I'm seeing some concern that #Europe is not prepared for a full-on confrontation with the #USA. True enough, but not as important as one might think. On December 7th, 1941, #Japan was ready for war; the #USA was not. They caught us flatfooted and asleep at the switch. It didn't make any difference in the end, as the more astute among the Japanese knew it wouldn't.

And the flip side of #Europe's lack of preparation is that the #USA is now much closer than #Europe, in both economic and military terms, to the maximum power of which it is ultimately capable. Or, put another way, #Europe has much more potential to become yet more powerful than the #USA does.

Think how many INDIVIDUAL European nations (not counting #Russia) have, throughout history, shaken the world all by themselves. And now the #Trumpezoids propose to take on ALL of them together?

That's just like a #Trumpezoid, to mistake circumspect restraint for weakness.

Serious question: now that the world has seen what happened to #Maduro, does anyone think the #Trumpezoids would still have a chance of success if they tried to kidnap ANOTHER head of state?

I'm not an expert on #commando tactics, so I can't say absolutely that it would be impossible. But the advantage of surprise would appear to mean everything in such an operation, and that will never be available again. Security for heads of state has never before included countermeasures against kidnapping by #USA commando forces. It will now.

@Remittancegirl One of the Emperor #Napoleon Bonaparte's advisers was said to have commented thus on his occupation of Spain:

"You can do anything with bayonets, Sire, except sit on them."

Henry #Kissinger would have understood that. The #Trumpezoids do not.

For people enamored of #imperialism, they are remarkably bad at it.

For people who love to do #imperialism, these #Trumpezoids are remarkably bad at it. I can hardly imagine what Henry #Kissinger would have thought. The successful practice of empire requires stability and predictability — a sense that those who submit can actually avoid the very worst. It requires methodical planning, not lashing out. It also requires an air of invincibility — as opposed to things like bombing #Iran to no effect. (Remember THAT little adventure?)

With these bozos at the helm, the imperial ship of state has morphed into the Walloping Window Blind.