cubsfan

^^^ oh yeah. Those kind of assets that Munger used to talk about…. You reach for them, and they just disappear.

Europe will get called on soon enough when President Xi does his Putin imitation… Until these aggressors get put back in their box, it’s money we’ll spent.

^^^ Okay- so they’d be sitting at the border - close enough. Money we’ll spent

^^^^ Best to hold your nose and fund it. What have we spent - $150B maybe? If we didn’t- Russia would be in Poland by now…

Yeah, it's a terrible situation - maybe gonna look more like Verdun. Too early to tell. But stopping Russia from a complete takeover is no small victory. I think the silver lining is the bolstering of NATO - with Sweden & Finland joining. I can't imagine the Russians wanted that to happen...and it's certainly hard to see how Russia can complete it's original objective.

^^ well , that move is in response to the continued intimidation and aggression by China. We seem to forget that a sovereign nation has a right to defend themselves from invasion by China. China tests Taiwan- and the US shows solidarity by shipping defensive weapons. Better to do it know before it blows up in a full blown “crisis”.

^^^ I think that’s a great summary of where we are at now. No one knows what Putin will do on the nuke front, but this makes lots of sense.

What a cheap fucker

It’s very true. There definitely is a difference. You can continue to build strength for years. What diminishes is your ability to exhibit power. Power is strength put to use quickly. That is youth. So you can get stronger and still run, but you can’t run the hundred in 10 seconds anymore. Michael Jordan can still be very strong, but his vertical jump is no longer 44 inches - which is a display of power (strength put to use quickly). But you can still get stronger and also improve your cardio.

^^^ oh, sorry , huge error on my part. 4 killed in combat in that period , not zero. You might call that period “relatively peaceful “. But Biden definitely wins with 13 Americans killed in 1 day. My bad!

Trump’s wind down in Afghanistan resulted in no dead Americans for 18 months and stability in Kabul. His statement was to withdraw ONCE the domestic Afghan forces could provide their own security under the few thousand remaining American forces. Joe Biden threw away Trump’s plan in favor of his own - a lightening withdrawal to meet a 9/11 parade deadline. Against the wishes of his military advisors. Biden’s plan was Biden plan only. He was handed a stable plan on a silver platter in Afghanistan by his predecessor

^^^^ Correct - but the struggle in Afghanistan was about controlling a regime that helped bring down the twin towers. It WAS under control. Then an American President handed control right back to the regime.

My point on Ukraine has always been about weak foreign policy AND weak leaders. You get peace through strength. There is NO question who possesses the military strength - a combined Europe & US can not be defeated. But France, Germany & the US did not establish a real red line for Putin in Europe - you have your catastrophe. Putin played Obama. The Biden family helped themselves to Ukraine money. Biden showed no stomach for a fight in Kabul. Europe dithered. It’s a clear failure of leadership. It has nothing to do with military might. It has nothing to do with party preference. Now, after the obvious failures, it has to be undone. Congratulations President Biden.

@changegonnacome It’s not about party lines. I voted for Obama his first term. I was a big Bill Clinton fan for years. I was not a Trump fan during the primaries. His actions as President made me a big fan. Obama’s foreign policy was weak. Biden’s is just insane.

I’m not confused at all. You duck the issues - that’s all . Every US President since Eisenhower, regardless of party, understood if you cut and run out of S. Korea that you would have a massive bloodbath and set S. Korea back 100 years. No more Samsung or Kia , etc…. With MINIMAL maintenance and no loss of life, you could hold your gains until such time Korea could defend itself from a lunatic regime. Its the identical situation in Afghanistan, but you have a US administration that is SO reckless - that it literally destroyed Kabul and 20 years of work. Putin sees it - take his opportunity- and you have a catastrophic situation in Ukraine. But Biden, of course, is the right man for the job. Hilarious. Biden destroyed confidence in the US in the eyes of the world.

You don’t want to go off topic because President Biden is responsible for the greatest foreign policy disaster in American history. You think our allies and adversaries are stupid. They aren’t. And Putin & Xi aren’t.

Biden has been a disaster for foreign policy. 20 years of holding Afghanistan & establishing a $1B military base - and the you GAVE it to the Taliban with weapons included - ALL because you wanted to have a parade on 9/11 ! Come on - deal in facts already- thousands of innocent civilians murdered because of Biden’s weakness. And he has your respect?Ask yourself this: what if Kennedy, Nixon or Carter had withdrawn from S. Korea after 20 years of hard earned gains? Where would S. Korea be? What kind of slaughter would have happened? All because the guy wanted to have a parade. What do you think our allies and adversaries would think? Putin’s answer: The time is now to take Ukraine with Biden in charge

Say what you like , but Trump knew how to project strength and show his adversaries he was NOT afraid to use US strength. He dropped the MOAB on an Taliban terrorist encampment- and the result was NO more US deaths for 18 months. When Putin screwed around in Syria , he killed 200 Russian mercenaries with not a single US casualty. Not need to avoid the true facts in making your arguments boys. And don’t forget the fat little terrorist in N. Korea - against all criticism, Trump charmed him at the same time as threatening him. After he saw the above - no trouble from him.

Your strong or weakened military is useless if it’s backed up by cowards running your foreign policy. Biden’s cut and run in Afghanistan was an idiotic move that worries your allies sick - and got a lot of innocent people killed in the process. That move had NOTHING to do with military strength- only the courage to use it. Likewise, Obama’s supposed “red line” for Russia invading Crimea. Same thing - empty talk and no action. Empty leaders that back a strong military are the biggest fear for our allies.

No doubt President Biden has severely weakened the US military and his pentagon staff is filled with baffoons. His Afghan strategy was non-existent and disgraceful. If you’re a US ally, you have to be worried sick and seriously considering your own nukes. And yes, he’s certainly let our armaments run down, as well as making terrorist countries among the most well armed. There is a lot for Europe & Asia to worry about in the case of the US.

yeah, fair point. Bailing out one of the most corrupt countries in the world, requires one to hold their nose. The real stealing probably starts with the rebuilding of Ukraine.

Yes, that’s completely true. But in the case that European countries don’t trust Putin - what is your alternative? Do you roll the dice and let him take the Baltic States, etc?

Great chart. And good for Germany. I'm pretty stunned by France. Macron is a disaster for France. Unfortunately, I'm quite biased since my wife is French and her whole family still lives in France. Macron is a pacifist and weak, which is too bad for France.

@Luca You dug this hole yourself putting this fool up as the expert on China. You ought to be more careful with your sources. It's abundantly clear from Chomsky's own writings (in print - unfortunately for you) - that he's a radical loon. But you continue to stick up for your hero Chomsky - your China expert.

I would never argue with this. You're completely right. The US is not a charity - nor are the allies. And of course, we have common interests - and therefore declare to be allies. So look - what Macron is saying is fine. Who is stopping him from funding NATO or the other NATO members? Who is stopping them from devoting major portions of their GDP to the defense of Europe, whether it be through NATO or their own armed forces? The US? No way. The Failure of Europe in this situation is the failure of Germany and France to LEAD Europe - period. The leaders of France & Germany look like fools - but of course, they are going deflect the blame for this disaster to someone OTHER than themselves. They have always been pacifists. Now they're paying the price. They have always owned their own foreign policy, their own armed forces - and this happen on their watch. Now they shit bricks and look to save their own asses.