[DesertRhino]

McMaster is nothing but a tank commander who got out of hand. He has about zero strategic thinking ability. Now he decides the big threat is China. Might have been nice if he would have realized that when he focused all the attention on the war on Syria, and on cultivating as much hostility with Russia as he could.
Might have been nice to peel them away from the Chinese orbit when that was in the realm of the possible. But he was too busy stabbing Trump in the back. Like I said, I might trust him commanding a brigade of Tanks, but he has no business anywhere near policymaking.

[henkster]

But he is correct on this. If America does not wake up from it’s opium fog of Chinese misinformation, in 15 years every American governmental, business and educational organization will have a Chicom political officer assigned to make sure we don’t get out of line. We will call them “democrats.”

[Zhang Fei]

[McMaster is nothing but a tank commander who got out of hand. He has about zero strategic thinking ability. Now he decides the big threat is China. Might have been nice if he would have realized that when he focused all the attention on the war on Syria, and on cultivating as much hostility with Russia as he could.

Might have been nice to peel them away from the Chinese orbit when that was in the realm of the possible. But he was too busy stabbing Trump in the back. Like I said, I might trust him commanding a brigade of Tanks, but he has no business anywhere near policymaking.]

---

We can get Russia onside by handing them Europe. Problem is - the cure is worse than the disease. We’re in NATO to deny Europe to Russia. If the bear were tameable, we would have admitted it to NATO a long time ago, and NATO would be on China’s border. Problem with Russia is the problem with China - both are are world-conquering empires that will not give up their territorial aspirations until their cities are burnt to the ground, tens or hundreds of millions of their citizens lie dead and occupying armies break them up into dozens of countries. In other words, the traditional way in which so many would-be hegemons saw their dreams of glory turned to ashes.

For Russia, the end of the Cold War is analogous to the end of WWI. They’re down, but not out, just waiting for an inspirational Hitler-type figure (minus the psychosis of Nazism) to get their armies going again. Putin’s a bit long in the tooth, but he’s built a pretty good rapport with Xi Jinping, and both of them seem to see themselves as men of destiny. Given China’s massive economic growth, Russia will probably have to play Italy to China’s Germany. But a rerun of WWII is coming, with the country names rearranged but, in general, the free world vs the rest.

[vg0va3]

All great points. I vehemently disagree with one of the suggested solutions:

"The United States and other free and open societies should consider issuing more visas and providing paths to citizenship for more Chinese—with proper safeguards in place."

The guy does a great job laying out the problem that if China was welcomed into the international political and economic order, China would play by the rules, open its markets, and privatize its economy.

[frog in a pot]

Now he decides the big threat is China.

Perhaps only because it has become undeniable. Even then it appears he has not shaken the mindset likely gained by his two post-graduate degrees out of UNC Chapel Hill.

[Tallguy]

“McMaster is nothing but a tank commander who got out of hand.”

Our Rommel, huh? LOL! Probably should have topped out at colonel. Pays to get published (he’s been doing that since he was a captain).

[sean327]

The Russians and Putin are anything but our friends. I don’t get the love for Russian by many people on this forum.

[saywhatagain]

I agree with your thoughts.

I saw The Atlantic and H.R. McMaster and my eyes almost got stuck rolling back to far. Tried to read but could not, just thinking of their combined years of BS.

[rbmillerjr]

“Might have been nice to peel them (Russia) away from the Chinese orbit when that was in the realm of the possible”

LOL - as long as Putin is in charge, that will never be possible. He is caught up in his old KGB paradigm of seeing the US as a foe. His strategy of opposing the US at every turn is as laughable as his key allies: Iran and North Korea.

Putin’s Russia has no interest in doing anything but opposing the US at every turn.