English Chess Forum

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39435786

Trump Russia dossier key claim 'verified'

"Increasingly, the American people are being asked to choose between two unpalatable versions of events: abuse of power by one president or treason that put another in the White House. "

Where do people here think this might end, and how credible is it at the moment?

Russian diplomat in Washington actually a spy shocker. I've heard a rumour that one of the American diplomats in Moscow is actually a spy too. Where will it end?

Of course, our mystic London forefathers must have known something was coming, otherwise why would they have named two streets in the City that run into each other Trump Street and Russia Row. Play the music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5aW08ivHU

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Where do people here think this might end

President Pence.

Alistair Campbell wrote:

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Where do people here think this might end

President Pence.

Maybe the puppet-master already thought of that.

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:

Alistair Campbell wrote:

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Where do people here think this might end

President Pence.

Maybe the puppet-master already thought of that.

To be honest, I know less about this stuff than I know about the Caro-Kann, but that's not going to stop me playing...

I guess from Putin's point of view, the concern over Trump was that he would be unpredictable, and his administration would not behave like normal administrations (and in particular might reach for the red button). Maybe Putin calculated that Trump would have little interest in challenging Russia’s foreign policy and would either be more concerned with his own business interests, or too busy fending off domestic trouble to cause him any bother. Or possibly he has “influence”.

As long Putin arranges for the fire to be stoked regularly, but for Trump to be in the Oval Office, he gets a free run.

Pence is more likely to behave like a traditional republican, but possibly doesn’t have much of a powerbase. Sooner or later, they will be thinking about midterms and re-election. But this was likely to be true of any VP.

There is a fair degree of chatter about Russian leaks and impeachment and so on, but I don’t know how much that is just conspiracy theorists and hobby-horsemen. It does have a look of Watergate about it, in that one disclosure follows another, with no-one really knowing who has done what and who if anyone, is ultimately to blame. If course, being politics, this may not matter. Politicians often put their own careers ahead of the national interests – if these start to coincide then things will start to happen.

An article on some of the geopolitics from back in January:

Putin’s Real Long Game

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/ ... ame-214589

I should have titled the thread 'Trump and Syria'.

Cruise missile strikes by the US against an airbase they identified as the origin of the chemical weapons attack. Trump makes a televised statement:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39524274

Russia (Putin) calls this "an act of aggression against a sovereign nation" and that it has done "significant damage" to US-Russia ties.

There was no UN resolution. If Trump (or those advising him) can react like this (decisively or impulsively, maybe only time will tell)? How can international leaders work together if a crisis develops over something like North Korea? China is a major player there, and apparently these strikes took place just after Trump had finished having dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping. I wonder what China's leaders are thinking about all this?

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: Cruise missile strikes by the US against an airbase they identified as the origin of the chemical weapons attack.

The Russians must be so pleased they installed their puppet in the White House.

I wonder what China's leaders are thinking about all this?

The Chinese respect power. They will be starting to believe that they are dealing with someone who will follow up on his words, not just a bag of wind like his predecessor.

NickFaulks wrote:The Chinese respect power. They will be starting to believe that they are dealing with someone who will follow up on his words, not just a bag of wind like his predecessor.

Or you could look at what the Obama administration actually did in 2016.