Donald Trump

[Brant Gaede]

9 hours ago, Peter said:

A business mag just wrote a small piece below about any war with North Korea and it was estimated that it would cost 90,000 U.S. servicemen’s lives . . . . but I say, “Maybe not.” The north has a small number of nukes and they have thousands of artillery pieces in mountain bunkers along the DMZ,  a huge army and another 5 million reservists who have undergone mandatory training and 10 years service in the North Korean army.

My way of dealing with a war with the North would be to have multiple A Bomb strikes against all of their nuclear facilities, and simultaneously against all of Kim Jong Un’s many deep bunker locations and the bunkered artillery on the DMZ, his small navy with its few submarines, and all of their food warehouses.

The South Koreans can tell by their accent if someone is from the north, but prepare for infiltrators and a mass ground attack from hundreds of thousands, if not a million, North Korean troops. Again, nuclear weapons should be used to minimize the loss of South Korean and American lives. This could shorten the conflict to a month or less. But there could be infiltrators, for months trying to conduct guerrilla warfare. Any broadcasts from Kim Jong Un would signal another strike against a hidden bunker.

Or China can stop Kim Jung Un through a coup after initiating a trade ban which might last a year. For now, Tweets, like President Trump’s, “I am sending an armada to handle North Korea,” would keep the north hunkered down and worried, and expending their limited supplies. Another strong possibility, is that during this process, The North will try a sneak attack.  

Peter      
 

Some excerpts from Business Insider: The US is considering a direct strike against North Korea — here’s how it would go down by Alex Lockie Mar. 4, 2017, 12:16 PM. The best tools the US could use against North Korea would be stealth aircraft like the F-22 and B-2 bomber, according to Tack. The US would slowly but surely position submarines, Navy ships, and stealth aircraft at bases near North Korea in ways that avoid provoking the Hermit Kingdom's suspicions. Then, when the time was right, bombers would rip across the sky and ships would let loose with an awesome volley of firepower. The US already has considerable combat capability amassed in the region. "Suddenly you'd read on the news that the US has conducted these airstrikes," said Tack. While the F-22 and F-35 would certainly do work over North Korea missile production sites, it really is a job for the B-2. As a long-range stealth bomber with a huge ordnance capacity, the B-2 could drop massive, 30,000 pound bombs on deep underground bunkers in North Korea — and they could do it from as far away as Guam or the continental United States.

The initial targets would include nuclear reactors, missile production facilities, and launching pads for ICBMs, according to Tack. Cruise missiles would pour in from the sea, F-22s would beat down North Korea's rudimentary air defenses, and B-2s would pound every known missile site into dust. Planes like the F-35 and F-22 would frantically hunt down mobile missile launchers, which can hide all over North Korea's mountainous terrain. In the event that North Korea does get off a missile, the US and South Korea have layered missile defenses that would attempt to shoot it out of the sky. 

Next, the US would try to limit North Korean retaliation. Once the US has committed the initial strike against North Korea, how does Kim Jong-un respond? Even with its nuclear facilities in ashes and the majority of their command and control destroyed "North Korea has a lot of options," said Tack. "They have their massive, massive conventional artillery options that can start firing at South Korea in a split second." But as the graphic below shows, most North Korean artillery can't reach Seoul, South Korea's capital. Additionally, Seoul has significant underground bunkers and infrastructure to quickly protect its citizens, though some measure of damage to the city would be unavoidable. 

According to Tack, much of this artillery would instead fire on the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, detonating mines so that North Korean ground forces can push through. Also within range would be US forces near the DMZ. Some 25,000 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea, all of whom would face grave danger from North Korea's vast artillery installations. But the North Korean artillery isn't top of the line. They could focus on slamming US forces, or they could focus on hitting Seoul. Splitting fire between the two targets would limit the impact of their longer-range systems. Additionally, as the artillery starts to fire, it becomes and exposed sitting duck for US jets overhead. "Decapitation" or the removal of the Kim regime would be a huge blow to the fiercely autocratic Hermit Kingdom.

Kim Jong-un has reportedly engaged in a vicious campaign to execute senior officials with packs of dogs, mortar fire, and anti-aircraft guns for a simple reason — they have ties to China, according to Tack. Jong-un's removal of anyone senior with ties to China means that he has consolidated power within his country to a degree that makes him necessary to the country's functioning. Without a leader, North Korean forces would face a severe blow to their morale as well as their command structure, but it wouldn't end the fight. "Technically North Korea is under the rule of their 'forever leader' Kim Il Sung," said Tack, adding that "a decapitation strike wouldn’t guarantee that the structures below him wouldn’t fall apart, but it would be a damn tricky problem for those that remain after him." Unfortunately, North Koreans aren't shy about putting their leader first, and at the first indication of an attack, Kim would likely be tucked away in a bunker deep underground while his countrymen bore the brunt of the attack. 

North Korea has the capability to fire thousands of missiles into Seoul with high explosive warheads. Apparently continuously. All those tubes would need to be first taken out if you want to go to war.

I liked the last paragraph, Oh Master of War, but the writer is in over his head--but maybe this country will soon be too.

--Brant

[BaalChatzaf]

11 hours ago, Brant Gaede said:

North Korea has the capability to fire thousands of missiles into Seoul with high explosive warheads. Apparently continuously. All those tubes would need to be first taken out if you want to go to war.

I liked the last paragraph, Oh Master of War, but the writer is in over his head--but maybe this country will soon be too.

--Brant

Our Donald, which art in Trump Towers,  has no grasp of war.  He was too busy buying and selling hotels on the boardwalk to become acquainted with the bloodier aspects of modern war.  If N. Korea  lets loose,  there will be a lot of dead children in S. Korean and possibly Japan. 

While I never served in combat,  I gained a partial knowledge of modern war by participating in the design and deployment of modern weapons. I was an accomplice in the slaying of thousands of people.  [PS:  my noncombatancy  was due to rejection by the armed services for heal reasons -- I used to suffer from acute asthma which rendered me non-fit for combat].  

[BaalChatzaf]

16 hours ago, Peter said:

Imagine that one mile blast area~!*&^%$ OK. which asshole is next?

Peter           

Go ahead, wog.......make my day.

[Peter]

I heard a clip of President Trump saying that his “plan” is (all that has been mentioned on OL during and after the campaign, plus . . .) he has PREAUTHORIZED the military to act as they see fit. I am not kidding. He said he and the military are ready to act depending on what happens on the world stage. So his strategy is limited but flexible. What does this mean concerning the Korean peninsula?

It one way, this should relieve a lot of fear because he is not just sending a fleet to open fire when they are in range. The commander in chief is not a crazy Humphrey Bogart character, playing with a pair of dice as he speaks to his country. Instead, the military is going to act like a military that does not want its own people or civilians killed unnecessarily for spite or bragging rights. I think everyone knows that a conflict will go nuclear instantly.

China warned the world today that Kim Jong Loon could attack at any time. What if China has attempted to ease the situation, but North Korea is not heeding their advice or what if K. J. Loon is defiant? If the Chinese see war is about to happen, then they should tell us where K. J. Loon is located so he can be vaporized in the first salvo of nuclear bombs.

As to Brant’s warning about rockets continuously raining down on Seoul, South Korea that is a possibility, but eventually they will run out of rockets as their positions are nuked and conventionally bombed, probably within an hour or two. Seoul has shelters ready, and the means to destroy North Korea’s capital Pyongyang. But I remember the South Koreans were very reluctant to go to war to liberate the north because they all have relatives there or know someone with relatives up north, especially in the zones north of Seoul.

Peter

[Peter]

I just tried to find out where the Carl Vinson naval task force is located, but the story would not come up on my computer. Hmmm?  

From a South Korean newspaper today.

2017.4.14. From the Korea Herald: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered 25 percent of Pyongyang residents to leave the city immediately, according to a Russian news outlet on Friday. The Pravda report said that in accordance with the order, 600,000 people should be urgently evacuated. Experts note that the evacuation will most likely be conducted due to extremely strained tensions in relations with the US.

Reportedly, Pyongyang's bomb shelters will not be able to accommodate the entire population of the North Korean capital. Therefore, 600,000 people - mostly individuals with criminal records - will have to leave Pyongyang to let others use bomb shelters, the report added . . . . 

Korea Herald Article from Park Sang-seek: The two Koreas on a collision course. Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un’s father, once said, “I would destroy the world or take the world with me before accepting defeat on the battlefield.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently warned that South and North Korea are on a collision course. The first summit between Trump and Xi could not reach any new agreement on the North Korean nuclear issue and Trump has ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group to sail to the Western Pacific to counter North Korea’s escalating military threat. All these indicate that South Korea is facing the calm before the storm. What should South Korea do at this crucial moment? In order to deal with this oncoming storm, South Korea has to find the origin of this storm .  . . .

Since the cold war began in 1948, the northern triangle has gone through the following changes: the alliance between China and the Soviet Union and its complete support of North Korea (1945-1963); the Sino-Soviet split (1963-1990) and North Korea’s policy of equidistance toward the two powers; and the Sino-Russian-North Korean cooperative relationships (1990-the present). After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, US-Russian relations turned sour. After Putin’s annexation of Crimea and support of the separatists in Ukraine, they became hostile. During the same time frame, China began to adopt a double-edged strategy toward the US and a more friendly and cooperative relationship with Russia, as China had been alarmed by the US invasion of Iraq, its pivot to Asia strategy (2011) and its increasing hostile attitude toward North Korea.

Consequently, a new cold war period has emerged in Northeast Asia. Despite the changes within the big power quadrangle and the northern triangle, there have been few changes within the southern triangle and the inter-Korean complex. Japan is bound by its peace constitution but also almost completely depends on the US nuclear umbrella.

The above geopolitical dynamics explains why China takes an ambiguous position toward North Korea and why Russia cannot be trusted as far as the North Korean nuclear issue is concerned. After North Korea conducted its second nuclear test in 2009 China adopted the principles of its Korean Peninsula policy in the following order of importance: peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula; stability of the North Korean regime; and denuclearization. However, if we consider the geopolitical dynamics of Northeast Asia, denuclearization is needed first for both peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and stability of the North Korean regime, not vice versa. The same can be said about China’s strong opposition to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system in South Korea. This kind of equivocal policy of China is tantamount to China’s support of North Korea as a nuclear power. China’s basic policy toward the Korean Peninsula is to maintain the status quo, which means China wants to have North Korea as a buffer against the other big powers, as it is impossible to have the entire Korean Peninsula under its control or influence. It is also beneficial to China to complicate the US regional strategy and undermine the US’ position in Asia. Russia can also benefit from this dualist strategy.

In the final analysis, South Korea’s best strategic choice is to consolidate the southern triangle and form a three-power joint strategy to deal with the North Korean nuclear issue. China and Japan are both former rulers of Korea. But in geopolitics there is neither a permanent friend nor a permanent enemy. Considering the complex geopolitical characteristics and the nature of the North Korean regime, a negotiated solution is better than a confrontational one. By Park Sang-seek.

[Peter]

The big, North Korean celebration for their “Fearless Leader” is Saturday and there is a possibility they will set off a nuclear explosion on that day.

The Carl Vinson task force was in Singapore yesterday and Japanese naval vessels are joining the task force today, to patrol the waters off the Korean Peninsula. I went to the Carl Vinson’s home page and saw that a lot of parents and other loved ones were a bit nervous and some were praying for their service members in the task force.

Any missiles fired from North Korea into the sea could be an act of war, and if it is detonated? There are three guided missile cruisers in the U.S. task force, adding to the fire power that could come from South Korea. I too, am getting a bit nervous but “the TV news” is not reporting much from the area. MSN is now reporting that China is warning that something may be about to happen, and VP Pence is headed for South Korea. His personal authorization could be needed for nukes to be used from South Korea.

Peter

[BaalChatzaf]

1 hour ago, Peter said:

The big, North Korean celebration for their “Fearless Leader” is Saturday and there is a possibility they will set off a nuclear explosion on that day.

The Carl Vinson task force was in Singapore yesterday and Japanese naval vessels are joining the task force today, to patrol the waters off the Korean Peninsula. I went to the Carl Vinson’s home page and saw that a lot of parents and other loved ones were a bit nervous and some were praying for their service members in the task force.

Any missiles fired from North Korea into the sea could be an act of war, and if it is detonated? There are three guided missile cruisers in the U.S. task force, adding to the fire power that could come from South Korea. I too, am getting a bit nervous but “the TV news” is not reporting much from the area. MSN is now reporting that China is warning that something may be about to happen, and VP Pence is headed for South Korea. His personal authorization could be needed for nukes to be used from South Korea.

Peter

Nukes?   I assume any U.S. nukes will be -only- in response to N. Korean nukes.  The U.S. has heretofore had a policy  of no first use,  since the end of WW 2.

U.S. non nuclear ordnance should be able to clear any N. Korean arms on the surface.  A few well place MOABs  should make short work of any N. Korean emplacements.  If the N. Koreans have mobile launchers however, we might not be able to take them out  prior to their use.

[Peter]

Ba’al wrote: U.S. non nuclear ordnance should be able to clear any N. Korean arms on the surface.  A few well place MOABs should make short work of any N. Korean emplacements. end quote  

The North Koreans had 10,000 artillery pieces years ago when I was in the south. The artillery was embedded in mountains next to the DMZ. Most could reach Seoul OR other cities or military installations though I do not remember their range. I haven’t seen any new war game simulations so I may look it up, but the North was expected to quickly come across the border with a million man army, even with US blasting away at them, and with air superiority. When I was in the 7^th Infantry, artillery we were told we would be killed or captured. That was unsettling and we were at least 10 or 12 miles south of the DMZ. Some bases I visited like Camp Saint Barbara were very close to the DMZ and it was spooky.  No, Bob. We will use nukes. I trust Trump has got the Chicoms to help or stand down. And what if fallout or war fever, reaches Russia?

Peter

[BaalChatzaf]

5 hours ago, Peter said:

Ba’al wrote: U.S. non nuclear ordnance should be able to clear any N. Korean arms on the surface.  A few well place MOABs should make short work of any N. Korean emplacements. end quote  

The North Koreans had 10,000 artillery pieces years ago when I was in the south. The artillery was embedded in mountains next to the DMZ. Most could reach Seoul OR other cities or military installations though I do not remember their range. I haven’t seen any new war game simulations so I may look it up, but the North was expected to quickly come across the border with a million man army, even with US blasting away at them, and with air superiority. When I was in the 7^th Infantry, artillery we were told we would be killed or captured. That was unsettling and we were at least 10 or 12 miles south of the DMZ. Some bases I visited like Camp Saint Barbara were very close to the DMZ and it was spooky.  No, Bob. We will use nukes. I trust Trump has got the Chicoms to help or stand down. And what if fallout or war fever, reaches Russia?

Peter

Using nukes may have unforeseen consequences.  What if N. Korea or some other  tinpot regime with nukes passed off some of their "packages"  to terror groups to plant in the U.S.?  Even a small nuke in Manhattan will have disastrous effects.  

[Brant Gaede]

14 hours ago, BaalChatzaf said:

Our Donald, which art in Trump Towers,  has no grasp of war.  He was too busy buying and selling hotels on the boardwalk to become acquainted with the bloodier aspects of modern war.  If N. Korea  lets loose,  there will be a lot of dead children in S. Korean and possibly Japan.  

Trump delegated authority to the military ref. Afghanistan.

That may be good, bad or indifferent. However, if he hadn't your criticism would be valid and I'd be scared shitless about the Korean situation.

--Brant

[BaalChatzaf]

8 hours ago, Brant Gaede said:

Trump delegated authority to the military ref. Afghanistan.

That may be good, bad or indifferent. However, if he hadn't your criticism would be valid and I'd be scared shitless about the Korean situation.

--Brant

We both agree then,  a sane experienced military person should be making the tactical decisions and be in a position to dissuade the President from doing anything  really,  really  crazy. 

[Brant Gaede]

1 hour ago, BaalChatzaf said:

We both agree then,  a sane experienced military person should be making the tactical decisions and be in a position to dissuade the President from doing anything  really,  really  crazy. 

Also strategic. "Mad Dog" Mattis is not mad. He could be the smartest and most knowledgeable military man in the world.

"T-Rex" Tillerson is top drawer too. And I've only mentioned two.

Trump picked these fellows and if he wasn't listening to them they would de-camp.

The world has to get used to a businessman not a politician President of the United States. I think Trump is over the hump on that one--except for the idiot seemingly in charge of North Korea. However, I think the military is in charge over there and they don't want to be wiped out in 24 hours.

This isn't the Cuban missile crisis and I think things will calm down soon.

--Brant

Obama is gone but his innumerable minions are running around like chickens without heads trying to neuter Trump

[BaalChatzaf]

1 hour ago, Brant Gaede said:

Also strategic. "Mad Dog" Mattis is not mad. He could be the smartest and most knowledgeable military man in the world.

"T-Rex" Tillerson is top drawer too. And I've only mentioned two.

Trump picked these fellows and if he wasn't listening to them they would de-camp.

The world has to get used to a businessman not a politician President of the United States. I think Trump is over the hump on that one--except for the idiot seemingly in charge of North Korea. However, I think the military is in charge over there and they don't want to be wiped out in 24 hours.

This isn't the Cuban missile crisis and I think things will calm down soon.

--Brant

Obama is gone but his innumerable minions are running around like chickens without heads trying to neuter Trump

I hope your optimistic expectations  are fulfilled....

I rather like the idea of a non-politician  at the tiller.  And a person who never held political office in his life becomes President.  Only in America....

[anthony]

1 hour ago, BaalChatzaf said:

I hope your optimistic expectations  are fulfilled....

I rather like the idea of a non-politician  at the tiller.  And a person who never held political office in his life becomes President.  Only in America....

That's a downside to you? Why can't it be the best qualification for highest Office anywhere?

Application for Presidency:

"Run my own corporation at profit, stockholders have always voted my way, take full responsibility but know when to delegate, I can make any deal without taking a loss, I'll pay for my campaign, I don't owe favors, never had interest in political power..."

[BaalChatzaf]

7 minutes ago, anthony said:

That's a downside to you? Why can't it be the best qualification for highest Office anywhere?

Application for Presidency:

"Run my own corporation at profit, stockholders have always voted my way, take full responsibility but know when to delegate, I can make any deal without taking a loss, never had interest in political power..."

Au contraire!  I think it is nifty that we do not load down the office  with institutional  qualifications over and above the law. When I say "Only in America..."  I am uttering praise.  My grand parents who were immigrants to the U.S. often said "Only in America..."  because they were delighted to be in a country where they were not persecuted because of their religion.  

I rather like the idea that a clear thinking person can achieve high office.  In Trump's case I have some reservations. I don't think he is all that smart. But, if he has enough brains to let the experts handle the details  I am  satisfied.  

[Peter]

It is just after midnight on Sunday in Korea. “Fat Boy,” President Trump‘s name for Kim Jong Un, did not blink . . . so far. But it has cost North Korea plenty in wealth, and the crisis has increased intelligence gathering for the U.S. and South Korea. We know a lot more about their plans for evacuation of their capital and the site of bunkers and bomb shelters. We know their latest plans for troop movements if war happened.

It is moral to kill a dictator and liberate the country, but it is not our obligation. But still . . . I wonder . . . If you could do a lot by doing relatively little . . . why not do it? I understand that there are always unforeseen circumstances.

Peter

When U.S. Airstrikes Could Have Destroyed a Terrorist Regime, Freed a Nation and Altered History—The Bay of Pigs Posted: Apr 15, 2017 12:01 AM by Humberto Fontova . . . . By that date the terrorists who ran (and still run) Cuba had been operating terror-training camps for two years, had kidnapped, tortured and murdered dozens of American (to say nothing of tens of thousands of Cubans.) A year later they wantonly brought Western civilization a whisker from nuclear destruction. If foreign terrorists ever merited a MOAB, it was these-- based 90 miles from U.S. shores. Crazed by hunger and thirst the Cuban freedom-fighters had been shooting and reloading without sleep for three days. Many were hallucinating. By then many suspected they’d been abandoned by the Knights of Camelot.  . . . Camelot’s criminal idiocy of cancelling airstrikes made the Brigada’s lumbering B-26s easy prey for Castro's jets and fast Sea-Furies -- and the troops and supplies below them were even easier prey. It was a turkey shoot for the Castroites.

This finally brought Adm. Arleigh Burke of the Joints Chief of Staff, who was receiving the battlefield pleas, to the brink of mutiny. The fighting admiral was livid. They say his face was beet red and his facial veins popping as he faced down his commander-in-chief that fateful night of April 18, 1961. “Mr. President, TWO planes from the Essex!” that’s all those Cuban boys need, Mr. President. Let me order…!” JFK was in white tails and a bow tie that evening, having just emerged from an elegant social gathering. “Burke,” he replied. “We can’t get involved in this.”

“WE put those Cuban boys there, Mr. President!” The fighting admiral exploded. “By God, we ARE involved!”

Admiral Burke’s pleas also proved futile. But the betrayal was too much for the Cuban freedom-fighters’ enraged and heartsick American trainers at the base in Nicaragua. These American airmen had closely bonded with their Cuban band-of-freedom-fighting brothers. “Their fight our our fight,” later related Lieut Col. Joe Shannon. “We were in this thing together.”

So four of the American airmen suited up, gunned the engines and joined the fight—but in the lumbering B-26 bombers the Brigada had been issued. These enraged and valiant pilots weren't pampered Ivy Leaguers. They were Alabama Air Guard officers, men with archaic notions of loyalty and honor. They had watched the decimation of the freedom-fighter pilots. They knew the odds. They went anyway.  All four died on that first mission. All four (Pete Ray, Riley Shamburger, Leo Barker, and Wade Grey) have their names in a place of honor alongside their fallen Cuban freedom-fighting comrades on The Bay of Pigs Memorial, plus streets named after them in Miami's Little Havana, plus their crosses at Miami's Cuban Memorial cemetery. 

[Peter]

Ba’al wrote: I rather like the idea that a clear thinking person can achieve high office.  In Trump's case I have some reservations. I don't think he is all that smart. end quote

Yet he surprises us and maybe even you, in a good way. At times I think, darn that is what I would have done, or wow he is two steps ahead of me, or just simply, well done Trump!

Can you image Chef Trump, Trump with a hammer and a hard hat, or mail guy Trump? Him teaching business at Wharton? Board room Trump? Builder Trump and now President Trump? It goes beyond just hiring the right guys to advise him. He is making surprising decisions. He is making very rational decisions. I see a pattern to his “whack a mole every week” actions, which includes Henry Kissinger style, long term strategies, rebuilding the infrastructure and morale of the military, coupled with his rebuilding and protecting America strategy. America First and Make America Great Again, are being fleshed out.

We need one more retiree from the Supreme Court before 2020.

Peter

[Peter]

2 hours ago, BaalChatzaf said:

Au contraire!  I think it is nifty that we do not load down the office  with institutional  qualifications over and above the law. When I say "Only in America..."  I am uttering praise.  My grand parents who were immigrants to the U.S. often said "Only in America..."  because they were delighted to be in a country where they were not persecuted because of their religion.  

I rather like the idea that a clear thinking person can achieve high office.  In Trump's case I have some reservations. I don't think he is all that smart. But, if he has enough brains to let the experts handle the details  I am  satisfied.  

Recalibrate your photon dispensers, Ba'al, before you get in the escape pod.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94, an Afghan official said Saturday. Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, said the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier. A Ministry of Defense official had said Friday the number of dead could rise as officials assessed the bomb site in Achin district.

"Fortunately there is no report of civilians being killed in the attack," Khogyani said.

The U.S. attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed at least four IS group leaders, Khogyani said. He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was continuing. The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was carried out Thursday against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved into the mountains that Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks in fierce fighting in Nangarhar province.

The office of President Ashraf Ghani said Friday there was "close coordination" between the U.S. military and the Afghan government on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties.

The U.S. estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. The U.S. has more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations. Also on Saturday, Khogyani said a district leader and three others were wounded when their vehicle was targeted by a bomb. One of the wounded was Ghalib Mujahid, Bati Kot district chief, he said.

[BaalChatzaf]

2 hours ago, Peter said:

Ba’al wrote: I rather like the idea that a clear thinking person can achieve high office.  In Trump's case I have some reservations. I don't think he is all that smart. end quote

Yet he surprises us and maybe even you, in a good way. At times I think, darn that is what I would have done, or wow he is two steps ahead of me, or just simply, well done Trump!

As I said, if he is smart enough to leave military operations in capable military hands,  I am happy.  Compare that to Jimmuh Carter  micro managing the rescue operation to get our  people out of Iran.  It was a disaster.  A fiasco.   Or Lyndon Johnson and Robert MacNamara making daily target lists during the Viet Nam War.  

[Marc]

4 hours ago, BaalChatzaf said:

Au contraire!  I think it is nifty that we do not load down the office  with institutional  qualifications over and above the law. When I say "Only in America..."  I am uttering praise.  My grand parents who were immigrants to the U.S. often said "Only in America..."  because they were delighted to be in a country where they were not persecuted because of their religion.  

I rather like the idea that a clear thinking person can achieve high office.  In Trump's case I have some reservations. I don't think he is all that smart. But, if he has enough brains to let the experts handle the details  I am  satisfied.  

My Grandparents went to England from Russia , then my mom came to Canada as a teenager .

The other side , came via Auschwitz . Grandmother , Grandfather and his 2 brothers had to stay in those French camps , but my Grandmother ( I knew her from birth till like around 20 years old ) , she was amazing , she told me the stories when I was old enough to understand . My dads dad though , he actually survived Auschwitz ( I mean , how ? What did he have to do ? How did he endure , right ? ) , then he died after liberation . My dad was hid in European Churches , and eventually got here to Toronto as well .

See , your Grandparents were happy to be free , hence they chanted their chant . They were " delighted " , and God Bless them because they deserved to be .

I think as you sit on an intellectual high throne as an obvious Elitist , how can you dare say that you dont think he is that smart . Based on that day that he announced on the escalator that he was coming into the game - well besides MSK , no one on Earth achieved what Mike did - calling that straight up .. Straight the fuck up .  

Trump went from there , where you did not stand up and state shit about the most remote chance that we could be discussing President Trumps , thought process on a Nuclear option , with the worlds " balh blah blah about finger on the button " . North Korea , all all the stuff this thread discusses 

You just shrug this off ( pun very fucking intended ) , like he is not that smart ?

define smart ?

Seriously , define smart .

My definition of smart goes way past these ridiculous word games .

"If" he has enough brains to let the experts ?????????

These same experts did not believe he could win a state , along with you . 

Those same experts ????? There is but one expert on DT , and its DT . He keeps doing the same stuff yet gets zero credit . Its actually exhausting watching folks slag him . He is John Galt for god sake .

President Trump :

A) Is smart enough 

B) Does have enough brains 

C ) Your Grandchildren Sir , or your generations Grandchildren are not simply delighted  with basic human rights . This generation , wants it all .Thank God .  Thank God , for Donald Trump . Thank God that President Trump even exists . 

Your generation said to my Generation , why did you not bring home an A , 

President Trump brought home that A , you people keep saying " I want an A+ every time and every headline . 

I say , fuck that 

 

PS , you're a keyboard gangster who would never in person say to President Trump , President Obama , or any living US President  " you're not that smart " 

 

[Marc]

22 minutes ago, BaalChatzaf said:

As I said, if he is smart enough to leave military operations in capable military hands,  I am happy.  Compare that to Jimmuh Carter  micro managing the rescue operation to get our  people out of Iran.  It was a disaster.  A fiasco.   Or Lyndon Johnson and Robert MacNamara making daily target lists during the Viet Nam War.  

He obviously is that smart .Again , how dare you preach from where you sit .

IF ? 

Come on bro, 

 

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

23 minutes ago, Marc said:

"If" he has enough brains to let the experts ?????????

These same experts did not believe he could win a state , along with you . 

Those same experts ????? There is but one expert on DT , and its DT .

You tell him, Marc!

Michael

[Peter]

And don't forget Obama's meddling and indecisiveness. All of those former Presidents were full of themselves and as the literary folks like to call it they suffered from "hubris."

Peter

[BaalChatzaf]

45 minutes ago, Marc said:

My Grandparents went to England from Russia , then my mom came to Canada as a teenager .

The other side , came via Auschwitz . Grandmother , Grandfather and his 2 brothers had to stay in those French camps , but my Grandmother ( I knew her from birth till like around 20 years old ) , she was amazing , she told me the stories when I was old enough to understand . My dads dad though , he actually survived Auschwitz ( I mean , how ? What did he have to do ? How did he endure , right ? ) , then he died after liberation . My dad was hid in European Churches , and eventually got here to Toronto as well .

See , your Grandparents were happy to be free , hence they chanted their chant . They were " delighted " , and God Bless them because they deserved to be .

I think as you sit on an intellectual high throne as an obvious Elitist , how can you dare say that you dont think he is that smart . Based on that day that he announced on the escalator that he was coming into the game - well besides MSK , no one on Earth achieved what Mike did - calling that straight up .. Straight the fuck up .  

Trump went from there , where you did not stand up and state shit about the most remote chance that we could be discussing President Trumps , thought process on a Nuclear option , with the worlds " balh blah blah about finger on the button " . North Korea , all all the stuff this thread discusses 

You just shrug this off ( pun very fucking intended ) , like he is not that smart ?

define smart ?

Seriously , define smart .

My definition of smart goes way past these ridiculous word games .

"If" he has enough brains to let the experts ?????????

These same experts did not believe he could win a state , along with you . 

Those same experts ????? There is but one expert on DT , and its DT . He keeps doing the same stuff yet gets zero credit . Its actually exhausting watching folks slag him . He is John Galt for god sake .

President Trump :

A) Is smart enough 

B) Does have enough brains 

C ) Your Grandchildren Sir , or your generations Grandchildren are not simply delighted  with basic human rights . This generation , wants it all .Thank God .  Thank God , for Donald Trump . Thank God that President Trump even exists . 

Your generation said to my Generation , why did you not bring home an A , 

President Trump brought home that A , you people keep saying " I want an A+ every time and every headline . 

I say , fuck that 

 

PS , you're a keyboard gangster who would never in person say to President Trump , President Obama , or any living US President  " you're not that smart " 

 

Trumps speech patterns are muddled.  Verbal finesse is not his forte.  I am sure he is a sound business man,  but as an abstract thinker  I doubt his talent.

He acts on impulse a great deal and he blabs too much  on the tweet tweet.   As R. Shammai said:  Say little,  do much. 

And I would have hesitation to say directly to President Trump :  Sir, you are an uncultured boor.  He has verbal trappings of a barbarian.  But he might just do something useful.

I voted for him in the hope that his assumption of the office would  destroy the current political arrangement.  I regard him as my own personal  political I.E.D. , my personal sledge hammer and my personal crowbar.   We shall see how much damage his does.  I hope he does a lot of damage.  

[Marc]

3 hours ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

You tell him, Marc!

Michael

lolllllzzzzzzz

3 hours ago, BaalChatzaf said:

Trumps speech patterns are muddled.  Verbal finesse is not his forte.  I am sure he is a sound business man,  but as an abstract thinker  I doubt his talent.

He acts on impulse a great deal and he blabs too much  on the tweet tweet.   As R. Shammai said:  Say little,  do much. 

And I would have hesitation to say directly to President Trump :  Sir, you are an uncultured boor.  He has verbal trappings of a barbarian.  But he might just do something useful.

I voted for him in the hope that his assumption of the office would  destroy the current political arrangement.  I regard him as my own personal  political I.E.D. , my personal sledge hammer and my personal crowbar.   We shall see how much damage his does.  I hope he does a lot of damage.  

Fair enough and thanks for the answer . That being said , he was abstract enough to be the only one to figure shit out and get to the dance .I specifically remembering challenging folks here to claim a winner , as if like state something and get off the elitist intellectual  fence , did Rand not hate fence sitters . Besides MSK , and myself and my flip flopping from Rubio to Trump but when I saw it , I said aha  then moved on . 

He still gets no nothing from you besides " I voted for him " , dayam bro , and I mean like Hebrew bros - you and I - and your achievement is you voted for him , not Hillary while being on OL , and not the ARI debating why they voted Dems ?

blabs too much on the tweet tweet , is how he became an algorithm and gamed the game but you minimize his achievements n"set pas ? 

  Say little,  do much. 

I never heard of R. Shammai , but the concept I get , so does Trump . Look what he has done for god sake in the freaking first 100 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My turn :

Stir up waters to catch fish.

Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.

 

Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal.

 

Donald Trump could solve Cancer tomorrow , win the Stanley Cup today , Get to Mars and win an election in another solar system , come back and you would be still be blabbing blabbing on the OL , talking about back in the day .

 

What did Rand say about hating the good or the great for being great or something about Marilyn Monroe