Because Trump 2.0

[Ol Paint]

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. C. Q. Brown out, replaced by a retired 3-star, Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.

USAF Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife also sacked.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti out.  Replaced by Adm. James Kilby.

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/21/nx-s1-5305288/trump-fires-chairman-joint-chiefs-of-staff-charles-brown-pentagon

The Judge Advocats General for the Army, Navy, and Air Force have also been removed.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pushes-out-top-us-general-nominates-retired-three-star-2025-02-22/

Doug

[Sinistar]

trump won the election

 

you see who did not win the election

 

trump is trying to sort out the mess of his own country

 

you see who is not trying to sort out the mess in their own countries

 

trump is sorting out the mess in ukraine

 

you see who is not sorting out the mess in ukraine

 

trump gets the loot

 

you see who does not get the loot

 

there is no consolation prize other than to continue on with woke neurotic behaviors and demolish their own cultures

 

maybe they can do what the governor of wisconsin did to introduce a bill to replace the term mother with inseminated person in order to appear as though to actually contribute or accomplish something

surely that will make them satisfied and that is the last you heard of that

 

https://www.waow.com/news/gov-tony-evers-introduces-bill-to-remove-the-term-mother-from-state-law-in-favor/article_e60bd02e-f0b4-11ef-b2ff-47de1443727e.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[urbanoid]

3 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

It's frustration over F35 that seems to be driving the British led consortium with Tempest. I wouldn't be surprised if there are threats about Trident waiting in the wings, it wouldn't be the first time they tried to scupper our nuclear ambitions.

There's nothing available that comes even close to F-35 in capability, but if shit hits the fan and as far as dealing with just RuAF Eurofighters and Rafales would do fine, provided there's enough aircraft (check), pilots (probably), weapons to hang off them (no idea) and, first of all, political will (weak).

[jmsaari]

6 hours ago, RETAC21 said:

Yes. The US has been doing this for quite some time, just not in some parts of Europe.

The Turks didn't develop their arms industry because the US was selling them stuff, but because they had to.

Down here we didn't buy Mirages because they were cool looking either.

it's folly to trust the US and it has been in the past (ask the South Vietnamese...) and "Europe" has been stupid forgetting this.

Poland seems to understand this.

Still loss of or clashes of interest is one thing and one could always try to evaluate the probabilities of such arising. What Trump seems to be doing now though is more of a shameless protection racket and blackmail, where any weakness will be ruthlessly exploited to the maximum immediate benefit. We'll see how things develop but with every see-sawing back-and-forth and contradictory statement, the trendline is not promising... 

[RETAC21]

Just now, jmsaari said:

Still loss of or clashes of interest is one thing and one could always try to evaluate the probabilities of such arising. What Trump seems to be doing now though is more of a shameless protection racket and blackmail, where any weakness will be ruthlessly exploited to the maximum immediate benefit. We'll see how things develop but with every see-sawing back-and-forth and contradictory statement, the trendline is not promising... 

I completely agree, but I am not sure it's a protection racket if you get no protection in exchange for the money paid. What Trump has achieved so far is to shake European politicians into discounting the US as an ally and written off the US as a player in European affairs, so why should anyone care what the US thinks or does from now on?

Now we will see some slow burning projects move into high priority.

[Ivanhoe]

59 minutes ago, Ol Paint said:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. C. Q. Brown out, replaced by a retired 3-star, Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.

 

Caine is an interesting choice. He is most famous for his plan to stomp ISIS. Seems reasonable to assume the Trump team wants a CJCS who will stay focused on that conflict.

[RETAC21]

31 minutes ago, urbanoid said:

There's nothing available that comes even close to F-35 in capability, but if shit hits the fan and as far as dealing with just RuAF Eurofighters and Rafales would do fine, provided there's enough aircraft (check), pilots (probably), weapons to hang off them (no idea) and, first of all, political will (weak).

Re the underlined: yet.

FCAS and Tempest now become serious projects. Until then, legacy fighters will do fine vs Russian aircraft.

[jmsaari]

4 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Finland is already talking about binning F35 and buying Grippen. I should imagine the short field capability of grippen is much better anyway.

We're pretty far down the Fat Amy road here, where did you hear that? 

There's probably a billion-magnitude cost already incurred and plane deliveries about begin in a year or so, plus likely pretty massive fines from pulling out of the signed contract, so highly doubtful unless Trump gets even crazier...(Which,of course isnt something that could be ruled out by any means judging by recent events...)

[rmgill]

8 hours ago, Ssnake said:

Complete moral bankruptcy.

https://x.com/RALee85/status/1893201724548227185?t=AZlEeUj5PnvN2jqCzwsmfQ&s=19

Reuters? Second confirming source not the same stringer?

 

You should know better than to weight Reuters or AP so heavily. 

Edited February 22, 2025 by rmgill

[Ssnake]

So, it hasn't happened.

Next, you'll explain to me that it did happen, and that it's a good thing?

[Sinistar]

getting some of our money back out of this is a good thing for us

good in and of itself

 

i am not going to tell you that you ought to behave this way or that way

forcing obligations on you to do something or not do something

that is just the beginning of resentment- forced duties

 

i am not going to tell you to behave piously or act selfless whatever that means

 

why not because i know you can't

nor can i

 

it is the forced obligations which is causing many of these problems

the commandment to love or to be charitable is not those things at all when it becomes an imposition

it does not work that way when it is compelled and not somehow more organic

 

you are not really doing it for good reasons when you do that

there is too much of that already

 

[Murph]

I rate Reuters and AP as non credible sources 100% of the time.  I actually find the Guardian more credible than either of them.  

[Tim Sielbeck]

2 hours ago, RETAC21 said:

... so why should anyone care what the US thinks or does from now on?

It has been my experience that this has been the European attitude since at least the 1970s.  So why should the US continue with the status quo?

[Murph]

1 hour ago, Tim Sielbeck said:

It has been my experience that this has been the European attitude since at least the 1970s.  So why should the US continue with the status quo?

Bravo.  Yes, and since then they lecture us on our naivete.  

[JWB]

General Officer Announcement
March 2, 2020 |   
Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper announced today that the president has made the following nomination:

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. has been nominated for appointment to the rank of general, with assignment as chief of staff, U.S. Air Force .........

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2099461/general-officer-announcement/

[DKTanker]

4 hours ago, Ssnake said:

So, it hasn't happened.

Next, you'll explain to me that it did happen, and that it's a good thing?

Maybe Musk should never have offered up Starlink.  Maybe one of the more advanced nations of Europe should have offered up their internet satellite constellation to Ukraine instead of relying on the unreliable Americans.  That's the real moral bankruptcy, that the Europeans didn't offer their own satellite internet service to Ukraine.

[RETAC21]

11 hours ago, Tim Sielbeck said:

It has been my experience that this has been the European attitude since at least the 1970s.  So why should the US continue with the status quo?

Did they ask you? When the US invoked Article 5 post 9-11, did the Europeans told it to stuff it and that it wasn't their war?

[RETAC21]

8 hours ago, DKTanker said:

Maybe Musk should never have offered up Starlink.  Maybe one of the more advanced nations of Europe should have offered up their internet satellite constellation to Ukraine instead of relying on the unreliable Americans.  That's the real moral bankruptcy, that the Europeans didn't offer their own satellite internet service to Ukraine.

Of course, you have become a troll and couldn't be bothered to check. Europeans are doing just that: https://www.telecomrevieweurope.com/articles/reports-and-coverage/skyward-resilience-satellites-pivotal-role-in-connecting-ukraine/

The real moral bankruptcy is that the Ukrainians relied on Americans to help them defeat an unprovoked invasion and Trump is throwing them under the bus because the President was Joe Biden. Or he is in Russia's pocket, take your pick.

And his voters are justifying this betrayal.

[seahawk]

Morals, you mean libtard values? The new America is about winning and strength. And Trump is winning big time.

[Stuart Galbraith]

All America is going to win is China dominating the century, and the 'Arsenal of Democracy' going bankrupt. Such is the fate of all failed Empires.

[seahawk]

[Stuart Galbraith]

Goering ran the Luftwaffe like this.

 

[urbanoid]

Just now, Stuart Galbraith said:

Goering ran the Luftwaffe like this.

 

'I decide who is a Jew in Luftwaffe!'

[Tim Sielbeck]

8 hours ago, RETAC21 said:

Did they ask you? When the US invoked Article 5 post 9-11, did the Europeans told it to stuff it and that it wasn't their war?

Was 9/11 fifty years ago already?

 

 I have observed for most of the last 50 plus years that many, if not most, Europeans do not give a flying fuck about America or what Americans think.  It has nothing to do with NATO, or NATO obligations, just a general opinion that Americans are not worth the consideration of Europeans because we are beneath them.

[RETAC21]

6 minutes ago, Tim Sielbeck said:

Was 9/11 fifty years ago already?

 I have observed for most of the last 50 plus years that many, if not most, Europeans do not give a flying fuck about America or what Americans think.  It has nothing to do with NATO, or NATO obligations, just a general opinion that Americans are not worth the consideration of Europeans because we are beneath them.

The 50 years in which the US has had command of NATO? because Europeans don't GAS about the US? those 50 years?

By that general observation, I would point out that in those 50 years, the US has thrown its allies under the bus more often than it has stood by them, and that the only allies that have stood by the US consistently have been the Europeans (Korea?), Australia (Korea, Vietnam?), Taiwan and South Korea, so as for considering the US as not worth consideration, we seem to follow the US lead quite a lot.

Mebbe that speaks more about your limitations than actual opinions?

Edited February 23, 2025 by RETAC21