that Russia was offering bounties to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.....
False. Trump "found out" nothing of the sort. The New York Slimes even reported that Trump was briefed on the supposed bounty, but failed to respond. Strange isn't it? ....coming from people who represented themselves as peace-loving pacifists only four years ago?
Trump never responded to the supposed briefing BECAUSE THERE WAS NO SUCH BRIEFING. It was all just...........
Bulllshit.
After this supposed "story" broke Trump asked for a briefing. our intelligence services told Trump that they were of aware of this rumored information, but were still unable to verify the information.
In other words this "information" was made up out of whole cloth. .....FAKE NEWS.
.
Several stories from several different news outlets say you're 100% wrong as usual.
The Trumby narrative continues to unravel......
Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on Financial Transfers (Published 2020)
Analysts have used other evidence to conclude that the transfers were most likely part of an effort to offer payments to Taliban-linked militants to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.www.nytimes.com
Trumby received a printed copy of the briefing. He chose not to read it.