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"""but, to your point about what happens if he's not willing to do the hard leadership stuff and take the heat that for sure will come"""

What Trump should likely do is pass the buck

to reduce the heat

and he already planted the seeds

He says to EU We are done paying

you all put in immediately right now 5% each of your GDP

not a penny less

And we will cover if there is a shortfall, but this is a LOAN to EU

You pay us back the remainder

If you do not agree - your failure to all agree on the minimum 5 %

then as far as US is concerned

we are done, and we will settle on RUSSIA terms

If you do not like it, you can pay for it

========== No one in EU can afford it so they will accept it

Trump can say it was EU that balked EU was the one the dropped the ball

by refusing to anti up

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Whoa, that buck doesn't stop here! Works for me.

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Everyone in the EU wants the war

so long as Ukraine fills the body bags and US fills a good portion of the coffers

They were hoping for some of Ukraine's land and resources but that ship seems to have sailed with Russia already taking the best of it

The US arms companies want the war, but they have years of work to do

refilling the US stocks and ' getting ready for China ' though I think that is a mistake

as well as Israel Syria Iran etc. - So US military companies already have enough work

The time is ripe US is over extended ( as is Israel )

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I agree with you Mark. Trump wants to make America great again. No-one in the MAGA movement thinks the US should have anything to do with Ukraine so we are going to be just fine with peace on Russia’s terms if that means no more of our taxes being laundered and wasted over there. Let Europe sort out and pay for its own problems.

Even if Trump did what the Anglo-Zionists wanted, he STILL wouldn’t get positive media coverage or respect from the pundits so he simply shouldn’t worry about that. The problem for him is managing his own team. I still think he may have traded some people he wasn’t that keen on (Rubio, Kellogg, Gorka) for the people he really wants (Tulsi, Patel, Hegseth, RFK Jr). It also doesn’t hurt him to keep lines of communication open to those not fully behind his agenda. Maybe he’ll convince them. Or maybe those people will just be happy enough being close to power even if every decision doesn’t go their way.

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At the risk of repeating myself, I agree with Mearsheimer (and others) that Trump is inheriting a very difficult situation.

But there is a way out.

And that is for Trump to negotiate global peace in Ukraine and the ME, more or less regardless of the terms, as long as the hot wars end. He needs to recognize the realities in both theatres. In Ukraine he must make the painful concessions that accurately reflect the balance of power in Ukraine. In the ME he must make the painful concessions that Israel, the Israel Lobby and certain donors will abhor. But peace in the ME is, as I've said in the past, in fact in the best interests of Israel (and Israel's survival) and Trump should tell Israel that it should thank him.

But, if Trump recognizes these realities and cobbles together a global peace in Ukraine and the ME he can, in fact, declare VICTORY, and victory over Biden's stupid policies, in that he will have pulled the world back from the precipice of WWIII and cleared the way for the American Renewal which is in fact the political roadmap he has three times run (and won) on.

The Ukraine Neocons, the UK and part of the EU, the Israeli right wing and the Israel Lobby will hate it but Trump's MAGA supporters and the Rest of the World should and would celebrate Trump's accomplishment as the best possible thing for the future of civilization.

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Completely agree! The A/Z’s will weep and nash teeth whatever Trump does, so, as Lady M said, he should “screw [his]courage to the sticking point” and aim for greatness by ending the neuro—- oops! Neocons wars. He has Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain.

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What would keep Russia from giving Nukes to Iran.

To defend and deter the rabid enemy.

Even without nukes, Iran could bury their enemy with thousands of missiles.

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Until and unless the NATO-$$$ umbilicus attaching the USA (Useful Serfs Alliance), to Europe & Israel is severed, We the People will continue to be royally screwed, no matter who occupies the White House and/or holds the congressional majority.

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I hope you’re right Mark

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God bless you for doing this, Mark. else i don’t know how I would keep up.

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Not sure I do, but I try.

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Yup. This too is covered in my “Course”…

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It seems US taxpayers have been signed up for 100 more years in Ukraine: "UK leader Starmer signs ‘100-year partnership’ agreement with Ukraine during trip to Kyiv," 1/16/25, AP. "Zelenskyy... noted that “we do not consider security guarantees without the United States.”

Starmer agreed that Washington’s role in Ukraine is “vital.”...“We will continue to work with the U.S. on this,” Starmer said."... https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-starmer-putin-uk-britain-nato-c030b163628583a322f39729160646cc

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https://brownstone.org/articles/russia-and-richard-cobden-1836/

Per the article...'There appeared in 1836 in Britain a guidepost in this Anglo tradition. It is a pamphlet by Richard Cobden. The top of the first page of text showed the title “A Cure for the Russo-Phobia.”'

Starmer extending the British hatred of Russia for another century...

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Absolutely, it started long ago. There seems to be a core belief that UK will sink into irrelevancy if US and Russia are on good terms. US says, fine, we have an idea. We'll claim Russia is permanent bad guy. This gives us an excuse to enslave US taxpayers to the endless war industry. Of course we'll share the cash with you--and both of us will be happy.

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The UK is close to irrelevance now, they just don’t know it yet.

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"Or, put it this way. The Russians are serious. We’re not." +100

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Funny, I find reading transcripts much easier than watching video. Maybe because I can scan transcripts…

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Not these youtube transcripts with all the stutterings and repetitions and wrong words.

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Will Schryver @imetatronink

As I understand its announced terms, the Russia / Iran agreement signed today provides for Russian air defense systems to be installed in Iran, and for the Iranian AD system to be integrated into the Russian systems.

I would characterize this as a significant development.

More than likely, Russian AD assets and their crews have already been in Iran for some time. The new treaty signing is simply the public announcement of their presence — and, as such, a formal warning to the US/Israel.

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To sum this up, Trump seems to be screwed no matter what he does and the Anglo-Zionists win every time, and we, the American people lose. We are fighting the wrong enemies.

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Always have been

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