Presidency

Chess, Police, Cutting Ties

Donald Trump has garnered a reputation for being a fool that doesn’t understand politics. I think that opinion is accurate, as it pertained to his first term. He was too trusting and took people at their word. That doesn’t work in DC. Out politicians are simply not moral or ethical people- and I’m talking about BOTH parties here.

However, I think that has changed. He is giving people what they expect to see and is playing them for the self interested crooks that they are.

He wanted NATO to pay for their own defense. There was no way to get that to happen while being nice. For too long, the US has been buying quasi-friendship by throwing barrels of money around. This is how Europe could afford free heathcare and other social programs (well, that and gas costing more than $20 per gallon, thanks to taxation).

Instead of the status quo of, “Won’t you please stop taking our money?” he threatened to invade Greenland. He clearly never intended to do so, or it would have happened. Ask Venezuela how that works. Now, though, NATO is so worried about Trump’s invasion, they are once again providing for their own protection.

Case in point: the USA doesn’t use or need oil from the Persian Gulf. Now that Venezuela and the USA can work together to produce oil, the nations of the EU, China, and India can figure out how to secure their own oil without having to rely on using the USA as their worldwide police force and sugar daddy.

And it looks like that is exactly what is happening.

By Divemedic, ago

Suspicious

The man who was shot dead by Secret Service agents after entering Mar a Lago armed with a shotgun at 0130 this morning had been reported missing by has family less than 12 hours earlier, and local police had notified the FBI.

Twelve hours isn’t even long enough for a missing person report, much less FBI notification. What else was known that made this necessary? Did he leave a manifesto or something?

Now all of the news stories I found from when he went missing have been scrubbed. The left is already claiming it to be a false flag designed to boost Trump’s numbers.

Too many more Trump assassination attempts, and i will have to create a blog category specifically for this.

By Divemedic, ago

Genius

What Trump just did is a master class on how to get what you want. Let me explain. Take a look at the location of Russia’s strategic forces:

If you draw a great circle route from Russia’s missile fields to the US, two things become apparent:

  • The route for missiles launched from Russia’s Asian missile fields headed to the US west coast fly over Alaska.
  • The route for missiles launched from Russia’s European missile fields headed to the US east coast fly over southern Greenland and Iceland.

Since we already have missile interceptors in Alaska, the western routes have some protection (although there aren’t nearly enough of those interceptors to handle a massive attack). What we need is a place to put interceptors that cover those eastern routes. Iceland only covers a few of those approaches, but Greenland is ideal for a US missile defense base. Defending the US from a European based missile threat vitally requires interceptors (missile or energy weapon) in Greenland.

That’s why Trump wants Greenland. Everyone thinks that it is about mineral rights. I don’t believe that. If it were minerals, there were easier ways to do that. We don’t need the entire island, just a small part of it. It can’t be something another nation can take from us by simply demanding that we leave.

Sure, we have a base there now, but it isn’t a permanent one. Under the 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement, the United States was allowed to operate the base under a NATO framework, as long as both Denmark and the United States remain NATO members. Under the agreement, the Danish national flag must be flown at the base to recognize that the base is on Danish territory. In other words, when we leave NATO, we lose the base.

No, the land where those interceptors will be must be US territory. Of course, Denmark wasn’t just going to GIVE it to us, so Trump had to do some creative acquisition.

That’s what he did- he got NATO to believe the US was going to invade. Europe, being the pussies that they are, decided to cave in to his demands without a shot being fired. The US has now secured a deal for some of Greenland to be ceded to the US. The NYT notes that according to officials who attended the meeting, the deal is similar to the United Kingdom’s bases in Cyprus, which are regarded as British territory. No matter what, this was a masterful demonstration of how to get what you want.

Once that is secured, I am wondering if the NATO accords are going to be pushed aside. After all, Trump has long declared the treaty to be a huge cost to the US with little benefit in these post-Soviet years.

By Divemedic, ago

Message Sent

Trump used the military to eliminate a burr under his saddle. The ruler of Venezuela openly defied and taunted him, as did the rulers of several other nations (Cuba, Columbia, Mexico, and Canada).

Trump doesn’t do subtle. Well, he did during his first term, but no one got the message. This second term is about sending messages that can’t be ignored, and if they are, well… This is what he had to say about Mexico:

“We’re very friendly with her, she’s a good woman,” Trump told Fox & Friends Saturday. “But the cartels are running Mexico — she’s not running Mexico.”

Then there was the message to Colombian President Gustavo Petro:

“He has cocaine mills, he has factories where he makes cocaine. And yeah, I think I stick by my first statement: He’s making cocaine. They’re sending it to the United States. So he does have to watch his ass.”

Trump also labeled Cuba, which relies on Venezuelan oil and furnished Maduro with security guards, and its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, a “failing nation.”

This is about a subtle as a kick in the nads. This is a clear message that the carrot of negotiation hasn’t worked, so now it’s time for the big stick of unlubed diplomacy. In my opinion, Venezuela was the fastest, easiest, and most likely to succeed. Still, the entire operation only took a few hours. That sends a clear message that SHOULD be sending shockwaves through the hemisphere, but it doesn’t. Military power in the area:

  • Brazil: Approximately 360,000 active-duty personnel. It is the largest military in South America and ranks 11th globally in overall military power.  Brazil maintains the largest inventory of armored vehicles (including nearly 300 tanks and over 22,000 armored vehicles) and the largest air force in South America, with over 600 aircraft.
  • Mexico: Approximately 412,000 personnel, the largest standing force in Latin America. Still, the largest problem with Mexico is the cartels, which effectively run the country. It would require a full scale invasion and a long term occupation to quell the issues there.
  • Columbia: Approximately 310,000 active personnel. 
  • Venezuela: Approximately 120,000 active personnel, but we saw how long that lasted.

For all of the public bluster coming from those nations, I am sure that they are taking note of what Trump just did. This will give Trump some leverage at the negotiating table.

EDITED TO ADD:

Because I found it to be funny as hell, here you go:

By Divemedic, ago

Sniper

I saw the news about the “hunting stand” with a sight line to the area where Trump boards Air Force One. My first thought was this was an actual hunting stand.

Until I looked at satellite pictures of the area, that is. Here is the satellite picture of the area in question. Trump’s plane is circled in blue, the area where the tree stand was found is circled in red:

There isn’t anywhere to hunt in the area. The stand is next to an Army Reserve center and the Palm Beach County jail, and right behind the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Forensics center.

The distance from the tree to Trump’s plane is just under 600 yards. I can’t tell what the exact sight line is, but that’s a fairly long shot. Doable, yes, but the number of people who can make that is much smaller than anything we’ve seen yet. They missed Trump at 100 yards and hit Kirk at 150 yards, but 600 yards is much, much more difficult.

By Divemedic, ago

3D Chess

The courts told Trump that he can’t eliminate Federal jobs because Congress had appropriated funds, which he is then obligated to spend.

Fast forward a few months, and Congress has refused to appropriate any funds unless USAID and free Healthcare for illegal immigrants is included. Because there are no funds, government is shut down.

The firings have begun. The MSM frames it as Trump going after Democrats and getting rid of programs he doesn’t like. I think he’s doing what he was elected to do. He’s the first politician from either party to make real cuts.

Thats exactly what I voted for.

All he has to do now is refuse to sign any budget containing all of the bullshit like free stuff for illegals or USAID kickbacks for Democrats.

Stay the course, Mr President.

By Divemedic, ago