I agree about the dems fighting ghosts of a past era. Take one look at the military and how flat footed they were following 2001 in Asskrackistan and Iraq. We had tens of thousands of Russian translators, and thousands more in the pipeline. All of our stuff was staged in Europe, endlessly waiting for an enemy who would never come. Yet in Asscrackistan and Iraq we didn't have a single translator and we wound up hiring the enemy, half of whom were traitors and the other half who weren't, Biden abandoned. We didn't understand the culture...because no one ever tried. All of this despite the fact that the Islamic extremists and Iranian terrorists had been threatening "Death to America" for 30 years, far more than any Russians ever did. And what did we do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Every single piece of iron had to be brought over on ships and aircraft. We were totally unprepared for a conflict in the region, starting with Kuwait (in the 90's).
The handwriting was on the wall in giant neon block lettering, but we ignored it. Then a half a dozen guys with box cutters brought America to its knees. Only THEN was it time to get serious and DO something about it.
But..but...wait! That was Bush 2, wasn't it? Yes, but who was before him? And, who was after him? It's called "continuity", and we didn't have it. Besides, the dems controlled far more Defense spending than the republicans did, even during Bush. And not even Bush 1, or even Reagan (my favorite) get a pass. Everybody was staring at Russia, and Russia never posted.
Regarding Europe, including the UK, as much as I hate to say it; their glory faded when the great sea battles were no longer relevant in World politics (about halfway through WW2). After that they just stayed on the sidelines stirring shit up so they could look relevant.
Trump warned NATO during his first term; he told them to pay up,, or shut up. They did neither. And Biden didn't do a goddamned thing about it. Now Trump is back, and he's finishing what he started. NATO has been operating like Ukraine was accepted into NATO. It explains all their actions. Ukraine isn't NATO, and NATO needs to go sit down. So I agree with you completely. Trump's posturing on Greenland ought to send a pretty damn clear message to NATO. "Wake up! You might be on your own soon, Europe and the EU, along with all your liberal BS. We'll keep our eyes on our own French 'American' fries, and you keep your eye on yours! Your 'chips' or whatever you call 'em."
Times are a changin'. And I think a lot of the good folks in the UK see it too; their leadership is completely out of control. NATO is going to follow wherever the EU goes like a lost puppy dog. People of the World need to understand, the US can't continue to bankroll the rest of the world. We've done that for far too long, and it's time we focused on fixing our own problems. And that's gonna' really sting for a lot of countries (and hope you're paying attention here, Israel! Cuz that means you too! You may not be part of the EU, but the gravy train ends now.)
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And for the sake of 'continuity', I've harped on how our military is big, heavy and expensive. Everything we do is like that. Yet another example of preparing for a war which would never come...with the Russians. And we STILL haven't learned out lesson!
When we got to Iraq and Asskrackistan, Asskrackistan in particular, we found an enemy who was asymmetrical, high-speed and low-drag. They fought with antiquated weapons and homemade bombs. Even though we showed up with hundreds of millions of tons of equipment, we discovered not once, not twice, but three or more times that much of it we had to take back and up-armor because we were getting our asses kicked by homemade roadside bombs and a handful of jihadi's with rifles made in the 60's. There weren't 10,000 of them at a time in a full frontal assault, which is what we were tooled up for. They came at us 5-10 at a time, from all different directions. Gun & Run.
And don't get me wrong, I am in no way slagging on our brave warriors. They're the best in the World, hands down. They were ordered to go with what they had. And it was great gear...for fighting the Russians. But the Taliban weren't the Russians. They were small, and light, and they moved fast. We were slow, and heavy. And then there were all the rules, all the bullshit bureaucracy and BS rules of engagement. Everyone needed permission from Dad to fire a single shot. The Taliban didn't need permission from anyone. They didn't care about collateral damage. They used the civilians, the ones we couldn't shoot, as human shields. They took refuge in holy places...which we couldn't blow up. They took refuge in civilian homes, and terrorized the local population. Make a day's progress over here, and the Taliban would fill in the gaps over there. It was endless. And, it was futile. We couldn't win simply because we didn't give ourselves 'permission' to win. We stood in our own way. And what little we did gain, we handed over to the enemy free of charge when we left. Shameful beyond comprehension! (the withdrawal from Asscrackistan really makes me want to vomit; it really does.)
But what are we building today? Bigger ships, more expensive planes, drones the size of a school bus. All stuff to fight an enemy who will never come...Russia. All that to kill less than a half a dozen guys with box cutters, and some guy who was their leader giving orders from a smelly ass cave in a mound of garbage.
The handwriting was on the wall in giant neon block lettering, but we ignored it. Then a half a dozen guys with box cutters brought America to its knees. Only THEN was it time to get serious and DO something about it.
But..but...wait! That was Bush 2, wasn't it? Yes, but who was before him? And, who was after him? It's called "continuity", and we didn't have it. Besides, the dems controlled far more Defense spending than the republicans did, even during Bush. And not even Bush 1, or even Reagan (my favorite) get a pass. Everybody was staring at Russia, and Russia never posted.
Regarding Europe, including the UK, as much as I hate to say it; their glory faded when the great sea battles were no longer relevant in World politics (about halfway through WW2). After that they just stayed on the sidelines stirring shit up so they could look relevant.
Trump warned NATO during his first term; he told them to pay up,, or shut up. They did neither. And Biden didn't do a goddamned thing about it. Now Trump is back, and he's finishing what he started. NATO has been operating like Ukraine was accepted into NATO. It explains all their actions. Ukraine isn't NATO, and NATO needs to go sit down. So I agree with you completely. Trump's posturing on Greenland ought to send a pretty damn clear message to NATO. "Wake up! You might be on your own soon, Europe and the EU, along with all your liberal BS. We'll keep our eyes on our own French 'American' fries, and you keep your eye on yours! Your 'chips' or whatever you call 'em."
Times are a changin'. And I think a lot of the good folks in the UK see it too; their leadership is completely out of control. NATO is going to follow wherever the EU goes like a lost puppy dog. People of the World need to understand, the US can't continue to bankroll the rest of the world. We've done that for far too long, and it's time we focused on fixing our own problems. And that's gonna' really sting for a lot of countries (and hope you're paying attention here, Israel! Cuz that means you too! You may not be part of the EU, but the gravy train ends now.)
----------------------------------------------
And for the sake of 'continuity', I've harped on how our military is big, heavy and expensive. Everything we do is like that. Yet another example of preparing for a war which would never come...with the Russians. And we STILL haven't learned out lesson!
When we got to Iraq and Asskrackistan, Asskrackistan in particular, we found an enemy who was asymmetrical, high-speed and low-drag. They fought with antiquated weapons and homemade bombs. Even though we showed up with hundreds of millions of tons of equipment, we discovered not once, not twice, but three or more times that much of it we had to take back and up-armor because we were getting our asses kicked by homemade roadside bombs and a handful of jihadi's with rifles made in the 60's. There weren't 10,000 of them at a time in a full frontal assault, which is what we were tooled up for. They came at us 5-10 at a time, from all different directions. Gun & Run.
And don't get me wrong, I am in no way slagging on our brave warriors. They're the best in the World, hands down. They were ordered to go with what they had. And it was great gear...for fighting the Russians. But the Taliban weren't the Russians. They were small, and light, and they moved fast. We were slow, and heavy. And then there were all the rules, all the bullshit bureaucracy and BS rules of engagement. Everyone needed permission from Dad to fire a single shot. The Taliban didn't need permission from anyone. They didn't care about collateral damage. They used the civilians, the ones we couldn't shoot, as human shields. They took refuge in holy places...which we couldn't blow up. They took refuge in civilian homes, and terrorized the local population. Make a day's progress over here, and the Taliban would fill in the gaps over there. It was endless. And, it was futile. We couldn't win simply because we didn't give ourselves 'permission' to win. We stood in our own way. And what little we did gain, we handed over to the enemy free of charge when we left. Shameful beyond comprehension! (the withdrawal from Asscrackistan really makes me want to vomit; it really does.)
But what are we building today? Bigger ships, more expensive planes, drones the size of a school bus. All stuff to fight an enemy who will never come...Russia. All that to kill less than a half a dozen guys with box cutters, and some guy who was their leader giving orders from a smelly ass cave in a mound of garbage.