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For reference as to how Trump ends something look back at Trump's "negotiation" with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban got everything they wanted: the US

by altacc 2y ago

For reference as to how Trump ends something look back at Trump's "negotiation" with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban got everything they wanted: the US to leave completely and while they did to to not attack the Taliban or obstruct their advances and for the US to no longer support the Afghani government. Trump just agreed with everything to be able to declare US involvement was over. Trump is purely transactional and in the simplest possible way. There's no long game, no stealth, no soft power, no maneuvering, no geopolitical unity, no building. If there isn't a clear immediate profit from money changing hands or a contract being signed straight away then it's worthless. It's a simple business strategy but applied to vastly more complicated politics and society, not nationally and globally.

krona 2y ago
> The Taliban got everything they wanted So did the US. > Trump is purely transactional and in the simplest possible way Realpolitik.
readthenotes1 2y ago
Can you check for me how many hundreds of trillions the US spent in Afghanistan and what they got for it? 18 years, More than $2Trillion, For nothing. What sort of transaction were you hoping for? Another 18 years commitment?
- altacc 2y ago
  Personally I thought that there should never have been an invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq, so I would have saved all of that money. The US decided to go into these countries, nobody asked them to do so and experts in the region said at the time that it would be a costly disaster and the US still chose to invade. The US chose to spend that money and lives because they had already priced the transaction: vengeance in Afghanistan and regional control in Iraq. The US forced itself into other countries because the US thought it was to its benefit and so then expecting that country to pay for the privilege is ridiculous and revisionist. The US thought it was buying something but instead it made a terrible gamble and lost.
- pintxo 2y ago
  More like another 30. The best thing would have been to never go there in Force. Bomb the terrorists to pieces if you must, but don’t force yourself upon others, especially if those others have a 2000 year history of killing those who tried this. The next best thing, after going there in Force would have been a full re-build of their government + societe into something that would have worked for the benefit of the locals. But that’s a multi-generational project, 40 years plus.
soupfordummies 2y ago
And then Trump got to wash his hands of the blame on the poor withdrawal because the last troops left under Biden. His supporters give him the credit for "ending it" but Biden gets the blame for the hasty messy withdrawal. Your transactional analogy extends to DOGE running the federal government like the worst private equity firm who just bought your company.

by altacc 2y ago

krona 2y ago

> The Taliban got everything they wanted So did the US. > Trump is purely transactional and in the simplest possible way Realpolitik.

readthenotes1 2y ago

Can you check for me how many hundreds of trillions the US spent in Afghanistan and what they got for it? 18 years, More than $2Trillion, For nothing. What sort of transaction were you hoping for? Another 18 years commitment?

altacc 2y ago
Personally I thought that there should never have been an invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq, so I would have saved all of that money. The US decided to go into these countries, nobody asked them to do so and experts in the region said at the time that it would be a costly disaster and the US still chose to invade. The US chose to spend that money and lives because they had already priced the transaction: vengeance in Afghanistan and regional control in Iraq. The US forced itself into other countries because the US thought it was to its benefit and so then expecting that country to pay for the privilege is ridiculous and revisionist. The US thought it was buying something but instead it made a terrible gamble and lost.
pintxo 2y ago
More like another 30. The best thing would have been to never go there in Force. Bomb the terrorists to pieces if you must, but don’t force yourself upon others, especially if those others have a 2000 year history of killing those who tried this. The next best thing, after going there in Force would have been a full re-build of their government + societe into something that would have worked for the benefit of the locals. But that’s a multi-generational project, 40 years plus.

soupfordummies 2y ago

And then Trump got to wash his hands of the blame on the poor withdrawal because the last troops left under Biden. His supporters give him the credit for "ending it" but Biden gets the blame for the hasty messy withdrawal. Your transactional analogy extends to DOGE running the federal government like the worst private equity firm who just bought your company.