I never Respond

🇫🇷🇺🇸🇮🇷 A French general at Trump’s plan to build a runway inside Iran to fly out uranium under active bombing: “American officials should stop snorting cocaine between meetings.”

My message here clearly struck a nerve. A few friends from when I was press secretary, domestically and abroad, don’t like what I said. Instead of seeing how Western European nations must change, they just want to attack Trump. The reason it struck a nerve is because they recognize that this time NATO nations are being held to account. They know they’ve come up short for decades and by denying us overflight rights, they’ve gone too far. Americans are fed up, especially with France and Spain. Trump won’t stand for it and they know it. They now fear the consequences of their inaction. The UK, unlike its days under Thatcher or Blair, is wishy-washy. They’ve often been a good allie, but this time they want to sit it out and have it both ways. We can use their bases, but only for limited operations. At least the UK spends real money on defense. France, Spain, and Italy are another story. So too is Canada. None of these four contribute seriously to NATO. They’re laggards, trying to get away with it. Spain and France force our pilots to fly thousands of miles out of the way (I thought they didn’t like carbon footprints) en route to Iran. Eastern Europe is a different story. They spend more on defense and they understand power. They lived under Soviet domination and recognize weakness when they see it. They won’t be weak. Western European governments, especially France, are good at issuing communiques and statements. They enjoy hosting conferences. They love to ponder deeply. Getting them to act is another matter, unless it’s to purchase Russian LNG, which they still do. The world is changing. Out of this war will come a new group of younger nations that understand real power and the importance of strength. The UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Eastern Europe will emerge stronger than ever. Western Europe will continue to fall behind. As for Trump, you don’t have to like him. He often says things none of his predecessors would say. But don’t underestimate the fact that US taxpayers are fed up with nations that don’t pull their weight, and then force our pilots to take risks and longer flights so we can rid the world from the menace that is Iran. Today’s Western European leaders would rather mollify Iran and pay them ransoms (trade) than support the US. Things are different today. We all know it. The UK, France, Spain and Italy (despite its Prime Minister) have earned the consequences that will unfold. They could have and should have supported us. Not as a NATO alliance. But as individual free nations. All we wanted was overflight rights and full access to airfields. They’ve made their choices. Soon, they’ll see the results.

God is good.

I am and always have been a fan of France. I started studying French in 4th grade. I minored in French in college and love travelling there. But France today is a problem. France is guided by “France first.” Unlike “America First” which strengthens and benefits the world militarily, commercially and morally, France First sells out to the highest bidder. It’s the underbelly of French historical collaboration with Nazi Germany. It undermines the West, and Ukraine, as France cuts deals with Russian and is a top buyer of Russian natural gas. It’s why they work with the IRGC in Iran so French ships can transit the Straits of Hormuz. There’s no one they won’t cut a commercial deal with. Their immigration policies have turned their country substantially over to Muslims whose motives and influence are even more problematic. All that is bad enough. But now they won’t give the US overflight rights as we fight in Iran. We don’t want their troops or their ships. We want and should have overflight rights. France is a historical headache for the US and much of the west. French governments relish playing that role. France is only sometimes an ally. France is a real problem for the West.