cubsfan

Not me - but I got to love the confidence! At least enough to make it interesting for me.

Too common sense for many to understand.

Of course he doesn't want anything to do with this war and all the useless loss of life. He wants it over. Good for him attempting to drive a settlement over what is now just a killing field. It's Europe's war, and they should have forced a conclusion one way or another long ago. But as @changegonnacome said - 27 countries can't agree on anything, so now it's left to the USA to try and conclude it.

How what started? The war? Or how it needs to end? Do you have a point?

@Parsad You are absolutely correct about Putin. I think you obviously know that Zelensky declared martial law 3 years ago, cancelled all elections, cancelled the free press - and that billions in aid have been stolen. I was a fan of Zelensky for quite some time - but he is a dictator, no doubt. Even in the good old USA, with all the wars we have - I've never seen a Presidential election cancelled and dictatorship installed. I've always wanted Ukraine to win this war - the question now - is how will/can they win?

Yes, I was very slow to come around to the fact that Zelensky is a dictator who rules with an iron fist, at the same time stealing his allies blind. I bought the whole freedom fighter shtick,,, hook, line and sinker. When I heard that Biden refused to audit any of the aid going to Ukraine, I finally woke up.

Pretty funny actually. Most of what he said is true about Zelensky. It will be good to get this war settled. Not sure Zelensky has a lot of cards to play.

If you want peace, you prepare for war. There will always be evil people in the world, that only understand strength.

Brilliant. I wish the Europeans the best of luck - as you say, they face very difficult decisions regarding the future of their continent given the tightrope they attempt to walk. New leadership is required for an effective defense.

....Says the guy posting offensive political cartoons for all to see. Keep it up John.

I remember your posts on this subject very well 18 months ago - and you certainly called it correctly regarding Russia's goal to keep NATO out of Ukraine. You also called the stalemate due to displacing a dug in Russia and production of artillery. At the current time, Europe has to swallow a tough pill: If Europe is so concerned about future Russian aggression - then why are they not scaling up their defense spending dramatically? The Europeans have had 3 years to do it - yet - they want the USA to carry the burden. The current President's message is clear: The USA will be an ally against Russia - but the Europeans need to shoulder the burden of spending. It could not be more obvious. The USA has a $37B deficit while funding to protect the borders of Europe, without protecting our own borders. The President is making a pragmatic and popular decision among Americans. The tide is turning on Europe -and if they wish to self-destruct with minimal defense spending and out of control immigration - the USA is going to stand by and watch with this new adminstration. After the JD Vance speech, the flunkies at the Munich conference acted so immature about "protecting democracy" while shutting down the most important values of a democracy - free speech - and free and fair elections across much of Europe.

You seem to deliberately avoid the obvious explanation: Mr. Musk loves America, has made plenty of money - and with few things left to do - has decided to pay the country back in a big, big way for a country that has given him so much good fortune. That is not difficult to figure out.

Before 1 year ago, JD was an unknown in the bulk of the country. But he was among the smartest in the Senate, with an impressive background of being a self-made man. If this term goes well for the current adminstration - you're looking at the next US President in my opinion.

Thanks for that explanation @gfp . Looked at the filing last night and didn't really understand how the price was determined. Very helpful.

Right. The signal to Europe is this: you take the lead on Russia, you have plenty of resources, and you need to shoulder most of the burden that you have been unwilling to...The Marshall Plan is over. The US will take care of the seas - particularly the North Atlantic and the Pacific with Taiwan.

The Europeans had every opportunity to get in front of this potential settlement long ago. If President Trump pulls this off, it will be somethng.

There was no opportunity to do so, precisely because the last administration refused to enter into negotiations with Putin. Neither did Europe. The counter attack left them in the best position they were going to get. Looks like Ukraine will lose plenty of territory, but they get to save what they have left. That's why it should have been settled when Ukraine was stopped.

Yeah, not really. President Trump would like to see the remaining young men of Ukraine not get wiped off the face of the earth - at least that way, they can have a normal life instead of ending up dead. Ukraine should have settle this war in the last 24 months when they were dealing from a position of strength. Major miscalculation on Zelensky's part. Should this war end - Putin gets a big win - no NATO membership, Zelensky wins - what's left of his country and people gets saved from defeat.

Trump isn't saying much. We'll have to see what he and Putin have up their sleeves. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-says-it-neither-confirms-nor-denies-trump-putin-phone-call-2025-02-10/

2001 for me. I've traded some of it around, which was always a mistake, added more later, etc. Still my largest holding.

@John Hjorth You're welcome. It's going to be an interesting few months coming up.

Absolutely.

DOGE may have some impact. But I think you are also seeing this administration views expenses on defense differently. They will prefer less large expensive weapons systems (carriers, large ships, etc) - in favor of smaller more nimble & innovative solutions - drones, unmanned technology, etc. So you have a double whammy going on here.

BTW - I think it's pretty clear what is going to happen next. The current adminstration is going to attempt to end the carnage in Ukraine. If the Europeans don't grab the lead on this - then President Trump will. How he forces a deal - I'm not sure - but it looks like it's coming. Both sides, Zelensky & Putin - are dug in. But Ukraine will need Europe & possibly, the USA to continue the war. Putin looks like he can easily continue the war - so that is a huge problem for Ukraine. Ukraine is not dealing from a position of strength, as significant support may be withdrawn in terms of military aid. Think that one over.

The Ukraine war needs to be settled before every young man in Ukraine dies. If that does not happens, then Europe will be called on to send their young men to die in front of the inexhaustible supply of men from Russia. I do not think you can count on the USA to send soldiers, therefore, it will be up to Europe to continue the meat grinder. I seriously doubt Ukraine ever sees NATO membership, as Putin has proved his point and now holds large swaths of Ukrainian territory. The sanctions don't seem to have had much of an impact. The Russians seem to be cranking out massive amounts of munitions & artillery with their war-time economy. It does not seem that time is on Ukraine's side. The finale is the message to NATO - arm up to protect the rest of Europe. You have a serious threat on your borders. Good luck.