Yet they have not been able to supply Ukraine (except barely).
That’s why Zelensky is in the White House, hat in hand, being berated by Trump and Vance.
I don’t have anything but respect for Zelenskyy. But in retrospect, although his English was fine and meaning clear and reasonable, he would have been better off with an interpreter. Not because it was necessary, but because it would slow things down, allow crass comments to be slightly elevated, and give a little more time to think things through.
But maybe it would not have made a big difference given this planned ambush. I do not think Zelenskyy was completed taken by surprise, and despite some reporting I think his reaction reasonable - no one is superhuman.
It is like how a narrator in a commercial ends by repeating the phone number or website three times in a row to make it stick in your head. Trump is pushing, and the product is “Russia, Russia, Russia….with a taste a man can get next to, no filter, no foolin’, now available in the convenience crush-proof box.”
Well, he loved his idea of “America” and “freedom”, which was not universally shared to say the least.
Couch Fucker was trying to school Zelenskyy on courtesy while talking over him while Mr. “37 Counts” was randomly spewing nonsense and complaining about Joe Biden because he forgot that he won the election that Biden wasn’t even running against him in. Zelenskyy was the only one making any actual sense and relating actual facts to the situation.
Stranger
That’s false. They HAVE supplied them, largely with cash of course… but American industry was ready to rock, so it was just easiest to do that. But they did provide a great many weapons and vehicles and other equipment. I have personally been to no fewer than three factories within an hour’s drive of my house in southern Ontario making things for the Ukrainian Army, funded by the government of Canada. It’s just an American myth that all the stuff came from the USA.
Europe makes jet fighters, tanks, missiles, and warships of the highest quality. They’ll have to scale up, but so be it (and it’ll be disastrous for the US economy, which makes a fortune on weapons exports.)
Of course this is bad for the West no matter how you slice it, but, sorry, we can’t trust the USA.
MAGA not only doesn’t see Russia as an enemy. They actually like Russia better than the rest of Europe. They see Russia as a non-woke, tough guy’s place, and Europe as an effete, lazy, haven for Middle-East migrants.
In MAGA-world, I think Russia is seen as our potential friend, and maybe the EU is at best an economic competitor or perhaps an outright enemy at this point.
He was sitting on a really nice couch, too. You know he’s gonna think about it the next time Mrs. Vance lets him touch her.
Back when Dubya was president, someone (probably on these very boards) made the comment: “They say we get the government we deserve. But I don’t remember gang-raping a bus load of retarded nuns.” I feel the same way about Trump - what the hell did we do to deserve this?
Not going to argue that.
But it remains that the US is, by far, the biggest supplier of weapons to NATO and Ukraine.
Trump has not been wrong that NATO countries have (mostly) not lived up to their treaty commitments. That leaves the US.
I am NOT saying what Trump did in the White House with Zelensky is ok (it certainly is not). I am saying Ukraine and NATO need US weapons. The EU will now work to separate themselves from the US but that will take some time (maybe decades).
In normal diplomatic interactions that would be true. But this wasn’t a diplomatic interaction (and was never intended to be by either side); it was an attempt to belittle and demean Zelenskyy on t.v. by the head of state of a nation formerly supporting Ukraine and surrounded on all sides by people basically cheering Trump on. Zelenskyy (who had to know something like this was going to happen because this is exactly who Trump is) refused to cave to the pressure and responded firmly with facts and measured response while Trump and Vance tried to up the threats, making them look like ineffectual bullies. Whatever this was supposed to accomplish for Trump—beyond making a ‘reality’ show for his adoring fans and Putin—it certainly demonstrated to the leaders of European nations in or aligned with NATO that it is possible to stand up to Trump and tell him off. It is why most European nations are circling their wagons around Ukraine (at least for the near future) and searching their pockets for spare change and extra stocks to keep Ukraine going in this war.
In large measure, the stockpiles of ammunition and the weapon systems supplied to Ukraine by the US have been surplus scheduled for destruction or distribution to allies anyway. Except for HIMARS and a small amount of other materiel, everything the US shipped to Ukraine wasn’t newly produced for them or in any way deprived the US armed forces of forward inventory.
Stranger
Of course it’s going to be a shit show, but the sooner it starts, the sooner it’s over. America must be stopped.
I mean the bombing of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrible, but it got shit done.
Speaking of WWII, I too would be proud to have on my side folks that think the Holocaust was a good start.
Allāhu ʾakbar, am I right!
Sure, let’s advocate for empowering fanatics and committing mass war crimes. That’s a rational line of thinking, especially against a country with a large nuclear retaliatory capability and a current leader who loves to talk about opportunities for using them.
Stranger
North Korea always needs money. /s
Countries have been leary of “loaning” Ukraine with its most modern materiel. They’ve been saving it for… something. A Russian invasion, possibly. The Russian invasion is here. Maybe now is the time to use some of the first-level equipment.
Nor can Trump back out of all Ukraine assistance. First, to him, is that he would look like a loser to Zelenskyy. He needs to pull a win out of this and not just one that’s believed only by MAGA purists. Second, the defense industry has supported the government as much as the government has supported it. Why would they want to be deprived of billions of dollars of gravy, dribbled over tens of billions of dollars of turkey? Third, his trade wars are going to blow up the economy and he’ll need some sector blowing hot. Fourth, he’ll want to give contracts to Elon - at least until their inevitable break-up.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Europe commit fully to taking apart Putin, a job that’s necessary but also extreme dangerous because no one knows what comes next. That won’t happen. Trump will do one of his famous turnarounds and deny that any harsh words were ever spoken. Ukraine will mortgage its existence. The world will get worse. 2028 better hurry up and get here.
So, a couple of days ago we got to see Macron sitting next to Trump. Now Zelensky. Both speaking in other than their native tongue.
Is there ANY foreign leader whom Trump could look better than? Maybe Kim Jong Un? I figure it has got to be a pretty short list.
What treaty commitments? Remember, the “Two percent of GDP on defense” thing isn’t in the NATO treaty. Should some NATO countries spend more on defense, yes. And now, that wish will be granted, big time.
Let’s get serious; what’s the one NATO country that has invoked Article 5, demanded the others defend it, got that defense, and had other NATO countries give up the lives of their sons and daughters and billions of dollars to defend it? Acts that it’s just completely forgotten? It rhymes with “Foonited Mates.” The USA is not hard done by by NATO or anyone else.
As a Canadian, I think my country hasn’t spent enough on its military. But I will apologize to the USA for that on the day an American can name ONE of the many Canadians who were killed and maimed in Afghanistan fighting back against those who caused and helped 9/11. Most don’t even know we were there.
Well…
Defence expenditures and NATO’s 2% guideline
NATO has a common definition of defence expenditure since the early 1950s. The definition is agreed by all NATO Allies. It is regularly reviewed, most recently in early 2024. - SOURCE
I thought it is more now but this will do for starters.
I think a lot of Trump being so supportive of Putin dates back to 2015 when he said that Putin called him “brilliant”. He thinks that Putin admires him so of course he admires Putin. The only problem is that apparently the word that Putin used is better translated as “bright”. Trump thinks Putin meant bright as in intelligent when some of the pundits who speak Russian translated it in context as more consistent with bright as in flashy.
It would be amusing if Putin had used a word like яркий, which translates to “bright” but in the luminous sense, synonymous with “flamboyant” and “glaring”, suggesting someone who favours a style of decor commonly known as “chintzy”. Which would certainly be accurate. If you’ve ever seen the interiors of any of Trump’s dwellings, his taste in decor is at about the same level as his intelligence, which is to say, crude and virtually non-existent.
And the same applies to his personal appearance, which is likely what Putin was referring to – the ridiculous orange tan with raccoon eyes peering out, that yellow thing he wears on top of his head, and the tie that’s usually bright red and always about a foot too long. Within the necessary constraints of business attire, Trump still does his best to dress like a pimp, and to live like one.
If there is a silver lining for Ukraine, it is that this disgraceful contretemps was shown on live television. This was an intentional act by Trump to embiggen himself and look tough in the eyes of his supporters. Perhaps it finally opened the eyes of European leaders and perhaps some American politicians. And we learned how hard it was for Putin and Trump to suffer together the indignities of being accused of ungentlemanly behaviour.
Had this been a real attempt at diplomacy:
- they would have eaten lunch first
- Vance would not have been there
- Trump would care about money, not thanks
- No Russian media would have been invited
- Trump would not be discussing “good TV”
- Real security guarantees would have been given
- Perhaps they would have played cards later