5 ms·

None of these things are true, it's just propaganda. > The US has never looked, or been, weaker than it is right now. Nothing has fundamentally changed with r

by ericmay 5mo ago

None of these things are true, it's just propaganda. > The US has never looked, or been, weaker than it is right now. Nothing has fundamentally changed with respect to American power. If this was true, that America has never been weaker than it is right now, why wouldn't China just go ahead and invade Taiwan? This is the perfect opportunity! Or is it that the US is so strong that even at its weakest point it can deter China from taking military action over Taiwan? Doesn't pass the smell test. > It was Jimmy Carter that established that the Strait of Hormuz would stay open, through the strength of the US military threat. And that worked for a long time. And things change. The world isn't static. And if the Strait is closed then it, as it is today, is also closed for the Iranians with the ultimate effect of making a cheeseburger cost a few dollars more and people coal-rolling their F-250s around having to spend more to do so. It screws over the rest of the world, but they also allowed this Iranian regime to fester and threaten until it was intolerable. It's too late now, but the rest of the world which so clearly depends on the Strait of Hormuz should have taken diplomatic and economic action earlier and/or more forcefully to prevent a group of religious cultists and fanatics from seizing control of Iran and then constantly threatening the US. At some point enough is enough and so the failure to act or stand up to these bullies leads to more pain down the road. It's a trap that Europe especially continues to fall in to because culturally they don't understand that bad people exist and you have to use force to stop them. They're learning that about Ukraine now too. > And now? The US is a paper tiger, making ridiculous threats via barely used social media platforms and then revoking them with just as little formality. The United States casually walked in and bombed the hell out of Iran's military and killed its leaders. Idk. If I was Iranian I sure wouldn't be looking at the US as a paper tiger when it can go park an aircraft carrier nearby and then bomb all my stuff and there's basically nothing I can do about it except to bomb defenseless oil tankers. > The US used to be a guarantor of safety on the seas. That appears to have been completely destroyed by the weak leadership in the US. It's a package deal. In order to be the guarantor of the seas you have to take actions like the on in Iran. All Iran had to do was double, triple, or quadruple its missile stockpile and then try to enact tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and the cost to stop it would be too great. US action today is exactly the role it is playing in guaranteeing safety on the seas. By the way, why is the US the one that has to do this? And if you don't like us doing it, maybe we should stop. I know that's what the far-left and MAGA want - they want isolationism.

ceejayoz 5mo ago
> Nothing has fundamentally changed with respect to American power. Oh, come on. NATO and Gulf allies are starting to deny US use of their bases, and Trump's been credibly threatening to leave NATO. We've also nixed a bunch of our soft power programs like USAID.
- ericmay 5mo ago
  NATO just today as reported by Bloomberg said that if the Strait isn't open by July that it will take or consider taking action. [1] Your view of the situation doesn't match reality. Separately, we still have like 11 aircraft carriers and our entire military still in tact. Nothing has changed with respect to our power. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong. There's no other way to put it. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-19/nato-is-starting-to-consider-hormuz-deployment-to-protect-ships?embedded-checkout=true https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-19/nato-is-s... Sorry for the paywall, I don't have a subscription but saw the headline on Bloomberg TV. There are other sources but I wanted to be consistent and link where I saw the news.
  - epistasis 5mo ago
    Oh, 8 weeks, and they'll think about doing something? Huh, yeah, I'm sure that strong statement will have a big impact. > Separately, we still have like 11 aircraft carriers and our entire military still in tact. Nothing has changed with respect to our power. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong. There's no other way to put it. Naval power has shifted massively over the past four years due to massive technology change, and the US has done nothing to adapt or learn from its former ally, Ukraine. You are simply wrong and outdate in your thinking, and not understanding the current reality. Which is why you accuse others of the same thing, it's classic projection.
    - ericmay 5mo ago
      > Oh, 8 weeks, and they'll think about doing something? Huh, yeah, I'm sure that strong statement will have a big impact. It shows that you're wrong about the diplomatic situation. 8 weeks isn't that long of a timeframe. It takes weeks just to move some assets in place. You don't have a good understanding of how long it takes to do these kinds of things. > Naval power has shifted massively over the past four years due to massive technology change, and the US has done nothing to adapt or learn from its Factually incorrect. First you can't make a claim that the US has done nothing to adapt or learn from the ongoing war in Ukraine. The reason you can't make that claim, aside from the fact that well, any single change in tactics would prove you wrong, is because the US still to this day is deploying weapons and testing weapons and capabilities in Ukraine on the battlefield. > former ally, Ukraine. Also factually incorrect because Ukraine was never a US ally. Secondarily we are still supporting Ukraine and without our help in the early days of the war they would have very likely fallen under a renewed Iron Curtain. America and England were rushing missiles while the rest of Europe was sending helmets and debating whether Russia was even going to invade. > You are simply wrong and outdate in your thinking Incorrect. You're parroting catch-phrases and what others tell you and not thinking through things for yourself here.

by ericmay 5mo ago

ceejayoz 5mo ago

> Nothing has fundamentally changed with respect to American power. Oh, come on. NATO and Gulf allies are starting to deny US use of their bases, and Trump's been credibly threatening to leave NATO. We've also nixed a bunch of our soft power programs like USAID.

ericmay 5mo ago
NATO just today as reported by Bloomberg said that if the Strait isn't open by July that it will take or consider taking action. [1] Your view of the situation doesn't match reality. Separately, we still have like 11 aircraft carriers and our entire military still in tact. Nothing has changed with respect to our power. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong. There's no other way to put it. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-19/nato-is-starting-to-consider-hormuz-deployment-to-protect-ships?embedded-checkout=true https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-19/nato-is-s... Sorry for the paywall, I don't have a subscription but saw the headline on Bloomberg TV. There are other sources but I wanted to be consistent and link where I saw the news.
- epistasis 5mo ago
  Oh, 8 weeks, and they'll think about doing something? Huh, yeah, I'm sure that strong statement will have a big impact. > Separately, we still have like 11 aircraft carriers and our entire military still in tact. Nothing has changed with respect to our power. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong. There's no other way to put it. Naval power has shifted massively over the past four years due to massive technology change, and the US has done nothing to adapt or learn from its former ally, Ukraine. You are simply wrong and outdate in your thinking, and not understanding the current reality. Which is why you accuse others of the same thing, it's classic projection.
  - ericmay 5mo ago
    > Oh, 8 weeks, and they'll think about doing something? Huh, yeah, I'm sure that strong statement will have a big impact. It shows that you're wrong about the diplomatic situation. 8 weeks isn't that long of a timeframe. It takes weeks just to move some assets in place. You don't have a good understanding of how long it takes to do these kinds of things. > Naval power has shifted massively over the past four years due to massive technology change, and the US has done nothing to adapt or learn from its Factually incorrect. First you can't make a claim that the US has done nothing to adapt or learn from the ongoing war in Ukraine. The reason you can't make that claim, aside from the fact that well, any single change in tactics would prove you wrong, is because the US still to this day is deploying weapons and testing weapons and capabilities in Ukraine on the battlefield. > former ally, Ukraine. Also factually incorrect because Ukraine was never a US ally. Secondarily we are still supporting Ukraine and without our help in the early days of the war they would have very likely fallen under a renewed Iron Curtain. America and England were rushing missiles while the rest of Europe was sending helmets and debating whether Russia was even going to invade. > You are simply wrong and outdate in your thinking Incorrect. You're parroting catch-phrases and what others tell you and not thinking through things for yourself here.