3 ms·

> bowing out or actually switching sides. Isn't the opposite actually the case? Hegseth has called it a "division of labor." [0] Ultimately when war breaks ou

by krona 2y ago

> bowing out or actually switching sides. Isn't the opposite actually the case? Hegseth has called it a "division of labor." [0] Ultimately when war breaks out with China, and a year in to that conflagration Russia (ever the opportunist) decides to take a few bites out of the Baltic states, who's going to defend Europe? The US military isn't omnipotent. [0] https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech/Article/%204064113/opening-remarks-by-secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-at-ukraine-defense-contact/ https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech/Article/%204064...

dragonwriter 2y ago
> Isn't the opposite actually the case? The opposite? You mean, the United States is increasing its integration with and support for its allies in the global conflict against the aggression of the Russian-centered alignment? No, that's 100% not what is happening. > Hegseth has called it a "division of labor." Probably a lot more useful to look at concrete policy actions than Hegseth’s vague, content-free characterizations. And it concrete reality, the US is cutting support for those who have been on the same side as it has, in some cases threatening them with violence and annexation, and provide aid and comfort to the aggressor that is the opponent that it had been working with others to defend against.
- krona 2y ago
  You're confusing tactics for strategy (as is the media, which is entirely necessary for the strategy to work). I could point you at the policy papers, but if you think the US can upend 70 years of foreign policy in the blink of an eye and without a fight, you can believe anything.
  - dragonwriter 2y ago
    > You're confusing tactics for strategy No, you're confusing wishful thinking fantasy justifications with concrete reality of actions and material effects. > if you think the US can upend 70 years of foreign policy in the blink of an eye and without a fight, you can believe anything. If you think it can't do that at the whim of the President (with or without a fight, since no opponent can win that fight), especially after a massive purge of the military leadership, you have an even more exaggerated fantasy view of the power of the "deep state" than even the paranoid fantasies -- that those presenting them don't even believe -- used as a pretext for the purge. Yes, radical breaks in policy are possible, and the Trump Administration has been doing them in virtually every domain.
    - krona 2y ago
      Wake me up when the Supreme Allied Commander Europe is no longer an American general. Until then, nothing has fundamentally changed.

by krona 2y ago

dragonwriter 2y ago

> Isn't the opposite actually the case? The opposite? You mean, the United States is increasing its integration with and support for its allies in the global conflict against the aggression of the Russian-centered alignment? No, that's 100% not what is happening. > Hegseth has called it a "division of labor." Probably a lot more useful to look at concrete policy actions than Hegseth’s vague, content-free characterizations. And it concrete reality, the US is cutting support for those who have been on the same side as it has, in some cases threatening them with violence and annexation, and provide aid and comfort to the aggressor that is the opponent that it had been working with others to defend against.

krona 2y ago
You're confusing tactics for strategy (as is the media, which is entirely necessary for the strategy to work). I could point you at the policy papers, but if you think the US can upend 70 years of foreign policy in the blink of an eye and without a fight, you can believe anything.
- dragonwriter 2y ago
  > You're confusing tactics for strategy No, you're confusing wishful thinking fantasy justifications with concrete reality of actions and material effects. > if you think the US can upend 70 years of foreign policy in the blink of an eye and without a fight, you can believe anything. If you think it can't do that at the whim of the President (with or without a fight, since no opponent can win that fight), especially after a massive purge of the military leadership, you have an even more exaggerated fantasy view of the power of the "deep state" than even the paranoid fantasies -- that those presenting them don't even believe -- used as a pretext for the purge. Yes, radical breaks in policy are possible, and the Trump Administration has been doing them in virtually every domain.
  - krona 2y ago
    Wake me up when the Supreme Allied Commander Europe is no longer an American general. Until then, nothing has fundamentally changed.