Foreign Policy Decisions

1) Annie Karni, “Senate Republicans Block I.V.F. Protection Bill a Second Time, Breaking With Trump; Democrats brought up the measure again to highlight Republican opposition to abortion rights and make the case to voters that the G.O.P. stance threatens access to reproductive health care, New York Times, September 17, 2024 (Updated 7:08 p.m. ET);

Analysis

Trump and the Reublicans do, not what they say.Both lie. Trump lies all the time. Republican candidate for tge senate and the House should be pressed in their respective campaigns on their lies and their actions that diverge from what Trump says.

1) David Ignatius, “Ukraine is bleeding out. It cannot fight forever; Supporting Ukraine “as long as it takes” does not match the reality of this conflict,” Washington Post, September 15, 2024 (5:22 p.m. EDT);

2) Ben Wallace, “The West is fast forgetting the laws of deterrence – to Putin’s delight; But Britain does have one trump card – we have real and old friends. Russia has none,” The Telegraph, September 17, 2024 (3:59pm);

1) David A. Graham, “The Cases Against Trump: A Guide; Thirty-four felony convictions. Charges of fraud, election subversion, and obstruction. One place to keep track of the presidential candidate’s legal troubles,” The Atlantic, September 13, 2024 (2:18 p.m. ET);

1) Laurence H. Tribe, Barbara McQuade, and Joyce White Vance, “Here’s a roadmap for the Justice Department to follow in investigating Trump,” Washington Post, August 5, 2021 (9:10 a.m. EDT);

2) Laurence H. Tribe, “Merrick Garland must investigate Donald Trump’s attempted coup — not for retribution but for deterrence; For nearly all of us, a solid factual basis that one has committed a federal crime — much less inciting an insurrection against the government itself — would trigger a criminal investigation. So why the hesitation by the US attorney general?” Boston Globe, Updated August 20, 2021 (2:49 p.m.);

Advice for undecided voters: Pay attention, damn it!

If you are undecided at this stage of the election cycly, you have not been paying attention.

The first duty of avery citizen in a democracy is to inform themselves, to the best of their ability, about the candidates and the issues in the election.

If you have been lazy and are leaning toward or committed to voting for Trump and the Republicans because you are simply following the mass emotions of your tribe, there is still time for you to inform yourself. and be a patriot. You can still be a good citizen who takes his duties and responsibilities seriously.

And if you have children, you can still be a parent who makes them proud, of whom they will be proud in 20 years. Ou can still be a model model of a good citizen who takes his responsibilities as a citizen in a democracy seriously.

***

What is the point of a debate with proven liar?

What is the point of such a debate before many stupid and credulous voters who have no memory?, and therefore no basis to determine whether what the liarvsays is true or false?

What can we learn from the presidential debate tonight?

1. That there is no more important qualification to be president of the United States than honesty.

2. That in the most fundamental sense, the presidential race is about character.

3. Ask yourself: Who would you choose to run your business, head your church or run your school? Who would you choose to babysit or otherwise care for your children?

4. Why would you vote for a candidate of suck known and proven dishonesty that it would disqualify the candidate for almost any job?

Why would you vote for a convicted criminal who has also been indicted by independent grand juries for the commission of many felonies in the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Miami, Florida?

If you believe these indictments are the product of a witch hunt and without merit, have you read the charges, and seriously tried to find out if tgere is such a witch hunt and whether the charges are groundless, as the lying candidate maintains?

Wake up and don’t be stupid!

1) “Olaf Scholz calls for quicker peace deal in Ukraine; German leader says it is time to ‘get out of this war situation’ as new poll ranks him the most unpopular chancellor in decades, The Telegraph Semptembre
James Jackson,The Telegraph, Septenber 8, 2024 (4:23pm);

Things are not going well in America or in thecworld.

Like many others, I suspect, I am numb.

I am numb from seeing Israel commit war crimes on a daily basis in Gaza, and acquiescing in if not fomenting settler violence against in the West Bank.

I am numb from observing America’s complicity in these Israeli war crimes.

I am numb from all of Joe Biden’s talk of peace, coupled with his absolute refusal to use the instruments of American power to bring about that peace.

I am numb from all of the talk about a ceasefire and release if Israeli hostages deal, the evil ploy used by Israel to hold out hope while it continues to kill thousands of civilians in Gaza, and while Benjamin Netanyahu deliberately acts to kill any ceasefire and release of hostages deal whenever negotiations appear tantalizing close to agreement.

I am tired of Joe Biden’s endless assertions that he is pressuring Israel to kill fewer civilians, as he approves a $20 billion military aid package without effective limits, without even those proscribed American law which prohibit arms transfers when they might be used in ways other than self-defense–as defined by international law and the U.N. Charter.

I am numb from watching the horror show in Gaza, and the horror show in the White House where the president will not withhold the U.S. vet in the U.N. Security Council to allow it to take effective action by, e.g., imposing sanctions on Israel for its blockade and other war crimes in Gaza.

I am numb from watching Joe Biden impose prohibitions on the use by Ukraine of weapons supplied by NATO countries against targets in Russia when such action is fully justified under the international law of self-defense and the United Nations Charter.

I am numb from listening to specious justification for such restrictions, with the armchair warriors in U.S. military ranks telling the Ukrainians the weapons would not be effective despite Ukraine’s urgent and repeated pleas for such weapons.

I am numb from observing Joe Biden’s cowardice since February, 2022, always withholding needed weapons for as long as he can before the unity in the NATO alliance breaks.

I am numb from the cowardice that assumes this is UkrIne’s war, not our war, as the world faces the greatest challenge to civilization and the international legal order since World War II.

Finally, I am numb as I watch half the people in the United States abandon reason and surrender to the cult of Donald Trump and the gowing fascist movement in the United States.

I am numb as I see the formation of a powerful alliance between so-called “low-information voters” and highly educated business people, often billionaires or very wealthy individuals who cynically support the Leader, believing as they did in Germany that they could control the fascists.

What are “low-information voters”? They are the voters who with their cynical business allies would again elect Donald Trump, who charitably might be called the ultimate “low information president”.

Yet let us dig further. What, really, is a low-information voter? He is a voter who has not taken the trouble to investigate the facts regarding different candidates, being content to gonwith the mass emotions of his tribe.

Us it not a civic duty in a democracy to inform onesel about tge candidates and the issues?

The media will not call out these low-information voters as lazy or stupid people, because they depend on selling soap and other advertised hoods and services to these same voters.

Who came up with such a marvelous euphemism as the “low-information voter”?

Well, I’m numb from all of the above.

The future of American democracy, as well as the strategic coherence of U.S. foreign policy, now depends on the have of tge American electorate who might still be able to think and act in a rational manner if tgey can only wake up from the torpor of their curren numbness, and act to save the Republic.

1) Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, “Putin’s silent killer is choking Ukraine’s regiments; The use of gas in Ukraine’s trenches can be countered with British equipment aid,” The Telegraph, September 3, 2024 (7:00 a.m.);

1) “Russische Armee rückt in Ostukraine mit hohem Tempo vor – Kiew weitet Zwangsevakuierungen aus,” DiecWelt, den 28. August 2024 (15:13);

2) “Russian army advances at high speed in eastern Ukraine – Kiev expands forced evacuations; The Ukrainian army was successful in the offensive in the Russian region of Kursk. In eastern Ukraine, Russian troops continue to advance westward. Kiev orders evacuations in 27 localities,” Die Welt, August 28, 2024 (15:13);

3) Editorial, “ATACMS and Russia’s Sanctuary; The U.S.-made missiles could hit hundreds of military targets if Biden let Ukraine use them,” Wall Street Joirnal, August 28, 2024 (5:37 p.m.);

4) ISW Press (“Institute for the Study of War), “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 28, 2024 (7:00 p.m.);

The Institute for the Study of War reportsbthat the U.S. is blocking the use of British long-range Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia. In it’s daily update, the ISW reports:

Multiple reports from Western media indicate that the US government is prohibiting the United Kingdom (UK) from allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets in Russia. The Financial Times (FT) reported on August 27 that a source familiar with the matter stated that Ukraine’s use of British and French Storm Shadows may require access to American intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in areas where Russian forces are jamming the GPS signals that the missiles use for targeting.[1] FT reported that “well-placed” sources stated that the UK government sent a request to both the US and France earlier in summer 2024 to grant Ukraine permission to use Western-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia, and French President Emmanuel Macron stated in May 2024 that Ukraine should be allowed to strike military sites in Russia from which Russian forces attack Ukraine. The Telegraph reported on August 27 that the UK government supports Ukraine’s ability to strike military targets in Russia with Storm Shadow missiles but that the missiles also use unspecified, classified American systems, whose use requires US permission.[2] The Telegraph stated in a since-deleted section of its original web article that the UK has not formally asked the US to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadows to strike military targets within Russia, and that a White House source stated that the US is concerned about how the use of the missiles — even without US approval — could escalate the situation and draw the US into the war in Ukraine. The Telegraph reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is taking a “consultative approach” to negotiations with the US and does not want to spark a disagreement over the issue. A source in the UK government reportedly stated that Russia is aware that Ukraine is asking for permission to strike military targets in Russia, so Russia has moved its “most critical assets” out of range of long-range missile systems. ISW continues to assess that although Russian forces have moved aircraft out of range of Western-provided Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles, a significant number of Russian military objects remain within striking distance of Western weapons, restrictions on which are allowing Russian forces to leverage sanctuary space in deep rear areas within Russia to support military operations against Ukraine.[3]

Oh, what a wonderful war it is! Amateur generals in the U.S. can simulate the battlefield experience of analyzing troop movements and tge progress of battles without the risk faced by real battlefield analysts of being killed by incoming missiles.

This game of war is far more exciting than any game of football. Analysts cheer their team on, without having to face the hard realities of war–deal soldiers and civilians, mangled bodies, destroyed homes, town and cities–all without having to put any skin in the game.

If Russian aggression Ukraine has unleashed a battle save civikization, American observers are content to fight this desperate war down to the last Ukrainian soldier and civilian. As long as they don’t have to get directly involved.

The cowardice of President Biden and Chancellor Olaf Schikz, staunch defenders of the policy of avoiding any actions that could lead to their countries becoming directly involved,pass without direct criticisms by the amateur generals, notwithstanding the tens of thousands of Ukrainian deaths that have resulted from their cowardice and their failure to meet the Russian threat to civilization head on.

The Trenchant Observer