Wonder how Don will handle this?..
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u-s-sanctions-russian-retaliation-1.4228277
Leaks from the White House suggest he’s planning to seize Casterly Rock.
Probably glad to leave, unfortunately trading one autocrat area for a one that wants that
.
Russian expulsion of more than half the people working for American missions, two incidents of Iranian Naval vessels tangling with US ships, N. Korea saber rattling and launching missiles,…seems like maybe some of our adversaries are testing the administration as internal issues are somewhat in disarray.
Russian expulsion of more than half the people working for American missions, two incidents of Iranian Naval vessels tangling with US ships, N. Korea saber rattling and launching missiles,…seems like maybe some of our adversaries are testing the administration as internal issues are somewhat in disarray.
I get that impression, but Russia is particularly interesting considering the ongoing investigation. The GOP more or less went against Trump by voting for these sanctions, now this is Russia’s response. Will be interesting to see if Trump tweets or just ignores it, let alone actually do anything.
Russian expulsion of more than half the people working for American missions, two incidents of Iranian Naval vessels tangling with US ships, N. Korea saber rattling and launching missiles,…seems like maybe some of our adversaries are testing the administration as internal issues are somewhat in disarray.
I get that impression, but Russia is particularly interesting considering the ongoing investigation. The GOP more or less went against Trump by voting for these sanctions, now this is Russia’s response. Will be interesting to see if Trump tweets or just ignores it, let alone actually do anything.
The Orange-Haired Wonder is doing a fair amount of saber rattling over Ukraine and he’s signed that Russia sanctions law passed out of the Congress that’s led to these expulsions, which are a diplomatic play by Putin and the oligarchs (especially the super-rich oligarchs) that stand behind him. I think we ascribe too much to Putin and the power he holds, which is still impressive, even if he’s likely doing what the behind-the-scenes power players in Russia want him to do in a number of instances.
Sooner or later – and probably sooner rather than later – much of these issues are going to come to a head and we’ll be tested. I wonder how we’ll respond. Reports are saying that the U.S. and its Asian allies are preparing for a strike against North Korea soon, if they can keep China on the sidelines (meaning that we swap out one communist regime for another…with the aim to finally put the Kims down for once and for all).
We also have special operations forces fighting all over the globe, we’re likely going to be in a mid-level (maybe it might stay low-level, though) undeclared war with Iran in the Gulf (something I personally was involved in over there in '87 and '88) and the issues with ISIS and other non-state terror groups are only likely to worsen, should Iran obtain nuclear weapons capability, which it eventually will.
I find it interesting that Trump didn’t seem to take any credit for this sanctions bill. It would seem like a slam dunk political move, since it passed by overwhelming margins. He could have strutted around saying how tough he was with Russia and North Korea and how he was able to unite congress like no other.
Instead silence… Interesting.
I find it interesting that Trump didn’t seem to take any credit for this sanctions bill. It would seem like a slam dunk political move, since it passed by overwhelming margins. He could have strutted around saying how tough he was with Russia and North Korea and how he was able to unite congress like no other.
Instead silence… Interesting.
Ominous silence. Foreboding silence.
I find it interesting that Trump didn’t seem to take any credit for this sanctions bill. It would seem like a slam dunk political move, since it passed by overwhelming margins. He could have strutted around saying how tough he was with Russia and North Korea and how he was able to unite congress like no other.
Instead silence… Interesting.
Ominous silence. Foreboding silence.
It’s quiet,…maybe,…too quiet.
I think it’s just politics and ego. He talked before about reducing sanctions, and it’s tough to come out now trying to sound like he was for them all along.
I find it interesting that Trump didn’t seem to take any credit for this sanctions bill. It would seem like a slam dunk political move, since it passed by overwhelming margins. He could have strutted around saying how tough he was with Russia and North Korea and how he was able to unite congress like no other.
Instead silence… Interesting.
Ominous silence. Foreboding silence.
It’s quiet,…maybe,…too quiet.
I think it’s just politics and ego. He talked before about reducing sanctions, and it’s tough to come out now trying to sound like he was for them all along.
That hasn’t stopped him before. The house healthcare bill did nearly the opposite of everything he said in the campaign, didn’t stop him from having a victory celebration in front of the White House.
I find it interesting that Trump didn’t seem to take any credit for this sanctions bill. It would seem like a slam dunk political move, since it passed by overwhelming margins. He could have strutted around saying how tough he was with Russia and North Korea and how he was able to unite congress like no other.
It’s because the Whitehouse has been going around Congress for weeks trying to get the sanction bill watered down and they don’t want that getting out. Best to be quiet just in case someone in Congress had the conversations wired.
I don’t think “seize” is quite the right word since I think Russia owns those properties, and just does something similar to a “lease” to the 'Muricans.
They just kicked the tenants out, which is their right. (And our right for kicking Russians out of the two swanky properties they had in the U.S.)
Wonder how Don will handle this?..
http://www.cbc.ca/...etaliation-1.4228277
You are fools…
This is the cleansing from the OBAMA diplomatic corps… soon to silently be replaced with “in-line” Trumpers (with a business degree and Right orders).
In return, we remove some of Putin’s opponents Oligarch-reporting diplomats, just to make the whole charade look more credible.
Window dressing, but really great to pull the wool over the eyes of the American public.
Never forget:
Putin and Trump do business together.
Can’t wait for the sheep to ask for ‘proof’.
Wonder how Don will handle this?..
http://www.cbc.ca/...etaliation-1.4228277
You are fools…
This is the cleansing from the OBAMA diplomatic corps… soon to silently be replaced with “in-line” Trumpers (with a business degree and Right orders).
In return, we remove some of Putin’s opponents Oligarch-reporting diplomats, just to make the whole charade look more credible.
Window dressing, but really great to pull the wool over the eyes of the American public.
Never forget:
Putin and Trump do business together.
Can’t wait for the sheep to ask for ‘proof’.
I think it was Lord Palmerston (though the quote’s been linked to several other notable world leaders and diplomats over the centuries) who observed that nation’s don’t have friends, they only have interests. I think that relations between Russia – in the form of Vladimir Putin – and the U.S. (and Donald Trump) will remain much the same as they are: Putin will cooperate with us in areas where it’s in his (and his country’s) interest to do so and he won’t when it’s not in his interest. Same goes for our current president and the U.S. Simple as that.
As far as I can tell, Putin’s and Russia’s response to the increasing of sanctions (an existing regime that Russia and certain individuals within that country were already under) was fairly temperate, for all the huffing and puffing in the press. As someone else in this thread previously pointed out, they’re kicking out about 755 U.S. embassy workers, and now remaining U.S. personnel will no longer be able to use a posh dacha for vacations and parties. Quelle horreur. 
As to Mr. Trump not vetoing the sanctions, what would have been the point? For one, it would have been easily overridden, creating an embarrassing loss for the president, and for another it would have added even more fuel to the Trump-Russia connection story. Thus, a somewhat silent response from the White House, so far.
I also find it ironic that Europe is unhappy about the sanctions, given that several European leaders have criticized the Orange-Haired Wonder in the past for being soft on Russia. But Europe’s unhappiness may be due to the fact that the new sanctions allow the U.S. to impose heavy fines on European companies involved in energy infrastructure with Russia. That directly threatens several major projects now in progress between Russia and Europe.
The Continent has been dependent on Russian oil and gas for some time, after all, and there’s a potential for stoppages in the westward flow of those Russian products due to effects of the new sanctions regime. If memory serves, a 2009 dispute between Russia and Ukraine for example, caused a crisis in much of southeastern Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas. The dispute even affected parts of central and western Europe, to boot.
In response to the U.S. sanctions against Russia, EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has noted that the EU would take action to protect itself from the negative effects that he and the Union believe would arise, noting that “America First” cannot mean “Europe Last” in this regard. Action against the sanctions regime could include some sort of European-driven trade war retaliation against the U.S. See what I mean about nations and their interests?
The benefit to Russia in all this seems to outweigh the pain the sanctions will probably cause that nation, so what I see is some sort of behind-the-scenes or *sub rosa *effort on the part of Congress and the White House to craft the application of those sanctions around Europe’s interests as Juncker and the EU perceive them.
I say “behind the scenes” because word of such an accommodation for Europe would leave our current president open to charges from his enemies that he’s being soft on, or even “colluding” with, Russia. Some of this is Mr. Trump’s own fault because of his past conduct with Russia, for certain. I hope, though, that Congress and the White House can be adult about this in dealing with a foreign adversary (Russia, not the EU ;-).
Wonder how Don will handle this?..
http://www.cbc.ca/...etaliation-1.4228277
You are fools…
This is the cleansing from the OBAMA diplomatic corps… soon to silently be replaced with “in-line” Trumpers (with a business degree and Right orders).
In return, we remove some of Putin’s opponents Oligarch-reporting diplomats, just to make the whole charade look more credible.
Window dressing, but really great to pull the wool over the eyes of the American public.
Never forget:
Putin and Trump do business together.
Can’t wait for the sheep to ask for ‘proof’.
Well, you’re either crazy, or I have to give you credit for creativity.
Russian expulsion of more than half the people working for American missions, two incidents of Iranian Naval vessels tangling with US ships, N. Korea saber rattling and launching missiles,…seems like maybe some of our adversaries are testing the administration as internal issues are somewhat in disarray.
I get that impression, but Russia is particularly interesting considering the ongoing investigation. The GOP more or less went against Trump by voting for these sanctions, now this is Russia’s response. Will be interesting to see if Trump tweets or just ignores it, let alone actually do anything.
I think the sanctions* are* “doing something”, even if Trump would rather they not be levied. Obama was repeatedly over-ridden by congress, including his own guys, on Iranian sanctions. Obama had his own agenda with Iran, and preferred to deal with them in his own way, just as Trump prefers to have all the power as he deals with Russia. The difference to me, is that Obama’s goal of an “Iran deal” was obvious, while whatever Trump’s reasons, they are less apparent…leading to more speculation.