Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2016 12:52:46 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 10:06:46 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by robeiae on Dec 17, 2016 10:16:44 GMT -5
I'm sorry, but that's a bunch of half-assed bullshit. A Chinese ship seized a US drone in full view of a US ship and crew, who attempted to alert the Chinese ship of this and was purposefully ignored. The way to handle this shit is--first and foremost--to not get sucked in to this "diplomatic channels" nonsense. In 1939, this would have been an act of war. Look at this bullshit: www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-drone-idUSKBN14526JRiiiiight, the Chinese vessel "discovered" it, just by happenstance. Trump remains a jackass and he does need to stop tweeting. But this is a "return that drone right fucking now or else" moment, imo. ET: Pardon my language; I'm a little wound up.
|
|
|
Post by Amadan on Dec 17, 2016 11:06:16 GMT -5
Yeah, I agree. Tweeting your outrage is not the appropriate channel, but China has been playing this "What are you gonna do about it?" game with us for years.
One of my big issues with Obama is that he has given the world the impression that the US will roll over rather than risk "escalating" a situation.
(Trump, on the other hand, I worry will escalate anything.)
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 11:25:19 GMT -5
I have nothing to say in China's defense.
But what Trump is doing isn't taking a hard line with China. It's posturing, ill-advised bombast that does nothing but escalate the situation.
Nor does Trump have any fucking business doing it while another administration is still in charge. Even if he were in charge, however, this would be a fucking atrocious way of handling it.
This is not a goddamn Apprentice episode.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 11:40:29 GMT -5
if you want to argue we should take a harder line than previous administrations have, I can see that.
But I cannot see how Trump's tweets are anything but harmful and inappropriate, and to me, they bode ill for his future handling of international policy.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:30:16 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:45:54 GMT -5
I have to say one more thing on the tweeting. Despise me if you must.
Frankly, I question whether political leaders -- especially national ones -- should have twitter accounts at all, but if they do have them, I am inclined to think everything on them should be carefully considered. Anything they say reflects not only on them as individuals but on the positions they hold and the government and nation they lead.
Trump's twitter messes reflect anything but careful consideration. That's clear from their substance, their timing, and even their spelling. "Unpresidented," for god's sake? Did he even read it over before he posted?
I'd love to think that as president, he wouldn't have time for twitter rants, but I'm willing to bet he'll find the time. And I'm also willing to bet his tweets result in some completely unnecessary diplomatic difficulties for us in the years ahead.
Here's hoping I'm engaging in unwarranted hand-wringing.
|
|
|
Post by robeiae on Dec 17, 2016 15:54:26 GMT -5
Trump isn't in office yet. And Obama's "official" twitter account was controlled bu OFA.
Regardless, the problem here--imo--is China, 100%. They had no cause to grab that drone and I seriously doubt they did it because they were pissed off. They did it to test us, to see the response, to see if US would accept the official explanation, then basically pretend it never happened. And that looks like exactly what is going to happen. But hey, we're well respected by the world, now...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 16:40:59 GMT -5
Trump isn't in office yet. Indeed. He needs to remember that he's not in office yet, and he should not be actively disrespecting and undermining the one who is. Conversely, he needs to remember that he will be in office soon, and his actions matter much more than they did when he was a private citizen. In my opinion, he does not seem to give a damn about either of those concepts. They did it to test us, to see the response, to see if US would accept the official explanation, then basically pretend it never happened. But why did they choose to test us just now in that...er...unpresidented way? Who and what were they testing? Obama is the one who is handling the incident. His response won't necessarily be any reflection on how the next administration would respond, so I'm not sure what difference it makes to China if, as you say the US "accept the official explanation, then basically pretend it never happened." What point is there in testing an administration that will be gone in a month? Trump is not in a position to actually handle the response, so this isn't much of a test of his administration's actual handling. They might be testing Trump's reaction. But I think it's more likely their larger aim was to send a message. As I've said in several posts, we may indeed want to reassess our policies with regard to China. As I've also said, IMO Trump is not going about that in a well-considered way. And it worries the shit out of me.
|
|
|
Post by Christine on Dec 17, 2016 19:50:57 GMT -5
Trump's twitter messes reflect anything but careful consideration. That's clear from their substance, their timing, and even their spelling. "Unpresidented," for god's sake? Did he even read it over before he posted? I imagine he read it over and thought it looked just fine. He probably high-fived himself. This is Trump's M.O.: "If I think it, it must be right." He should know by now that he can't spell. Has no one ever mentioned this to him?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 23:00:15 GMT -5
Trump is tweeting again!(Psst...anyone have a clue on why Trump might think that was a good idea? Robo? c.e.? You guys speak more Trumpese than I do. Have a thought on this? I am sincerely mystified.)
|
|
|
Post by robeiae on Dec 19, 2016 9:02:23 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by robeiae on Dec 19, 2016 9:13:48 GMT -5
Trump is tweeting again!(Psst...anyone have a clue on why Trump might think that was a good idea? Robo? c.e.? You guys speak more Trumpese than I do. Have a thought on this? I am sincerely mystified.) Well, I'm assuming it's along the lines of "if you need it that badly, go ahead and keep it," with the implication that there will be retribution down the road. Again, I agree that Trump shouldn't be tweeting like this, as the President-elect (though if he was just a private citizen, his tweets would be as fair as those from anyone else, no?). But his underlying sentiment is not wrong here, imo. The current admin--and as the above piece details, the previous admin--is wrong. The State Department is wrong. They're handling a situation with kid glove which occurred precisely because they handled similar past situations with kid gloves. China unlawfully--according to US and international law--seized that drone. There's no way around it. And if we end up paying them to get it back--which I think is about a 50/50 chance--we're fools. Plus, this stuff will keep happening. There's no reason for China to stop, is there? Imo, of the two issues--Trump's incessant tweeting and China's seizure of the drone--the latter is orders of magnitude more significant. It's being handled poorly, to say the least. And we should, I think, not just accept it. The current admin deserves a lot of criticism here, but they're not getting nearly enough, imo.
|
|
|
Post by robeiae on Dec 19, 2016 10:19:39 GMT -5
|
|