Donald will end Ukraine madness! (Foreign Policy)

John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, described Friday’s G7 session as focused on the leaders’ “shared support to Ukraine,” including the use of a World Bank fund to deliver billions in economic aid to the war-torn country. He also told reporters Thursday that Biden had “made clear, we’re going to continue to provide additional packages right up until the end of this administration.”

But in a sweeping interview published Thursday, Trump signaled a much different foreign policy when he takes office.

The soon-to-be-47th president has always been skeptical of — and sometimes combative with — international entities. And he hardly has committed to continuing U.S. economic and military aid to Ukraine, including during his “Person of the Year” interview with Time magazine.

“I’m going to try and help Ukraine but Europe has to get there also and do their job. They’re not doing their job,” the incoming commander in chief said. “Europe is not paying their fair share. … But they’ve taken advantage of us, both on NATO and on Ukraine. We’re in for billions of dollars more than they’re in in Ukraine. It shouldn’t be that way.”

BRICS is the future and the West is yesterday’s news. Russia has already pivoted to the east. Russia and China don’t need the U.S. for anything and not even as a trading partner.

The Ruble is backed by Gold, we have a Fiat Currency backed by nothing. We are growing in Debt with no plan by either party or Trump to deal with it.

Europe is disintegrating before our eyes. VW’s workforce has gone on strike and VW itself is $190 Billion in Debt. We destroyed the cheap energy market for them and have left Europe to their own destruction and their people freezing. We blew up the Nordstream Pipeline with no thought and have allowed this idiot war in Ukraine to continue when Peace is to everyone’s advantage.

There is no way we can supply enough LNG to them and we aren’t even trying to.

We totally screwed the Pooch on everything in dealing with Russia, why do the Neocons want them as an enemy instead of an Ally and a Friend?

There is nothing we can do about China either, we no longer have the Military capability we once had and unless you want to restart the Draft to get the bodies needed to make it all work then what do you want to do? Volunteer Armed forces is no longer working and quota’s have not been met in years. Trump van spend all he wants on the Military but it would take 10 years or longer for us to just get even with Russia and China with the technological superiority they now have in just missiles. We don’t have Hypersonic Missiles or Kinetic Energy Bombs.

The whole foreign policy strategy of the last 35 years has been pretty much a disaster. Putin and Xi don’t care about Europe any longer, Russia is suppling the East with all the oil and gas they can produce.

Senator Barry Goldwater said today that President Johnson delivered “perhaps the most isolationist acceptance speech in modern American history” last night.

“Lyndon Johnson’s acceptance speech was a clear withdrawal from leadership in international affairs. It was perhaps the most isolationist acceptance speech in modern American history.

“Not once did it mention directly the challenge of Communism or the many brush‐fire conflicts that Communism has ignited around the world. Not once did it go to the heart of the problems that are splitting our alliances apart, splitting the world apart, and putting this nation, every day, on the brink of crisis.

“The eyes and ears of the entire world were turned to that acceptance speech, looking and listening for the vision and strength that would once again put America on the high road of world leadership. Instead, the world witnessed a vision turned inward, isolated and sighted only toward domestic political advantage.

“America is not and must not become a second‐rate power, standing on the sidelines of world affairs. It deserves more than promises devoid of recognition of world problems and global challenges. But last night in Atlantic City it got nothing more from Lyndon Johnson.

“The Administration, with this final, fantastic refusal to even talk directly about the challenge of Communism, raises questions but gives no answers, raises doubts but gives no hope to a troubled, embattled and divided world.”

>>>Why is the ruble collapsing?<<<

It’s not as dire as some make it out. For one thing, Russia does not need to trade in dollars all the time. For another:

https://www.gmfus.org/news/russias-ruble-dips-new-lows-moscow-managing

>>>How can Russia continue to sustain the losses when Russia has very negative demographics and a population lower than Bangladesh?<<<

First, we don’t know the true figures on Russia’s losses (or Ukraine’s). Yes, Russia has a birthrate problem. (We do too, but immigration makes up for it.) Ukraine’s demographic picture is even worse than Russia’s, with a 2022 birth rate of 1.26 vs Russia’s 1.44, and a mortality rate three times the birth rate. In addition, 6.8 million have fled Ukraine since the invasion and are now living in EU countries, in Russia, and abroad. That puts the current population living inside Ukraine at around 28 million.

Before the war, Ukrainians were leaving for greener pastures in the EU by the millions. Eleven percent of Ukraine’s prewar GDP was remittances from abroad. And the number of over-65 citizens was already greater than the number working age citizens. Even before the war, Ukraine was in a dangerous demographic spiral.

I truly fear for Ukraine’s future, as the demographic situation is actually dire in that country. And the Biden administration war hawks wants Zelensky to lower the draft age?

Comparing Russia’s population with Bangladesh* is silly. What is your point? Germany’s population is less than half Russia’s but you would not make fun of Germany’s population.

The Ukraine National Academy of Science’s Institute for Demography put the 2020 Ukrainian population at just 35 million, not the 48 million reported in the official census. As per the 2021 census, the population of Russia was 147.2 million. In a war of attrition ... guess who has the advantage?

>>>”Russians spend 1/3 of budget on defense. Is this sustainable?<<<

The Russians are fighting what they perceive as an existential war. Countries fighting what they perceive as existential wars spend big time on military/defense. Per AI:

During World War II, the percentage of US GDP that went toward defense spending varied by year, but was generally high:
1942: 73.06% of nominal GDP went toward defense spending
1943: 69.18% of nominal GDP went toward defense spending
1944: 86.68% of nominal GDP went toward defense spending
1945: 89.49% of nominal GDP went toward defense spending
Overall: The US government spent over $5 trillion on national defense from 1940 to 1945, which is about a quarter of the GDP in 2018
The US financed World War II through higher taxes and debt. The average tax rate for the highest incomes rose to 90%, and the number of households paying income taxes increased six-fold. The US national debt more than doubled to 105% of GDP due to war borrowing.

*Speaking of Bangladesh, we recently facilitated a coup there:

https://sundayguardianlive.com/top-five/bangladesh-coup-has-the-u-s-written-all-over-it

What’s missing from that article was how the Muslims ran amok slaughtering Hindus and burning their villages and temples in the immediate aftermath. Ain’t the Biden administration just the greatest? And now, the cherry on top: we got Salafist head choppers in charge of Syria.

You are simply peddling the old idea that Putin is promoting that war can work. Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Hitler all tried this and eventually failed. Ukraine is a different country from Russia. Yes they are similar, but they have different languages and religions. The Ukrainians also suffered from genocide of upwards of 5 millions at the hands of Stalin and his war on the kulaks. The Ukrainians won’t willingly accept Russian domination and will not easily assimilate into a greater Russia state that Putin wants to resurrect.
Russia is a European country and most of its population is tied to Europe not Asia. Most trade is with countries that are within geographical proximity. Your argument that Europe is essentially nothing now doesn’t make sense. If that’s the case, Russia wouldn’t care about Ukraine and would instead concentrate its efforts developing the East. They’re spending money fighting in Europe not as much building highways to China.
Russia wants to dominate Europe that you consider to be a rapidly weakening and worthless region. I’m sure Russia would love to have total control in supplying this declining population with Ukrainian wheat and Russian energy sources.

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