dagblog - Comments for "Trump Opens His Arms to Russia. His Administration Closes Its Fist."

Precisely well put!

artappraiser — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 07:18:02 +0000

In reply to Putin is likely also asking

Precisely well put!

A low-profile Mattis makes no

artappraiser — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 07:08:39 +0000

In reply to Trump Opens His Arms to Russia. His Administration Closes Its Fist.

A low-profile Mattis makes no mention of Trump as he tours Europe

Even as senior Pentagon officials insist they have never been more united, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis often seems to be having a different conversation with allies than President Trump.

By Greg Jaffe & Missy Ryan @ WashingtonPost.com, July 15

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was in Norway over the weekend, a short hop from the site of President Trump’s Monday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. But often it seemed as though Mattis was inhabiting a distant world. [.....]

Mattis traveled with Trump to the NATO summit in Brussels but remained offstage when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton joined Trump during the president’s impromptu news conference.

When he did surface, Mattis mentioned the president (of Croatia). “It was a very good discussion,” he said of their meeting Friday at the U.S.-Adriatic Charter summit in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. “I’ll just leave it at that.”

He twice quoted Vice President Pence on the importance of America’s commitment to its Adriatic allies. Trump’s name did not come up.

Even as senior Pentagon officials insist they have never been more united, Mattis often seems to be having a different conversation with allies than Trump. His defense strategy, published in December, stresses the importance of alliances, especially in Europe, and orders the U.S. military to ramp up its capabilities to counter the threat posed by Russia.

“Everyone can understand there’s very little upside for him to be seen in public, because even if he says reassuring things he’s going to be at variance with the president,” said Derek Chollet, a former senior Pentagon official now at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Dana White, chief Pentagon spokeswoman, said Mattis had long said that Europeans had to be as committed to the continent’s defense as Americans were. “For more than a year, the secretary has clearly communicated the President’s guidance and today every NATO member is spending more on defense,” she said [....]

Putin is likely also asking

ocean-kat — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 04:54:27 +0000

In reply to David Ignatius ponders things

Putin is likely also asking himself what he should tell Trump to do about it.

David Ignatius ponders things

artappraiser — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 04:13:42 +0000

In reply to Trump Opens His Arms to Russia. His Administration Closes Its Fist.

David Ignatius ponders things Pootie might be concerned about (@ WaPo, July 15):

Putin must wonder what else America knows about Russia

When Russian President Vladimir Putin sits down at the table in Helsinki on Monday, he will surely have in the back of his mind some intelligence worries that have nothing to do with the U.S. president seated across from him.

Putin’s elite spy world has been penetrated by U.S. intelligence. That’s the implication of the extraordinarily detailed 29-page indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence (GRU) officers handed up by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators on Friday. The 11-count charge includes names, dates, unit assignments, the GRU’s use of “X-agent” malware, its bitcoin covert funding schemes and a wealth of other tradecraft.

Putin must be asking himself: How did the Americans find out all these facts? What other operations have been compromised? And how much else do they know? [....]

The current official spin,

artappraiser — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 04:06:57 +0000

In reply to Trump Opens His Arms to Russia. His Administration Closes Its Fist.

So here's the current official spin, for the moment and for the record:

In #Finland tonight. Monday, @POTUS & I will meet with our Russian counterparts in #Helsinki A better relationship with the Russian government would benefit all, but the ball is in Russia’s court. We will continue to hold Russia responsible for its malign activities @StateDept pic.twitter.com/K4C1PSrRMb
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 15, 2018

Performance reviews

moat — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 20:10:00 +0000

In reply to Trump Opens His Arms to Russia. His Administration Closes Its Fist.

Performance reviews
can be tough on the ego,
even a strong one.

Blaming others for failure
makes any hole get bigger.