Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for an international force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine has been dismissed as “a posture and a pose” by Donald Trump’s special envoy.
Steve Witkoff said the idea was based on a “simplistic” notion of the UK prime minister and other European leaders thinking “we have all got to be like Winston Churchill”.
**In an interview with pro-Trump journalist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff praised Vladimir Putin, saying he “liked” the Russian president.
“I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy,” he said. “He’s super smart.”**
Europe needs to take real action. You want Ukraine to actually win? Go make it happen. You can do it.
Putin is not going to use nukes to win Ukraine. Kowtowing encourages nuclear proliferation.
America, even this America, does not want war with Europe. They may sabre rattle, but nothing outside of sanctions will come of it. And if all goes reasonably, the US should hopefully be an ally again in four years.
You need to work on your military. Ukraine is the place to do that.
The US is in this mess because none of the good guys would take bold action. EU, you’re the good guys now. Will you do anything?
With respect, it will take the US a lot longer than 4 years to rebuild the trust that has been destroyed. Even a return to the norms of the last 75 years, while it would be welcomed by the traditional allies, would mean nothing if it can be reversed so easily again in 8 years and sharing secrets and cooperation with an “ally” like that is dangerous.
Foreign policy changed radically in a matter of weeks. The US is no longer predictable or reliable.
Eh, if the US overthrew the current oligarchy and instituted real reforms I think it’,d be able to rebuild pretty quickly.
If you meant that there’s no chance this will happen in the next 4 years, then I agree.
I meant any incoming administration in 4 years would have to win big in all 3 houses to demonstrate to the world that this 4 years was unwelcome and unexpected. Incidentally that’s also what would be needed to effect the change BUT. A sizable proportion of the US electorate has shown an appetite for what is happening and historically the republicans always seem to do better than they should despite all the horrible shit they do. So I don’t have faith that the next election would go as we hope.
In 2024, despite, or maybe because of his first term, Trump won the popular vote, and project 2025 was also not a secret.
So the question would be, what reform or reforms would convince the rest of the world the USA wouldn’t pull the same moves again?
Donor caps? Media regulation?
The problem is not just getting trump out in 2028, it’s keeping his followers out in 2032, 2036, 2040 etc.
You seem to be thinking things will be way, way more normal in 3-4 years than they likely will be.
If we have any kind of fair elections on 3-4 years it will mean some very serious other shit went down first. And that’s the stuff that’s more likely to leave an impression.
Absolutely. I was specifically referring to sanctions, which are unlikely anyway, but possible.
European financial institutions are beginning to look for alternatives to US-centric networks like Visa and Mastercard. Think about that for a second. Banks are now seriously thinking about bifurcating the financial world of consumer spending as a result of this idiocy. If you want to know when shit’s getting real, look at when banks start to react. This is them reacting.
I don’t think having another option bifurcates it, just like right now you can use Visa, Mastercard, or cash. If set up properly there will be systems to interchange between them. Having one likely won’t prevent you from using a certain store or anything else, unless they choose to not support something.