It's weird how he's stuck on the oil since the US has no reason to really care about Venezuelan oil except in terms of global prices
I've always been skeptical of the "US produces lots of oil -> US doesn't care about foreign oil" argument. As you imply, oil is a global market. Many of the massive corporations involved have stakes in fields throughout the world. We generally acknowledge that huge multinational corporations have a great deal of influence over US government policy, so if they care, Washington probably cares. To say nothing of the geopolitics of oil and how Washington views its utility in terms of advancing hegemony/global influence.
The idea that US policy toward Venezuela wouldn't have anything to do with oil strikes me as absurd given the continued dependence of the global economy on fossil fuels.
In other words, is not about having the oil, they already have the oil, is about Russia, China and Iran not having the oil.
Wall Street Journals Rebecca Ballhaus: Pence proposed redirecting $55m out of $75m earmarked for a UN program restoring basic services in cities freed from ISIS in Iraq to instead rebuild Iraq’s Christian community & other minority groups—which make up around 3% of the mostly Muslim population.
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TL DRNot at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered Userregular
If an invading army showed up tomorrow to liberate the American people from an undemocratic government with theocratic leanings, I think we'd be obliged to hear them out.
Trump Officials Tried To Rush Nuclear Technology To Saudis, House Panel Finds
The Trump administration sought to rush the transfer of American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the law, a new report from the House Oversight and Reform Committee alleges.
So in what thread do we put the whistleblower report of Trump having Mike Flynn and Rick Perry work with Saudi Arabia on nuclear power, partnering with the investment company partially owned by Qatar that bailed out Jared’s giant real-estate investment boondoggle?
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Metzger MeisterIt Gets Worsebefore it gets any better.Registered Userregular
I was actually wondering if maybe I shouldn't post that in the middle east thread but I think it's probably germaine to both
Wall Street Journals Rebecca Ballhaus: Pence proposed redirecting $55m out of $75m earmarked for a UN program restoring basic services in cities freed from ISIS in Iraq to instead rebuild Iraq’s Christian community & other minority groups—which make up around 3% of the mostly Muslim population.
It's not that surprising. The whole "look how badly the christians in X country are getting treated" thing gets big play in a lot of christian communities. And they aren't wrong either. It just leads to shit like this when you get people who don't care about the non-christians too.
It's weird how he's stuck on the oil since the US has no reason to really care about Venezuelan oil except in terms of global prices
I've always been skeptical of the "US produces lots of oil -> US doesn't care about foreign oil" argument. As you imply, oil is a global market. Many of the massive corporations involved have stakes in fields throughout the world. We generally acknowledge that huge multinational corporations have a great deal of influence over US government policy, so if they care, Washington probably cares. To say nothing of the geopolitics of oil and how Washington views its utility in terms of advancing hegemony/global influence.
The idea that US policy toward Venezuela wouldn't have anything to do with oil strikes me as absurd given the continued dependence of the global economy on fossil fuels.
And thats why we cared about Venezuelan oil. Its nationalized. Why shouldn't Exxon get a cut?
I'd be curious to know how Iraqi Christian groups initially reacted to the US invasion/threats of invasion prior to that in 2003. I know that some of the major Syrian Christian groups begged the international community not to arm the rebels back in the earlier years of the civil war, which I found ironic since a lot of the US politicians/pundits who later argued that the US needed to do more to protect Syrian Christians had previously pushed regime change in Syria.
Add to that the US right's amazing ability to pretend Palestinian Christians aren't a thing, and to decry the evils of Hezbollah while ignoring their political alliance with Lebanese Christians in that country, and you get the feeling that they only care about Arab Christians when it's politically convenient to do so.
I'd be curious to know how Iraqi Christian groups initially reacted to the US invasion/threats of invasion prior to that in 2003. I know that some of the major Syrian Christian groups begged the international community not to arm the rebels back in the earlier years of the civil war, which I found ironic since a lot of the US politicians/pundits who later argued that the US needed to do more to protect Syrian Christians had previously pushed regime change in Syria.
Add to that the US right's amazing ability to pretend Palestinian Christians aren't a thing, and to decry the evils of Hezbollah while ignoring their political alliance with Lebanese Christians in that country, and you get the feeling that they only care about Arab Christians when it's politically convenient to do so.
Hussain's Iraqi government had several prominent Christian members, Tariq Aziz being the most prominent. For the most part, the secular Middle Eastern leaders like the Ba'athists in Iraq and Syria protected their nation's religious minorities. Their "democratic" successors have generally been much more in favor of purging them.
So in what thread do we put the whistleblower report of Trump having Mike Flynn and Rick Perry work with Saudi Arabia on nuclear power, partnering with the investment company partially owned by Qatar that bailed out Jared’s giant real-estate investment boondoggle?
Wherever you post it, please @ me, and this may be useful background on the former:
Its a throwback to the days of "Protector of Christians in the Holy Land." Its a classic.
}
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)Haiti Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond confirmed Monday that five Americans on the island have been arrested.
Three other people also have been arrested, two foreign nationals and one Haitian, Edmond said.
The identities of the people taken into custody were not immediately available.
Haiti's police chief, Michel-Ange Gédéon, told CNN the eight individuals are being held for what he described as possession of illegal weapons.
Earlier, local authorities told CNN the Americans were being held on conspiracy charges. The foreign minister did not confirm the conspiracy charges.
The country's capital, Port-au-Prince, has been rocked by deadly protests since February 7. Haitians have been on the streets, torching cars, clashing with police demanding President Jovenel Moise and the prime minister resign.
In an interview with CNN, Gédéon said the individuals arrested were in possession of automatic weapons, pistols, satellite phones and drones.
Gédéon said the people were taken into custody Sunday night while in suspicious cars without license plates.
Police found that the vehicles were carrying six automatic rifles, six pistols, two professional drones and three satellite phones. They also found a telescope, backpacks, gun vests, professional tapes and documents, he said.
“There were a lot of documents,” he said. This also includes a list with names, a police source said.
Asked what they were doing in Haiti, the men told police “they were on a mission, and they didn’t have to speak to us,” Casseus said. “They said they were on a government mission.”
The men, he said, didn’t specify which government had hired them. But at one point, they told officers that “their boss would call our boss,” he said. Soon a third vehicle arrived with another individual, this one speaking French. He too was arrested.
“We used professional force to show them that we are serious,” Casseus said. “We then took them to the police station.”
Two sources have told the Herald that following the arrest, several individuals connected with the Moise administration have tried to get the men released. One even claimed that the men were there to do a security operation for the central bank. A check with the bank’s governor by police, however, revealed he was unaware of their presence.
“They have refused to speak,” Casseus said of the men. “They’ve said they don’t have to speak.”
Casseus, 46, said he doesn’t know how long the men were in town, and added their passports did not show any entry stamp for Haiti. However, their visas show they had visited several other countries prior to arriving in Haiti.
I wonder who these guys are.
Actual government operatives would not say stuff like "We are on a government mission." Because if you are carrying on black ops with guns in a friendly country you are definitely not going to get bailed out by Uncle Sam if your ass gets caught.
Can't be SAG, no way anybody employed by an actual 3 letter agency would make the dumb mistake of not getting appropriate local transport. Shit the money they spent on the guns would buy them all the local transport, with license plates and tags, that they need. Its fucking Haiti. Not exactly a rich country. Also they would have entry stamps and act like tourists. Because mysteriously entering the country through clandestine methods is literally the stupidest fucking thing you could do.
Do you think this is Eric Prince's group of dumb-asses?
@NSDFRand what do you think of the firearms in the picture. They look standardized but not too high end to me. But I am only an armchair gun lover. Appreciate any light you could throw my way.
Edit: The more I think about it, the more I think these are PMC's. And from the story, I think they might be employed by the Haitian government.
Rchanen on
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
Names given by Haitian media correspond to social media profiles of American citizens and a Serbian who claim military backgrounds and currently work for security contractors.
I will leave it to you to decide what it means that CNN chose to leave this information out of their reporting
For me, it's the optics which are interesting. In the photos which Maduro paraded out you see what looks like a cheapo scope from the sporting goods section of Walmart. In this photo I see one EoTech XPS, what looks like two Aimpoint H1s, and maybe an Aimpoint CompM4 or PRO. Each of those is $400-600 each so they aren't cheap. Furniture looks to be all Magpul, except the odd one out on the left which looks like a quad rail with a low profile gas block (all the others look like free float MLOK tubes). Then it looks like some Glocks in the far left of the image. Maybe 20 years ago this much off the shelf product would look weird for a contractor or operator but it's not unusual any more. If these actually were operators this is all stuff their arms room would have, ditto for contractors.
What is telling is what you pointed out i.e. they explicitly stated they were working for the government and that they didn't have local network and logistics. It's possible they are security contractors under contract with the government but police aren't aware of it. That's not necessarily unrealistic.
For me, it's the optics which are interesting. In the photos which Maduro paraded out you see what looks like a cheapo scope from the sporting goods section of Walmart. In this photo I see one EoTech XPS, what looks like two Aimpoint H1s, and maybe an Aimpoint CompM4 or PRO. Each of those is $400-600 each so they aren't cheap. Furniture looks to be all Magpul, except the odd one out on the left which looks like a quad rail with a low profile gas block (all the others look like free float MLOK tubes). Then it looks like some Glocks in the far left of the image. Maybe 20 years ago this much off the shelf product would look weird for a contractor or operator but it's not unusual any more. If these actually were operators this is all stuff their arms room would have, ditto for contractors.
What is telling is what you pointed out i.e. they explicitly stated they were working for the government and that they didn't have local network and logistics. It's possible they are security contractors under contract with the government but police aren't aware of it. That's not necessarily unrealistic.
You are my hero.
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BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
I assume most Middle Eatern Christians are not the right kind of Christian for evangelicals like Pence to actually care about.
Chaldeans are Catholic, so yeah pretty much.
The Chaldeans are unique and have gone through several evolutions. While they currently recognize St. Peter's and the Holy See and take Catholic communion, they spent their first 1100 years telling Rome and Constantinople both to pound sand as Nestorians and following Persian patriarchs.
They've been on seemingly everyone's "not really Christian" list at least once, in the case of Eastern Orthodox they've been on the shit list 3 times.
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
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TL DRNot at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered Userregular
The world of ex-military mercenary networks is fascinating. There was recently a book written about Paul Le Roux, who was a computer programmer turned online pill mill entrepreneur turned meth and gold trafficker, and a big part of his operation was mercenary armed forces.
Then, there was this more sinister group, which included ex-American soldiers who were recruited into Le Roux's security teams who were essentially, for lack of a better term, mercenaries. They would do everything from protecting his gold stashes to intimidating or killing people who stole from him or who he suspected stole from him, even the slightest, slightest amounts. Le Roux had turned very violent as his empire got bigger, so he used these American soldiers, trained by the U.S. Army, who had then worked for American security contractors during the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. They then turned their skills to use for Le Roux and his various ends, many of them violent, around the world.
Just like unexploded munitions or depleted uranium, ex soldiers who go on to become contractors continue to spread death and destruction long after their contract with Uncle Sam is up.
For me, it's the optics which are interesting. In the photos which Maduro paraded out you see what looks like a cheapo scope from the sporting goods section of Walmart. In this photo I see one EoTech XPS, what looks like two Aimpoint H1s, and maybe an Aimpoint CompM4 or PRO. Each of those is $400-600 each so they aren't cheap. Furniture looks to be all Magpul, except the odd one out on the left which looks like a quad rail with a low profile gas block (all the others look like free float MLOK tubes). Then it looks like some Glocks in the far left of the image. Maybe 20 years ago this much off the shelf product would look weird for a contractor or operator but it's not unusual any more. If these actually were operators this is all stuff their arms room would have, ditto for contractors.
What is telling is what you pointed out i.e. they explicitly stated they were working for the government and that they didn't have local network and logistics. It's possible they are security contractors under contract with the government but police aren't aware of it. That's not necessarily unrealistic.
Its entirely possible its an off-the-books mission of some sort
Wherein Lindsey Graham encourages and supports President Trump to the point of carrying water for his ridiculous conspiracy theories and then at the same time is very angry at the acting Secretary of Defense for doing his job and following the direction set forth by Trump.
Speaking to acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at a briefing at the Munich Security Conference last weekend, the senator said he cursed at Shanahan and declared him an adversary.
Graham described his remarks to Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, saying he told Shanahan that the Trump administration's plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria by the end of April was “the dumbest f---ing idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Well, if the policy is going to be that we are leaving by April 30, I am now your adversary, not your friend,” Graham said he told Shanahan.
Officials told NBC News about the exchange, with some lawmakers saying the briefing left them with less confidence in Shanahan, and one describing the episode with Graham as “pretty tense.”
Graham now has less confidence in Shanahan, because Shanahan is planning to do what the White House is ordering him to do.
Lindsey Graham is just tearing it up lately. A complete whirlwind of angry and stupid.
For me, it's the optics which are interesting. In the photos which Maduro paraded out you see what looks like a cheapo scope from the sporting goods section of Walmart. In this photo I see one EoTech XPS, what looks like two Aimpoint H1s, and maybe an Aimpoint CompM4 or PRO. Each of those is $400-600 each so they aren't cheap. Furniture looks to be all Magpul, except the odd one out on the left which looks like a quad rail with a low profile gas block (all the others look like free float MLOK tubes). Then it looks like some Glocks in the far left of the image. Maybe 20 years ago this much off the shelf product would look weird for a contractor or operator but it's not unusual any more. If these actually were operators this is all stuff their arms room would have, ditto for contractors.
What is telling is what you pointed out i.e. they explicitly stated they were working for the government and that they didn't have local network and logistics. It's possible they are security contractors under contract with the government but police aren't aware of it. That's not necessarily unrealistic.
Its entirely possible its an off-the-books mission of some sort
Paramilitary officers are going to have built up networks and logistics in country. They're also not going to say "we work for the government".
This really does seem like a case of the right hand being unaware of what the left hand is doing in regards to the Haitian government rather than something nefarious (or.. well beyond the usual nefarious).
I'd be curious to know how Iraqi Christian groups initially reacted to the US invasion/threats of invasion prior to that in 2003. I know that some of the major Syrian Christian groups begged the international community not to arm the rebels back in the earlier years of the civil war, which I found ironic since a lot of the US politicians/pundits who later argued that the US needed to do more to protect Syrian Christians had previously pushed regime change in Syria.
Add to that the US right's amazing ability to pretend Palestinian Christians aren't a thing, and to decry the evils of Hezbollah while ignoring their political alliance with Lebanese Christians in that country, and you get the feeling that they only care about Arab Christians when it's politically convenient to do so.
As a kid I went to school with and was friends with some Iraqi Chaldean kids in Michigan. I think some had been born in the US, but all of their families arrived around the same time as refugees fleeing Saddam. There was a story that one of Saddam's sons had some disagreement with one of the patriarchs of one of the Chaldean families (pretty much everyone was cousins with each other) and had showed up at his home one day and shot him in front of his family, and that triggered the mini-exodus. So these families at least wanted Saddam dead, and I remember reading similar sentiments in interviews of other Iraqis in Michigan around 2003. I haven't kept in touch with the one friend I was closest with, but I know he joined the army as an interpreter at one point.
So yeah, Saddam probably got along with all the Christians still living there by 2003, but his regime had already probably killed or chased out anyone he didn't get along with.
I mean, one of Saddam’s sons getting pissed off and shooting someone close to them is a pretty common story for why people left Iraq pre-invasion. Pretty sure there were even members of Saddams own family that left because of that.
I mean, one of Saddam’s sons getting pissed off and shooting someone close to them is a pretty common story for why people left Iraq pre-invasion. Pretty sure there were even members of Saddams own family that left because of that.
Uday and Qusay also tried to kill each other on multiple occasions.
I mean, one of Saddam’s sons getting pissed off and shooting someone close to them is a pretty common story for why people left Iraq pre-invasion. Pretty sure there were even members of Saddams own family that left because of that.
Uday and Qusay also tried to kill each other on multiple occasions.
My favorite Uday story was when he beat his father’s personal assistant to death in front of the president of Egypt and his wife.
A crime for which he was banished. To Switzerland. Who sent him back after a few months after he was arrested for assault.
I know there’s an awful lot going on but we should probably talk about the Associated Press and numerous other outlets reporting Vladimir Putin’s threats to target the US with their newly developed weapons if the United States deploys missiles in Europe. Because that seems like kind of a thing.
Let’s not forget by the way, that Russia killed several members of the Ukraine’s navy, and are currently holding dozens more prisoner, for the crime of sailing back to their home port. That and the Russian military are currently deployed along Ukraine’s borders and within the Crimea.
If the US deploys missiles to Europe? Did the US say it's doing that?
I would think it's there to lay down the groundwork for Trump to withdraw from NATO. "They're not paying and being a member puts Americans in America in danger, gotta leave."
For me, it's the optics which are interesting. In the photos which Maduro paraded out you see what looks like a cheapo scope from the sporting goods section of Walmart. In this photo I see one EoTech XPS, what looks like two Aimpoint H1s, and maybe an Aimpoint CompM4 or PRO. Each of those is $400-600 each so they aren't cheap. Furniture looks to be all Magpul, except the odd one out on the left which looks like a quad rail with a low profile gas block (all the others look like free float MLOK tubes). Then it looks like some Glocks in the far left of the image. Maybe 20 years ago this much off the shelf product would look weird for a contractor or operator but it's not unusual any more. If these actually were operators this is all stuff their arms room would have, ditto for contractors.
You are going to do so well on America's Favorite New Game Show: Soldier, Mercenary, or NRA Life Member.
And we just backed out of a treaty leaving EU a little exposed. Who coulda known?
This is not what happened. Russia was violating the treaty by developing a nuclear delivery vehicle which violated said treaty i.e. a short range or intermediate ground launched cruise missile which was only good for launching at Europe. We also didn't "back out", we've suspended the treaty for 6 months. Adhering to the treaty while Russia openly violates it does absolutely zero for security of the EU.
If the US deploys missiles to Europe? Did the US say it's doing that?
I would think it's there to lay down the groundwork for Trump to withdraw from NATO. "They're not paying and being a member puts Americans in America in danger, gotta leave."
I think it does the opposite. From the Realist view point NATO served its purpose when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Warsaw Pact with it. Calls to withdraw from or dissolve NATO aren't new, they've been around since the 90's. If Russia wants to bow up and directly threaten the US and Europe then NATO now has a purpose again, almost exactly the purpose it originally had, even to those who have been vocal about leaving or dissolving NATO.
For me, it's the optics which are interesting. In the photos which Maduro paraded out you see what looks like a cheapo scope from the sporting goods section of Walmart. In this photo I see one EoTech XPS, what looks like two Aimpoint H1s, and maybe an Aimpoint CompM4 or PRO. Each of those is $400-600 each so they aren't cheap. Furniture looks to be all Magpul, except the odd one out on the left which looks like a quad rail with a low profile gas block (all the others look like free float MLOK tubes). Then it looks like some Glocks in the far left of the image. Maybe 20 years ago this much off the shelf product would look weird for a contractor or operator but it's not unusual any more. If these actually were operators this is all stuff their arms room would have, ditto for contractors.
You are going to do so well on America's Favorite New Game Show: Soldier, Mercenary, or NRA Life Member.
I'm sure if I made a multi paragraph post about the most esoteric details of desktop computer components or Star Wars you wouldn't feel the need to engage in such a shit post. But here we are.
Posts
In other words, is not about having the oil, they already have the oil, is about Russia, China and Iran not having the oil.
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/695954246/trump-officials-tried-to-rush-nuclear-technology-to-saudis-house-panel-finds?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190219
Uh... This seems like it should be a major story.
"We are literally giving the Christians monet to rebuild rather than you" would understandably anger a ton of people.
It's not that surprising. The whole "look how badly the christians in X country are getting treated" thing gets big play in a lot of christian communities. And they aren't wrong either. It just leads to shit like this when you get people who don't care about the non-christians too.
And thats why we cared about Venezuelan oil. Its nationalized. Why shouldn't Exxon get a cut?
Add to that the US right's amazing ability to pretend Palestinian Christians aren't a thing, and to decry the evils of Hezbollah while ignoring their political alliance with Lebanese Christians in that country, and you get the feeling that they only care about Arab Christians when it's politically convenient to do so.
They sure as fuck don't care about Christians from Latin America.
Hussain's Iraqi government had several prominent Christian members, Tariq Aziz being the most prominent. For the most part, the secular Middle Eastern leaders like the Ba'athists in Iraq and Syria protected their nation's religious minorities. Their "democratic" successors have generally been much more in favor of purging them.
Wherever you post it, please @ me, and this may be useful background on the former:
https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/38750926/#Comment_38750926
(December 2017 summary)
Chaldeans are Catholic, so yeah pretty much.
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
I wonder who these guys are.
Actual government operatives would not say stuff like "We are on a government mission." Because if you are carrying on black ops with guns in a friendly country you are definitely not going to get bailed out by Uncle Sam if your ass gets caught.
Can't be SAG, no way anybody employed by an actual 3 letter agency would make the dumb mistake of not getting appropriate local transport. Shit the money they spent on the guns would buy them all the local transport, with license plates and tags, that they need. Its fucking Haiti. Not exactly a rich country. Also they would have entry stamps and act like tourists. Because mysteriously entering the country through clandestine methods is literally the stupidest fucking thing you could do.
Do you think this is Eric Prince's group of dumb-asses?
@NSDFRand what do you think of the firearms in the picture. They look standardized but not too high end to me. But I am only an armchair gun lover. Appreciate any light you could throw my way.
Edit: The more I think about it, the more I think these are PMC's. And from the story, I think they might be employed by the Haitian government.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-protests-americans/haitis-serious-crime-unit-to-investigate-foreigners-arrested-with-guns-idUSKCN1Q82JW
I will leave it to you to decide what it means that CNN chose to leave this information out of their reporting
What is telling is what you pointed out i.e. they explicitly stated they were working for the government and that they didn't have local network and logistics. It's possible they are security contractors under contract with the government but police aren't aware of it. That's not necessarily unrealistic.
You are my hero.
The Chaldeans are unique and have gone through several evolutions. While they currently recognize St. Peter's and the Holy See and take Catholic communion, they spent their first 1100 years telling Rome and Constantinople both to pound sand as Nestorians and following Persian patriarchs.
They've been on seemingly everyone's "not really Christian" list at least once, in the case of Eastern Orthodox they've been on the shit list 3 times.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/computer-programmer-ran-global-drug-trafficking-empire-180971355/
A recent ep of Reply All interviews the author and it's a wild fucking ride.
Just like unexploded munitions or depleted uranium, ex soldiers who go on to become contractors continue to spread death and destruction long after their contract with Uncle Sam is up.
Its entirely possible its an off-the-books mission of some sort
Graham now has less confidence in Shanahan, because Shanahan is planning to do what the White House is ordering him to do.
Lindsey Graham is just tearing it up lately. A complete whirlwind of angry and stupid.
Paramilitary officers are going to have built up networks and logistics in country. They're also not going to say "we work for the government".
As a kid I went to school with and was friends with some Iraqi Chaldean kids in Michigan. I think some had been born in the US, but all of their families arrived around the same time as refugees fleeing Saddam. There was a story that one of Saddam's sons had some disagreement with one of the patriarchs of one of the Chaldean families (pretty much everyone was cousins with each other) and had showed up at his home one day and shot him in front of his family, and that triggered the mini-exodus. So these families at least wanted Saddam dead, and I remember reading similar sentiments in interviews of other Iraqis in Michigan around 2003. I haven't kept in touch with the one friend I was closest with, but I know he joined the army as an interpreter at one point.
So yeah, Saddam probably got along with all the Christians still living there by 2003, but his regime had already probably killed or chased out anyone he didn't get along with.
Uday and Qusay also tried to kill each other on multiple occasions.
My favorite Uday story was when he beat his father’s personal assistant to death in front of the president of Egypt and his wife.
A crime for which he was banished. To Switzerland. Who sent him back after a few months after he was arrested for assault.
I would think it's there to lay down the groundwork for Trump to withdraw from NATO. "They're not paying and being a member puts Americans in America in danger, gotta leave."
This is not what happened. Russia was violating the treaty by developing a nuclear delivery vehicle which violated said treaty i.e. a short range or intermediate ground launched cruise missile which was only good for launching at Europe. We also didn't "back out", we've suspended the treaty for 6 months. Adhering to the treaty while Russia openly violates it does absolutely zero for security of the EU.
I think it does the opposite. From the Realist view point NATO served its purpose when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Warsaw Pact with it. Calls to withdraw from or dissolve NATO aren't new, they've been around since the 90's. If Russia wants to bow up and directly threaten the US and Europe then NATO now has a purpose again, almost exactly the purpose it originally had, even to those who have been vocal about leaving or dissolving NATO.
I'm sure if I made a multi paragraph post about the most esoteric details of desktop computer components or Star Wars you wouldn't feel the need to engage in such a shit post. But here we are.