European take

1/ Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland in January, with military support from France, Germany, and Nordic nations. Elite troops and F-35 jets with live ammunition were sent, and runways were to be blown up to prevent an invasion. ⬇️

1/ Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland in January, with military support from France, Germany, and Nordic nations. Elite troops and F-35 jets with live ammunition were sent, and runways were to be blown up to prevent an invasion. ⬇️

DUNE: Part Three | Standard VS IMAX 1.43:1

The $200 billion "Iran War" supplemental budget request needs to be examined in the correct context. The US is spending historically low levels on defense, scarcely above the 2.8% floor it reached during the 1990s peace dividend, yet the world is vastly more dangerous today. During the 2000s defense spending ramped up, but this was all spent on counter insurgency operations, not on the conventional capabilities that are needed to deter adversaries like China & Russia. In the 2010s, defense spending was slashed. This was more than just a ramp down of the spending on COIN, conventional capabilities were cut even further. The 2014 Russian Invasion of Ukraine should have been a wake up call for all of NATO, but we all know that the 2% pledge made that year went nowhere. The first Trump Admin saw a very minor increase in defense spending, and the investments were really just made in the first few years. The Biden Admin oversaw massive cuts to defense spending in real terms, reducing spending to levels below that of the Obama Admin. It would have been even lower without the 5 Supplemental Appropriations Acts that were passed to support Ukraine, and later Israel/CENTCOM & INDOPACOM requirements. The Trump Admin entered office with a desire to rectify the complete hollowing out of American defense spending. 3% of GDP just isn't enough to protect America's global interests. Last year NATO members all agreed on a new 5% target. This is still far below the Cold War average, and below the Reagan defense build up in the 1980s. The $1.5 trillion defense budget that Trump has called for, would put the United States at around 5%. This is the floor of what is necessary. China was being acknowledged as America's primary emerging rival as early as 2012, and was identified as the pacing threat in 2021. This should have prompted a massive increase in spending, and the Russian full scale Invasion of Ukraine reinforced the massive chasm between existing capabilities and requirements. This was all true before Operation Epic Fury. In an alternate timeline without it, hundreds of billions of additional defense dollars would still be desperately needed. The political debate should therefore not be on whether increased defense spending is necessary, but on how Congress should approach the appropriations process, both in terms of procedure and programmatics (what the money is spent on). Much of the focus is correctly on munitions, but its important to emphasize that the US didn't have enough munitions before Epic Fury, didn't have enough before Oct 7, and didn't have enough before the full scale Invasion of Ukraine. The US has been unprepared for the pacing threat (China) since President Obama first announced the "pivot" to East Asia. Congressional Democrats will likely be strongly opposed to any supplemental spending "on the Iran War", and many Republicans will want to offset higher defense spending with cuts elsewhere. Overcoming these political obstacles will require a lot of effort from both the Administration & Congress. My suggestion is that the supplemental budget request be crafted for the following purposes, with the goal of building bipartisan support: 1. New grant security assistance to Ukraine, including USAI funding, FMF, and a substantial s.506 Presidential Drawdown Authority cap for FY26 & FY27. 2. Replacement funding for the $10s of billions in unfunded requirements leftover from the Biden Admin's Drawdowns, plus more to cover new Drawdowns. 3. Additional security cooperation funding for key NATO allies that are meeting or imminently on track for the 5% target (Baltics, Poland, etc). 4. Additional security assistance for Taiwan & the Philippines via TSCI & FMF. 5. Funding to cover unfunded replacement costs and O&M expenses incurred in CENTCOM during the Biden Admin. 6. Investments in the defense industrial base (production capacity, workforce, supply chains, etc). All replacement costs, O&M, MILPERS, and MILCON expenses incurred as a result of Operation Epic Fury will be addressed by the Base Defense Budget Request and/or another reconciliation package. Structuring the funding request this way maximizes the prospects of having bipartisan support for at least part of the increase. It focuses on things that majorities in both parties have voted for in the past. Passing such a supplemental is a reasonable compromise first step towards the ultimate objective, which is a NATO alliance where all members are meeting the agreed upon 5% target.

People keep calling me a neocon. I'm actually an imperialist. An American empire would be a positive for the whole world.

If you wonder why Europeans flinch from helping US in Gulf - in January, NATO allies were seriously preparing for a US sneak attack on Greenland, planning to blow up runways to prevent a Trump re-enactment of Putin's failed strike on Kyiv.

1/ Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland in January, with military support from France, Germany, and Nordic nations. Elite troops and F-35 jets with live ammunition were sent, and runways were to be blown up to prevent an invasion. ⬇️

1/ Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland in January, with military support from France, Germany, and Nordic nations. Elite troops and F-35 jets with live ammunition were sent, and runways were to be blown up to prevent an invasion. ⬇️

BREAKING: France, Germany, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan say they are ready to join efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

99% of the people killed by Iran this year were civilians.

"this seems bad" well yes but it was probably baked in, we've just been kicking the can down the road for decades, and regardless of any of that there's nothing to be done now

irish women making molotov cocktails during the battle of the bogside, widely considered to be the start of the troubles. derry, ireland (1969) 🇮🇪