Germany Says 'Nein' On Tanks At Allies' Big Ramstein Meeting

and what happens if nobody listens to you....you have no skin in the game and have no influence to bring to bear so what possible use would an emasculated US be as a mediator?
Mediation comes with stick and carrot obligations...you do this or something happens....what you propose is the US put on a smile and ask nicely and hope nations agree...?? Good luck with that!

 

Brexit is a very good thing. The UK is still in NATO so it has plenty of allies but importantly it is now able to democratically create its own policies based upon what it's citizens vote for. That is a massive improvement compared to the anti-democratic EU. All the UK wanted from the EU was free trade but the EU is entirely based upon a protectionist model which blocks or tariffs out everything from outside the EU. The UK now has the free trade it wants and will expand it to other countries resulting in lower prices and improved standards of living.

Sure, you still have to end the EU's dishonest imperialist grabs in N.I. and in UK fishing grounds but those will get solved in time. The UK also has to beat down the idiot leftists who want to impoverish the people by blocking the U.K.'s domestic energy supplies and fertilizer production but high prices will teach people that leftists are evil, anti-human, pieces of garbage who want to immiserate and impoverish the people of the U.K.

That is not going to be a winning electoral strategy for the left.

 

Works pretty well for the Swiss, they don't get involved in skirmishes but they have a huge diplomatic power game. The Trump Administration used soft power, and did more in 4 years than the current international community loving administration.

Our aid to all of you, is a massive mistake. You don't need the Marshall Plan anymore. You need to resolve your issues.

 

And there will be nothing much left of Ukraine.

 

...yeah I mean I don't disagree...I have issues with the concept of the political integration on the scale that the EU is proposing...ultimately the EU is a supra-national secretariat whose political direction of travel is not necessarily aligned to the national interest...the trade deal we voted for in 1973 was fine but as Thatcher warned it was only the start of more integration down the road.

Trade deals is a different matter. The point of getting favourable trade deals through is the more clout you have the easier they are to come by, which is one of the issues that the UK has with regards to nation status. We are a nett importer of everything other than financial services so our position is weakened somewhat - we don't benefit from the power of the EU bloc anymore. Going it alone incurs costs.

 

Just close your eyes and say 'global Britain' three times and I think you'll find all those concerns magically dissappear.

 

.....I'll tell that to my MP.....

 

If they are SNP they might sneak it into a question in the Commons.

 

I disagree, he could have for much less of a sacrifice

 

Will be a huge win for Putin if he manages to hold on to Crimea and the rest of the newly annexted territory along the Black Sea -- the sacrifice minimal in relative terms. Sure --- they could have done better but that is the case in every war .. every tennis match.

Huge win for Putinski and for Russia if he manages to pull this off.

 

convoluted logic mate .. You claim is that we should not try to negotiate .. cause folks might not listen.

With that kind of thinking nothing would ever get done .. can always come up with a silly and/or nonsensical reason not to do something.

 

The US is very good at making deals countries can’t refuse like stopping their monetary assistance.