Posted on 02/09/2017 4:45:13 PM PST by ETL
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. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Feb 2, 2017
UNITED NATIONS Nikki R. Haley, the new American ambassador to the United Nations, condemned Russia on Thursday for its recent aggressive actions in eastern Ukraine.
We do want to better our relations with Russia, Ms. Haley said during her first remarks to an open briefing of the United Nations Security Council. However, the dire situation in eastern Ukraine is one that demands clear and strong condemnation of Russian actions.
She made it clear that American sanctions imposed after Russias annexation of Crimea would remain in place.
During her Senate confirmation hearing last month, Ms. Haley also expressed support for continuing the sanctions and accused Russia of committing war crimes in the Syrian conflict. But her strong criticism of the government of President Vladimir V. Putin put her at odds with President Trump, who has expressed a desire for warmer relations with the Kremlin. ...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/world/europe/nikki-haley-trump-ukraine-russia-putin.html?_r=0
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Also from the Oct 5, 2016 first VP debate...
QUIJANO (Moderator): I want to turn now to Syria. Two hundred fifty thousand people, 100,000 of them children, are under siege in Aleppo, Syria. Bunker buster bombs, cluster munitions, and incendiary weapons are being dropped on them by Russian and Syrian militaries. Does the U.S. have a responsibility to protect civilians and prevent mass casualties on this scale, Governor Pence?
PENCE: The United States of America needs to begin to exercise strong leadership to protect the vulnerable citizens and over 100,000 children in Aleppo. Hillary Clintons top priority when she became secretary of state was the Russian reset, the Russians reset. After the Russian reset, the Russians invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea.
And the small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the United States to the point where all the United States of America the greatest nation on Earth just withdraws from talks about a cease-fire while Vladimir Putin puts a missile defense system in Syria while he marshals the forces and begins look, we have got to begin to lean into this with strong, broad-shouldered American leadership.
It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians and the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. Weve got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military and project American strength in the world.
But about Aleppo and about Syria, I truly do believe that what America ought to do right now is immediately establish safe zones, so that families and vulnerable families with children can move out of those areas, work with our Arab partners, real time, right now, to make that happen.
And secondly, I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime to prevent them from this humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Aleppo.
Theres a broad range of other things that we ought to do, as well. We ought to deploy a missile defense shield to the Czech Republic and Poland which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama pulled back on out of not wanting to offend the Russians back in 2009.
QUIJANO: Governor, your two minutes are up.
PENCE: Weve just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, the Russians and other countries in the world will know theyre dealing with a strong American president.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/us/politics/vice-president-transcript.html
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And...
PENCE: What were dealing with is the you know, theres 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.
And all the while, all we do is fold our arms and say were not having talks anymore.
To answer your question, we just need American strength. We need to we need to marshal the resources of our allies in the region, and in the immediate, we need to act and act now to get people out of harms way.
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March 26, 2015
What do you expect next from Russia?
Sessions: Well, there's a danger that they may continue this overreach. They just solidified power in Georgia, in South Ossetia. That was I think in the last week. Pressure is still on Ukraine. We don't know whether the Minsk Agreement will hold, I don't think it's holding very well now.
We have the Estonians, the Lithuanians, the Romanians, they're very worried. This is reality, I wish it weren't, but I'm afraid it is. It needs to be clear that Russia knows that there will be a high price to pay if this behavior continues.
If Minsk breaks down, at what point does the president have to act and supply Ukraine with lethal weaponry? What is the breaking point? We know from what Victoria Nuland said that the administration hasn't decided yet.
Sessions: From what I understand from this conference, I think it's clear that Germany has said publicly that they will support harsher sanctions and more military support if the Minsk Agreement fails. And that will be key.
Merkel has worked very very hard to establish a relationship with Putin and Russia. It's been a good-faith effort. If it fails, I would hope that Europe and the United States would have to unify and push back more firmly against Russian overreach. ..."
or,
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"In a Montgomery speech in March 2014...he [Sen Jeff Sessions] called for international scorn toward Russia for its aggressive actions in Ukraine and, before then, Georgia.
"I believe a systematic effort should be undertaken so that Russia feels pain for this," Sessions said then. "Because if you don't act now to make some sanctions against Russia then why will they believe in the future that we're going to impose sanctions or do anything aggressive if they move forward to take all of Ukraine, all of Georgia?""
Sessions, not that long ago, was calling for more sanctions against an expansionist Russia that was rattling U.S. allies in Europe. And he regularly blamed the Obama administration for what he argued was an overly optimistic and weak foreign policy, including a decision to scale back planned missile defense sites in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Theres no good solution now. The bottle of milk has shattered on the floor and you cant put it back together, the Alabama senator said about relations with Russia in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea.
Sessions has also pointed to Russias record as justification for a robust missile defense system, which has deep roots in north Alabama.
Russias recent actions in Georgia remind us that country, which we once hoped was on a path to greater integration into the global world community, might again be seeking to restore old Soviet ideas of dominance throughout their neighbors and in Eastern Europe, all of which should serve as a motivation to move ahead with the necessary capabilities to defend ourselves and our allies from missile attack, in particular, Sessions said on the Senate floor in 2008.
Two years later, Sessions voted against the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, in part because he thought Obama conceded too much ground to the Russians.
Just signing an agreement on a piece of paper does not create security, Sessions said. A consistent, principled, just approach to our legitimate national defense, advocated clearly and forthrightly without misunderstanding, is the best way to have security in this dangerous world.
or,
https://web.archive.org/web/20161115103421/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/08/15/sen-jeff-sessions-backs-donald-trump-russia-policy/88796584/
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2014
WASHINGTON Sen. Dan Coats efforts to punish Russia because of Moscows move to annex the Crimea region of Ukraine has gotten him banned from the country.
While Im disappointed that I wont be able to go on vacation with my family in Siberia this summer, I am honored to be on this list, the Indiana Republican said after Russias announcement Thursday. ...
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/20/sen-coats-banned-entering-russia-retaliation-sanctions/6661473/
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"President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats to serve as National Intelligence Director"
"Dan Coats of Indiana has served on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees."
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"We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -- particularly missile defense, which has seen a 25% budget reduction under Obama, according to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has been constrained by bad arms deals like New START.
We should not only move quickly to install the canceled interceptor sites Putin opposed in Poland and the Czech Republic, but also to develop the next generation of systems that will only increase his discomfiture.
These options do not entail a ground war in Syria, yet would effectively shake us free from the failed policies that have brought us to our current impasse.
These options set us on a new path that puts Putin on notice that the United States is reclaiming our traditional role as leader of the free world."
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html
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"What we're seeing Putin in Russia do is a direct response to the profound weakness of Obama over six and a half years.
Putin views Obama as weak, as ineffective, and frankly, as a laughingstock. And, as a result, he is moving in, he is invading his neighbors, like Ukraine, he's kidnapping Estonians, and he's moving into Syria to gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East."
https://www.tedcruz.org/news/icymi-cruz-we-have-no-business-getting-in-the-middle-of-the-syrian-civil-war-goal-should-be-to-defeat-isis/
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Ted Cruz:
"We need a coherent plan to address both the specific crisis in Syria and the challenge posed more broadly by Putin's resurgent Russia.
The good news is that America still has options, if our leaders can summon the will to exercise them.
For starters, in Syria we can't double down on the failed strategies that have given Putin his opportunity to intervene.
We are now two years out from President Obama's proposed intervention after al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. ..."
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html
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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
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Heres the interview w/ Matt Lauer on YouTube...
Donald Trump (2014): Vladimir Putin Has Eaten Obamas Lunch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzURUENf1ns
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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. Its obsolete because it wasnt 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 arent paying what theyre 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. Theres five countries that are paying what theyre supposed to. Five. Its not much.
Did you see the 0dungaCare debate on CNN between Cruz and Sanders? He had Sanders face as red as a beet by the time it was over. LOL He tore Sanders a new one. DAMN IMPRESSIVE! Just watch the last five minutes.
Trump needs to hammer these leaks.
Thanks. Will do. I haven’t seen it.
Why are 2 U.S. officials and 1 former U.S. official leaking intimate details of the conversation to the press? The admin must know who these 3 leakers are. There were only a few people in the room when the conversation took place. Is Trump leaking this info on purpose?
Swiss cheese in his admin when it comes to leaks so far.
A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.
The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[i.e. not win it]
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090412030633/http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp
"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
Cruz? Cruz? This is a thread about Trump and his conversation with Putin and you dump Cruz droppings on it.
I think it’s great how you slip that turncoat Cruz’s statements in on a Trump thread as if he had one ounce of credibility left after last year.
Word: Cruz is no longer a statesman whose opinion we need to be graced with.
I’ve already heard more out of his mouth this year, than I did all last year supporting Trump.
Ted is up for re-election in 2018, and now he needs to mend his image. No sale.
A guy that didn’t care to pitch in and help defeat Clinton is of no use to me and never will be.
It’s patently offensive to advertise for him here.
Because they still don’t fear him.
Trump had better take things in hand quickly.
Follow the Pinochet playbook.
Go for the win.
Years of budget cuts have taken a toll on the Navy's fleet of strike fighters.
Nearly two-thirds of the Navy's strike fighters are sitting unused because there is not enough money to repair them, according to DefenseNews.com.
The Navy has had to deal with declining budgets in recent years even though the demand for military aircrafts carriers remains the same. Congress was unable to produce a budget before the October 1 start of the 2017 fiscal year. Political leaders say Congress' inability to pass the military budget on time is hurting the fleet.
In addition to the grounded planes, there isnt enough money to fix the Navys ships, either. ..."
(snip)
The Navy is not the only military branch dealing with money woes. The Army, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have also complained they are underfunded and need a financial infusion to stay afloat.
they both had a good time playing te game
Hayley is WRONG about Ukraine! The whole current mess started when Nuland/Noodlehead arranged that coup that put the current bunch of clowns in power there!!!
Trump and Tillerson will have a lot of work to do. At least Trump, while calling Putin a “killer”, agreed that there have been “killers” on our side!! At least Hillary, Samantha World Power, and Noodlehead are gone!!
Possibly.
Yep, and if Hillary Clinton had become president, how would she have rectified this situation? She wouldn’t have.
And yet Tead Curz couldn’t find his voice for months at a time last year, with the nation hanging in the balance.
Not one word of support at the convention, and only 1.1 days of help later on where he refused to mention the name Trump at one stop.
Yep, take along hard look at what Tead was comfortable allowing to happen.
....”We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -....
No more Soviet Union—only Russia!
And you seriously believe that that was solely, as Trump's pick for UN Ambassador, her opinion? That her statement wasn't very carefully gone over by the Trump camp prior to her putting them on record?
And what about Pence, Session, and Coat's statements on KGB Putin? And Trump's himself?
How in Hades do you possibly come to any sort of a conclusion that I would think Hillary would have strengthened our military??
No more Soviet Uniononly Russia!
Yeah, but your boy, KGB/FSB Putin's aim is to basically restore the evil empire that was Soviet Union, and then-some when you add in key positions in the oil/gas-rich Middle East which he is in the process of grabbing.
That was not the point.
The point was, Tead, the guy whose quotes you think we need to hear, couldn’t bother to try to get her defeated.
Over and over and over on a daily basis, we run into direct issues she would have killed us on.
I’ve already heard more from Tead this year than I heard from him all last year, after Trump had the nomination sewn up.
That’s how much a loyalist he is. He just didn’t care if she got elected, he hated Trump that much.
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