Paul, as always a tour de force. My apologies for having been radio silent on you, but life gets in the way as you well know.
The level of incompetence is staggering. Whether we like it or not, the US has shown how weak it has become. If allies had been consulted, and taken seriously, I cannot imagine a scenario where the US attacks Iran. If the intel community had been taken seriously and previous war gaming scenarios had been taken seriously, I cannot imagine the US starting a war with Iran. But none of that happened due to the delusional characters in this administration from the crumbling orange Cheeto, to the talk show Sec Def, to “Lil Marco” who has shown his true nature and character…empty suit and always has been, but yet had an undeserved rep as “serious.”
So, here we are. We have wasted tens of billions of dollars in arms that cannot easily be restocked for years. We have a new carrier that makes the disaster on the Forrestal look better as at least that was not an issue coming out of the box. We have failed to learn the lessons from Ukraine or accept their help while other nations are beating their door down for assistance and experience. And now are committing $300 billion to “reconstruct Iran”…forget about the IRGC, how much of it finds its way to Putin to continue his war?
There is no way to sugar coat it. The US is a declining power that fails to learn, adapt, and innovate. This is true not just militarily but economically as well. And the leading cause of this decline? Oligarchy and erosion of democratic norms resulting from information warfare that is designed to distract people from what is really important and focus on “culture war,” a culture of group narcissism, and discrimination to make people feel like they are not at the bottom. LBJ had it right when he noted that the poorest white man would give money to those who would keep others down to make them feel better.
But there is hope. People like AOC and Platner who are salt of the earth, tell it like it is, is what the opposition needs. Leaders like Ted Liu, Jamie Raskin, and Liz Warren who fight the good fight everyday. That is what a coherent opposition looks like. Faithful to the Constitution and its ideas, not to money and the latest focus group and polling data. And hopefully, this fresh thinking will also recognize the need for a broad refresh of national security priorities…information warfare, innovation such as what Ukraine has shown us, rebuilding industry in the US rather than outsourcing it to China, reengaging with our one time allies who are walking away from the US without reservation. It will take decades to undo the damage. We may not see the end game in our lifetime, but at least we can see the progression to a better place and help that along.
Welcome back. It's good to hear from you. Yes, this past year, I am also well aware of what life tosses at us sometimes. I hope all is well with you and yours.
I darn near offered you a standing ovation for your, "tour de force" response. We are in agreement, to say the least. Most important is your point regarding how long it will take to rebuild, post this administration. My biggest fear is whether or not we can rebuild in time to protect ourselves and be of assistance to our allies, after we win them back from the administration's horrific abuse. At the moment, China has the upper hand and I'm concerned for Taiwan's independence, especially before our midterms. Afterwards, if we have a fair election, I suspect that Xi would be far more cautious.
Paul, as always a tour de force. My apologies for having been radio silent on you, but life gets in the way as you well know.
The level of incompetence is staggering. Whether we like it or not, the US has shown how weak it has become. If allies had been consulted, and taken seriously, I cannot imagine a scenario where the US attacks Iran. If the intel community had been taken seriously and previous war gaming scenarios had been taken seriously, I cannot imagine the US starting a war with Iran. But none of that happened due to the delusional characters in this administration from the crumbling orange Cheeto, to the talk show Sec Def, to “Lil Marco” who has shown his true nature and character…empty suit and always has been, but yet had an undeserved rep as “serious.”
So, here we are. We have wasted tens of billions of dollars in arms that cannot easily be restocked for years. We have a new carrier that makes the disaster on the Forrestal look better as at least that was not an issue coming out of the box. We have failed to learn the lessons from Ukraine or accept their help while other nations are beating their door down for assistance and experience. And now are committing $300 billion to “reconstruct Iran”…forget about the IRGC, how much of it finds its way to Putin to continue his war?
There is no way to sugar coat it. The US is a declining power that fails to learn, adapt, and innovate. This is true not just militarily but economically as well. And the leading cause of this decline? Oligarchy and erosion of democratic norms resulting from information warfare that is designed to distract people from what is really important and focus on “culture war,” a culture of group narcissism, and discrimination to make people feel like they are not at the bottom. LBJ had it right when he noted that the poorest white man would give money to those who would keep others down to make them feel better.
But there is hope. People like AOC and Platner who are salt of the earth, tell it like it is, is what the opposition needs. Leaders like Ted Liu, Jamie Raskin, and Liz Warren who fight the good fight everyday. That is what a coherent opposition looks like. Faithful to the Constitution and its ideas, not to money and the latest focus group and polling data. And hopefully, this fresh thinking will also recognize the need for a broad refresh of national security priorities…information warfare, innovation such as what Ukraine has shown us, rebuilding industry in the US rather than outsourcing it to China, reengaging with our one time allies who are walking away from the US without reservation. It will take decades to undo the damage. We may not see the end game in our lifetime, but at least we can see the progression to a better place and help that along.
Paul,
Welcome back. It's good to hear from you. Yes, this past year, I am also well aware of what life tosses at us sometimes. I hope all is well with you and yours.
I darn near offered you a standing ovation for your, "tour de force" response. We are in agreement, to say the least. Most important is your point regarding how long it will take to rebuild, post this administration. My biggest fear is whether or not we can rebuild in time to protect ourselves and be of assistance to our allies, after we win them back from the administration's horrific abuse. At the moment, China has the upper hand and I'm concerned for Taiwan's independence, especially before our midterms. Afterwards, if we have a fair election, I suspect that Xi would be far more cautious.
Cheers