Politics

[Brent in Az]

"So second best would be to immediately ramp up support for Ukraine and continue the conflict. Con
tinue to completely drain Russia militarily and financially with a few more years of fighting."

Yes, and negotiations with Putin are completely pointless.
When will Trump finally realize that?
Witkoff and Kushner had to wait three hours yesterday before Tsar Putin even received them.
I would have left after 10 minutes, but this amateur theater sat there like schoolboys in a classroom.

Should have sent the German ambassadors, who would no doubt grovel, and lick Putin's boots.....

 

[Altitude sickness]

Don’t forget. Europeans buying fuel from Russia is funding his campaign

 

[KJE81]

It seems like the last remaining EU members are phasing out russian fuels now. Except, of course, Hungary.

Apparently Orban is so skilled in brown-nosing that he managed to get Trumps approval to continue buy russian fuel: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/hungary-exception-sanctions-russian-oil-gas

 

[WAB]

Agreed, determined and effective support of Ukraine, and total economic isolation of Russia from the West is really the only path open to us. All this half measure diplomacy is accomplishing is a longer war and more deaths.

 

[spike.t]

Take the reins and shackles off the Ukrainians usage of all supplied weapons...and give them what they need now.....destroy the Russian oil infrastructure and rail systems....and factories involved in any type of weapons/munitions manufacturing....make it a long cold shit winter for the Russian population.....

 

[deewayne2003]

Don’t forget. Europeans buying fuel from Russia is funding his campaign

Trump warned Germany about this back 7+ years ago and the German UN delegation laughed at him.

This didn't age well....... For Germany

 

[Foxi]

Trump warned Germany about this back 7+ years ago and the German UN delegation laughed at him.

This didn't age well....... For Germany

That's right. Unfortunately, it's also a question of economic efficiency.
US fracking gas is 112% more expensive than Russian gas.
Source: ChatGTP
DT is also a master at exploiting dependencies.
Surely no one here believes that Kushner is on a diplomatic mission in Russia to end the war.
Daddy sent him to explore deals.
What else would he be doing there, that little boy?

 

[mdwest]

That's right. Unfortunately, it's also a question of economic efficiency.
US fracking gas is 112% more expensive than Russian gas.
Source: ChatGTP
DT is also a master at exploiting dependencies.
Surely no one here believes that Kushner is on a diplomatic mission in Russia to end the war.
Daddy sent him to explore deals.
What else would he be doing there, that little boy?

Jared Kusher is a billionaire (not Trumps money), that has run the Kushner family of companies since 2005 (20 years of experience)..he holds a degree from Harvard, and a Juris Doctor from NYU..

Long before he ever met Trump or married into the family, he closed over $7B in real estate deals for his primary company (between 2005-2007), which is how he caught the Trump familys attention and got spring boarded into the highest levels of NYC social life, met Ivanka, etc..etc..

I'd hardly consider a 44 year old man, that is an Ivy League graduate, that has made over a billion dollars during his career, that graduated from NY University's school of law (a top quality law school), that brokered a $100B arms deal between Saudi Arabia and Lockheed Martin (one of the largest defense firms in the world) among many, many other accomplishments a "little boy"...

My guess is Kushner has done far more in his 44 years on this planet than you have in your longer life cycle (Im assuming you are older than 44).. and the overwhelming majority of that was accomplished before he had ever met Trump..

He's certainly accomplished far more in life than I have.. with me being 12 years his elder... and I think I've led a pretty accomplished life (comparatively to most of my peers that I grew up with, etc..)..

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

Giving Putin another chance at peace ( ), someone remind me again: how many times has Trump bought into the line that Putin is ready to come to the table?

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Jared Kusher is a billionaire (not Trumps money), that has run the Kushner family of companies since 2005 (20 years of experience)..he holds a degree from Harvard, and a Juris Doctor from NYU..

Long before he ever met Trump or married into the family, he closed over $7B in real estate deals for his primary company (between 2005-2007), which is how he caught the Trump familys attention and got spring boarded into the highest levels of NYC social life, met Ivanka, etc..etc..

I'd hardly consider a 44 year old man, that is an Ivy League graduate, that has made over a billion dollars during his career, that graduated from NY University's school of law (a top quality law school), that brokered a $100B arms deal between Saudi Arabia and Lockheed Martin (one of the largest defense firms in the world) among many, many other accomplishments a "little boy"...

My guess is Kushner has done far more in his 44 years on this planet than you have in your longer life cycle (Im assuming you are older than 44).. and the overwhelming majority of that was accomplished before he had ever met Trump..

He's certainly accomplished far more in life than I have.. with me being 12 years his elder... and I think I've led a pretty accomplished life (comparatively to most of my peers that I grew up with, etc..)..

Aside from him casting Kushner as a "little boy" I think maybe you're making his case Dave - that Kushner's there to sleuth out potential deals, not strictly to seek peace. Reading your background on him certainly makes that sound plausible to me - Ross Perot's 'if you have a leak you hire a plumber'.

 

[deewayne2003]

That's right. Unfortunately, it's also a question of economic efficiency.
US fracking gas is 112% more expensive than Russian gas.
Source: ChatGTP
DT is also a master at exploiting dependencies.
Surely no one here believes that Kushner is on a diplomatic mission in Russia to end the war.
Daddy sent him to explore deals.
What else would he be doing there, that little boy?

So you are saying that Germanys best option was to fund Putin's war machine because it was the most profitable thing for Germany at the time?

Shame Germany didn't use any of that saved money to support their military!

I offer a better question..... What has the little country of Germany done to end or prevent this war?

I mean besides sit on their hands and look to "the west"

 

[mdwest]

theres no doubt in my mind that Kushner is there to look for deals.. thats pretty much what EVERYONE in Trumps cabinet is asked to do... its Trumps M.O... thats how he pretty much deals with everything, whether we are talking the border initiatives, the war in Ukraine, domestic policy, foreign policy, the UN, NATO, etc.. he finds weak points, leverages them, and tries to capitalize on them.. and Kushner is really damn good at it... were I trump, I would have sent Kushner over much earlier honestly.. or at least had him involved and providing guidance from a distance if he is too much of a political hot potato (being his son in law, etc)..

Not saying I agree with Trumps methodology.. Im just saying "duh" lol.. this is what Trump does.. its what he has always done.. since the 70's.. long before he was ever anything more than a commercial real estate baron only focused on the NYC market.. it shouldnt surprise anyone..

No matter what Trump is looking at, rest assured he is trying to broker some sort of "deal" that gives him, his company, his country, etc.. some sort of benefit or leverage... he has never (to my knowledge) done anything large scale just because he's nice, or its the "right" thing to do...

I dont believe he knows any other method..

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Agreed.

I honestly believe that any level of altruism that occurs from something he decides is a happy coincidence, and nothing more.

 

[Wheels]

Jared Kusher is a billionaire (not Trumps money), that has run the Kushner family of companies since 2005 (20 years of experience)..he holds a degree from Harvard, and a Juris Doctor from NYU..

Long before he ever met Trump or married into the family, he closed over $7B in real estate deals for his primary company (between 2005-2007), which is how he caught the Trump familys attention and got spring boarded into the highest levels of NYC social life, met Ivanka, etc..etc..

I'd hardly consider a 44 year old man, that is an Ivy League graduate, that has made over a billion dollars during his career, that graduated from NY University's school of law (a top quality law school), that brokered a $100B arms deal between Saudi Arabia and Lockheed Martin (one of the largest defense firms in the world) among many, many other accomplishments a "little boy"...

My guess is Kushner has done far more in his 44 years on this planet than you have in your longer life cycle (Im assuming you are older than 44).. and the overwhelming majority of that was accomplished before he had ever met Trump..

He's certainly accomplished far more in life than I have.. with me being 12 years his elder... and I think I've led a pretty accomplished life (comparatively to most of my peers that I grew up with, etc..)..

+1

Nice synopsis. You may have missed Kushner's greatest accomplishment on your list. The Abraham Accords which helped set up the peace deal between Israel and Palestinians, and has the potential to usher in a long term era of cooperation between the Jews and the Arabs.

 

[mdwest]

Agreed.

I honestly believe that any level of altruism that occurs from something he decides is a happy coincidence, and nothing more.

completely concur...

I dont know Trump personally.. but I know a lot of people that are very much like him.. they are velociraptors.. everything is potential prey.. if a scavenger gets a free meal out of a kill, its a happy coincidence.. it definitely wasnt planned or the purpose of making the kill in the first place..

Trump is a velociraptor.. he loves the hunt and loves the kill more than anything else in life I believe..

 

[Saul]

Is the heat on Hegseth for the second strike on the drug boat justified?

 

[Wheels]

Is the heat on Hegseth for the second strike on the drug boat justified?

When a boat is hit and still above water does that mean it can’t be hit again.

If those are the rules of war then the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiro might still be sailing around Midway.

 

[mdwest]

Is the heat on Hegseth for the second strike on the drug boat justified?

My opinion.. its typical MSM kabuki theater..

that said.. if the DOD (with whitehouse approval) wasnt releasing videos and making public statements about the interdictions.. it would be a complete and total non issue..

we have been sending drug boats to the bottom of the ocean quite literally since the 80's as a matter of routine... the only difference between whats happening today and what was happening under every other administration since Reagan is that this administration is talking about it.. all the rest kept things closely held (although many of the operations/missions/etc are publicly known, have been written about and reported on extensively, etc)..

Sending in follow up strikes is nothing new either.. if we're going to get upset with the Admiral that called that shot, or Hegseth, etc.. we probably need to add 4 or 5 dozen names to the list of people to be pissed about..

Another bone of contention is... what the MSM is claiming (as well as Rand Paul) is that WAR CRIMES have been committed..

per the law, you cant commit a WAR CRIME without a WAR.. a War Crime by definition is the violation of the laws of war.. the people on those boats have to be combatants that are no longer "combatants" after the first strike is complete...

well.. theyre dope runners... at the time they are engaged they arent combatants.. they arent attacking anyone.. they arent shooting at other boats... they arent shooting at the drone thats flying over head.. they arent doing anything offensive or defensive at all.. theyre simply hauling ass across the water trying to smuggle illegal substances into the US..

That doesnt mean that some law (international or otherwise) hasnt been violated by killing people that have already had their boat blown up and may have survived the first strike... maybe some law has been violated? we'd need an attorney that specializes in international law to tell us..

the real question is.. does anyone really think Trump or Hegseth really cares?

again.. this is NOTHING NEW... the exact same things were happening under the Biden Administration, the first Trump Administration, the Obama Administration, Bush Administration, Clinton Administration, daddy Bush Administration, and the Reagan Administration..

Pursue Hegseth and the first thing Hegseth is going to do is expose every similar strike committed by his predecessor (and the preceding Commander in Chief) just 12 months ago and ask why we arent pursuing them with the same charges..

 

[Wheels]

This article doesn’t fit the narrative of most on the AH Political Forum but it does a give an insightful and cited view of the current Ukraine situation.

It's Past Time For The Ukraine-Russia War Obama Started To End

Without the collusion hoax, the impeachment farce, and the 51 intel officials laundering deception, there likely would have been no war.

thefederalist.com

 

[Red Leg]

Is the heat on Hegseth for the second strike on the drug boat justified?

In conflict, nations are and frankly should be capable of great ruthlessness. As we saw with the trial of General Yamashita in 1946, the separation between appropriate and inappropriate ruthlessness is largely determined by the victor.

Probably the most ruthless action taken by American forces in our history was during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in early March 1943. Over two days American and RAF bombers attacked a Japanese convoy attempting to land over 6 thousand infantrymen to aid the defense of Lae, New Guinea. Most of the transports were sunk by low level bombers putting thousands of troops into the water in lifeboats, rafts, or simple life preservers. Follow on strikes were then carried out relentlessly machine gunning those survivors. At least 3 thousand were killed. The irrefutable logic was that every soldier that did not make it ashore increased the likelihood of the allied land offensive succeeding. But, it also was the sort of deliberate carnage that makes the Malmedey Massacre look like child's play.

In a parallel universe, it would be interesting to discover the fates of Douglas MacArthur and George Kenney had Japan won the war.

Assuming our intel was correct, it is hard for me to get very excited about the fate of a drug runner.