US senate committee on National Security and Government Affairs Report: Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy an

[Iron]

Thank you. And I take "unnamed source" with a big pinch of salt, too.



Agreed, I don't think Trump "likes" Erdogan. But I think Trump is a narcissist, so deep down he is colossally insecure and lacking self-esteem, which drives him to crave approval. He sees in Erdogan and other autocratic leaders like Putin, bin Salman etc. what he would like himself to be but fears he is not: powerful, successful, dominant, tough. He ever so badly wants these guys to respect him, because to feel they admire him is to get the ultimate approval.

It makes him vulnerable against them.

His tragedy is that the vast, sucking black hole of insecurity at the core of him will never, ever be satisfied. He'll always be afraid he's not good enough, not loved enough.

I am not sure this is true with Erdogan, though. Trump is beating him hard for all its worth, even if you don't see it officially. Look at the way the Turkish Lira is at. US is approving (and I'd wager is partially responsible) for the boycott of Turkey by its allies in the ME. The only financial backer Erdogan has is Qatar and if the US is successful in its negotiations it will flip from the MB to the Saudi coalition. It's fascinating how organized the boycott of Turkey is right now. I can dig up stuff for you regarding this but I need to finish debugging something.

 

[Agema]

I am not sure this is true with Erdogan, though. Trump is beating him hard for all its worth, even if you don't see it officially. Look at the way the Turkish Lira is at. US is approving (and I'd wager is partially responsible) for the boycott of Turkey by its allies in the ME. The only financial backer Erdogan has is Qatar and if the US is successful in its negotiations it will flip from the MB to the Saudi coalition. It's fascinating how organized the boycott of Turkey is right now. I can dig up stuff for you regarding this but I need to finish debugging something.

Well, there's another aspect to Trump's narcissism. Narcissists want approval, but in the case of a contest they want to win, because that's another way of proving worth. That's why some narcissists are hugely successful, because their drive for admiration feeds huge ambition. Most of them, however, self-sabotage: I'd argue Trump has self-sabotaged over the last four years which is why he's eight points down. But he's clearly a lot more high functioning than many narcissists.

As for Turkey, well, if Trump is involved in supporting the financial attack on it from behind the scenes, then revenge is sweet.

My feeling is that what's playing out in the ME is essentially a three-way tussle between SA, Turkey and Iran. Turkey's interventions in Syria and the Caucasus, and even recent actions in Eastern Med with Greece and Cyprus suggest it turning away from EU association into making itself a regional power in its own right. SA's ambitions and attitude as the centre of the Muslim world are long known. I would not be surprised if SA were very keen to check Turkey's ambitions. As for Iran... well, almost nobody likes Iran, for obvious reasons.

 

[Trunkage]

I am not sure this is true with Erdogan, though. Trump is beating him hard for all its worth, even if you don't see it officially. Look at the way the Turkish Lira is at. US is approving (and I'd wager is partially responsible) for the boycott of Turkey by its allies in the ME. The only financial backer Erdogan has is Qatar and if the US is successful in its negotiations it will flip from the MB to the Saudi coalition. It's fascinating how organized the boycott of Turkey is right now. I can dig up stuff for you regarding this but I need to finish debugging something.

I don’t think the US is angling for anything in Turkey except having their baes secured again. Turkey almost stole all of the US hardware because of Trump’s spat, including nuclear warheads

 

[Gergar12]

I don’t think the US is angling for anything in Turkey except having their baes secured again. Turkey almost stole all of the US hardware because of Trump’s spat, including nuclear warheads

If they do that, the US will just bomb Ankara and Istanbul, or if the US president is a dove, recognize the Armenia genocide, sanction Turkey, and or side with Greece/France in Cyprus.

 

[Trunkage]

If they do that, the US will just bomb Ankara and Istanbul, or if the US president is a dove, recognize the Armenia genocide, sanction Turkey, and or side with Greece/France in Cyprus.

Bombing Turkey? Yeah sure. Another war were I don’t support either side. Just what we need

The Germans moved years ago because they see Turkey as an unreliable ally. They see it coming

 

[Gergar12]

Bombing Turkey? Yeah sure. Another war were I don’t support either side. Just what we need

The Germans moved years ago because they see Turkey as an unreliable ally. They see it coming

If Turkey steals B-61 bombs that are nuclear-capable, the US will want to set an example out of Turkey. Funny enough I recommended using the same bomb on Chinese naval vessels.

 

[Trunkage]

If Turkey steals B-61 bombs that a nuclear-capable, the US will want to set an example out of Turkey. Funny enough I recommended using the same bomb on Chinese naval vessels.

Yes, becuase using force has won every single conflict the US has been involved with in the last 60 years. Like Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc. How many times does the US need to lose before they realize that violence begets violence and just makes the problem worse.

I already think the US is just about as bad as China and Russia. They’ve already dragged my country into wars that are just about profits. They throw their dick around and spurt their juices on everyone and a lot of people are sick of their bullshit. From Reagan to Obama.

 

[Gergar12]

Yes, becuase using force has won every single conflict the US has been involved with in the last 60 years. Like Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc. How many times does the US need to lose before they realize that violence begets violence and just makes the problem worse.

I already think the US is just about as bad as China and Russia. They’ve already dragged my country into wars that are just about profits. They throw their dick around and spurt their juices on everyone and a lot of people are sick of their bullshit. From Reagan to Obama.

I hate more US president than just Reagan to Obama, I hate 99% of US presidents not named JFK, FDR, and LBJ to a lesser extent even then I hated most of their administration. They are all either racists(Allot of them), or neoliberal(Clinton), or cowards(Ex. Carter)

But I like my free speech rights, and if some Chinese, or Russian companies say to a website like this one, we will do X to you if you don't shut down debate, then I that's where I draw the line. I am not against anyone's culture, I am against them when they step on my rights possibly in the future.

As for Turkey, do you really want the Turks to hand off nuclear bombs to ISIS then ISIS bombs Berlin or Paris or Warsaw or Madrid? They won't bomb the US due to the Patriot Act, but they will bomb a European Capital of people more liberal than me or you, and those people don't deserve to die despite their leaders being cringle in one way or another.

 

[ralfy]

And us. We armed them, backed them, allied with them; encouraged and supported them to fight for our aims as well so we could minimise our own military "footprint" and personnel deaths.

Does honour mean anything or does it not? I mean, this thread is almost entirely people talking about ethics. It's a bit late to suddenly act like realpolitik is all that counts.

I think they were also gassed by Saddam using chemical weapons supplied by the West. Saddam himself received lots of military aid from the U.S. in order to counter Islamic fundamentalism, after which the U.S. used the latter to counter the Soviets, leading to the rise of various terror groups, especially in places like Iraq, which the U.S. in turn countered by engaging in deals with Saddam's former men and in Afghanistan working with the Northern Alliance, itself consisting of drug pushers and rapists. From there, poppy production was back, together with plans to take advantage of oil in the Afghan-Kazakhstan region plus billions of dollars' worth of minerals.

Given that, one feels that it was never about honor but realpolitik, and usually through military interventions, agreements based on what is practical, and dirty tricks.

 

[ralfy]

As mentioned earlier, both political parties operate using a combination of neoconservatism (military intervention and covert activities to control, destabilize, or attack weaker countries) and neoliberalism (onerous loan agreements and aid in order to control weaker countries), all under the guise of spreading freedom and democracy, while deregulation at home leads to increasing financial speculation, debt, and consumer spending to keep the public happy. The main goal is to support the U.S. rich, which funds all of these activities and earns from them.

Very likely, these operations involve multiple officials operating across several admins, which means any President will have to work with them, including Trump.

 

[Trunkage]

I hate more US president than just Reagan to Obama, I hate 99% of US presidents not named JFK, FDR, and LBJ to a lesser extent even then I hated most of their administration. They are all either racists(Allot of them), or neoliberal(Clinton), or cowards(Ex. Carter)

But I like my free speech rights, and if some Chinese, or Russian companies say to a website like this one, we will do X to you if you don't shut down debate, then I that's where I draw the line. I am not against anyone's culture, I am against them when they step on my rights possibly in the future.

As for Turkey, do you really want the Turks to hand off nuclear bombs to ISIS then ISIS bombs Berlin or Paris or Warsaw or Madrid? They won't bomb the US due to the Patriot Act, but they will bomb a European Capital of people more liberal than me or you, and those people don't deserve to die despite their leaders being cringle in one way or another.

I’m not prejudice. All three of those presidents are terrible too. JFK oversaw Mcarthy and Hoover and his military actions were... not great. LBJ was a bully all of his life and cried foul if anyone even looked at him wrong... think Trump, but somewhat progressive. He did have to be manhandled into the Civil Rights Act but JFK did nothing either and fought against similar manhandling. FDR looked at the rise of Nazis, economically, and said ‘let’s copy that.’ He, with Reagan, are mostly responsible for the economic disaster that is the US. Disaster as in VERY good for the rich who are eating the poor.

I like my Free Speech too. The US is quite terrible at upholding them. They’d prefer to bomb or imprison anyone who disagrees. The US is very much against everyone culture. Trump is a symptom, not a cause.

Turkey? I don’t think they’re pro-ISIS at all. Muslims arenot a monolith. They’d probably use bombs on them first, before the West. But probably the West as well. I’d prefer we get rid of all bomb. But that just makes be an evil peacenik. Peace with a gun (or nuclear bomb) to your head is not actually peace at all.

 

[Iron]

Well, there's another aspect to Trump's narcissism. Narcissists want approval, but in the case of a contest they want to win, because that's another way of proving worth. That's why some narcissists are hugely successful, because their drive for admiration feeds huge ambition. Most of them, however, self-sabotage: I'd argue Trump has self-sabotaged over the last four years which is why he's eight points down. But he's clearly a lot more high functioning than many narcissists.

As for Turkey, well, if Trump is involved in supporting the financial attack on it from behind the scenes, then revenge is sweet.

My feeling is that what's playing out in the ME is essentially a three-way tussle between SA, Turkey and Iran. Turkey's interventions in Syria and the Caucasus, and even recent actions in Eastern Med with Greece and Cyprus suggest it turning away from EU association into making itself a regional power in its own right. SA's ambitions and attitude as the centre of the Muslim world are long known. I would not be surprised if SA were very keen to check Turkey's ambitions. As for Iran... well, almost nobody likes Iran, for obvious reasons.

You've got it regarding the ME. I'd stress again that the biggest flash-point atm is Qatar and the pressure on its Emir. There is a massive US military base there - as well as a Turkish military base. It funds Al-Jazeera, a massive state-funded propaganda news outlet. Without its funding, Erdogan would crumble. It's also practically embargoed by all of its neighbors. Tense!

I don’t think the US is angling for anything in Turkey except having their baes secured again. Turkey almost stole all of the US hardware because of Trump’s spat, including nuclear warheads

Turkey would not dare disrupt US sovereignty, and if it does, it will demolish the Turks, as was mentioned in the thread.

I think they were also gassed by Saddam using chemical weapons supplied by the West. Saddam himself received lots of military aid from the U.S. in order to counter Islamic fundamentalism, after which the U.S. used the latter to counter the Soviets, leading to the rise of various terror groups, especially in places like Iraq, which the U.S. in turn countered by engaging in deals with Saddam's former men and in Afghanistan working with the Northern Alliance, itself consisting of drug pushers and rapists. From there, poppy production was back, together with plans to take advantage of oil in the Afghan-Kazakhstan region plus billions of dollars' worth of minerals.

Given that, one feels that it was never about honor but realpolitik, and usually through military interventions, agreements based on what is practical, and dirty tricks.

If you give weapons to such a regime it will undoubtedly leak to interest-groups and preform in tribal warfare. US weaponry starred in the arsenal of ISIS after it had captured it from fleeing Iraqi soldiers. Don't send guns to people, kids! They may use them!