Ah, this is where the quotes come from:
He’s done everything to discredit and demean Zelensky on the international stage with the shameful press conference in which he teamed up with the vice president to attack Zelensky,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). He pressed Whitaker, and other State Department nominees in the hearing, over whether Trump is a Russian asset. “What else could a Russian asset actually possibly do that Trump hasn’t yet done? – Trump’s NATO nominee commits to alliance, despite MAGA opponents, by Laura Kelly, for The Hill
Trump’s NATO nominee commits to alliance, despite MAGA opponents
In the same piece:
Moreover — people should not assume that Trump’s policies are destructive for NATO. If anything, pushing European allies to increase defense spending is going to strengthen NATO.
Well, I'm assuming that a NATO full of bootlickers would be great for Trump as he and Putin divvy up Europe.
I bet every European country that bough US equipment is super angry right now.
I am super angry because Switzerland, after a long fight against the new fighter planes, after considering Swedish and French fighter planes, decided to go with the planes that are the most expensive, the most unreliable (based on my uninformed opinions), and the most untrustworthy: the F-35.
From a country that bullies its allies and betrays its friends, that switches off the satellite phones, the intelligence sharing, and whatever else it damn pleases in order to force a settlement. Which is within their rights, of course. But also disqualifies them as a friend for a generation, if you ask me.
A country with the most powerful military in the world and the wisdom of a tooth that needs to be pulled. 🤮
And we're not even part of NATO.
⁂
For more about the F-35, @kravietz@agora.echelon.pl recently linked to this article:
With over 400 F-35s projected for Europe by 2030, per Lockheed Martin, the jet remains a cornerstone of NATO’s air power—but its integration highlights a paradox: its technological edge comes at the cost of strategic vulnerability. The U.S. policy restricting independent test operations outside CONUS, combined with reliance on U.S.-managed MDFs, ALIS, ODIN, and software updates, amplifies fears of over-dependence. -- The F-35 ‘Kill Switch’: Separating Myth from Reality
The F-35 ‘Kill Switch’: Separating Myth from Reality
@kravietz@agora.echelon.pl adds:
… but the problem is not technical. The problem is that in 2025 US has rather clearly signalled that its subjectively defined “interests” will now have priority of international agreements.
That is, the same agreements towards which the US has over the 30 years consistently pushed all European countries, and especially the new EU and NATO joiners. And it made sense as long as the US was the guarantor of these treaties.
What we have now? Let’s say Russia conducts a limited military incursion into eastern Poland with the objective of controlling the Suwalki Corridor. This of course is in violation of UN Charter, NATO Charter and a hundred of bilateral treaties between Russia and EU and Poland. So what? The 2025 US president now decides a “prolonged defense” is “not in US interests” and does everything to force “peace” on Poland.
“Everything” includes impairing US-delivered weapons systems and generally creating a powerful impression of stab in the back.
A “peace”, in which Poland’s concession is the town of Suwałki, and Russia’s “concession” is the nearby town of Olsztyn, which Russia mercifully agrees not to occupy or destroy. Well, it also happens to be a Polish town but Russia in the meantime declared it “historically Russian region” and it now presents it as a concession.
And the 2025 US president says it’s OK, because “peace” and “both sides did concessions”.
#Russia #Poland #NATO