beckyromero · 36-40, F
I think you are being overly optimistic and taking your eyes off the bigger picture.
To put it bluntly, these aren't your father's neocons.
Maduro is about the midterms far more than democracy or drugs.
And Trump's continued threats to Greenland do not reassure NATO allies.
Even Ronald Reagan was smart enough to let Cuba continue to wither on the vine.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to ignore America's four biggest national security threats in this order: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
We've discussed Ukraine in the past and agree than more needs to be done to combat current Russian aggression and prepare better for more. But Trump is ignoring China, too, which is rapidly increasing the size and effectiveness of its navy while Trump is dreaming about expensive new battleships while ignoring the need for missile defense. North Korea is testing hypersonic missiles, likely a tech gift from Vladimir Putin in exchange for North Korean cannon fodder and Iran continues to rebuild its damaged nuclear weapons program.
The defense budget is still sadly inadequate. The Navy needs more cruisers, destroyers and a new frigate program. More nuclear submarines are going to be needed to deter China.
Want to stop Greenland from being "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships" as Trump put it this weekend? Then recognize Canada's claim over the Northwest Passage as its territorial waters. U.S. submarines could help patrol the area until a AUKUS-style treaty helps Canada procure its own nuclear subs.
Trump needs to make a choice: either side with China so they can flood even more goods into the U.S. by a cheaper route to the East Coast or implement a truly sound national defense strategy for the Arctic region that stretches from the Bering Sea to the Norwegian Sea.
To put it bluntly, these aren't your father's neocons.
Maduro is about the midterms far more than democracy or drugs.
And Trump's continued threats to Greenland do not reassure NATO allies.
Even Ronald Reagan was smart enough to let Cuba continue to wither on the vine.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to ignore America's four biggest national security threats in this order: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
We've discussed Ukraine in the past and agree than more needs to be done to combat current Russian aggression and prepare better for more. But Trump is ignoring China, too, which is rapidly increasing the size and effectiveness of its navy while Trump is dreaming about expensive new battleships while ignoring the need for missile defense. North Korea is testing hypersonic missiles, likely a tech gift from Vladimir Putin in exchange for North Korean cannon fodder and Iran continues to rebuild its damaged nuclear weapons program.
The defense budget is still sadly inadequate. The Navy needs more cruisers, destroyers and a new frigate program. More nuclear submarines are going to be needed to deter China.
Want to stop Greenland from being "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships" as Trump put it this weekend? Then recognize Canada's claim over the Northwest Passage as its territorial waters. U.S. submarines could help patrol the area until a AUKUS-style treaty helps Canada procure its own nuclear subs.
Trump needs to make a choice: either side with China so they can flood even more goods into the U.S. by a cheaper route to the East Coast or implement a truly sound national defense strategy for the Arctic region that stretches from the Bering Sea to the Norwegian Sea.
CedricH · 22-25, M
@beckyromero
In any case, I agree that much still needs to be done to rebuild US military strength. That’s not in question.
these aren't your father's neocons.
Couldn’t agree with you more. I wish this administration were made up of neoconservative statesmen and policymakers but it isn’t and my post didn’t claim that it is. Some of the policies that have been pursued by the Trump administration over the last year, however, exhibit certain neoconservative traits. Maduro is about the midterms far more than democracy or drugs.
You can come up with a great number of conceivable motives for the President‘s Venezuela policy but what matters far more than his intentions are the results on the ground. And Trump's continued threats to Greenland do not reassure NATO allies.
No, they certainly do not but they haven’t led to the implosion of the alliance either. Instead, defense spending is on the rise. I wouldn’t credit that to Trump‘s Greenland-specific threats but Nato is materially stronger today than it was a year ago. What it lacks is strong leadership from the US to support Ukraine and counter Russia‘s hybrid war all over Europe. Even Ronald Reagan was smart enough to let Cuba continue to wither on the vine.
Ronald Reagan had to contend with the fact that the Soviet Union kept Cuba afloat. That is no longer the case and now Cuba is at its weakest since the Cuban revolution. It’s time to break the regime once and for all. The defense budget is still sadly inadequate
Agreed but is it less or more inadequate than the smaller defense budgets that were passed by Biden and a Democratic controlled Congress?In any case, I agree that much still needs to be done to rebuild US military strength. That’s not in question.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@CedricH
I doubt Trump even knows who Machiavelli was, much less the core of his political philosophy. 🤭
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/Report_Defense-Budget_DEFENSE_Oct-2025_Finalb.pdf
(emphasis added)
You can come up with a great number of conceivable motives for the President‘s Venezuela policy but what matters far more than his intentions are the results on the ground.
I doubt Trump even knows who Machiavelli was, much less the core of his political philosophy. 🤭
Agreed but is it less or more inadequate than the smaller defense budgets that were passed by Biden and a Democratic controlled Congress?
The Trump administration released an unusual budget plan, consisting of a FY 2026 base budget request and the one-time reconciliation funds provided by the BBB, which it claims provide a “down payment” on military modernization. 33 In its base FY2026 request, the administration asked for a total of $848.3 billion for the Pentagon, which is nominally equal to the budget enacted in FY 2025. After accounting for inflation, the FY 2025 enacted total is likely closer to $900 billion, making the FY 2026 discretionary budget a notable downturn from the previous year in real spending terms. The administration used the $113.3 billion in additional funding from the BBB to push the overall DoD budget for FY 2026 to $961.6 billion. ...
Compared to the FY25 defense budget and considering inflation, the FY26 request is a real spending downturn. Reconciliation funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is not long-term defense planning and represents, at best, a down payment on force modernization.
Compared to the FY25 defense budget and considering inflation, the FY26 request is a real spending downturn. Reconciliation funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is not long-term defense planning and represents, at best, a down payment on force modernization.
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/Report_Defense-Budget_DEFENSE_Oct-2025_Finalb.pdf
(emphasis added)
RedBaron · M
It’s written in the first person, but you obviously copied and pasted it. Pretty lame.