TC.....just a side comment....there is a bitter and deep war already ongoing on the cyber side and where my company has been dealing with the dark net for over three years now and through that work I have constant contact to German and French agencies...where they have "known me " since the 80s where I interacted with them on the interrogation/CI side of the house.Originally Posted by TheCurmudgeon
One thing those that supported Trump and YES even Trump himself forgets is that one can only work with "others" when there is a level of "trust" between the members of that group...AND the second thing is "WORDS spoken by someone in power" are taken a full and complete face value especially when coming from an American...by European leaders in general.
My previous and current work has earned me that right of "trust" and believe me EU agencies have a hard time extending that "trust" to Americans who they believe correctly always take but never give back...
Over the last two days there has been in my discussions with them a constant and not so subtle conversation of just how much will be shared with the US in the coming Trump years.....
WHY...BECAUSE from a CI perspective they view Trump as being "compromised" by the Russian foreign intel service SVR....based on his years of parties and women and his known "interests"....THEY would have never missed the chance to "compromise Trump"....and hold that "compromise materials for later use"...that was how the KGB worked and the current SVR is no different believe me.....many seem to think that the Cold War ended and you can party hard with women..drugs and alcohol in Moscow as if you are in say San Francisco or Berlin on a Saturday night.....ain't so.....THEY also knew his money needs and business growth needs and that he wanted to build a Moscow Trump Tower.
WHAT many US voters do not fully understand is that the level and intensity of Russian intel collection and activities by their FSB/SVR FAR surpasses that of the Cold War....they are aggressive and everywhere these days due to the ease of travel which was not there in the Cold War days...AND we in the US has simply "slept through this intel war" in the believe..."it ain't that bad"....
There is now a deep "distrust" of the new US President I have never seen before in all my years of dealing with Europeans as a whole...they truly do view him as "compromised" especially when one looks at his verbal support of Putin...his business and money funding activities in Russia...his selling of expensive property to Russian oligarchs a usually money laundering method for them....and the closeness of two of his first key advisors to Russia one of which had direct and confirmed business ties to a well known Russian spy master...ALL red flags in their eyes...so why would they share information on Russian activities with the US knowing that information has the possibility of then heading on to Russia....actually agree with them...
Trump ranted and called out...the EU trade policies...called out and critiqued NATO leaving NATO to wonder aloud if the US was a partner at all....AND ESPECIALLY called out Merkel and critiqued her openly... FOR over 18 long months.
Today the first polling has come in from Germans and French where 2/3rds of those asked view Trump as a danger to world peace and a danger to Europe...especially a danger to Germany/Germans...
I have never ever seen that before in my 50 odd years or so here.....
Secondly...when the EU announced that they were thinking of redoing NATO and flipping it into a EU Army...Obama and company roundly critiqued that decision as did many US policy wonks in DC....as being reduntant aned not necessary...
BUT this morning the EU Commission President openly stated it is time to start the process as it is apparent from Trump's FP statements he is no longer interested in nor supporting NATO and Juncker stated it is time to form a EU Army to defend both Europe and defend their foreign policies....
WHAT Trump totally forgot BUT how could he have known as he is a construction and real estate businessman...NATO's only one time use of Article 5 signed off by all NATO members was "in the defense of the US after 9/11"....
If one looks at the comments yesterday by the German FM....Merkel and her Vice Chancellor... I have never seen such bluntness.....
1. You are a superpower the world's strongest on the military... economic...political and social side AND you have a responsibility to lead.... as a superpower you cannot simply retire....
2. They openly warned between the lines that Trump must adhere to those common values that Europe thought existed between them and the US....fairness.....trust....protection of civilian liberties and basic human rights.
3. The US will now under Trump go which ever way they want to without consulting Europe...as Trump has repeatedly stated US first and last over everything else.
Europe critiquing the US on their need to hold to the protection of civil liberties and human rights.....strange right???
BUT when you hear Ryan stating yesterday that Trump was given a "mandate" alarm bells ring in Berlin/Paris....as they fully know that he had the lowest Electoral College votes in decades barely over 270---276---and he did not win the popular general election voting thus he does not effectively speak for more than 49% of those who voted not 49% OUT of the entire US population.....
The word "mandate" in European ears means your party took 60% or more on the general popular vote.....the word "mandate" that Ryan is using awakes in their minds the word....."tyranny " ........AND believe me that is exactly what Ryan meant......the 49% that voted for Trump dictating to the remaining 50% percent of the population what will be done in their name....
Meaning Trump threatened to jail Clinton for so called corruption (after EIGHT different congressional investigations found ABSOLUTELY nothing at a cost of millions of US taxpayers money and he basically threatened to deport 11M starting after he takes office....so if he promised that to his "followers" WILL he follow through? Heck his followers wanted to kill Clinton and hang journalists....THAT tone is fascist ...plain and simple....
Secondly will Trump eliminate "free speech" long one of the core US beliefs....WHY..... did not his followers hear him state over and over the media is corrupt....is against him...lies and.. ..and the US needs the same liable laws as the UK so the free press cannot openly critique a leader without threat of being sued....
YES he stated it over and over BUT it appears no one listened except his followers...
That is why I said the "US stands on the edge of a smiling and benevolent fascism"....all under the guise of democracy....ALL the elements are now in place BUT does the public see it coming....no they do not....
WE now have a US President with absolutely no political background..........knows virtually nothing about world politics and security issues...has never served in the military..has damaged directly the US civmil relations by belittling US Generals and how they are attacking Mosul as he Trump knew how to do it better it seems.....AND repeatedly claimed the electoral process was "rigged" BUT he says he will get the best and brightest to advise him......so we no longer have a President ...we have a Presidential Council leading the US that was not elected..........
BUT a major question that his followers DID NOT answer was......WHAT happens if in the IRS audit he is found to have via fraud directly violated tax codes and laws......do those same followers excuse his behavior because that is what business people do Or do they demand his impeachment.....
Bookmarks