January 1, 2018

Trump begins the new year of tweeting with shots at the leaders of Pakistan and Iran.

First, one hour ago:
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
Second, 45 minutes ago:
Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!
No more... time for change...

34 comments:

TrespassersW said...

"TIME FOR CHANGE"

Amen.

David Begley said...

The worst of it is that Iran’s mullahs were on their backs on the mat and Obama let them up.

Some day the American public will find out the full depth of Obama’s corrupt deal with Iran.

Big Mike said...

Trump sure knows how to speak plainly.

Big Mike said...

Change we can believe in!

Oso Negro said...

As a former detester of Donald Trump, I must confess I have come to entirely enjoy it when he talks smack to the world.

Curious George said...

Remember when the world laughed at tough talk like this coming from the White House?

Michael K said...

The Obama deal, by increasing corruption as the mullahs keot the money, might have destabilized the regime.

Something like this happened to the Soviets as the common people realized communism was a false front for corruption.

Mosque attendance is at 2% even in "holy" cities like Qom.

AllenS said...

Trump was correct in both tweets.

Lyle Smith said...

Go Iranians go! Turn the world upside down!

Anonymous said...

Both tweets absolutely true and clear statements of developing policy. You can bet that they were not spontaneous. They are clearly well thought out.

Seeing Red said...

We didn’t start the fire.

It’s been always burning since the world’s been turning....

The KSA had to institute a VAT tax. Bwaaaaaaa

They do have in abundance 1 thing we need...sand.

But we don’t need their oil. How refreshing to say that.

Phil 314 said...

Sometime this week good cop Tillerson will contact the Pakistani embassy.

Mr. Groovington said...

I am so looking forward to (all this) ending in the shaming of Frum.

Mark said...

If we are cutting the relations that allow us to kill via drone in Pakistan, we need to leave Afghanistan completely.

I do not see a willingness to do that, so this just kneecaps our soldiers there.

dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dreams said...

MAGA and the world safer one tweet at a time, or two.

Humperdink said...

What a breath of fresh air.

The previous administration would say: "We are deeply concerned ......". And that would be the end of it.

William said...

I agree with Trump's tweets, but the historical record shows that when Muslims overthrow a tyrant, they don't replace him with someone cuddly and warm. If you can't improve on Saddam and Qaddafi, maybe the problem isn't the ruler but the people he rules. We need to elect a more representative form of humanity to live in those countries.

Chris N said...

Michael,

I had that thought too, that Obama’s decision exposed the corruption, weakness and took away a primary point of leverage for the Iranian regime: It’s isolation and crazy anti-American revolutionary stance. It’s that shitty and horrible.

Now, was this calculated? Perhaps some of it.

Could it have been predicted and was it worth the costs?

Sounds like a probability similar to Iraq ending up a democracy and crediting George W Bush and his team, but I could be wrong.

Ray - SoCal said...

Pakistan is a headache.

It currently controls the majority of us logistics into Afghanistan for US troops.

The Northern routes that are have railheads go through Russia.

And Iran has a rail route built with Indian money into the East.

Good news is now there are more good options for logistics into Afghanistan.

Bad news all go through anti us areas.

And Pakistan is supporting the Taliban, who are attacking us soldiers in Afghanistan.

And Pakistan has internal political and economic issues.

Ray - SoCal said...

The Obama Iran deal removed all the money thebus was holding back to the Shah’s time. Money for weapon purchases I believe. It was good to clean the table in the us side. It made it harder for Iran to blame the us for its economy. Same with lifting sanctions.

If a government is ruthless enough, it’s very hard for a revolution to happen. And I believe the Iranian government is ruthless enough.

I do hope the Iranians change governments.

trumpintroublenow said...

CNN was saying the other day that certain (unnamed) experts believe that Trump should keep his mouth shut. Speaking out in favor of freedom and liberty around the planet I always thought was the job of the President. No doubt if it was Obama they would find experts to say the opposite. Frustrating there isn't a single news channel that truly doesn't take sides. That doesn't seem like much to ask for these days with all the channels and programming out there.

Michael K said...

Ray, Pakistan is a real dilemma.

If we were to leave Afghanistan, we would have to fly the soldiers out and leave all the equipment there since Pakistan sits on the heavy logistics route.

The negotiations to cut off the subsidy we pay Pakistan would be a challenge even for Tillerson but he has done a few.

The story of his relations with Venezuela are a lesson in dealing with hostile countries. And he was a businessman then.

I have believed that we should not be in Afghanistan for years.

Mark said...

There is a difference between speaking out about freedom and namecalling Norks or bullying Pakistan.

Do you think Russia or Iran want our military to use their airspace? If Pakistan decided to cloae their airspace and transit corridors... its going to be tough to get aupplies in and men out.

Seems like Trump wants to paint us into a corner here. Corrupt Pakistani islamist apologists are not my ideal choice as partner, but neither Iran or Russia are better choices.

cubanbob said...

Trump is stating what everyone who paid the least bit of attention has known since the late eighties. The question is now that the pretense has been dropped what are we going to do about it?

YoungHegelian said...

The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!

Don't feel too hurt, President Trump. Pakistan didn't just screw the US over. They screwed over everybody. They screw over Afghanistan by hosting the Taliban. China wants Pakistan as an ally for a strategic counterbalance to India, but Pakistan also plays host to Uighur Islamic extremists who fled western China.

Pakistan is, at root, an imbecilic excuse for a country, a country founded because "Well, if those fucking Hindus get a country us Muslims better get one, too!". As if Jinnah really ever gave a damn about the Islamic faith except as a marker that it made him not-Hindu. Even its name is abject nonsense.

Michael K said...

India actually has a huge Muslim population.

I think it is second after Pakistan.

donald said...

Yeah, that’s the plan. Paint yourself into a corner. Gotcha. Insightful and such.

Jersey Fled said...

Actually Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, followed by Pakistan and then India (14.6%)

YoungHegelian said...

@MK,

India actually has a huge Muslim population.

Yes, they do. But, remember, who was running much of the Indian subcontinent when the British worked it piece by piece under their control -- the Muslim Moghuls. The last "institutional" memory that the Muslim elite had of of India was that they were running it. If they had to play second fiddle to the Great British Empire, well, that wasn't good, but at least they owed feudal fealty to the best of the lot.

But, to be ruled by the barbaric Hindus that was something else. To the Muslims, the Christians (like the British) & the Jews were peoples of the Book. The Hindus, on the other hand, were outrageous polytheists. There was no faith on the planet more designed to outrage a Muslim than Hinduism. To be ruled by those people was an abomination for much of the Muslim population, especially its elite of Moghul descent.

So, a toxic mixture of religious, class, racial & ethnic snobbery intersected with post-colonial politics & personal intrigues & out came Pakistan.

Drago said...

Mark: "If we are cutting the relations that allow us to kill via drone in Pakistan, we need to leave Afghanistan completely.
I do not see a willingness to do that, so this just kneecaps our soldiers there"

Gee, you sure seem to have a handle on things.........LOL.

Keep up the "good" analysis work....

Michael K said...

The Muslim invasion of India was fairly late and the Moghuls became rulers by conquest.

The partition followed the Labour Party decision to end the Empire and the subsequent evacuation similar to that of "Palestine."

In both cases, chaos followed.

Paco Wové said...

I wonder if State Dep't. personnel in the affected countries ever get an "incoming!" heads-up before POTUS lobs such tweets.

Anonymous said...

Drago, gfy if that's all you have to contribute.