Name:	architect -	Reply
Subject:	Blackmailer in Chief!?
Date:	7/26/2016 11:53:59 AM

Donald says to a NC crowd we must "walk" away from NATO in order for them to beg us to come back and offer us "more money" to get us back.  Are you guys all on board with that?

Name:	HARRY -	Reply
Subject:	Blackmailer in Chief!?
Date:	7/26/2016 12:05:07 PM

"Walk away" may be a bit strong but the others do need to ante up.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Blackmailer in Chief!?
Date:	7/26/2016 12:07:59 PM

You mean NATO members like Turkey?  It's time they start paying for their own defense.  We spend a trillion dollars a year more than we take in.  We are borrowing money to give away to others and spend protecting them from the folks we are defending them from.  Only makes sense to liberals which is to say not at all.

Name:	architect -	Reply
Subject:	Blackmailer in Chief!?
Date:	7/26/2016 12:44:34 PM (updated 7/26/2016 12:49:21 PM)

I wonder if the freedom loving and strongly pro-American citizens of the Baltic states are in full agreement with your astute observations! 

BTW:  May be good if you did a little google work on Turkey.  They may not be a classic Jeffersonian democracy and the current regime leaves a lot to be desired, but they have been one of the most steadfast and valuable members of NATO for almost 70 years.  Of course, Mr Erdogan has a lot in common with your new savior on just how to run a country!

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 12:44:53 PM

Current foreign policy is not working.  Hard to know good guys and bad guys.  Chances are DJT would be in France showing western leader solidarity after the first major attack that got ball parks, bars, etc.  A strong stance of leadership, which USA must show, will help rewrite the new foreign policy.  What will it look like?  Don't know but it will be developed in a room with air conditioning.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 4:23:53 PM

Trump is right.  For years now, we have been underwriting NATO.  Some of the NATO members have robust economies and should be updating their military.  Let some of the stronger European countries do their share. We can't do away with it entirely, because of basing rights that we need to fight our wars.  Keep in mind that the agreements that underpin NATO are post-WWII constructs.  The countries have undergone changes, the world is different, we are no longer fighting the cold war.  Maybe a good time to revisit.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Blackmailer in Chief!?
Date:	7/26/2016 5:10:22 PM (updated 7/26/2016 5:16:43 PM)

Who cares about 70 years ago.  Let's look at the last 70 days.  My concern is what is happening now and the near future.  We need to get the nukes out and tell the current HMIC to go straight to hell. If he don't like it we can give the nukes back with detonator set for 10,000ft as far as I'm concerned. As Hound pointed out we still need bases for now,  but with technology even those are becoming more and more obsolete.

And BTW.-I admit that until the attaturk incident I was relatively ignorant about Turkey but saw some TV and did some reading.  Now I understand why the jihadist see it as the prize.

Name:	architect -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 9:00:40 PM

Revisit perhaps, convert it into a protection racket...no way!  You really have drunk the Kool Aid Hound.  If Trump is elected I will be waiting to hear your assessment of the first Supreme Court term after his replacements for Scalia and Ginsberg are on the bench!! 

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 9:36:03 PM

For a prospective POTUS to announce that he would decide which allies he would support based on whether they were paying a percentage of their GDP to NATO is as smart as a general announcing which portions of his front lines he would not defend.  And, no, some of the newest and weakest NATO members won't be able to easily meet that obligation anytime soon.  But it is incredibly stupid to bring doubt to these security agreements.  

But it does please the heck out of Vladimir Putin.  He'll use that for his own ends,. And Donald will be his unwitting stooge.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 9:49:27 PM

Sorry, I just don't agree. So many agreement are outdated and do not reflect the relationships we have now.  I doubt that Trump is talking about the Eastern European countries that were once under Soviet control, but major European countries with solid economies that need to allocate more to their military.  I have noticed that a lot of people lean on these agreements like they are the holy grail, but often they are lacking in detail and clear implementation directions.  They were never meant to be static and cast in stone.  Agreements are supposed to be living documents that are modified and refined over a period of time.

Name:	architect -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 10:05:29 PM

Ae you sure he is "unwitting" Copper?

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/26/2016 10:14:48 PM

Of course, you can't be sure what Trump is talking about.  I have to assume he IS talking about vulnerable NATO members that he would not be willing to defend.  And that has to include eastern European countries.  It's madness to hear what he is saying and believe that he won't try to follow through on damaging vital security agreements like this.  It proves what a novice he is.

We don't need, nor can the world afford, a foolish and boastful novice with his finger on the trigger.  He doesn't understand the seriousness of what he says.  That's dangerous for all of us.

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 7:29:38 AM

Probably unwitting IMO, although it's well known that Trump has been trying to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow for years now, and that Paul Manafort spent years in Kiev working for Ukraine's President Yanokovich (sp?) Before he was deposed and fled to Russia. I just think Trump's vanity and lack of geopolitical sophistication is making him an easy mark for Putin.  After all, Putin's background is in the KGB,. and the real tradecraft of the KGB and CIA is to manipulate the internal politics...read politicians....of opposing nations.  Trump is ripe for manipulation, he is over confident but inexperienced...and probably appears to Putin to be as soft a target as any banana republic dictator would be..

Clearly, it would be a boon to Russia's ambitions to see Trump elected.  He's already making our allies wonder if they can trust us, speculated that the US could default on debts,  And is as casual about strategic decision making as a freshman political science major.  

That's why Russian intelligence services have hacked and released DNC documents,. They are favoring Trump and trying to influence the election.  Trump doesn't care about these details, he's got stars in his eyes now that he is within reach of the White House.

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 7:29:46 AM

Probably unwitting IMO, although it's well known that Trump has been trying to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow for years now, and that Paul Manafort spent years in Kiev working for Ukraine's President Yanokovich (sp?) Before he was deposed and fled to Russia. I just think Trump's vanity and lack of geopolitical sophistication is making him an easy mark for Putin.  After all, Putin's background is in the KGB,. and the real tradecraft of the KGB and CIA is to manipulate the internal politics...read politicians....of opposing nations.  Trump is ripe for manipulation, he is over confident but inexperienced...and probably appears to Putin to be as soft a target as any banana republic dictator would be..

Clearly, it would be a boon to Russia's ambitions to see Trump elected.  He's already making our allies wonder if they can trust us, speculated that the US could default on debts,  And is as casual about strategic decision making as a freshman political science major.  

That's why Russian intelligence services have hacked and released DNC documents,. They are favoring Trump and trying to influence the election.  Trump doesn't care about these details, he's got stars in his eyes now that he is within reach of the White House.

Name:	wix -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 9:53:42 AM

You only need to click once.......

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 12:18:52 PM

My theory....click once to  post, twice for emphasis, and 3 times to appear important.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 6:21:37 PM

If the Russians were able to hack the DNC's emails, why would a reasonable person not think that they had also hacked Hilary's emails?  I would think they would be more interested in the Secretary of State's emails than the DNC.

I don't buy into this Democratic myth that Putin wanrs Trump to win, so he can manipulate him.  If Putin is such a master manipulator, Hilary is just as vulnerable as Trump.  Putin's main objective is to restore Russia to it's former SuperPower state. He is playing around the edges, by harassing the former Soviet States, and harassing our military.  But the truth is he is without the means to start another war, or else he would have done so.  His foray into Syria was just his latest show of force to create the impression he is more powerful than he really is.  He's very good at manipulating the media for his good and the good of Russia.  But they don't have the economy to support his ambitions. 

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 6:59:34 PM

It was deputy CIA director Michael Morrell who states that Intel agencies around the globe have her emails.  It was first reported in politico but I have seen several interviews where he makes the claim.  He says he would be greatly disappointed in those agencies if they didn't have them

Name:	OhBeJoyful -	Reply
Subject:	Towers of Freedom
Date:	7/27/2016 8:19:45 PM

I've browsed this website for several years, always enjoyed the intelligent, thoughtful convo., but some of the vitriol coming from people who don't know how to spell makes me understand why Trump loves the uneducated. I didn't go to an Ivy League college, worked full time and put myself through college, my mother taught her children class is being polite even when you disagree with someone. I forget most of your names but never Talluhahound, sticks in my mind. I agree with you much of the time, but I don't think Trump is the answer. I have recently just passed over the "uneducated can't spell on purpose know nothings" without reading their posts.  

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Oh great
Date:	7/27/2016 8:28:57 PM

A new spelling police,  Whee!  Go back to lurking if all you can find to post about is spelling. I have lots of vitriol I haven't spewed yet and spelling police are one of my favorite targets. You want some cheese with that wine?