Posted on 05/30/2019 9:54:52 PM PDT by Cronos
Poland plans to buy 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters to replace Soviet-era jets, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Tuesday, amid the growing assertiveness of neighbour Russia.
"Today we sent a request for quotation (LOR) to our American partners regarding the purchase of 32 F-35A aircraft along with a logistics and training package," Blaszczak tweeted.
The US is expected to expand sales of F-35 fighters to five nations including Poland as European allies bulk up their defenses in the face of a strengthening Russia, the Pentagon said last month.
Poland is among NATO member countries that spend at least 2% of GDP on defence. Warsaw agreed in 2017 to raise defence spending gradually from 2% to 2.5% of GDP, meaning annual spending should nearly double to about 80 billion zlotys ($21 billion) by 2032....
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
cool...(??)
A waste of money. Better to buy planes that actually operate as expected. How many F16s or even F15s or Rafaels could Poland field for the cost of these hangar queens?
32 f-35’s will ease sa lot of tension LOL!
A waste of money. Better to buy planes that actually operate as expected. How many F16s or even F15s or Rafaels could Poland field for the cost of these hangar queens?
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If Poland is buying the F35 at the same price as the US then they could buy about 38 F-16 for the same price. They could buy about 20 Rafael for the same money.
In small numbers, the Rafael price is quoted around 177 million Rufus a plane
Well there’s that pesky little problem lingering from when putye and Co Murdered all the Top Level People in the Polish Government in an Explosive Jet.
Add in one Moscow bound MOAB, just for fun.
“When Donald Trump and I observe that, as I’ve said, in Syria, in Iran, in Ukraine, that the small and bullying leader of Russia has been stronger on the world stage than this administration, that’s stating painful facts. That’s not an endorsement of Vladimir Putin — that’s an indictment of the weak and feckless leadership of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.” ..."
What we’re dealing with is the — you know, there’s an old proverb that says the Russian bear never dies, it just hibernates.
And the truth of the matter is, the weak and feckless foreign policy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has awakened an aggression in Russia that first appeared a few years ago with their move in Georgia, now their move into Crimea, now their move into the wider Middle East.
Appeasement: From ObamaCare to recess appointments, honoring the Constitution has not been an administration hallmark. But when it comes to betraying secrets to mollify the Russians, it becomes a document the president hides behind.
It was bad enough that the 2012 defense authorization bill signed by President Obama set America on a downward spiral of military mediocrity.
He also issued a signing statement, something he once opposed, saying that language in the bill aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on the U.S. Standard Missile-3 - linchpin of our missile defense - might impinge on his constitutional foreign-policy authority.
Section 1227 of the defense law prohibits spending any funds that would be used to give Russian officials access to sensitive missile-defense technology as part of a cooperation agreement without first sending Congress a report identifying the specific secrets, how they'd be used and steps to protect the data from compromise.
The president is required to certify that any technology shared will not be passed on to third parties such as China, North Korea or Iran, that the Russians will not use transferred secrets to develop countermeasures and that the Russians are reciprocating in sharing missile-defense technology. ..."
"In his signing statement, Obama said he would treat these legal restrictions as 'non-binding' and that 'my administration will also interpret and implement section 1244 (sic) in a manner that does not interfere with the president's constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs and avoids the undue disclosure of sensitive diplomatic communications.'
Betraying our secrets is easy for a president who betrayed allies Poland and the Czech Republic to placate Moscow.
Poland was to host ground-based interceptors such as those we've deployed in California and Alaska, with missile-tracking radar deployed in the Czech Republic.
Obama pulled the plug when Moscow objected. Never mind, he said, we have a better approach: a four-phase plan that calls for using three versions of the Navy's Standard SM-3 interceptor missile that forms the backbone of its Aegis missile-defense system.
The fourth phase consists of a missile still on the drawing board scheduled for deployment by 2020, a version of the SM-3 called the Block IIB. It would intercept hostile missiles in the "early intercept" phase before an enemy missile could release its warheads and decoys. The Russians want the SM-3's secrets, and Obama appears to be willing to turn them over.
The president [Obama] wants to save the New Start Treaty, which the Russians have threatened to abandon if we try to fully implement President Reagan's dream of defeating a nuclear missile attack.
Russia has unilaterally asserted that any qualitative or quantitative improvement in U.S. missile defenses would be grounds for withdrawal from the treaty.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/010912-597158-obama-gives-russia-missile-defense-secrets.htm#ixzz3jXmMbVwY
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March 2012...
"Obama was talking with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when neither of them realized that their conversation was being picked up by microphones.
Here is what they said:
Obama: "On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it's important for him to give me space."
Medvedev: "Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you ..."
Obama: "This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility."
Medvedev: "I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir."
"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility."
That statement tells us much about the president's mindset.
The specific mention of missile defense is worrisome enough.
Mr. Obama has retreated from the missile defense plan that was negotiated with European allies during the George W. Bush administration.
Apparently, he is signaling Moscow that he intends to retreat further. The clear implication from the president's comments is that he cannot tell the American people before the election what he plans to do after the election.
In addition, there is the phrase "on all these issues," implying more is at stake than just missile defense."
Article: Obama plans double cross on missile defense
When it comes to keeping America safe, we shouldn't be too flexible:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/29/obama-plans-double-cross-on-missile-defense/print/
Jul 6, 2017
President Trump called Russia a “destabilizing” influence in Europe and the Middle East, and urged it to “join the community of responsible nations,” in his strongest remarks yet against the regime of Vladimir Putin, whom he is scheduled to meet Friday in Hamburg for the first time.
His remarks in Warsaw’s Krasinski Square, which marks the 1944 Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, came after the U.S. agreed to sell Patriot missiles to Poland. The president also used the opportunity to reiterate the NATO commitment to mutual defense, a declaration he did not make during the NATO summit in May, prompting consternation among U.S. allies wary of Russia’s ambitions.
“To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that the United States has demonstrated—not merely with its words but with its actions—that we stand firmly behind Article 5, the mutual-defense commitment,” Trump said Thursday. “Words are easy, but actions are what matters. And for its own protection, Europe, and you know this, everybody knows this, everybody has to know this, Europe must do more.”
Trump has repeatedly said NATO members must spend more on defense—a position in line with past U.S. administrations. But he has been criticized because he appeared to suggest U.S. commitment to mutual defense was predicated on its allies’ defense spending. ...”
https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/07/trump-russia/532761/
_______________________________________________________________________________
Feb 9, 2017:
February 9, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump denounced a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official with knowledge of the call.
When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, these sources said.
Trump then told Putin the treaty was one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration, saying that New START favored Russia. ...”
or,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said NATO was obsolete because it had not defended against terror attacks, but that the military alliance was still very important to him, The Times of London reported.
“I took such heat, when I said NATO was obsolete,” Trump told the newspaper in an interview. “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror. I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying Trump is right.”
Trump added that many NATO members were not paying their fair share for U.S. protection.
“A lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States,” Trump said. “With that being said, NATO is very important to me. There’s five countries that are paying what they’re supposed to. Five. It’s not much.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
"President Trump has been very clear," Stoltenberg told fill-in host John Roberts.
"He is committed to NATO. He stated that clearly just a few days ago and also at the NATO summit in July.
But at the same time, he has clearly stated that NATO allies need to invest more. And therefore at the summit in July last year, we agreed to do more to step up -- and now we see the results."
In all, Stolenberg continued, "by the end of next year, NATO allies will add hundred – 100 billion extra US dollars toward defense. So we see some real money and some real results. And we see that the clear message from President Donald Trump is having an impact."
In July 2018, NATO leaders pledged their “unwavering commitment” to boost defense spending, following stern words from the president. The U.S. and European allies signed a declaration stating they were “committed to improving the balance of sharing the costs and responsibilities of alliance membership.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
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March, 2019
The Pentagon is getting everything it asked for in the White House’s annual budget request—and then some.
U.S. President Donald Trump will submit a budget to Congress on Monday that includes a sizable $750 billion for fiscal year 2020 for national defense spending, of which $718 billion will go to the Pentagon, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Foreign Policy.
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Buy?
With what?
They are only 38 million and flattened in growth, according to legitimate sources. Including babies, old folks, and womanly homemakers.
I think they mean they'll provide a landing strip and some potatoes if we'll just fly them over and park them there.
last statistic I saw was that currently only 4% are combat ready at any time. So that’s 1 plus ready to defend Poland. Not to mention all the other problems ...
Legit question. I believe uncle Sam supposed to pay for it.
“After my last election, I have more flexibility.”
Isn’t it amazing how an accommodating Obama, and a purchased Hillary (remember the $145 uranium bribe) managed to screw up relations with Russia between 2012 and 2016?
I can understand setting up a collusion hoax around election time to screw Trump, but they really went nuts over Crimea (arguably Russian in the past), meddling in the Ukraine, and by tolerating Isis and stirring up the Middle East. Russia’s not blameless, but talk about f’d up diplomacy!
Near as I can tell, the two driving reasons were money for Hillary (ask Ambassador Stevens about those missing arms) and Obama’s boosting ISIS because he was for any insurgent Islamic movement.
The only constant here is betrayal of American interests... first to Russia, second, diplomatically.
Russia is an evil, expansionist regime out to basically restore their lost empire. The Obama-Biden-Hillary admin did *nothing but* assist them in this effort, as they bent over backwards to help strengthen them defensively/militarily. This as Obama damn near decapitated our own military.
Donald Trump slammed President Obama Thursday on TODAY for failing to take a stronger line against President Vladimir Putin in dealing with Ukraine, saying he feared Obama would now make up for lost time with imprudent moves to "show his manhood."
The real estate mogul and reality-TV star, who has criticized Putin for sending military troops into Crimea, said Obama must now take fierce steps to prevent the situation from escalating further.
"We should definitely do sanctions and we have to show some strengths. I mean, Putin has eaten Obama's lunch, therefore our lunch, for a long period of time," Trump said. ..."
http://www.today.com/news/donald-trump-putin-has-eaten-obamas-lunch-ukraine-2D79372098
_______________________________________________
Here’s the interview w/ Matt Lauer on YouTube...
Donald Trump (2014): ‘Vladimir Putin Has Eaten Obama’s Lunch’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzURUENf1ns
_______________________________________________
“What we’re dealing with is the — you know, there’s an old proverb that says the Russian bear never dies, it just hibernates.
And the truth of the matter is, the weak and feckless foreign policy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has awakened an aggression in Russia that first appeared a few years ago with their move in Georgia, now their move into Crimea, now their move into the wider Middle East.
An increasing body of evidence is showing clearly that the Russians were in on the collusion hoax to help Hillary and hurt Trump. In fact, I am becoming more and more convinced that it was the Russians who actually devised the scheme. Dems are way too dumb to have come up with and orchestrated such an elaborate, sophisticated plan.
The Russians, via the KGB/FSB were/are masters of deception and disinformation. They are great at the complex game of chess, thinking many moves ahead of their opponents. Meanwhile, many if not most of us suck at simple checkers.
Yes they would be much better off with a bunch of new F15x fighting falcons or F16 super eagles with the Israeli modifications on it.
Poland is paying for this and it will pay off in spades.
This will be a huge deterrent to Russia.
Poland is a great ally. I put them right up there with UK, Australia, Canada.
Hungry as well.
...lol...also known as Hungary.
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