North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Joe Biden’s First Foreign Trip To NATO And Summit Meeting With Vladimir Putin: A Major Challenge

President Joe Biden will be traveling overseas for the next week and a half, visiting the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including restoring relations to the way they were before the Presidency of Donald Trump, with all of our European Democratic allies.

Also, he will visit Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and most importantly, he will have a face to face summit meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, June 16, a most important moment in the relationship with our adversary.

Russia is testing us in many ways, and it will be important for Biden to reassert our leadership, as compared to Donald Trump’s willingness to give in to Putin, as he did early on in his Presidency.

Biden has made clear that while he needs to deal with Putin, he is not going to flatter or bend to his will or threats. Instead, he will challenge Putin on Russian cyber hackers who have been engaged in ransomware attacks on US companies that are increasing rapidly. He will also challenge him on many other issues, as Biden fully realizes that Putin is a “killer”, and that the democracies represented in NATO will stand up against Russian autocracy!

Let all decent people wish Joe Biden good fortune in this next ten days!

70 Years Of NATO: The Best Foreign Alliance In World History, Now Endangered By Supernationalist Donald Trump

We have just passed 70 years of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the best foreign alliance in world history, which has kept the peace since World War II.

However, NATO is now endangered by super nationalist Donald Trump, who constantly is critical of the NATO allies for not paying enough for their own defense, and every time Trump goes to a NATO meeting, and in between as well, he is regularly hostile and abusive in his statements and actions toward nations that are democratic.

At the same time, he embraces authoritarian leaders and has no complaints about their denial of human rights, including the Russian Federation, North Korea, Turkey, Egypt, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, he is working in the direction of military action against Venezuela and Iran, so do not be shocked if we engaged in two more wars before the Presidential Election of 2020, just as George W. Bush managed to put America in war against Afghanistan and Iraq during his first term in the Presidency/

Donald Trump is a menace, totally ignorant in foreign policy, and dangerous to world stability.

Independence Day 2018: The Greatest Crisis In American History, With Evidence Of Russian Collusion In Our Government

Today is Independence Day, the 242nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

America has gone through many crises and challenges over those 242 years.

But now we face the reality of what is the greatest crisis in our years of independence, with evidence of Russian collusion in our government, and likely continuing into the future.

This is not a conspiracy theory, but reality, as even the Republican controlled Senate Intelligence Committee, under the leadership of North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr, asserts, with the entire committee unanimous in its conclusion that the intelligence agencies and national security apparatus has been accurate in its assessment.

Donald Trump is clearly a traitor, undermining our democracy and our history of proud independence, and ready to sell America down the river.

And yet his party, with a few exceptions, remains unwilling to face the challenge presented by Donald Trump, and the damage he is doing to our national security, foreign policy, and alliance system with the nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has promoted a stable world since the end of World War II.

There are widespread feelings of despair and hopelessness being expressed, including when this blogger gives lectures on public affairs and history to groups all over South Florida.

Many feel the country is being destroyed by a vehement base of ignorant, prejudiced, and clueless people who fail to see the damage that has been done by Donald Trump in the three years since he announced his candidacy.

But the nation and its good majority cannot give up, must resist in every way possible, and restore our democracy and heritage, so that our children and grandchildren can live in a land still affected by the vision of the Founding Fathers in the 18th century!

Donald Trump And Foreign Policy Knowledge: An “Empty Suit”!

Donald Trump has now demonstrated that he is totally lacking in foreign policy knowledge and expertise, and still has no announced foreign policy advisers of repute!  This comes out of his interviews with the New York Times and Washington Post Editorial Boards!

His suggestion that NATO is out of date is preposterous, and his willingness to create unnecessary tensions with China, Japan, Mexico, and the Islamic world is terrifying.

His willingness to use torture and waterboarding, and to consider nuclear attack against ISIL (ISIS), is reprehensible.

The fact that Great Britain had a discussion about banning Trump, and that he is causing embarrassment with our European allies by his isolationist rhetoric, is shocking.

This man has no clue on foreign policy, and is truly an “empty suit”!

We cannot afford to make this narcissist Commander in Chief, and even those involved in our national security have stated that he would be dangerous, and might have to be disobeyed if he gave orders that made no sense!

So said Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA and NSA, and such a warning should sober all of us as to the craziness of electing Donald Trump President of the United States!

Since The Death Of Osama Bin Laden, 381 Americans Killed And 4,000 Wounded In Afghanistan: Time To Withdraw!

It has been a year since the death of Osama Bin Laden, and still, we are in Afghanistan, attempting to undermine the Taliban, who collaborated with Al Qaeda, and brought about the events of September 11, 2001.

There is no way that America or the NATO forces in Afghanistan are ever going to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban influence.

Instead, the amazing total of 381 Americans have been killed, many by “friendly” Afghan forces, and over 4,000 wounded, since Bin Laden’s death!

To put it another way, it means on a daily basis, one American is killed and 11 wounded, and for what purpose?

It is time to get out, accept the fact that we accomplished our mission of weakening, and in many respects, destroying, Al Qaeda, and can still do great harm with drones, without sacrificing American lives any longer!

President Obama, it is time to withdraw, and if you feel it cannot be done during the election season, it should be your first action when you are reelected in November.

And President Romney, if that occurs, use your brains and realize this is a lost cause, and not worthy of any more sacrifice beyond January 2013 at the latest!