4 ms·

How much do we believe the current administration values "intelligence"? For the most part, the truth is trump's enemy. as far as he can control it, it's better

by supjeff 8mo ago

How much do we believe the current administration values "intelligence"? For the most part, the truth is trump's enemy. as far as he can control it, it's better for his to be the only authoritative voice. If he says Australia is full of muslims and bad hombres, he doesn't need the CIA contradicting him.

exe34 8mo ago
It gives me hope that Trump will replace the top generals and a few layers down with yes-men who will spend the military budget on coke and then the US will be less of a threat to the rest of the world. Another Russia is not a good thing, but it's better than a mad man at the top of the most powerful military in history.
- simonh 8mo ago
  What were getting is another Russia with the full military and economic might of the US.
  - red-iron-pine 8mo ago
    and a demonstrated willingness to use it -- e.g. Venezuela
  - direwolf20 8mo ago
    A number that is soon to approach zero, everyone hopes. It could happen. The world is dedollarizing as a direct consequence of the trade war.
- georgemcbay 8mo ago
  > It gives me hope that Trump will replace the top generals and a few layers down with yes-men who will spend the military budget on coke and then the US will be less of a threat to the rest of the world. I realize this is kind of a joke, but... The US will continue to be the most powerful military in history for a very long time even with a highly incompetent top-layer. It will just have less people with the wisdom and power to push back on the president's worst impulses. Unfortunately(?) there's not enough coke in the world to put much of a dent in our current military spending (which they hope to increase even further to 1.5 trillion dollars in 2027). And if the price of coke ever did become a problem, well the US now believes it reserves the right to the entire western hemisphere which includes Columbia... On a more serious note there is also likely to be a rapid burst of nuclear proliferation across the globe as everyone else adjusts to this new reality sans the traditional post-WW II world order. On the current Trump path the world is going to get far more dangerous and chaotic, not less.
  - wat10000 8mo ago
    What's really fun is that conventional weapons can protect you from a crazy aggressor if you're strong enough, but nuclear weapons may not. They only act as a deterrent, so they require your enemy to believe you'll use them, believe that they can't destroy all of them before you use them, and understand the horrible consequences of retaliation. I get the impression that Trump is pretty negative on nuclear weapons and I don't think he'd do something that could provoke nuclear retaliation. But I doubt he'll be our last mad king. I think the odds are pretty high of at least a small nuclear war within my lifetime. Even if the US keeps it together, proliferation means much higher odds of some idiot leader somewhere pressing the Button.
  - direwolf20 8mo ago
    What happens if the US economy collapses and it can't muster the equivalent of 1.5 trillion of today's dollars at any price?
    - georgemcbay 8mo ago
      We may find out. But I'm pretty certain that outcome also wouldn't be a net positive for the rest of the world in the short or medium term. Very little of the rest of the world is insulated from the US economy.
    - exe34 8mo ago
      I'll get to experience my 4th once-in-a-lifetime wealth transfer from my generation to the ultra-wealthy as a millennial.
JumpCrisscross 8mo ago
> How much do we believe the current administration values "intelligence"? Broadly? A lot. Donald Trump is wickedly smart. So is Stephen Miller. Susie Wiles. Hegseth is an idiot, but he's Chip 'n' Dale to Marco Rubio. (Our planes aren't falling off our carriers any more. And the raid on Caracas was executed flawlessly. That isn't something numpties can pull off.)
- esseph 8mo ago
  > Donald Trump is wickedly smart This is the exact opposite of what has been said about Trump by his "friends" in the Epstein files.
  - CaptWillard 8mo ago
    His "friends" like Reid Hoffman and Epstein himself? They do talk about Trump a lot in those files.
    - esseph 8mo ago
      There's about half a dozen or more comments about Trump's lack of intelligence or inability to focus from Epstein, Bannon, etc.
- red-iron-pine 8mo ago
  > Donald Trump is wickedly smart. wut. this is a joke, right? Stephen Miller... maybe. He's mostly evil and shiftless, and willing to utilize any and all tools.
  - JumpCrisscross 8mo ago
    > wut. this is a joke, right? No, it's not. He's smart. His political instincts are well honed. And he's good at surrounding himself with strategists. I'm not sure he's wickedly intelligent. And he's getting old, which cuts into his cleverness and memory. But his wit is quick (recall the Republican debates), retention used to be spectacular and has achieved things which you simply cannot do by being the bumbling dope he's sometimes characterised as.

by supjeff 8mo ago

exe34 8mo ago

It gives me hope that Trump will replace the top generals and a few layers down with yes-men who will spend the military budget on coke and then the US will be less of a threat to the rest of the world. Another Russia is not a good thing, but it's better than a mad man at the top of the most powerful military in history.

simonh 8mo ago
What were getting is another Russia with the full military and economic might of the US.
- red-iron-pine 8mo ago
  and a demonstrated willingness to use it -- e.g. Venezuela
- direwolf20 8mo ago
  A number that is soon to approach zero, everyone hopes. It could happen. The world is dedollarizing as a direct consequence of the trade war.
georgemcbay 8mo ago
> It gives me hope that Trump will replace the top generals and a few layers down with yes-men who will spend the military budget on coke and then the US will be less of a threat to the rest of the world. I realize this is kind of a joke, but... The US will continue to be the most powerful military in history for a very long time even with a highly incompetent top-layer. It will just have less people with the wisdom and power to push back on the president's worst impulses. Unfortunately(?) there's not enough coke in the world to put much of a dent in our current military spending (which they hope to increase even further to 1.5 trillion dollars in 2027). And if the price of coke ever did become a problem, well the US now believes it reserves the right to the entire western hemisphere which includes Columbia... On a more serious note there is also likely to be a rapid burst of nuclear proliferation across the globe as everyone else adjusts to this new reality sans the traditional post-WW II world order. On the current Trump path the world is going to get far more dangerous and chaotic, not less.
- wat10000 8mo ago
  What's really fun is that conventional weapons can protect you from a crazy aggressor if you're strong enough, but nuclear weapons may not. They only act as a deterrent, so they require your enemy to believe you'll use them, believe that they can't destroy all of them before you use them, and understand the horrible consequences of retaliation. I get the impression that Trump is pretty negative on nuclear weapons and I don't think he'd do something that could provoke nuclear retaliation. But I doubt he'll be our last mad king. I think the odds are pretty high of at least a small nuclear war within my lifetime. Even if the US keeps it together, proliferation means much higher odds of some idiot leader somewhere pressing the Button.
- direwolf20 8mo ago
  What happens if the US economy collapses and it can't muster the equivalent of 1.5 trillion of today's dollars at any price?
  - georgemcbay 8mo ago
    We may find out. But I'm pretty certain that outcome also wouldn't be a net positive for the rest of the world in the short or medium term. Very little of the rest of the world is insulated from the US economy.
  - exe34 8mo ago
    I'll get to experience my 4th once-in-a-lifetime wealth transfer from my generation to the ultra-wealthy as a millennial.

JumpCrisscross 8mo ago

> How much do we believe the current administration values "intelligence"? Broadly? A lot. Donald Trump is wickedly smart. So is Stephen Miller. Susie Wiles. Hegseth is an idiot, but he's Chip 'n' Dale to Marco Rubio. (Our planes aren't falling off our carriers any more. And the raid on Caracas was executed flawlessly. That isn't something numpties can pull off.)

esseph 8mo ago
> Donald Trump is wickedly smart This is the exact opposite of what has been said about Trump by his "friends" in the Epstein files.
- CaptWillard 8mo ago
  His "friends" like Reid Hoffman and Epstein himself? They do talk about Trump a lot in those files.
  - esseph 8mo ago
    There's about half a dozen or more comments about Trump's lack of intelligence or inability to focus from Epstein, Bannon, etc.
red-iron-pine 8mo ago
> Donald Trump is wickedly smart. wut. this is a joke, right? Stephen Miller... maybe. He's mostly evil and shiftless, and willing to utilize any and all tools.
- JumpCrisscross 8mo ago
  > wut. this is a joke, right? No, it's not. He's smart. His political instincts are well honed. And he's good at surrounding himself with strategists. I'm not sure he's wickedly intelligent. And he's getting old, which cuts into his cleverness and memory. But his wit is quick (recall the Republican debates), retention used to be spectacular and has achieved things which you simply cannot do by being the bumbling dope he's sometimes characterised as.