The administration officials gave Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic a front-row seat to the planning for the strike against the Houthis – a stunning intelligence leak that has caused anger against Republicans who called for criminal investigations against Hillary Clinton and others for playing fast and loose with sensitive information.

On the face of it, the strike against the Houthis had far more to do with the administration’s policies on protecting maritime trade and containing Iran than its concerns about Europe freeloading on US defense spending and military prowess.

But Vance appears determined to push that angle as a reason to postpone the strike.

“I think we are making a mistake,” wrote Vance, adding that while only 3% of US trade goes through the Suez canal, 40% of European trade does. “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary,” he added. “The strongest reason to do this is, as [Trump] said, to send a message.”

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    6 days ago

    That was wild. Like JD Vance quietly saying to hold off and you’re like “Hey, maybe there is a voice of reason behind the scenes.”

    Nope. He just hates Europe so much he doesn’t want to do something that benefits them more than the US. What an asshole.

    • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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      6 days ago

      Not entirely sure if Vance was using the Europe angle as a strawman to voice his disapproval of bombing Yemen knowing that the rest of the administration hates Europe,

      Or that Vance himself hates Europe.

      Either way, the fact that this was the angle Vance took shows that dunking on Europe is accepted as a good argument in the Trump administration.

      • Lupus@feddit.org
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        6 days ago

        Not entirely sure if Vance was using the Europe angle as a strawman to voice his disapproval of bombing Yemen knowing that the rest of the administration hates Europe,

        Yeah, unfortunately I think that dude is a lot smarter than we all give him credit for. Like Boris Johnson, his perceived idiocy makes him fly under the radar a lot of times, which makes them more dangerous.

        • Bassman1805
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          6 days ago

          The way he kinda flipped a switch at the VP debate and acted like an actual human being whole Belgium directly compared to Walz, then turned right back into a couch-fucking cretin afterwards, seems to support this.

        • glimse
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          6 days ago

          Yep, unfortunately (?) JD Vance is not an idiot. He’s an opportunist who knows how to play the game.

      • alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 days ago

        They hate a strong Europe and Canada the most, because a liberal world order is the biggest threat to their Big Tech Gilead goal.

        Once they start imprisoning and killing prominent American intellectuals, the remainder will seek asylum in Canada and Europe.

        Russia and China are their buddies, the hate for China and sanctions on Russia are performative.

        But the hate for Canada and Europe is real.

        • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org
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          4 days ago

          Yeah, they hate Europe for our Values, but I would say they hate Russia and China as well, because they are competition