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U.S. Tech Giants Flocked to the Persian Gulf. Now They Are Targets
- joe_mamba 7mo agoIt was obvious for everyone with 2 brain cells to rub together, that the gulf states invited so many US companies to open up shop there, as a defence insurance policy, so that the US government has monetary interests in the area besides oil, to intervene and defend in case of an attack. Well played from their side, as that's how this game works. And for those who didn't get it before, Marco Rubio even went out and publicly said Ukraine should sell rare earth rights to the US so that they have something there to defend to justify to the public providing a security guarantee for Ukraine. He basically spelled it out in layman's terms how the game is played. You can dislike it, you can disagree with it, but this is how it always worked, even if the general public was not aware of it. It's nothing to do with defending freedom, democracy, honor, values, whatever, it's all about preserving and making money.
- nine_zeros 7mo ago[dead]
- tchalla 7mo agoBut I thought it was all for democracy and freedom.
- rayiner 7mo agoWho told you that? It wasn’t Trump.
- kernal 7mo agoHow exactly did you think Ukraine was going to pay back the hundreds of billions they borrowed from the US? Print more hryvnia?
- subscribed 7mo agoThey're unwilling modern battlefield tactics tester and actually losing the Ukraine to Russia would be a pretty big blow to the Europe and to the lesser extent to NATO. Its not like the rest of the world is not getting anything from Ukrainians standing up to the genocidal KGB* apparatchik. *yes, i know, FSB. Same organisation really.
- ahartmetz 7mo agoIt was KGB in his early career, so KGB works, too.
- ben_w 7mo agoThere are many forms of power in the world. If you think of geopolitics purely in terms of money, you miss all the others, and then it still costs you money. Which is not to say money doesn't do anything, it does, it's just that one of the others is "reputation", and everyone who signed up to the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and then ignored it or weaselled out of it, damaged their own reputation. Russia moreso than the USA, obviously, but even the USA being unconcerned about this will make it very much harder if the conditions rhyme in future and someone else is expected to give up nukes in exchange for a "Security Assurance". A damaged reputation makes it more expensive to get other things you may want; from everyone, even the non-involved.
- ZeroGravitas 7mo agoThough most of the "rare earth" stuff seems to be bullshit based on memes built on not understanding that rare earths aren't rare. Like the Venezuela oil stuff, it's a half remembered fantasy of what was important when Trump's brain still functioned, several decades ago. They're destroying America's reputation and alliances for fools gold.
- joe_mamba 7mo agoEveryone knows they aren't "that" rare. What's rare is a country willing to poison its environment to extract and refine them. China used to be that, but now they aren't, so the west is looking for friendly nations to replace China. That's where Ukraine comes in since they have bigger issues right now than environmental concerns and are desperate enough to be easily exploitable by the western powers that used to exploit China when it was weak. It's how it works.
- mindslight 7mo agoElect a clown, get a circus. Elect a tyrant, get tyranny. Elect a thief, get stolen from. Elect a serial rapist, expect a crime spree as they try to outrun justice. Elect someone who is all of the above and get utter chaos that is inhospitable to long term business.
- electtrump 7mo ago[flagged]
- kemotep 7mo agoIs complaining about an unnecessary conflict that is disrupting the global economy really insufferable? I mean my coworkers constantly bitched and moaned about things Biden was doing that just seems quaint comparatively. Namely about the cost of living, gas prices, and instability in the Middle East. All things Trump has definitely made significantly worst in comparison to just doing nothing.
- karmakurtisaani 7mo agoDon't worry, he's just not tired of winning yet.
- mindslight 7mo agoI'm a libertarian. You've blinded yourself by defining anything that isn't fundamentalist right reactionary as this catchall "leftist" bogeyman. I most certainly understand the frustration that led you to this charlatan who you thought could at least stick a fork in the eye of the status quo. The problem is you didn't listen to your fellow countrymen telling you that the fork would inevitably go into your own eye even harder. And you still aren't even as the results become ever more painfully clear.
- kernal 7mo ago[flagged]
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- kernal 7mo ago[flagged]
- superhuzza 7mo agoThis article isn't PR for the Iranian regime, it highlights how unstable and non-business friendly the region is. If anything it's a warning...
- lovich 7mo agoAh right, I forgot amazon was saying an object hit their data center and wasn’t admitting it was a bomb still. The Iranians can’t project force far enough to be an existential threat to these companies but they’ve already taken damage to their assets in the region