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The escalating nuclear crisis between the United States and North Korea boils down to a battle between “two bullies” that could have devastating consequences if President Donald Trump feels “his manhood” is being attacked. That’s the verdict of former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta.
“You’ve got two bullies chiding each other with outrageous comments—and it doesn’t help the situation in terms of trying to resolve something that has to be resolved peacefully...because the consequences of nuclear war would be devastating,” Panetta told Politico Tuesday at the Panetta Institute for Public Policy at California State University, Monterey Bay.
He added: “The question is: Does [Trump] get so frustrated with the North Korean leader—who’s yelling every other day—that he feels that somehow the North Korean leader is attacking his manhood? This is a guy who, if he feels that, does he decide, ‘OK, enough is enough’? So we’re living on that brink right now. We’re not sure what direction this is going to take.... It’s a very dangerous world that’s out there, and it’s going to require a lot of decisions on some tough issues.”
We won't attack unless we have sure-fire evidence NK is gonna attack Guam. We'll let them bomb SK and Japan before we go in. But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The escalating nuclear crisis between the United States and North Korea boils down to a battle between “two bullies” that could have devastating consequences if President Donald Trump feels “his manhood” is being attacked. That’s the verdict of former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta.
“You’ve got two bullies chiding each other with outrageous comments—and it doesn’t help the situation in terms of trying to resolve something that has to be resolved peacefully...because the consequences of nuclear war would be devastating,” Panetta told Politico Tuesday at the Panetta Institute for Public Policy at California State University, Monterey Bay.
He added: “The question is: Does [Trump] get so frustrated with the North Korean leader—who’s yelling every other day—that he feels that somehow the North Korean leader is attacking his manhood? This is a guy who, if he feels that, does he decide, ‘OK, enough is enough’? So we’re living on that brink right now. We’re not sure what direction this is going to take.... It’s a very dangerous world that’s out there, and it’s going to require a lot of decisions on some tough issues.”
This looks like the attack the DOD has in mind. ~100 targets hit by a wing of B1Bs supported by dozens of other aircraft.
Two senior military officials — and two senior retired officers — told NBC News that key to the plan would be a B-1B heavy bomber attack originating from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. My beef with this attack is that it will only be hitting the above ground missile launching areas ... which are really just dirt fields. I am not seeing how we hit any warheads with this kind of strike. Further, they can make more launch facilities fairly easy. I would prefer that we cripple their entire submarine force in 1 blow and end their SLBM development for good.
Pairs of B-1s have conducted 11 practice runs of a similar mission since the end of May, the last taking place on Monday. The training has accelerated since May, according to officials. In an actual mission, the non-nuclear bombers would be supported by satellites and drones and surrounded by fighter jets as well as aerial refueling and electronic warfare planes.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Edit: NK would be better off attacking Okinawa than Guam, if they wanted to make some kind of statement. We have more materiel there than we do in Guam, although Guam may have heavier hitters ready to deploy.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
Edit: NK would be better off attacking Okinawa than Guam, if they wanted to make some kind of statement. We have more materiel there than we do in Guam, although Guam may have heavier hitters ready to deploy.
No, Guam would be the correct target. A "hit" there would be considerably more hurtful than it would be in Okinawa as far as i can tell. Starting from the obvious long range bombers (said B1Bs and B52s), it's also a homeport for four nuclear subs.
Okinawa doesn't have "one base", there's multiple. Kadena, Misawa, Yokota etc, and these are only airbases, naval not counted. Guam only has two as i understand it, a big air base, and a big naval base.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
It doesn't matter how trump takes the statements. trump isn't going to make the final decision when push comes to shove. There are too many competent people in the military who would defy any orders from trump if he wanted to preemptively strike NK. Mattis is a military genius when it's all said and done. Read up on who he is and you'll understand that his comments are not to prop trump up. I feel his statement carries more weight behind it.
trump's statements are not fine nor appropriate for his position. As with all leaders, diplomacy is the best course and trump doesn't know what that is. No one takes anything he says seriously, just like Canada or France. Congress has rebuked him and he's now pretty much isolated in the WH. He's withered away the power of the presidency so quickly, I doubt he's in control of much. He's not being briefed on anything of significant importance, as has been reported, because he has no attention span.
tl;dr Trump can twitter war all he wants. Nothing is going to happen.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
Edit: NK would be better off attacking Okinawa than Guam, if they wanted to make some kind of statement. We have more materiel there than we do in Guam, although Guam may have heavier hitters ready to deploy.
No, Guam would be the correct target. A "hit" there would be considerably more hurtful than it would be in Okinawa as far as i can tell. Starting from the obvious long range bombers (said B1Bs and B52s), it's also a homeport for four nuclear subs.
Okinawa doesn't have "one base", there's multiple. Kadena, Misawa, Yokota etc, and these are only airbases, naval not counted. Guam only has two as i understand it, a big air base, and a big naval base.
I was stationed in Okinawa. There's 4 marine corps bases and 2 naval bases. One major air base (kadena). Yokosuka in mainland japan is the major naval base in Japan.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
It doesn't matter how trump takes the statements. trump isn't going to make the final decision when push comes to shove. There are too many competent people in the military who would defy any orders from trump if he wanted to preemptively strike NK. Mattis is a military genius when it's all said and done. Read up on who he is and you'll understand that his comments are not to prop trump up. I feel his statement carries more weight behind it.
trump's statements are not fine nor appropriate for his position. As with all leaders, diplomacy is the best course and trump doesn't know what that is. No one takes anything he says seriously, just like Canada or France. Congress has rebuked him and he's now pretty much isolated in the WH. He's withered away the power of the presidency so quickly, I doubt he's in control of much. He's not being briefed on anything of significant importance, as has been reported, because he has no attention span.
tl;dr Trump can twitter war all he wants. Nothing is going to happen.
I just wanted to say I agree 100% with what you are saying about the Norks, Mattis, and Trump.
Those who argue that Trump's and Mattis's statements are the same don't know how to read.
Why would Trump bother with boring meetings by Yaley-faggy-CIA types? Lame. He can get all the information he needs from FOX & Friends. This way he doesn't have to bother reading a whole piece of paper. Trump seriously gets all of his information from FOX & Friends.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
It doesn't matter how trump takes the statements. trump isn't going to make the final decision when push comes to shove. There are too many competent people in the military who would defy any orders from trump if he wanted to preemptively strike NK. Mattis is a military genius when it's all said and done. Read up on who he is and you'll understand that his comments are not to prop trump up. I feel his statement carries more weight behind it.
I don't need to, i judge people as they come, especially soldiers as a former one myself. And not to mention, it certainly DOES matter how Trump takes those statements, don't be dense. If he feels encouraged because he feels like his administration is with him on that one, he'll get bolder. You don't fucking encourage a monkey with a nuclear button.
Sidenote, no. There's no option to "defy" a legal order from your president without being thrown out, court marshalled and replaced by someone who will. If you think that Mattis will pull his gun and put one to Trumps head, you watch WAY too many movies. Lets make that one crystal clear. If Trump orders, Jets will start. It's entirely in his powers to do so, legally - ignoring that order would actually be treason regardless of "well mate i totally don't agree with that tho".
trump's statements are not fine nor appropriate for his position. As with all leaders, diplomacy is the best course and trump doesn't know what that is. No one takes anything he says seriously, just like Canada or France. Congress has rebuked him and he's now pretty much isolated in the WH. He's withered away the power of the presidency so quickly, I doubt he's in control of much. He's not being briefed on anything of significant importance, as has been reported, because he has no attention span.
tl;dr Trump can twitter war all he wants. Nothing is going to happen.
Again. It literally is repeating what Mattis said half a year back already, except the fire and fury bullshit. It doesn't matter what you doubt either, he doesn't need congress or senate (you know, the entities trying to reign him in) to give an order.
I mean, i don't know. I do agree that there's no reason to panic, but you clearly should stop being delusional.
Oh and most importantly, if Trump isn't "ruling", .. who is? (edit: to be clear, not saying that what you're saying is impossible: i'm asking you that if he's not in power, who's accountable?)
I was stationed in Okinawa. There's 4 marine corps bases and 2 naval bases. One major air base (kadena). Yokosuka in mainland japan is the major naval base in Japan.
Ah, a fellow soldier. That makes me understand you even less, and i promise you that most of the US soldiers i've met on tour would not share your opinion.
edit: sorry, another one: i'm talking a conventional strike as proposed. Not a nuclear preemptive strike. Which would result in the same, just gets it started differently.
A joy to go through his feed. Interesting though that he thinks that was the saddest day in US history. I personally have different days in mind, but clearly, this one is.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
It doesn't matter how trump takes the statements. trump isn't going to make the final decision when push comes to shove. There are too many competent people in the military who would defy any orders from trump if he wanted to preemptively strike NK. Mattis is a military genius when it's all said and done. Read up on who he is and you'll understand that his comments are not to prop trump up. I feel his statement carries more weight behind it.
I don't need to, i judge people as they come, especially soldiers as a former one myself. And not to mention, it certainly DOES matter how Trump takes those statements, don't be dense. If he feels encouraged because he feels like his administration is with him on that one, he'll get bolder. You don't fucking encourage a monkey with a nuclear button.
Sidenote, no. There's no option to "defy" a legal order from your president without being thrown out, court marshalled and replaced by someone who will. If you think that Mattis will pull his gun and put one to Trumps head, you watch WAY too many movies. Lets make that one crystal clear. If Trump orders, Jets will start. It's entirely in his powers to do so, legally - ignoring that order would actually be treason regardless of "well mate i totally don't agree with that tho".
trump's statements are not fine nor appropriate for his position. As with all leaders, diplomacy is the best course and trump doesn't know what that is. No one takes anything he says seriously, just like Canada or France. Congress has rebuked him and he's now pretty much isolated in the WH. He's withered away the power of the presidency so quickly, I doubt he's in control of much. He's not being briefed on anything of significant importance, as has been reported, because he has no attention span.
tl;dr Trump can twitter war all he wants. Nothing is going to happen.
Again. It literally is repeating what Mattis said half a year back already, except the fire and fury bullshit. It doesn't matter what you doubt either, he doesn't need congress or senate (you know, the entities trying to reign him in) to give an order.
I mean, i don't know. I do agree that there's no reason to panic, but you clearly should stop being delusional.
Oh and most importantly, if Trump isn't "ruling", .. who is?
I was stationed in Okinawa. There's 4 marine corps bases and 2 naval bases. One major air base (kadena). Yokosuka in mainland japan is the major naval base in Japan.
Ah, a fellow soldier. That makes me understand you even less, and i promise you that most of the US soldiers i've met on tour would not share your opinion.
Your last part has me confused. What did you not understand about my listing of the bases on Okinawa? I've literally been to them all. I gave you the major ones.
And yes, you can defy the order. There a a myriad of different reasons but Google gives me this:
I'm not saying there will be a military coup if trump orders an attack. Just like his transgender ban he debuted on twitter. No one with any sense will follow what he says. Mattis simply stated, "If you feel froggy, leap." I don't get how you don't understand that.
This is a president that has no sense of duty to the nation or anyone besides himself. No one will follow him into battle unless Mattis or a general tells them to. And even then, you can be sure all other efforts have been explored to the fullest.
Congress runs the nation, believe it or not. All of the deals Obama made, were made to strengthen the US in FP. Trump doesn't understand that at all. He only knows how to twitter. The military is handled by the Joint Chiefs and Mattis overseas all of them, so he will give the order to mobilize. Not trump.
A joy to go through his feed. Interesting though that he thinks that was the saddest day in US history. I personally have different days in mind, but clearly, this one is.
Roger Stone has a massive tattoo of Nixon's face covering his back.
But I highly doubt Mattis and the other generals are going to put lives in danger because trump got his feelings hurt.
After his latest comments fueling the fire, i very much doubt your conclusion.
His response was in response to them saying that they are drawing up plans to attack Guam. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
So escalating it makes you feel.. confident?
What?
Who gives a shit what this was in response in, all of trumps tweets were in response to Kim, that doesn't mean that they somehow are justified or not escalating further.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. It really is that simple.
edit: of course you can argue that he doesn't want (or the US) to look weak, but if a general is that petty, again, how does that make you confident? The world knows the balance of power between NK and the US. Dickwaving doesn't do shit, it doesn't deter Kim, nothing: it only makes your people look really, really incompetent. Not just trump.
edit2: of course, you can argue that i misunderstand everything entirely, then feel free to explain to me how Mattis comments somehow should make the world (and make no mistake, it's not just the US at stake here) sleep better. What reasoning is behind that comment, and what is the expected result supposed to be.
The comments themselves may seem to be escalating the tension even further. I can see your reasoning behind that. I'm arguing that he responded to NKs claim of planning to attack Guam. If you don't know who Mattis is, you should read up on him. He won't go to war unless we are attacked first. Much of this back and forth is between unhinged trump and unhinged kim. Mattis' comments are not out to provoke NK to go but you better believe that he chose his words carefully.
A general who doesn't want to go to war, doesn't escalate. Agreed. Mattis' didn't escalate. Was there a response from NK after he made his comments? Did anyone else denounce his words? Did anything come from him saying what he said? He didn't "echo" trump. He made his own statement to them after they called trumps bluff.
Mhm, so how will Trump see that statement? Curious.
Not to mention, i don't agree at all with your assessment. Remember how we made fun of Trump because of his statements? Mattis literally made the exact same ones in february. So we got two options here: either Trumps comments are completely fine and appropriate, or Mattis isn't a dot better than Trump.
Don't forget to answer the question how Trump would take Mattis statement.
It doesn't matter how trump takes the statements. trump isn't going to make the final decision when push comes to shove. There are too many competent people in the military who would defy any orders from trump if he wanted to preemptively strike NK. Mattis is a military genius when it's all said and done. Read up on who he is and you'll understand that his comments are not to prop trump up. I feel his statement carries more weight behind it.
I don't need to, i judge people as they come, especially soldiers as a former one myself. And not to mention, it certainly DOES matter how Trump takes those statements, don't be dense. If he feels encouraged because he feels like his administration is with him on that one, he'll get bolder. You don't fucking encourage a monkey with a nuclear button.
Sidenote, no. There's no option to "defy" a legal order from your president without being thrown out, court marshalled and replaced by someone who will. If you think that Mattis will pull his gun and put one to Trumps head, you watch WAY too many movies. Lets make that one crystal clear. If Trump orders, Jets will start. It's entirely in his powers to do so, legally - ignoring that order would actually be treason regardless of "well mate i totally don't agree with that tho".
trump's statements are not fine nor appropriate for his position. As with all leaders, diplomacy is the best course and trump doesn't know what that is. No one takes anything he says seriously, just like Canada or France. Congress has rebuked him and he's now pretty much isolated in the WH. He's withered away the power of the presidency so quickly, I doubt he's in control of much. He's not being briefed on anything of significant importance, as has been reported, because he has no attention span.
tl;dr Trump can twitter war all he wants. Nothing is going to happen.
Again. It literally is repeating what Mattis said half a year back already, except the fire and fury bullshit. It doesn't matter what you doubt either, he doesn't need congress or senate (you know, the entities trying to reign him in) to give an order.
I mean, i don't know. I do agree that there's no reason to panic, but you clearly should stop being delusional.
Oh and most importantly, if Trump isn't "ruling", .. who is?
I was stationed in Okinawa. There's 4 marine corps bases and 2 naval bases. One major air base (kadena). Yokosuka in mainland japan is the major naval base in Japan.
Ah, a fellow soldier. That makes me understand you even less, and i promise you that most of the US soldiers i've met on tour would not share your opinion.
Your last part has me confused. What did you not understand about my listing of the bases on Okinawa? I've literally been to them all. I gave you the major ones.
My last part had nothing to do with your listing of the bases, not entirely sure what you're on about?
Did you watch that video? Because you're repeating what i just told you. You in the US get the same training in that regard as i did, and that is, you're allowed, or rather required, to reject any unlawful order. A conventional strike on NK is not unlawful, it's entirely in Trumps power to do so, just as bush and obama did. If you reject a lawful order, you're committing treason. And you should know that.
I'm not saying there will be a military coup if trump orders an attack. Just like his transgender ban he debuted on twitter. No one with any sense will follow what he says. Mattis simply stated, "If you feel froggy, leap." I don't get how you don't understand that. This is a president that has no sense of duty to the nation or anyone besides himself. No one will follow him into battle unless Mattis or a general tells them to. And even then, you can be sure all other efforts have been explored to the fullest.
I agree on your Trump-assessment, but again, Mattis can't just say no. Morally he might feel obligated, sure. Then he resigns, someone else is gonna do it. You seem to miss the fact that you have laws in the US that also are applied to soldiers, general or not. You can disagree all you want (or Mattis for that matter), you can not reject a lawful order. You can argue that Trump is a fucking moron (and man would i agree), but he still is the elected president of your country regardless of how retarded he is (or how retarded it was to elect him, it's not like this wasn't crystal clear from the beginning and in fact called here, literally this situation). Your entire country is based on those principles. If you betray them, and certainly you could: what can of worms are you opening then?
Roger Stone has a massive tattoo of Nixon's face covering his back.
EPT
