Randahl Fink“The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores. If we decide to remain herbivores, the carnivores win.”
— French President Emmanuel Macron after the US reelection of Donald Trump, November 7, 2024.
FirefighterGeek 
Directly relates to a question I asked yesterday.
Do you think France, Germany, and to some extent other NATO countries in the region will step up to fill in the role the US is almost certainly going to vacate?
Wilfried Klaebe@FirefighterGeek Relating to the ruZZian aggressions: We must. Otherwise we'll be next.
@FirefighterGeek but if Europe decided it was time to load the guns, which side would the US be on?
From January 20, the commander in chief will be Putin's biggest fanboy.
@randahl There's a limit to how cozy Trump can be with Putin.
We saw that last time around. He'll be able to justify pulling us out of Ukraine by claiming fiscal issues and calling it a stalemate that is killing people.
If Europe sends in troops to Ukraine, I don't know that you'd get US support readily.
If Russia gets more aggressive with a NATO country, even Trump would have a difficult time staying out.
@FirefighterGeek I hope you are right. At the moment I am not even sure, Trump will allow EU countries to donate more US made weapons. And if we ignore his demand, then what?
The most positive thing I have heard this week is, Trump cannot afford to leave NATO, because it could have enormous consequences for US weapons contacts, should the EU steer away from the US weapons industry. Even with Trump, money talks.
Michael 🎇 @randahl who else in the world produces high quality and technologically advanced weapons (and in high quantities too) to make EU steer away?
@michael a long range of EU countries.
@randahl Money talks loudest.
The Military Industrial Complex in the U.S. as warned by Pres. Eisenhower is set up so that there is an important factory or base related to each service and each major weapons program in virtually ever state. Any Senator then, who wants to cut those programs, faces his own constituents' ire over lost jobs and revenues.
Everyone wants the Congress to cut the pork, but their own guy better bring home the bacon.