U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally. Kamil Krzaczynski / Reuters
Moscow Times: Trump Says Russian Planes Should Be Shot Down ‘At Certain Point’
Controversial U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for Russian aircraft showing a "lack of respect" for America to be shot down "at a certain point," the Buzzfeed website reported Tuesday.
Trump made the comment in relation to recent reports that Russian planes had barrel-rolled over U.S. aircraft.
“Normally, [U.S. President Barack] Obama would call up [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and say, ‘Listen, do us a favor, don’t do that, get that maniac, just stop it.’ But we don’t have that kind of a president. He’s gonna be out playing golf or something,” Trump told Indiana radio host Charly Butcher on his show.
“At a certain point, you can’t take it. You have to do something that. You can’t do that. That’s called taunting. It should certainly start with diplomacy and it should start quickly with a phone call to Putin,” Trump said.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: He is sending a message to Russia (and everyone else).
Update: This is interesting .... Exclusive: President Fox Apologizes, Invites Trump to Mexico (Breitbart).
9 comments:
He drew the "Line In The Sand" before Hillary.
He probably wouldn't mind getting woken up in the middle of the night either.
A better solution to this problem might be to withdraw the aircraft, ships, etc. to places that are outside of Europe, outside of areas that are inside of Russia's "near abroad" so to speak, adopt positions consistent with Russia's on Ukraine, and do all we can to end economic sanctions against Russia. Such an approach has few, if any, downsides and carries with it huge upside potential.
While this is a better approach than the one we currently have, I can understand Mr. Trump's sentiments. The US has essentially been beaten like a gong by Russia, China, and pretty much everyone else these last 15 years or so. At some point, the humiliation becomes unbearable.
According to some sources Mr. Trump has advocated closer relations with Russia. Perhaps he is planning on an approach similar to what I suggest but is trying to send a message we will not tolerate being humiliated anymore. Of course as the most powerful military on earth Russia can afford to "taunt" but extreme arrogance could cause them to make a mistake in how they handle this situation.
If the US were to properly it's forces, it conceivably could make the inevitable Russian victory in a war pyric enough that the Russians would not consider engaging in it in the first place. Maybe this is what he is trying to convey with this message that he and his team plan to make things pyric enough for the Russians that they may think twice before attacking the United States. Coupled with the right diplomacy as laid out above good outcomes for America are still possible.
Maybe this is what he is thinking. I hope so. In any event, on one hand he advocates closer relations with Russia even, according to one report, had a top Russian official in the front row of one of his speeches then in the next breath threatens to shoot down a Russian plane.
Assuming the US could actually shoot down a Russian plane this could lead to a wider war, a wider war that the US would need a miracle on the level of the parting of the Red Sea to actually win. Again, it seems a better approach would be to not have our people and military equipment there in the first place.
Mr. Trump's messaging seems a tad bit inconsistent. There is a school of thought that says to be unpredictable, keep your opponents off balance, keep them guessing as to your next move, confusing them, and ultimately beating them. Maybe this is what he is trying to do.
I've watched Donald Trump for the last 30 years. I've watched Vladimir Putin for the last 15 years. While Mr. Trump is smart, there seems little doubt to me that Mr. Putin is light years ahead of him. Mr. Trump shouldn't feel bad. Mr. Putin is light years ahead of pretty much everyone else, at least in the "west," anyway.
Part of winning is going to be understand your own strengths and weaknesses. If we can perhaps add value to Mr. Putin and Russia, we could greatly improve our situation perhaps even turning from foe to friend.
Finally, Mr. Trump's idea where he seems to suggest that perhaps we should rethink NATO is perhaps the most sound idea to enter into the mind of a US leader and exit their mouth in the last 25 years. My suggestion would be to build upon that.
I think I remember Chris Christie making a similar remark about a need to shoot down a Russian plane. That remark was widely criticized and played a significant role in ultimately sinking his candidacy. I think the context of his statement may have been in regards to defending Turkey. Perhaps the calculus on defending the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, other former Soviet Republics, or other former Eastern Bloc countries may be different. In any event, I see NOTHING in regards to ANY of the above mentioned nations that are worth war with Russia over.
Worlds most powerful military , nope.
Worlds most powerful military , nope.
While the Russian Military is not the Warsaw Pact, ( 7 days to Paris), it's also not the empty barracks and numbered conscript regiments of the '90's.
In their "near abroad", Russia can dominate the battle space on the ground, air and sea.
Meanwhile, the US and NATO Militaries have been reconfigured to be Independent Brigaides and SOF Forces capable of taking on small terrorist cells and conquoring nations of savages armed with sharp fruit, ( and yet, still failing at that).
The "War with Russia" crowd is clinically insane, but the population is ignorant so the War with Russia passes unquestioned.
Dont underestimate a coconut from 3 yards, thst really hurts
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U90dnUbZMmM
LOL
I owe you one Jay.
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