The world waits with bated breath to see what happens in the Ukraine war and what the geopolitical realignment is going to be, now that America has proven itself to be a bunch of clueless rubes and our government is now a circus with the spray-tanned ringmaster putting on a spectacle. And spectacle is what you can depend on. I make that prediction without hesitation. In fact, I guarantee it. In the center ring right now is the biggest war in Europe since 1945 and after the drum roll a game show host will start playing with peoples’ lives. Here is a clip which has resurrected somehow, and is being passed off as new. I guess the rationale is to make Volodomyr Zelensky look foolhardy and reckless by speaking so plainly.
I’m not willing to give my freedom to this fucking terrorist Trump.
— taormint (@taormint) November 10, 2024
Perhaps the best that Ukraine and its supporters can hope for is that Trump doesn’t walk away from NATO and allows European states to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine. This minimal position might represent a victory of sorts for Europeans who believe in democracy and the transatlantic alliance—but it would still signal a historical break. The United States will likely stop leading the global opposition to Russian aggression, and perhaps stop caring about the results of the largest war in Europe since 1945. Indeed, the president of the United States will be closer personally to the head of Europe’s largest dictatorship than to any of the continent’s democratically elected leaders.
Those leaders should have started preparing for another Trump presidency long ago. They had been warned. But for the past year many Europeans have been surviving on hope. Surely the American people won’t vote for Trump, particularly after the January 6 insurrection. The prudent assumption now is that the U.S. will no longer guarantee Europe’s security from Russia and other threats. Leaders should envisage a world where NATO no longer exists—or where the United States is no longer the leading force in the alliance.
In some ways, this is more scary psychologically than in practice. Europe—which is to say, the democratic countries enmeshed in institutions such as NATO and the European Union—has the economic and technological resources to underwrite a serious defense effort. It has a large and educated enough population to staff modern armed forces. It also has some strong and growing military capabilities. For instance, European states either have received or will receive in the coming years as many as 600 F-35 fighters—the most advanced and capable aircraft in the world. Such a force could dominate the skies against a clearly inferior Russian opponent.
This is one possibility. Europeans working with Ukraine to improve its drone capacity is another. The militaristic aspects of what the European picture will become is beyond our scope here, but the psychological aspects of this catastrophic decision on the part of the American electorate are already looming. People are simply wondering what the world is going to look like in a few short months.
And don’t forget Vladimir Putin’s display on Russian TV of Melania Trump in her nude modeling career. That was a troll, plain and simple. Putin is flexing his muscles and letting Trump know who’s boss. Now here’s a situation that may play out.
The four most powerful states in Europe today—the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland—could give Ukraine their blessing to attack any Russian military targets. After all, Russia is using its weapons—and those provided by its allies, such as Iran, to attack targets in Ukraine…
A new Europe may be born due to the obliviousness of the American electorate. And it won’t remain oblivious for long. It’s going to get a crash course in tariffs, inflation and economics generally.
I read something recently, that several European nations have ramped up weapons production. At least one of them is giving Ukraine financial support, which is more effective for Ukraine to produce their own weapons. Lastly, Ukraine just started production on their own ballistic missiles. Once they are in use, there won’t be any limitations on their targets. Hopefully things won’t be as dreadful as we think.
The video of Zelensky looks highly edited. Has anyone verified its accuracy?
Well, Rupar also notes that it was done BEFORE the election so it’s not really new. (In fact, Zelenskyy’s last interview with Meet the Press–via a Google search–was in April of this year while the “terrorist” comment was done LAST NOVEMBER.)
But, if it’s just started showing up recently, you can damn well be sure it’s the product of right-wing trolls (paid for by Putin) so a lot of editing is guaranteed. (You know–the way right-wing media would selectively edit videos of President Biden to make him look decrepit and when the original pieces were put out in full, the editing was blatant. Meanwhile, the LEGITIMATE videos showing Trump as a decrepit moron were attacked by the right-wing as “edited”–even when the FULL ORIGINAL clips were shown. Of course, much of the time, the full original clips were the ones that the right-wing were claiming were “edited.”)
Let me assure you that even if Trumpler withdraws the USA from NATO, the treaty organisation will survive. It will change, as it must, but it will not simply go tits up just because the US goes home in a sulk. Yes, American funding will be missed, but the EU has money of its own, enough to carry on the defense of Europe. People ignore the fact that the US spends 1/4 of 1% (0.025%) of its GDP on NATO, while demanding EU nations spend a minimum of 2%. Europe must and will step up in its own defence; Putin knows this and is counting on a Trump appeasement plan to let him win his dirty illegal war.
I actually believe nato will be stronger without the tyrant. They most certainly will survive. Hopefully they can keep Putin in line and the tyrant out of their business if he does pull us out.
And the US contribution to NATO is about 16% of NATO’s expenditure, the remaining 84% or so is the funding provided by other members. Losing 16% isn’t fatal, just uncomfortable, but the EU is VERY wealthy, they can afford it.
In addition, the US is going to make money in the short term selling armaments, but no-one in Europe or Canada thinks well of continuing that, they have their own armaments manufacturers quite able and willing to scale up production. Joint ventures between US makers and other country’s makers like the BAE/Lockheed Martin collaboration that brought us the F35 aren’t going to happen again. Very quickly there will be an Airbus based reconnaissance/anti-sub alternative to the Boeing P8 as there is to C130 and C17 cargo planes. So say goodbye to US profits from overseas arms sales – and the jobs they provide.
…..Aaannd, another promise made, promise (not) kept…..
If Putin wants us out of nato, we will be out. First the tyrant will THREATEN to withdraw from nato unless every single country ponies up a ton of cash and agrees to keep Ukraine out. Tyrant will hand Ukraine on a silver platter to Putin. Also Israel will get all the land they want and will be allowed to kill as many people that don’t leave justifying it as they are trespassing. He will also allow china to sweep through Taiwan. Then his mission will be complete as wannabe strongman and he can sit back and watch Russia plow through Europe, etc., while he sits and watches it on tv like it was January 6th all over again. He will no longer be of use to Putin and should avoid windows in tall buildings and hire a food taster. And President Zelenskyy must surround himself with additional security once January 20th arrives. The destruction of the entire free world by this petty thief and tyrant is my nightmare and I fear that he will do it. He has the dream, the will, and now the total ability to do so. He PROMISED to end the war in Ukraine on day one, along with all his other day one tyrant promises. I’m so proud that President Biden has done so much to aid Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion and utter destruction of that beautiful country and their beautiful people. I weep for the destruction, the dead and injured Ukrainian peoples and missing/kidnapped children that were taken to Russia. Far fetched? I certainly hope and pray so.