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.
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.
Remember a month ago, when Trump issued a pardon for the President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted on federal drug trafficking charges, despite the case being built over a decade-long investigation by U.S. officials? Trump caught a lot of flak for that one.
Now we know who the source of information on Maduro was.
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:
The warrant for Maduro was issued and executed by the U.S., a move that is widely considered illegal on international grounds. Here is the administration’s response: pic.twitter.com/0ajjQaP8NW
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.
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.
Trump has his mugshot hanging in a frame on the wall just outside the Oval Office, in case anyone has any doubts as to why they are getting the version of him that they are getting.
The left was celebrating a “Trump loss” when he tried to deport some illegals back to Columbia, and than nation refused to allow their citizens to reenter the country after initially agreeing to accept the flight. They were calling Trump every name in the book because the illegals were “handcuffed like criminals.”
No, what is unfair is your co-called friends only liking you when you do the things that THEY want you to do. We are being taken advantage of like a 100 year old sugar daddy with his 20 year old supermodel girlfriend.
Instead, the Columbians, after some grumbling about how unfair it all is, decided to allow their citizens to be returned to them after all. Trump is both nicer and more effective than I would have been. I would have said, “Those citizens can’t be here. They are on a plane and won’t be returning. They can either be permitted to land in your country, or we are pushing them out the door, to land ON your country. You decide.”
As a businessman, Trump realizes that other nations NEED the US. More precisely, they need access to US markets. Well, the US needs things as well. Instead of just bending the knee and doing what they want to our own detriment, he works a deal: They get access to US markets, we get rid of their illegal emigrants. The man did write a book on the subject, after all.
That isn’t good enough for the left. The latest is that Trump is being a bully and is ruining our relationship with the world. I disagree- Trump is now refusing to be bullied by other nations who are simply taking advantage of the fact that the left likes borrowing money in order to buy gifts to make other people like them.
