Put your NatSec hat on and come over and read...
 

Very important piece to read. We may quibble over the details but we are in the most unstable period in decades and we are under-performing.

https://warontherocks.com/2018/03/ji...-warning-shot/

Yup, that and the hiring of Bolton who would love to just bomb the crap out of the middle east and NK, we are moving into scary territory.

Wow - that is pretty short sighted :bsod: :rollem: .

These conditions did not start 14 months ago - they have been rolling for 2 decades building up to now. There were plenty of missed opportunities by ALL ADMINS to correct or mitigate this course

I'm just saying, you know how quickly Trump can go off, having his third national security adviser with those tendencies from his past (not likely they have gone away) isn't what I'd like in the latest hiring.

“America’s military has no preordained right to victory on the battlefield.”

Some one should tell congress or the American people this.. America has convince its self since the end of WW2 that we are undefeatable

it took 20 years to get where we are today because we followed the threat , and we will change again adapt and overcome thats how it works

I see china and Russia are both nations who are all on equal footing in technology.. No Country has the clear advantage in the air on land or at Sea .. so we are back to a mutual assured destruction policy..

And with Bolton on Deck with a clear history I think its unfair to expect Mattis to be a buffer .. Dont forget He was a general they carry out orders .. if he last's another year

Perhaps this is why Trump wanted that huge raise in the military budget, and was willing to sign the otherwise Porky spending bill. And, perhaps, he was listening to Mattis when he insisted on the huge influx of money into military spending.

An maybe this is why, among other things, he is willing to be more diplomatic rather than hostile toward powerful opponents such as Putin and China and not so much to weaker ones such as NK.

I hope you didn't just give yourself a hernia.

Are you asking him out on a date?
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Military has been generally baseline funded (with a lot of overseas stuff going on) for many years due to the CR. You already know this but it is not convenient for you.

I didn’t read it. Are we gonna die soon?
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Not as long as you give the military industrial complex all the money it needs so it can make sure that all the conflicts that the military industrial complex supplies don't affect us.

The last 5-6 years has brought us to the most dangerous time since the 80s so maybe...

Great Peer Competition is back on strong. Our gov (as well as EU) dropped the ball on some good opportunities to shape the world but we punted (overall).

Lol. It’s like fisheries management. The main objective is to solve problems that were previously created by solving another problem
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You Prit neah got it

5-8 years more like since the Iraq war and Afghanistan both focused the American people and congress to focus on the bogy man.. Islamic terrorism . which Iraq and Afghanistan helped Fuel

not sure John what missed opportunities your referring to .. But its clear the big picture hasn't been in view since bush SR and isn't getting much attention now under the current administration . and the current 61 Billion needs to be spent by sept glad some going to the pay of our troops

but $61 billion increase matches or even surpasses Russia's entire military budget each year

so how is Russia a threat if their whole budget is around 61 billion and ours is 700 billion ..

must be the invisible f-35 $94.6 million each

You know the Boogeyman isn't real, right?

bogy man is different...what's wrong with you???

Where's the "Analogy Police" when you need them?
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Last 5-6 years is when the threat for significant war increased dramatically.

We failed (US, EU) in general in bringing about a more stable world. Lots of good was done - reduced poverty, famine, etc but overall we could have done better.

For military budget we spend more on our personnel than any other country - this is a big cost. As is bureaucracy (something to keep in mind next time Gov should run something). Russia and China buy stuff far cheaper than we do and treat their people far worse.

Yes = procurement sucks

John has excellent hindsight.

sorry i hurt your feelings :buds:

I have thought of going back over must major topics we've debated WRT foreign policy and shown that my predictions have been more correct than wrong: Obama, Libya, Russia, China, Syria, Iran, NORKS, AFG pullout, Horses and Bayonets, National Debt

They're not predictions when they're made after the fact.

What does your hindsight say about the impending abandonment of Syria?

My hindsight says good - get out. ISIS is hit pretty hard. Whack-A-Mole if you have to. But it is a terrible mess - how do we support the Kurds that helped us with ISIS defend themselves against our ally Turkey? By sending the French to position themselves between the Turks and Kurds? Or will it be the Russ/Syrians against the Turks against the French against the US/Kurds. Ohhh and then their is the FSA - where do they fit? The Iranians are getting bombed by the Israeils.

The biggest issue is contact with US v RUS v Turk forces around the Euphrates. The Russians sent a group of RU Mercs / Syrians to attack US forces/Kurds in February. US forces kept asking the RUS on the deconfliction line if they were their guys and the RUS said no. US forces threw everything at them, killing by some reports several hundred Russian Mercenaries.

Where did I put my NatSec hat again?
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Yes, he acted stupidly - too bad he did not have horses and bayonets

Its like watching a 13 year old respond to a taunt thrown his way, very professional response, maybe he should tell Putin when and where so he can get ready.

Well at least he didn't tell our enemies what he was going to do. ;)

Trump wouldn't do that...

Right now Russia and Syria are busy co-mingling assets.

I am not against the use of force but its not a game . and the russian response was on point his base loves the tough guy talk and sounds like a conservative snowflake

Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!

he sounds like a conservative snowflake


“We do not participate in Twitter diplomacy,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We support serious approaches. We continue to believe that it is important not to take steps that could harm an already fragile situation.”