Miscellaneous News

[solarz]

I apologize in advance if anyone finds my analogy crude.

Spoiler: Don’t click on it if you are easily offended

Yes, withdrawing from Afghanistan is necessary. It is similar in a lot of ways to a bodily function called going to the bathroom — both are ugly, can be long and drawn out, are necessary, and above all should be done as discreetly as possible. There is a time and place for emptying your bowels, just like there is a time and place for planning and executing the Afghan withdrawal. What Biden has done is the geopolitical equivalent of a formerly beloved Rockstar taking a massive dump in his pants during his comeback concert performance.

Ehhh... you're making the assumption that he had the luxury of time.

The current debacle is caused by the US severely underestimating the rapidity of Taliban advance.

 

[Xizor]

If Afghanistan ends up like Iran, that'd be a massive improvement.

Both of us know it's going to be In a very distant future. But let's hope they reach there. Iran, despite its trappings of conservatism, has demonstrated admirable scientific and institution mettle.

There is hope.

 

[Bellum_Romanum]

He wasn’t deposed; he abdicated!

Well, I deliberately chose the word "deposed" because that would have been the eventual outcome and fate that awaited Ghani. Otherwise, he could have received a far worse outcome than being deposed, he could have been decapitated. It was better for him to leave with his tail tucked between his jet plane rather than face a certain humiliation.

 

[Kaeshmiri]

Clashes between Kashmiri protestors and Indian police. According to RT (or perhaps other Indian sources) this is a protest against Covid restrictions. But these protesters are probably emboldened by the Taliban success.

Well this protest took place in my city. It has nothing to do with either COVID or Taliban (and lol at RT for trying to make it about COVID restrictions).
Actually Police barred Shia Muslims from taking out Muharram processions and this resulted in clashes. This happens each year so nothing new for us.
India doesn't allow any protest/marches in Kashmir no matter what the reason unless ofcorse it favours the Indian state (which never happens).
I appreciate when Int Media reports on such protests but it also annoys me when they refuse to mention the real reason behind it (the struggle against Indian occupation).

 

[Bellum_Romanum]

The choice to pull out was the good choice at the end of the day in the long run. But manner in which it was handled and how rapidly it occurred, will always haunt US credibility and image. I think Biden was too focused on being the guy who managed to pull out and doing it on 20th anniversary of 9/11 for some reason to care about the actual conditions in the region. US competence is being call into question.

Politics trumped prudent planning and sober execution of his political objective. As a result, chaos and political embarrassment are the eventual outcome. It is said that the man is simply surrounded by political animals rather than actual experts borne out from experience and not based on who's masters they serve on their various desk jobs.

 

[Agnus]

Politics trumped prudent planning and sober execution of his political objective. As a result, chaos and political embarrassment are the eventual outcome. It is said that the man is simply surrounded by political animals rather than actual experts borne out from experience and not based on who's masters they serve on their various desk jobs.

Yes, but is that people have build up Biden as this master strategist who knows what he is doing compared to Trump who was supposedly making it up as they went along. At times, I wonder if Biden is really running the show or if it is simply a ''Blinken Presidency'' under the guise of a Biden one.

 

[Richard Santos]

American hasn’t had a serious foreign strategist in any role of influence in 40 years. During this period the best American had were domestic political hacks who confuse some half baked “conventional wisdom” for real foreign strategy. Biden is amongst that kind of “best”.

The worst were domestic political hacks who thinks foreign strategy is just part of the bread and circus useful for building temporary and discreditable domestic coalitions for advancing disreputable domestic political agendas.

The main current of development in american is certainly not towards the direction of making it more probable for any serious foreign policy strategist to reach position of influence. Rather is in the direction of making the worst hacks more likely to reach position of influence.

 

[Chish]

Even if the Green Party wins a major victory nothing fundamental will change. Chances of them pulling a Lithuania is around zero since unlike Lithuania, Germany has substantial business interests in China. Worst case scenario would be banning of Huawei plus tariffs against Chinese products (heavy machinery) that compete with similar Germany products.

Without Angela Merkel at the helm, China and German relationship will not be the same again, too much unknowns.
Tariffs will backfire on them because if Germany have to impose tariffs to keep Chinese products out that complete with similar German products, they inadvertently acknowledge chinese products are up to their standards. Badge of honour and free marketing for chinese companies.

 

[Richard Santos]

Without Angela Merkel at the helm, China and German relationship will not be the same again, too much unknowns.
Tariffs will backfire on them because if Germany have to impose tariffs to keep Chinese products out that complete with similar German products, they inadvertently acknowledge chinese products are up to their standards. Badge of honour and free marketing for chinese companies.

For germany, good relationship with Russia is of existential importance, which makes it improbable for Germany to wholly hitch its wagon to America’s cause in the America’s confrontation with Russia’s most important anti-American ally.

When Germany sent her warship into South China Sea at the behest of the US, the Germans then made the sincerity of their participation known by lodging a formal request for a port visit to shanghai at the end of the transit. So signal sent.

 

[siegecrossbow]

American hasn’t had a serious foreign strategist in any role of influence in 40 years. During this period the best American had were domestic political hacks who confuse some half baked “conventional wisdom” for real foreign strategy. Biden is amongst that kind of “best”.

The worst were domestic political hacks who thinks foreign strategy is just part of the bread and circus useful for building temporary and discreditable domestic coalitions for advancing disreputable domestic political agendas.

The main current of development in american is certainly not towards the direction of making it more probable for any serious foreign policy strategist to reach position of influence. Rather is in the direction of making the worst hacks more likely to reach position of influence.

America’s dominance for the past 30 years is so great that having a competent foreign strategist is not necessary.