I live part of the year in Oregon and part in British Columbia. https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/yall-itics-texas-is-losing-1000-restaurants-every-month/287-e3a6168f-0463-4d5a-b5b5-daf5b0421f84 "Places with faces" have a hard time if people are mitigating their covid risk.
You can walk away from business deals, but Russia, China, France, Brazil, Canada, etc. will still be there, like them or not. Besides, political negotiations, even at the local level, are different than business agreements. Trump treating negotiations with foreign countries like another business deal is grossly incompetent.
Here in East Texas restaurants are thriving. We have a Texas Road House ( GREAT STEAKS!) on the next block and there's so much business that a similar place called "D5" opened next door! There's real competition...existing restaurants overflowing and new ones opening for stuff like this: Menu: "dirty" vodka martini, shrimp cocktail, another martini; "loaded baked potato”, VERY RARE Bone-In Ribeye; pitcher(s) of dark beer; flan; coffee w/Amaretto
True, but we have seen it... "limited war"... from Korea to Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq to Kosovo and more. Oh... and Chicago.
What Trump presents? Let's review... Trump lowered my taxes (I was able to buy a jacuzzi!) Biden left Americans and allies abandoned in Afghanistan Trump actually got SIGNED peace accords in the Middle East. Biden makes COVID restriction mandatory for Americans but not for illegal immigrants. Trump gave the military its first real pay raise in years. Biden seeks to restrict the second Amendment. Trump clobbered ISIS (captured their largest city – Mosul and their capital city - Raqqa. Biden armed the terrorist Taliban. Trump allowed terminal patients to use drugs not fully tested that might offer hope. Biden has allowed the opioid disaster to grow and grow by opening the borders. Biden killed pipeline jobs and US energy independence. Trump got us back in space on US-made rockets. Biden got 13 US Soldiers killed at the Kabul airport. Trump made us energy-independent. Biden opened our border... WIDE OPEN Trump supported the 2d amendment Biden indoctrinates our kids with racist "Critical Race theory" Biden has done nothing to support the police as our cities experience tremendous growth in murder and violence. Biden is causing outrageous inflation. There was no “supply chain” disaster under Trump as there is under Biden. Gas was about a buck and a half cheaper under Trump. People weren’t being banned from social media for speaking their minds under Trump. Parents counted under Trump. Under Biden (and you, by the way)… they don’t. gees... the list is endless
I helped train the NEW Iraqi Army. I was one of 450,000 American contractors in Iraq along with 450,000 military. I never... ever met anyone that wanted to stay in Iraq when they finished their job. NO ONE brought their dependents to a combat zone. If you think that any of the Americans abandoned in Afghan by Biden want to stay there... you are beyond gullible and swallow the Biden BS with gusto. Anyone who wants to stay in Afghanistan has a profound death wish.
Well if you look into the details the analogy is very strained. While on paper the Argentine military might be considered formidable, in reality the Argentinian military had spent much of the decade prior to the war abducting (and eventually killing) their own fellow citizens. The Argentinians were easy targets for the professional British troops. While the modern Chinese don't have that much in the way of big war experience, they have been pretty committed to building what amounts to a professional military force.
Iraq is hardly an ally of Iran. To say such a thing reveals a total lack of knowledge about Sunni versus Shia relations.
Americans routinely train South Korean troops, including artillerymen. Allies do that. Where do you get this idea that South Koreans routinely demonstrate hostility to Americans. Its obvious you never were stationed there and read some crazy left wing propaganda. Your inconvenient truth is that Biden's cowardice and incompetence, along with a total disregard for the safety of American citizens and our allies... caused him to run like a scalded dog from Afghanistan, thereby causing tremendous damage to American prestige and credibility for decades. Look, I trained the NEW Iraqi Army at KMTB (Kir Kush Military Training Base) for over a year. You cannot take a group of folks that have no sense of paptriotism, no nationalism at all and turn them into effective soldiers no matter what you do. Here's an anecdotal story. When I Commanded an American Basic Training Company at Ft Leonard Wood, one of the requirements was a 25 mile road march with full pack, weapon and helmet.It was tough for the recruits. Many would quit. I would grab their packs and weapons and carry them myself. The troops would see that and get embarrassed, ask for his ruck and weapon back.He felt ashamed to let me carry it. With Iraqi recruits, there was no such reaction. They would all join in begging for someone else to carry their stuff. You can't make a silk purse out of sow's ear no matter how hard you try or how much money you throw at it.
What the heck does kidnapping citizens at home have to do with fighting a war against a foreign nation? Apples and space shuttles. No relationship at all. I agree about the Chinese military. They have a long tradition of being competent. When Richard Nixon was trying to open up China he attended a dinner they held for him in a huge hall. The hall was decked out in battle flags of Chinese and enemy forces. It wasn't lost on anyone that the Divisional colors of the US 1st Armored Cavalry Division was hoisted above Nixon's seat. The only American divisional colors ever captured by an enemy.
They are a friendly democracy that sells us stuff. There is no such thing as a very anti-American South Korea. South Korea is our friend. They protect our South Korean friends. No they don't. That is not even remotely true. They did not defeat us in any way whatsoever.
Most of the US citizens who are still there DO want to stay there, because they were born there and have family there. They are dual-citizens. You'd have to be a hard core Neo-Con to think America is all about fighting other people's wars.
You are wrong to characterize these as other people's wars. We are a part of this global community too. But thanks for the compliment. I'm proud to be a hard core neocon.
Militaries that are terrorizing their own citizens tend not to maintain the right level of competence to fight foreign foes.
Anecdotal. There are plenty of failing restaurants in Texas. Even running wide open in a place like Texas doesn't solve the economic problems caused by covid circulating in the community. We're keeping the economy afloat with massive government spending. We're going into debt to hand people money they spend increasingly on manufactured goods made overseas. (Chinese imports are up 25%.) We can get out of this rut if covid is perceived as less threatening to people who have changed their spending to mitigate their risk of catching the virus. It could come from having sufficient supplies of effective treatments, or increasing the vaccination rate. Wearing high quality PPE could help cut flareups. Of course, it could come from people changing their perception of covid, but I see no evidence they're ready to do that. But as long as the virus is circulating, we can't recover fully with our old economy intact. I might add that vaccine passports won't solve the problem by excluding unvaccinated individuals from businesses because that effectively cuts demand as if the unvaccinated had chosen to stay away.
But the protagonists and antagonists have different capabilities. The Chinese are not the Argentinians.
