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[Meicyn]

for those glazing Rubio here's some more red meat. thanks Obama.

Honestly wish Rubio was POTUS right now. He has the chops for it. I'm glad Trump switched gears and leaned in Rubio's direction, but we could be doing so much better domestically.

I've oft wondered what would become of the ME if cold fusion or some other method revolutionized the energy sector.
If oil become worthless, the entire region collapses.
Or the other logical conclusion, the oil dries up. They pull hundreds of millions of barrels a day outta the ground, it can't last forever.

Saudi Arabia is well aware that oil won't keep them around in the long run. It's why they've been diversifying, investing into gaming among many other things.

 

[near]

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

China has been pretty good at buying stuff up overseas due to soft foreign investment laws and certainly is pretty good at RUTHLESSLY squashing any internal disputes (re Ughuirs) due to soft power enabling them to escape virtually any international scrutiny, but their ability to actually PROJECT military power is HIGHLY questionable. How good is their doctrine? How good are their logistics (here I would expect them to excell), how good is their maintenance? A lot of their stuff seems to be reverse engineered from western tech, so does it really work? The US, if nothing else, are MASTERS at force projection because it's basically all we do, for DECADES. We have bases and contacts everywhere and can be EVERYWHERE. Stuff like the current Iran operation would be unimaginable for China, they have no where near the platforms and the connections to move in and operate in such a fashion.

What always confuses me is that it seems people just don't learn from the history. Historically China has never had proper foreign policy. Zero. None. They were good at trade, but in power projection, alliances and others - they have never had them and they have never been good at that. They literally think that everybody that are not part of their "middle kingdom" are barbarians.

One thing with the current war - granted it hasn't ended - is that it demonstrated what USA can actually do together with REAL allies and how much USA can do for the allies, when they are unshackled. I think the current war shows a lot and might change a lot of public perception among various countries. The populations (like europoors) might not like it, but politically this war - if ends successfully - will give Trump administration a lot of credit. If Venezuela case was - eh, it is South America, kinda far away etc. This one is not - and China (BRICS and co.) showed that they are not allies or anything and China won't do anything for allies.

Israel + USA alliance is something that a lot of countries might be willing to recreate. It also demonstrated how useless european countries are. So much for the "superpower".

Honestly wish Rubio was POTUS right now. He has the chops for it. I'm glad Trump switched gears and leaned in Rubio's direction, but we could be doing so much better domestically.

Rubio is too good, terrific as the Secretary of State. For the presidential position though he lacks certain element. Not sure what it is exactly but there is certain "appeal" that the president usually has. Like you know something from the "actor". I think he is too direct. But absolutely terrific as an executioner. Like Agrippa.

Basically confirms that CNN works for CIA. I wonder how much propaganda will CNN spew now because they are basically BBC but for CIA. I recall how they were interviewing - accidentally - all the supporters of ayatollah. Expect a lot of reporting over "dying children", "USA attacking hospitals", "Israel killing kids" and so on.

 

[kruis]

It was always gonna be about the GCC's petrol capacity. It's the biggest leverage by far in the region.

What I didn't know was that suspending oil production could potentially damage reservoirs and production infrastructure.

 

[jason10mm]

What always confuses me is that it seems people just don't learn from the history. Historically China has never had proper foreign policy. Zero. None. They were good at trade, but in power projection, alliances and others - they have never had them and they have never been good at that. They literally think that everybody that are not part of their "middle kingdom" are barbarians.

I think 'modern' China realizes that their long stretches of ignoring the outer world only leaves them vulnerable, so now they are much more aggressive on dominating certain fields (like AI), and electronics manufacture) to ensure they aren't open to exploitation. Plus they NEED so many imports, buying up the sources is only logical.

Ultimately I think China would act a lot more like a european colonial power...i.e. exploit the ever living SHIT out of the natives to extract max resources with no regard to health and safety, if they could. Like Belgium in the Congo levels.

 

[kruis]

Honestly wish Rubio was POTUS right now. He has the chops for it. I'm glad Trump switched gears and leaned in Rubio's direction, but we could be doing so much better domestically.


Saudi Arabia is well aware that oil won't keep them around in the long run. It's why they've been diversifying, investing into gaming among many other things.

They're pretty safe for the foreseeable future.

"At today's production rate, Saudi Arabia could theoretically produce oil for about 60–80 years."

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I think 'modern' China realizes that their long stretches of ignoring the outer world only leaves them vulnerable, so now they are much more aggressive on dominating certain fields (like AI), and electronics manufacture) to ensure they aren't open to exploitation. Plus they NEED so many imports, buying up the sources is only logical.

And even then they are not projecting the power - it is again just their classic merchant-like approach. Ultimately foreign policy is about the export of the politcs. "Fairness", "capitalism", "socialism", "freedom" etc. China has none, nothing they can export that would allow to create "alliances".

I still think that if Iranian war ends successfully it will lead to a really big realignment worldwide.

 

[jason10mm]

And even then they are not projecting the power - it is again just their classic merchant-like approach. Ultimately foreign policy is about the export of the politcs. "Fairness", "capitalism", "socialism", "freedom" etc. China has none, nothing they can export that would allow to create "alliances".

I still think that if Iranian war ends successfully it will lead to a really big realignment worldwide.

I'm not adverse to letting them try. How would they run the pacific sphere? What's their tolerance for pirates, voiding contracts, internal humans right violations?

I think many countries would MUCH rather the US be running things, but who can say? Though the very high chinese tolerance for selling counterfeit goods and rampant IP theft suggests their concept of "fairness" is......slippery at best. While the US certainly pushes for things that favor us, there is more of a "tit for tat" exchange of value I think.

But seeing their oil supply getting pinched is gonna stir up a response, I think. I'm curious to see what it is. (Another) trade/tariff war with the US? More overt attempts to buy countries away from the US? Military occupation of their oil/resource sources to defy US intervention is how we would probably respond, so maybe that's what they will do as well.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

And even then they are not projecting the power - it is again just their classic merchant-like approach. Ultimately foreign policy is about the export of the politcs. "Fairness", "capitalism", "socialism", "freedom" etc. China has none, nothing they can export that would allow to create "alliances".

I still think that if Iranian war ends successfully it will lead to a really big realignment worldwide.

I think China is dipping their toes into the pool by gradually projecting cultural influence. You can see it with cinema, gaming, etc. Small stakes but good long term investment.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Basically confirms that CNN works for CIA. I wonder how much propaganda will CNN spew now because they are basically BBC but for CIA. I recall how they were interviewing - accidentally - all the supporters of ayatollah. Expect a lot of reporting over "dying children", "USA attacking hospitals", "Israel killing kids" and so on.

The CIA works for who?

 

[Bojji]

The populations (like europoors)

I like this open hostility. And people are wondering why rest of the world don't like USA and Americans right now?

 

[Hot5pur]

You can't make this shit up.

 

[near]

Basically confirms that CNN works for CIA. I wonder how much propaganda will CNN spew now because they are basically BBC but for CIA. I recall how they were interviewing - accidentally - all the supporters of ayatollah. Expect a lot of reporting over "dying children", "USA attacking hospitals", "Israel killing kids" and so on.

This makes absolutely no sense.

 

[kruis]

Trump thinks he can turn Iran into a vassal state without boots on the ground just like Venezuela...

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/trump-says-he-wants-to-be-involved-in-selecting-irans-next-leader-khameneis-son-a-lightweight/

Article:

US President Donald Trump says he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader, just as he was in Venezuela.

"They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," Trump tells Axios in a phone interview, acknowledging reports that Surprme Leader Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba has been tapped as a likely successor.

"Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump says.

Trump's comments appear to undercut US claims that the goal of the war in Iran is not regime change, even if it would be a welcome byproduct.

 

[IntentionalPun]

for those glazing Rubio here's some more red meat. thanks Obama.

Are we just going to ignore that Trump ripped up the deal in 2018?

lol

 

[Madonis]

Iran is not Venezuela, so Trump seems to be jumping the gun with all this talk of who will or won't be the leader.

 

[Gp1]

It seems more likely that this was a plan in case Khomeini killed and didn't have a successor. Just attack all the enemies. The plan's implementation is pretty embarrassing, which probably means there's still a lack of
coordination.

Some analysts are saying that, since the 12 days war and the lack of reaction there because the orders didn't arrived in time (the top brass was destroyed), the IRGC commanders went for a decentralized command structure.

So basically what's probably is happening "when there is no one bombing us, you (missile commander) go out and bomb one of our closets enemies in these predetermined targets until you exaust your stockpile"

 

[Hari Seldon]

I like this open hostility. And people are wondering why rest of the world don't like USA and Americans right now?

You should be more concerned that a good portion of the US is starting to hate Canada and Europe. The domestic political wins that euro and canadian politicians have been making by attacking the republican party in the US is going to have long term consequences. Most Americans don't care or think about these places, but are now starting to. That is bad news for them.

 

[Bojji]

You should be more concerned that a good portion of the US is starting to hate Canada and Europe. The domestic political wins that euro and canadian politicians have been making by attacking the republican party in the US is going to have long term consequences. Most Americans don't care or think about these places, but are now starting to. That is bad news for them.

Bad news for Europe, how? We are talking about sovereign countries here, they don't have to listen to what USA is saying. They also don't have to be a part of war started by USA and Israel (that is not in NATO).

A lot of countries helped USA with Afghanistan and Iraq wars and Trump was mocking them (and all deceased soldiers) few months ago.

Trump acts like a headless chicken so no wonder that people are laughing at him.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Bad news for Europe, how? We are talking about sovereign countries here, they don't have to listen to what USA is saying. They also don't have to be a part of war started by USA and Israel (that is not in NATO).

A lot of countries helped USA with Afghanistan and Iraq wars and Trump was mocking them (and all deceased soldiers) few months ago.

Trump acts like a headless chicken so no wonder that people are laughing at him.

I'm not talking about this current war. I don't care that Europeans are not joining in, it is probably best if they don't since their cities are in range of Iran's missiles. I'm talking about inserting themselves into US domestic politics. That will be a long term disaster for Europe. Right now most Americans have a favorable opinion of NATO and even most republicans think that the Greenland shit is nuts. If that changes it will be big trouble for all involved.

 

[Wildebeest]

You should be more concerned that a good portion of the US is starting to hate Canada and Europe. The domestic political wins that euro and canadian politicians have been making by attacking the republican party in the US is going to have long term consequences. Most Americans don't care or think about these places, but are now starting to. That is bad news for them.

Whatever. When the US crashes the global economy they will all be too busy trying to work out how to put things back together without the US at the center to care.

 

[Bojji]

I'm not talking about this current war. I don't care that Europeans are not joining in, it is probably best if they don't since their cities are in range of Iran's missiles. I'm talking about inserting themselves into US domestic politics. That will be a long term disaster for Europe. Right now most Americans have a favorable opinion of NATO and even most republicans think that the Greenland shit is nuts. If that changes it will be big trouble for all involved.

You think USA will attack Europe?

USA is inserting itself into EU politics from quite some time now:

The Alliance Attacking Freedom - New research exposes US far-right influence ahead of EU Elections | Corporate Europe Observatory

New research from Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner Kenneth Haar, unveils the link between ultraconservative US foundations and right-wing forces across Europe.

corporateeurope.org

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[Hari Seldon]

You think USA will attack Europe?

USA is inserting itself into EU politics from quite some time now:

The Alliance Attacking Freedom - New research exposes US far-right influence ahead of EU Elections | Corporate Europe Observatory

New research from Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner Kenneth Haar, unveils the link between ultraconservative US foundations and right-wing forces across Europe.

corporateeurope.org

No of course not. But all support for NATO will evaporate. If we are not in NATO why not ally with Russia against China? If we are allies with Russia why not sell them F-35s?

To be clear I don't want this. I want strong alliances. But to have this long term foreigners need to worry about their own shit and stay out of US politics.