The General 'Murican Politics Thread

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

It would be a lot more difficult for an attack to happen in the US than Europe given how much closer the latter is to the Middle East. Sure, 9/11 is a case example of what happens if we let our guard down and why we should be vigilant, but 9/11 happened because the culprits put a lot of time, money, planning, effort, and had sheer dumb luck on top of it.

Not that an attack like London's can't happen if the Boston bombing and Orlando shooting are any indicator, but most attacks on the US are domestic in comparison, and funny enough are terrorists that voted for Trump. They're not as frequent either.

Oh, and good fucking luck for any kind of terrorist group that is willing to shell out thousands of dollars just come across the Atlantic to the US. Even if they succeed, they're only hurting themselves--even suicide attacks cost money, draining the revenues for whatever said terror groups goal is. So even if they get the results of their attack, they'll only end up withering on a gone and making it easier for counterterrorist ops to work against them-any wonder why we've barely heard anything from al Qaida while ISIS took their place?

[Tara]

10 minutes ago, Conquering Storm's Servant said:

and funny enough are terrorists that voted for Trump

Just curious but are there any figures on this or is this speculation/rhetorical? 

[Nepenthe]

Borders honestly matter less than you'd think nowadays when it comes to terrorism because the fact is that ISIL (and white supremacist factions) are using the Internet recruitment as a tool. San Bernardino happened with an American at the helm. The Orlando massacre happened with an American. Recent white supremacist stabbings are preceded by a history of online white supremacist activity on Facebook and the like. Oceans don't matter that much when you can tell an impressionable young guy with nothing to do with his life that there's a culture war happening within his own borders and that he can personally do something about it through Facebook and 4chan.

[Volphied]

21 minutes ago, Conquering Storm's Servant said:

It would be a lot more difficult for an attack to happen in the US than Europe given how much closer the latter is to the Middle East.

The last couple of attacks in Europe were done by homegrown terrorists, not immigrants from the Middle East.

Which is why Trump's calls for closing the borders and his attempts to ban travel from some Middle East countries are so stupid.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

1 hour ago, Tara said:

Just curious but are there any figures on this or is this speculation/rhetorical? 

I last recall a source from the FBI that had the figures a few years back under the Obama Administration warning him of homegrown right-wing terrorism being the greater concern over Islamic terrorism all the way across the Atlantic. And given who a lot of right-wingers voted for, that in itself is telling.

Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got it and I don't have enough time to look for it right now, so provided anyone else can vouch for this in the meantime I don't blame anyone who's skeptical at the moment.

52 minutes ago, Volphied said:

The last couple of attacks in Europe were done by homegrown terrorists, not immigrants from the Middle East.

Which is why Trump's calls for closing the borders and his attempts to ban travel from some Middle East countries are so stupid.

Oh, really?

Wasn't aware of that. I legit though some of them snuck among the immigrants to Europe to cause trouble.

Guess that really says a lot.

[Volphied]

 

 

[Tani Coyote]

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2017/jun/04/democrat-jon-ossoff-will-not-debate-republican-karen-handell-nationally-televised-broadcast/431691/

Jon Ossoff has declined to debate his GOP opponent on a national broadcast hosted by CNN.

This is possibly a smart move: his national support is often used as a weapon against him in an attempt to get local independents and conservatives to vote for Handel. Ossoff capitalized on anti-Trump sentiment to gain national attention and a ton of funding, but now that he's near the finish line it makes sense to focus on the Georgia 6th. A Democrat making his national profile more prominent could backfire and give Handel the Republican vote more easily.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/13/trump-2018-midterms-gop-alarm-238342

From the 13th, but some of the points are still relevant.

Note the Michigan GOP Chair saying Trump is still in his honeymoon period. I think that's delusion at its finest. I guess he buys into the idea anything that makes Trump look bad is fake news and Trump is truly a beloved leader who everyone is lying and cheating in an attempt to usurp. Also note how the GOP is using a threat of impeachment against Trump to raise money for 2018 candidates.

https://qz.com/998318/paris-agreement-a-climate-coalition-of-states-producing-30-of-us-gdp-is-seceding-economically-from-trump/

Further information on the "economic secession" that is the US states deciding to uphold the Paris Agreement anyway. 9 states are currently party to it, representing 25% of the population and 30% of the GDP, with 10 more interested in joining. When you consider 80% of regulations are made by states and cities, this is a serious undermining of Trump's policy decisions.

Now, it does in theory raise constitutional issues since it's dangerously close to a treaty with foreign powers, but really, there's nothing keeping states from simply carbon copying the Paris Agreement (removing references to foreign governments and replacing them with state governments) and passing it off as domestic law.

This actually has precedent. Many of the United States' foreign agreements aren't technically treaties. In American law, a treaty is ratified by the Senate alone by two-thirds. Since two-thirds is a pain in the ass margin to reach, many agreements are actually just signed as bills with simple majorities in both Houses.

People talk about how precious the Constitution is but really both parties freely find ways to make it more workable on a day to day basis. Signing "executive" and "executive-legislative" agreements instead of treaties is just one way this is done.

As for state compacts, the primary rule of them is that Congress must approve of a compact if it restricts the power of the federal government to the benefit of the states. Congress does not, for example, need to approve compacts to establish interstate waterway management commissions. Even Congressional approval could be circumvented, however; all the states need is an informal agreement to carbon copy the Paris Agreement's provisions. This would likely result in variation from state to state, but it's an option.

This is where a double edged sword would come into play. Trump's anti-Muslim comments have been used to establish Islamophobic intent that weakens his travel ban. In much the same way, the states' agreement to honor the Paris Agreement could be construed as intent to sign a treaty with a foreign power no matter how they publicly defend it. The law thinks your intent is as important as your words and actions, and that could put some states in hot water.

[Patticus]

The President is awake, and angry, Tweet attacking his own Justice Department and damaging greatly the chances that his travel ban will ever get off the ground.

 

Ever shall this Tweet be relevant:

 

[Tani Coyote]

This is delicious. All he's proving is that he changes wording to avoid appearing bigoted. It puts the whole ban in question. It is good his malice is outpaced by his incompetence.

With Comey's anticipated hearing days from now, Trump's deflecting efforts have intensified.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/politics/donald-trump-infrastructure-james-comey/?iid=ob_lockedrail_bottomlist

With the fate of healthcare in the Senate uncertain and tax reform not even tackled yet, Trump is pushing for the infrastructure bill now. The infrastructure bill was highly expected to be a bipartisan effort, but that's unlikely to happen, given the Democrats want to directly invest in it while the GOP wants to provide tax cuts and allow cities to sell off their already-completed infrastructure (you know, water, power, all that stuff we've proven doesn't really gain a boon from privatization).

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/politics/donald-trump-tax-return-2016/?iid=ob_lockedrail_bottomlist

The infamous tax returns have made their mark once more, with White House officials saying Trump filed for an extension. You'd think this would be used as an excuse to not release them, but no, Trump is tactless: he's saying only reporters care about the returns and that he'll maybe release them after he's out of office. His arrogance is apparent when he says he did a good job and would love to show them.

[Volphied]

58 minutes ago, Lord Liquir (Ogilvie) said:

With Comey's anticipated hearing days from now, Trump's deflecting efforts have intensified.

On a less hilarious note. It seems to be now confirmed that Trump has zero intention to defend NATO.

This is a really scary revelation. The US is now closer to Russia and Saudi Arabia than Europe.

[Dark Qiviut]

@Patticus @Lord Liquir (Ogilvie)

And the ACLU quickly picked it up:

Sweet Jesus, man, Drumpf continues to cook his own goose with his inability to shut up.

8 hours ago, Patticus said:

Ever shall this Tweet be relevant:

I've been reading the replies to Sharkley's tweet. The shit's hilarious. Here's one of my favs:

[Patticus]

Looks like all the Trumpites who complained that no evidence has been turned up regarding Russian election hacking are, surprise surprise, wrong. However, it's not known at present exactly how successful the cyber-attacks in question were, but the fact that they appear to have gotten so far into the electoral system should in itself be of deep concern.

Quote

Top-Secret NSA Report Details Russian Hacking Effort Days Before 2016 Election

Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept.

The top-secret National Security Agency document, which was provided anonymously to The Intercept and independently authenticated, analyzes intelligence very recently acquired by the agency about a months-long Russian intelligence cyber effort against elements of the U.S. election and voting infrastructure. The report, dated May 5, 2017, is the most detailed U.S. government account of Russian interference in the election that has yet come to light.

While the document provides a rare window into the NSA’s understanding of the mechanics of Russian hacking, it does not show the underlying “raw” intelligence on which the analysis is based. A U.S. intelligence officer who declined to be identified cautioned against drawing too big a conclusion from the document because a single analysis is not necessarily definitive.

The report indicates that Russian hacking may have penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than was previously understood. It states unequivocally in its summary statement that it was Russian military intelligence, specifically the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU, that conducted the cyber attacks described in the document:

Quote

Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors … executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions. … The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to … launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations.

This NSA summary judgment is sharply at odds with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial last week that Russia had interfered in foreign elections: “We never engaged in that on a state level, and have no intention of doing so.” Putin, who had previously issued blanket denials that any such Russian meddling occurred, for the first time floated the possibility that freelance Russian hackers with “patriotic leanings” may have been responsible. The NSA report, on the contrary, displays no doubt that the cyber assault was carried out by the GRU.

The NSA analysis does not draw conclusions about whether the interference had any effect on the election’s outcome and concedes that much remains unknown about the extent of the hackers’ accomplishments. However, the report raises the possibility that Russian hacking may have breached at least some elements of the voting system, with disconcertingly uncertain results.

The NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were both contacted for this article. Officials requested that we not publish or report on the top secret document and declined to comment on it. When informed that we intended to go ahead with this story, the NSA requested a number of redactions. The Intercept agreed to some of the redaction requests after determining that the disclosure of that material was not clearly in the public interest.

More at the link: https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/top-secret-nsa-report-details-russian-hacking-effort-days-before-2016-election/

The US could stand to learn a great deal from the French, regarding how to fend off Russian intrusions into their electoral system. The Russians are no doubt learning a lot from the experience as well, however - I hope the Germans are prepared for an onslaught of cyber attacks in their next election.

[Tani Coyote]

New Jersey Governor primaries are tomorrow. We'll know the first state-level nominees of the Trump era tomorrow.

Meanwhile, another small victory for the Democrats:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/336145-senate-returns-more-pessimistic-than-ever-on-healthcare

The Senate Republicans are pessimistic they'll have a healthcare bill before they go into recess; at most they'll have "paramaters" and a basic outline. McConnell wants a bill before the end of August, but if it fails, he is likely to move on. Paul Ryan promised an Obamacare repeal bill would pass, whereas McConnell merely says he'll bring it to a vote. Honestly, he seems more concerned about tax reform than Obamacare repeal, especially given the vast majority of Americans wanted continued Medicaid expansion. This divides the GOP: Republican Senators' opinions on Medicaid expansion largely correlate with whether or not their state has voted to expand it.

Barring some miraculous turnaround, and the fact many GOP Senators have safe seats until 2020 and 2022, the odds an Obamacare repeal passing the Senate and passing the House as well are very slim. Obamacare is likely to remain the new paradigm.

Honestly, I see them boiling this down to the tax cuts and maybe the repeal of the mandate. But at that point, the Freedom Caucus is liable to vote against it out of spite, killing the bill entirely.

Stay strong, my right wing Bernie Bros. You are doing an excellent job sabotaging the GOP's agenda.

[Volphied]

8 hours ago, Patticus said:

Looks like all the Trumpites who complained that no evidence has been turned up regarding Russian election hacking are, surprise surprise, wrong. However, it's not known at present exactly how successful the cyber-attacks in question were, but the fact that they appear to have gotten so far into the electoral system should in itself be of deep concern.

Yes, it's deeply concerning how far the Russians got, however this leak does not help us at all. These documents are part of the investigation into Russian hacking, and leaking them will only damage it. Thankfully the leaker was immediately arrested and will most likely spend many years in federal prison. This was made possible because of how incredibly incompetent both the leaker and Greenwalds 'The Intercept' are, (also, FYI, The Intercept has been shamelessly pro-Russian in the past couple years, mostly due to how viciously they hate the NSA and CIA). The printed document that the leaker handed over had tracking dots all over it, which made it possible to identify her instantly. Glenn Greenwald is a dumbass for not noticing this.

This leaker didn't "expose" anything. All of this was already known by US intelligence community, and there is no evidence that there was a coverup. The leaker and Greenwald just revealed top-secret data that could very well have been important to prosecuting Donald Trump and confronting Russia.

None of the stuff that WaPo or NYT leaked ever interfered with the international investigation currently in progress. This is the main difference between actual investigative journalism done by WaPo and NYT, and the shit that the pro-Putin cheerleaders at 'The Intercept' regularly pull.

This leak has set us back in prosecuting the Trump administration, and has been a huge gift to Putin.

[Patticus]

Well shit, now I feel complicit in something nasty that hurts us all. Great.

The US is considering withdrawing from UN body on human rights, I guess because it picks on Israel too much, and not enough on Venezuela:

Quote

The US says it is considering withdrawing from the UN body on human rights, highlighting what it calls a "biased" stance on Israel.

UN ambassador Nikki Haley said the US was "looking carefully" at its role on the Human Rights Council.

She said it was "hard to accept" the fact that five resolutions had been passed against Israel, a US ally, but none had been considered on Venezuela.

Mrs Haley is expected to address the council later on Tuesday.

In an opinion article for the Washington Post last Friday, Mrs Haley said the council needed to "end its practice of wrongly singling out Israel for criticism".

While she highlighted work done by the group, she said not enough had been done to criticise Iran, a "country with an abysmal human rights record", and Venezuela, which is in political turmoil and where dozens of protesters have been killed in recent months.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40173472

Yeah that's right, just leave, go on and abdicate more of your global influence and bequeath even more to Europe, Russia and China. What the fuck.

This cannot possibly end well.

I hope that the next Democratic administration hires all the best people and quickly, because they're going to need to hit the ground running and work at a frenetic pace to undo the wrongs of this administration while they have the majority/ies to do so.

[Volphied]

1 hour ago, Patticus said:

The US is considering withdrawing from UN body on human rights, I guess because it picks on Israel too much, and not enough on Venezuela:

IIRC, Dubya also withdrew the US from this council, only for Obama to reverse that. This is more like the regular Republican grandstanding, such as how GOP presidents ban funding to humanitarian organizations that happen to also provide abortions, only for the Democratic president to reinstate said funding.

Of course, this doesn't mean that US global standing isn't right now being demolished by Trump, this long and extremely brutal article in Der Spiegel, which quotes from the G8 summit in Sicily and the NATO meeting in Brussels, came out just today

Excerpts:

Quote

Until the very end, they tried behind closed doors to get him to change his mind. For the umpteenth time, they presented all the arguments -- the humanitarian ones, the geopolitical ones and, of course, the economic ones. They listed the advantages for the economy and for American companies. They explained how limited the hardships would be.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the last one to speak, according to the secret minutes taken last Friday afternoon in the luxurious conference hotel in the Sicilian town of Taormina -- meeting notes that DER SPIEGEL has been given access to. Leaders of the world's seven most powerful economies were gathered around the table and the issues under discussion were the global economy and sustainable development.

But Donald Trump remained unconvinced. No matter how trenchant the argument presented by the increasingly frustrated group of world leaders, none of them had an effect.

At that point, it was clear to the rest of those seated around the table that they had lost him. Resigned, Macron admitted defeat. "Now China leads," he said.

Quote

Still, it is likely that none of the G-7 heads of state and government expected the primitive brutality Trump would stoop to when announcing his withdrawal from the international community. Surrounded by sycophants in the Rose Garden at the White House, he didn't just proclaim his withdrawal from the climate agreement, he sowed the seeds of international conflict. His speech was a break from centuries of Enlightenment and rationality. The president presented his political statement as a nationalist manifesto of the most imbecilic variety. It couldn't have been any worse.

But the effects on the geopolitical climate are likely to be just as catastrophic. Trump's speech provided only the most recent proof that discord between the U.S. and Europe is deeper now than at any time since the end of World War II.

Now, the Western community of values is standing in opposition to Donald Trump. The G-7 has become the G-6. The West is divided.

Quote

The chancellor was long reluctant to make the rift visible. For Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, the alliance with the U.S. was always more than political calculation, it reflected her deepest political convictions. Now, she has -- to a certain extent, at least -- terminated the trans-Atlantic friendship with Trump's America.

In doing so, the German chancellor has become Trump's adversary on the international stage. And Merkel has accepted the challenge when it comes to trade policy and the quarrel over NATO finances. Now, she has done so as well on an issue that is near and dear to her heart: combating climate change.

Merkel's aim is that of creating an alliance against Trump. If she can't convince the U.S. president, her approach will be that of trying to isolate him. In Taormina, it was six countries against one. Should Trump not reverse course, she is hoping that the G-20 in Hamburg in July will end 19:1. Whether she will be successful is unclear.

Trump has identified Germany as his primary adversary. Since his inauguration in January, he has criticized no country -- with the exception of North Korea and Iran -- as vehemently as he has Germany. The country is "bad, very bad," he said in Brussels last week. Behind closed doors at the NATO summit, Trump went after Germany, saying there were large and prosperous countries that were not living up to their alliance obligations.

And he wants to break Germany's economic power. The trade deficit with Germany, he recently tweeted, is "very bad for U.S. This will change."

[Patticus]

As Comey's testimony on Thursday draws closer, it has been revealed that the hearing will be broadcast live on ABC, CBS and also I believe on NBC, in addition to all the usual suspects (the 24hr news networks). It's highly unusual for congressional hearings to get the live broadcast treatment in this way, so we're in for quite a show. Comey will reportedly not be restricted as to what he can say - it'll be entirely up to him what he wants to divulge, and what he wants to hold back. To add to this, Trump will be live tweeting the entire thing, start to finish.

It's the event of the political season.

 

Oh and the anti-Comey attack ads have started airing:

Oh look,

[-Robin-]

In state legislature news, the Kansas legislature has overrode Governor Brownback's veto of the legislature's rollback of the governor's infamous tax cut program.

 

Brownback's tax cuts was meant to be the iconic experiment, crafted by the super influential conservative policy figures, to prove super-conservative economics could create economic boons. This veto was done to get Kansas to get out of a budget shortfall.

 

Needless to say, the experiment failed majestically. 

[Tani Coyote]

Speaking of state by state victories against hardline conservatism... single payer is taking this country by storm.

http://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/cuomo-new-york-health-care

New York Governor Cuomo has signed an executive order requiring all health insurers be part of state healthcare exchanges in order to be eligible for participation in government programs like Medicaid and SCHIP. Insurers are also being required to comply with ACA provisions to receive state licensure.

The effect of this is huge. A leading cause of Obamacare's problems is the ability to insurers to freely join and leave healthcare exchanges; this kills price competition (see the effect of a bunch of sellers selling the same product on an online marketplace like Amazon.com to see how much impact a one-stop shop for anything can drastically slash prices) and as such keeps Obamacare from fully realizing potential cost savings. It also means that even if the Affordable Care Act is torn up, New York's healthcare is safe barring a serious legislative or court challenge (or a future Governor reversing it).

Governor Cuomo is seen as a likely 2020 candidate for President, and taking strong stances on healthcare is likely to help him in the primaries.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/nevada-is-considering-a-revolutionary-health-care-experiment.html

Yet another blow to Ryancare from my own state of Nevada. Both chambers of the legislature have passed a bill which will allow people of all income levels to buy a Medicaid plan. To become law, it must not only pass the Republican Governor's scrutiny, but Nevada must receive a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services to repurpose federal funds. The Governor has stated his support for Medicaid expansion (he was actually the first GOP Governor to do so) and is term-limited, which makes his signature much more likely. Tom Price's decision, who knows, but should he refuse, the GOP's state's rights narrative takes a huge blow.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/us/democrats-universal-health-care-single-payer-party.html

Support for single payer is on the rise. Calls for it are becoming more and more common both from demonstrators as well as from politicians.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-senate-backs-longshot-single-payer-health-care-bill/

Despite the enormous costs predicted for implementing such a program, the California Senate voted 23-14 to pass the universal healthcare bill. That's two votes short of a veto-proof majority. The ball is in Jerry Brown's court now.

Let us shake Paul Ryan and Donald Trump's hands on this issue. By rejecting the moderate proposal championed by Obama, Clinton, Pelosi and the Democratic leadership, they have radicalized the Democratic base and quite possibly put the current healthcare system on the endangered species list.

We all know how much the Trump camp loves to hate on New York and California over the popular vote and Electoral College, but Nevada, a blue-leaning swing state, should be very concerning to the repeal advocates. Add in the moderate GOP Senators and Governors backing Medicaid expansion, pre-existing conditions protections, etc. and I'd say a huge expansion of healthcare coverage is on the table if not full single payer.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

3 minutes ago, Lord Liquir (Ogilvie) said:

Let us shake Paul Ryan and Donald Trump's hands on this issue. By rejecting the moderate proposal championed by Obama, Clinton, Pelosi and the Democratic leadership, they have radicalized the Democratic base and quite possibly put the current healthcare system on the endangered species list.

It's funny (not really but I can't think of a better word). As awful as many of the things happening to LGBT, minorities and anyone who isn't a rich white guy is, and as much as I wish these things didn't have to happen, the Trump Administration's hyper radical neo conservative ideology only seems to have resulted in a lot of people realizing just how batshit insane they really are and how little they care for America's wellbeing and how much they're only in it for their egos and pockets. Thus instead of a decisive victory and a return to an "idyllic 1950's America where minorities and wimmen knew their place underfoot the mighty whitey, where America ruled the world and everyone in the world kowtowed or got pwned", they're encountering heavy resistance on every end.

[Tani Coyote]

We saw Trump as highly likely to burn everything down, which he may end up doing, but we are looking like a phoenix rather than a ruined structure. The GOP's poor ability to govern combined with Trump's highly caustic, unstable personality is working well to alienate the left and the center. If the Democrats run a strong candidate with a good platform, we could very well end up with a major realignment on par with the New Deal era or the Southern strategy. Healthcare expansion is looking to be the bridge that will heal the giant partisan gap left by Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Schumer, McConnell, Boehner, Ryan, and Trump.

I'm crossing my fingers for the party heads in both chambers of Congress to lose their posts. These leaders are all associated with intense partisanship that will make coming together difficult. No matter how 2018 goes, I'm hopeful Pelosi will be forced from power in the House if nothing else.

http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/06/06/in-low-turnout-race-parties-pick-their-candidates-to-replace-christie-in-nj-112564

New Jersey's Governor primaries have concluded, and we officially have the first nominees for a Governorship in the Trump era. Democrat Phil Murphy will face off against Guadagno this November. An easy win is expected given the blue tilt, midterm effect, and Chris Christie's terrible approval ratings, but let's not repeat the Clinton complacency. Murphy is actively promising to resist Trump's administration.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/5/jimmy-gomez-poised-to-beat-robert-lee-ahn-in-calif/?

California held its special election to fills its vacant US House seat today. The district looks poised to send a Latino to Congress (something it has a tradition of doing), but the Korean-American candidate nonetheless looks to lose only narrowly. Had he won, he would have been the first Korean-American member of Congress.

Either way, the Democrats have increased their votes by 1. Given how narrowly the AHCA passed, any Democrat gains in the House prior to November 2018 is reason for the GOP to start sweating.

[Volphied]

So... we're about to see how the White House deals with its first international crisis.

So far it's pretty much a disaster, due to how the State Department, already suffering from massive staff shortage, is completely cut off from the White House.

The story so far: Qatar, whose relations with Saudi Arabia were always lukewarm at best, recently got into a huge diplomatic scandal with the Saudis, after a fake news report appeared on state news and attributed false remarks to Qatar's ruler that appeared friendly to Iran and Israel, and questioned whether Donald Trump would last in office. Unsurprisingly, the Russians were behind this.

Quote

US investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the US' closest Gulf allies, according to US officials briefed on the investigation.
The FBI recently sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the alleged hacking incident, Qatari and US government officials say.
Intelligence gathered by the US security agencies indicates that Russian hackers were behind the intrusion first reported by the Qatari government two weeks ago, US officials say. Qatar hosts one of the largest US military bases in the region.

Saudi Arabia however continues to use the fake article as proof of Qatar "supporting terrorism" and it, along with allies, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE, have now cut off all land, sea and air travel with Qatar. Diplomatic ties were also shut down and ALL Qatari nationals were ordered to leave Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Now, Qatar hosts THE largest American military base in the Middle East, which plays an important role in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, so this would mean that the US will try to resolve this diplomatically, right? Trump: "WRONG"

Quote

The president sent out a handful of tweets this morning related to recent news that a number of Middle East countries were cutting ties with Qatar over allegations that the country’s government is sponsoring terrorism. Despite Qatar being an ally of the United States, Trump took to Twitter to both take credit for the other countries’ actions while also accusing Qatar of being a state sponsor of terror.

We'll be lucky if this doesn't escalate into a war, with US troops in the cross-fire. Trump's continued presence in the White House is endangering the whole world.

Quote

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel accused US President Donald Trump of stirring up conflicts in the Middle East and risking a new arms race as Qatar's neighbours cut ties with Doha.

"US President Trump's recent giant military contracts which Gulf monarchies raise the risk of a new spiral in arms sales," Gabriel warned in an interview with the Handelsblatt daily to appear on Wednesday.

"This policy is completely wrong and is certainly not Germany's policy," he added, in extracts of his interview released Tuesday. "I am very concerned with the dramatic escalation and the consequences for the whole region."

Trump on Tuesday backed the regional efforts to isolate Qatar, supporting Saudi Arabia and its allies and suggesting the key US ally - home to the largest American airbase in the Middle East - has been funding "extremism".

Gabriel warned against completely isolating Qatar and said the move is an attack on the Gulf state's very existence.

"Apparently, Qatar is to be isolated more or less completely and hit existentially. Such a 'Trumpification' of relations in a region already susceptible to crises is particularly dangerous," Gabriel said.

 

[SSF1991]

This dunderhead of a president is going to get us all killed.

[Tani Coyote]

This isn't going to end well.

We can possibly excuse the Paris Accord since we weren't that fully committed and there's no guarantee all signatories will honor it equally, but once you don't stand by your allies, you rapidly start to lose influence.

We are friends with Israel, but still maintain close relations with several Arab states.

We are friends with Taiwan, yet still try to have a working relationship with China.

Trump is just demonstrating further how unfit he is for his position, given how unilaterally he is throwing our military alliances under the bus. His most avid backers think this is an awesome idea, but this ignores how much influence America gains from its use of strategic alliances. Our ability to rapidly move troops anywhere in the globe preserves not only our safety but the safety of our allies; one is going to think twice before starting a war next to a US ally. Because of the serious deterrent to aggression (and encouragement of good behavior on the part of various allies by this military presence), we're able to build stronger, more stable economies suitable to US investment. Seriously: no one wants to invest in a country likely to be bombed.

Meanwhile, Rex Tillerson is being asked to emphasize improving relations with Russia even as it becomes apparent Russia is trying to reassert itself as a world player with electoral interference across the world. In spite of this, he's clearly more stable than Trump as a diplomat, trying to resolve the Qatar crisis and avoid an escalation.

Of course, that's why there's a major staff shakeup in the cards, what with the communications director resigning and Jeff Sessions floating resignation after losing favor with Trump.

Honestly, I hope lots of people are replaced, preferably with some Senators from not entirely safe states. That will put a Democrat majority in 2018 in sight.

[Volphied]

Oh boy.