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T M's avatar
Dec 28Edited

Excellent piece Mark - as always appreciate your insights & commentary! Best wishes for a fantastic & prosperous 2025!!

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Mark Wauck's avatar

A further illustration of the fact that the Russians don't have a positive view of Trump:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4286738/posts

Moscow has warned Donald Trump against resuming the testing of nuclear weapons when he takes office, saying it would “not rule anything out” in response to US aggression. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister who oversees arms control, noted that Mr Trump refused to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty during his first term. Referencing this refusal, Mr Ryabkov said: “American policy in its various aspects is extremely hostile to us today.” “So the options for us to act in the interests of ensuring security and the potential measures and actions we have to do this - and to send politically...

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johnycomelately's avatar

Israel handed Syria to Turkey, Israeli Intelligence and decapitation strikes severely weakened Syria (Assad’s inner circle was killed by a planted bomb in July).

Interestingly 80% of Syria’s Christian community has already left Syria. The neocons must be gleaming, the Middle East has been ‘cleansed’ of Christians leaving only Lebanon.

Kardzhali is the next big flash point for Turkey

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Manul's avatar

Trump can end the war in 24 hours if he:

Guarantees no NATO membership for Ukraine ever.

Stops supplying Ukraine with US weapons.

Sidelines Zelensky to the new US protectorate Greenland.

Gives Russia Eastern Ukraine.

All of the above is recognized by the nearly useless UN and US Senate.

Otherwise the war continues until Russia gets all of the above without UN recognition and Zelensky is sent to the regions below.

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

Is UK, EU, and NATO signing up to agree to your list?

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Martin's avatar

The yapping chihuahuas will inevitably fall in line, reduced to the vassals they have become. Their collapsing economies—crippled by the loss of affordable gas and oil essential for industry—now bear the burden of paying five times more for U.S. LNG. This predicament stems from their unwavering alignment with the bellicose policies of the United States, designed to overextend Russia. The misguided belief in a regime-change strategy and the prospect of balkanizing Russia to plunder its $75 trillion in resources has spectacularly backfired, leaving chaos in its wake.

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Mike richards's avatar

They are out wandering around with the fairies

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Jeff Cook-Coyle's avatar

A recipe for disaster: what could that disaster look like for Trump?

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Kieran Telo's avatar

Masses of food for thought there. Haven't braved Simplicius yet.

A Syria that's defacto Turkey would look like an improvement on recent history. By being seen to be protecting Syria, until it didn't, Russia helped undermine the independence of the country. If Turkey were to realise how little it gains from NATO it might stop paying rent to the US and spend on new infrastructure in their new territory.

And so to Iran....

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