Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

M
Category: Foreign Affairs

U.S. Opposes Allowing Ukraine into NATO

by | 1907, 21 Apr 25 | , | 1 Comment

Good.

“We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is excluded,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Of course, this is something that causes us satisfaction and coincides with our position.”

 

Ukrainian membership of the U.S.-led alliance would threaten Russian interests, Peskov added. “And, in fact, this is one of the root causes of this conflict.”

I support the US opposing Ukraine’s entry into NATO. The US represents the bulk of NATO resources and funding. By the terms of the NATO alliance, each country is obligated to come to the aid of a fellow NATO member should they be invaded. Ergo, if Ukraine enters NATO, we, the American People, would be on the hook to send treasure and, more importantly, American soldiers, to defend Ukraine. NATO was formed as a bulwark against the Soviet Union invading Western Europe. At the time of its founding, Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union. It’s nonsensical to expect Americans to pay so high a price to defend Ukraine.

Furthermore, Ukraine doesn’t bring much to the NATO table. They are historically corrupt and militarily weak without aid. If they want to participate in the European economy and westernization, they can finish joining the EU. NATO is a military alliance.

Russia’s position is also sensible. Look at a map. Ukraine is all up in Russia and NATO is a military alliance specifically built to oppose Russia (as the successor to the USSR). The US would have never tolerated Mexico joining the Warsaw Pact. Even Cuba didn’t join that military alliance and the US would have opposed it with vigor. Maintaining a buffer zone between Russia and Western Europe has been Russian doctrine since before Peter the Great. It is long-standing and well-known. Putin’s position is neither new nor novel.

The fact that Russia’s and the United States’ national interests align on this one point does not make us allies nor does it make Trump a fan of Putin. It’s grown-up foreign policy.

El Salvador Offers Prisoner Exchange to Venezuela

by | 1949, 20 Apr 25 | , | 0 Comments

Looks like one of the reasons that Bukele was so willing to take the deportees was to use them as leverage. Good for him.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has proposed a prisoner exchange with Venezuela, offering to repatriate hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported from the United States in exchange for “political prisoners.”

In a post on X, Bukele offered to exchange 252 Venezuelans currently detained in El Salvador’s mega prison for “an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners” he says Venezuela holds, including family members of opposition leaders.

“Unlike our detainees, many of whom have committed murder, others have committed rape, and some have even been arrested multiple times before being deported, your political prisoners have committed no crime,” Bukele said in the post, which was directed at Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. “The only reason they are imprisoned is because they opposed you and your electoral fraud.”

The US and El Salvador say most of the deportees locked up in El Salvador’s Cecot prison are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and some are members of the MS-13 Salvadoran gang. But officials have provided scant evidence to show the inmates have ties to those criminal groups.

Venezuela’s leader has described the deportation of the mostly Venezuelan migrants as a “kidnapping,” and denied they are criminals while backing calls for their return.

Get it Done or We’re Moving On

by | 1856, 18 Apr 25 | , | 0 Comments

I like this stance.

When asked about the deal between Russian and Ukraine, Trump said: “We’re talking about here people dying. We’re going to get it stopped, ideally.

 

“Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘You’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass.”

 

[…]

 

Zelensky had been hoping to use the deal to secure a US security guarantee in the event of a ceasefire deal, telling European leaders last month that “a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine”.

 

The US has so far resisted providing Kyiv with security guarantees.

At this point, this is clearly a negotiating tactic by Trump to put pressure on getting a deal done. But he’s also right. This isn’t our war. Our interests are limited and it is not our full responsibility to fix it. At some point, we should walk away.

And no way in hell do I want America giving Ukraine unlimited security guarantees. Maybe commit to economic sanctions or something if Russia misbehaves, but I don’t want us committing to armed defense of Ukraine.

That being said, I hope they get to a viable deal very quickly.

DHS Revokes Parole Status for 900,000 People

by | 2001, 8 Apr 25 | , | 0 Comments

Progress

The Department of Homeland Security revoked parole status for those who used the CBP One App to obtain the status. The move puts over 900,000 migrants up for deportation.

 

Parole status is a two-year temporary authorization to be in the United States due to circumstances in the home country.

Remember that Biden was having random illegal sign up on the app in order to waive them into the country to avoid the unseemly sights at the border. It was all fake and these people do not have legitimate claims to have parole status. They can leave and reapply if they have a legitimate status.

Most Foreign Exchanges Continue to Slide

by | 1941, 6 Apr 25 | , , | 0 Comments

It’ll get worse before it gets better. Circuit breakers likely to trip tomorrow.

Asia-Pacific markets extended their sell-off Monday as fears over a global trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs fueled a risk-off mood.

 

Japanese markets led losses in the region in early trade. The benchmark Nikkei 225 plunged 8.03% while the broader Topix index plummeted 8.64%.

 

Over in South Korea, the Kospi index fell 4.34% at the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 3.48%.

 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 6.07% at the open. The benchmark slid into correction territory with an 11% decline since its last high in February, in its previous session.

 

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 22,772 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s last close of 22,849.81.

I’m not panicked. I’m not pulling out of the equity markets. I think tariffs are terrible policy, but I also think that the U.S. economy was inflated. The U.S. economy is incredibly resilient and will bounce back fine.

Trump’s Tariffs

by | 1930, 2 Apr 25 | , , | 4 Comments

Ugh. Bad policy and bad politics.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday laid out the U.S. “reciprocal tariff” rates that more than 180 countries and territories, including European Union members, will face under his sweeping new trade policy.

 

Trump and the White House shared a series of charts on social media detailing the tariff rates they say other countries impose on the U.S. Those purported rates include the countries’ “Currency Manipulation and Trade Barriers.”

An adjacent column shows the new U.S. tariff rates on each country, as well as the European Union.

 

Those rates are, in most cases, roughly half of what the Trump administration claims each country has “charged” the U.S.

No, I don’t like tariffs. They are stupid policy. An argument can be made for reciprocal tariffs to create a fair playing field (with the hope that both countries back down), but even then it’s a risky policy playing with consumers’ money.

But even if the reciprocal tariffs were a good idea as a policy or a tactic, Trump’s timing is terrible. He is on a very short clock to get some big things done in terms of cutting government, cutting taxes, cutting regulations, etc. He needs Congress’ support for that and the Republican margins in Congress are razor thin. When Trump’s approval rating starts sagging because everyone’s 401(k) is crashing, those marginal Republicans will stray. Trump will not be able to help encourage party discipline if he’s a lame duck president with a weak approval rating.

Get the big stuff done in Congress FIRST. The play with international trade with tariffs if you want. As he’s doing it, even if some other countries do lower their tariffs and open up markets for American goods, it will take capital to invest in building the capacity to serve those markets. It’s much harder to get capital when we suck trillions of dollars out of the equity markets.

American Freed by Taliban

by | 1512, 29 Mar 25 | | 0 Comments

Good.

An American woman who had been detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban since February has been released and is in “good health,” according to a source with knowledge of the release.

Faye Hall was released Thursday “following a court order and with logistical support from Qatar,” which has been mediating on the US’ behalf, the source said. She was detained in the country on charges of using a drone without authorization.

“Hall was received at the Qatari Embassy in Kabul and has been confirmed in good health after undergoing a series of medical checks. Arrangements are currently underway for her return to the United States,” the source added.

An image of Hall sat alongside Qatari officials was shared on Saturday by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US’ former ambassador to Afghanistan.

“American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home. Thank you, #Qatar, for your ongoing and steadfast partnership,” Khalilzad wrote on X.

Trump Imposes 25% Tariffs on Cars

by | 2013, 26 Mar 25 | , , | 2 Comments

I think it’s funny that the reporter felt the need to call them “import taxes” instead of “tariffs.” They seem to think that readers are too dumb to know what tariffs are. They may be right.

Speaking of dumb, tariffs are dumb. Yes, I expected Trump to follow through on his promise to implement tariffs and I still voted for him for other reasons, but tariffs are dumb economic policy.

US President Donald Trump has announced new import taxes of 25% on cars and car parts coming into the US in a move that threatens to widen the global trade war.

 

Trump said the latest tariffs would come into effect on 2 April, with charges on businesses importing vehicles starting the next day. Charges on parts are set to start in May or later.

 

The president claimed the measure would lead to “tremendous growth” for the car industry, promising it would spur jobs and investment in the US.

 

But analysts have said the move is likely to lead to the temporary shutdown of significant car production in the US, increase prices, and strain relations with allies.

Hamas Disperses Anti-Hamas Protestors

by | 2006, 25 Mar 25 | | 0 Comments

It’s good to see a bit of anti-Hamas activity in the heart of Gaza. That’s brave.

Hundreds of people have taken part in the largest anti-Hamas protest in Gaza since the war with Israel began, taking to the streets to demand the group step down from power.

 

Masked Hamas militants, some armed with guns and others carrying batons, intervened and forcibly dispersed the protesters, assaulting several of them.

 

Videos shared widely on social media by activists typically critical of Hamas showed young men marching through the streets of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza on Tuesday, chanting “out, out, out, Hamas out”.

 

Pro-Hamas supporters defended the group, downplayed the significance of the demonstrations and accused the participants of being traitors. Hamas is yet to comment.

Canada Gets a New PM

by | 1743, 14 Mar 25 | , | 1 Comment

New blood.

Mark Carney, an economist and political newcomer, has been sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister and delivered a speech vowing to “never” become a part of the United States.

 

He takes office on Friday just days after being elected leader of the governing Liberal Party and amid an ongoing trade war with US President Donald Trump.

 

“We know that by building together, we can give ourselves far more than anyone else can take away,” he said remarks after the ceremony.

Serendipitously, I spent most of this week in Quebec and the conversation turned to politics a few times. Anecdotally, they hate Trump, are offended by his 51st state comments, and worried about tariffs. What was fascinating to me was how their entire political dialogue was about American politics. I even saw a political commercial on television where the attack ad accused some Canadian politician of being too tight with Trump. The visual was of a faceless guy erasing the border.

I thought of that meme with Don Draper saying, “I don’t think of you at all.” As an American, I can’t cite a single instance where my vote was influenced by what some other foreign leader said. I don’t care. I’m interested in how our elected leaders will respond to what foreign leaders say and do, but there’s nothing the PM of Canada could say that would change my vote for school board – much less president. But the entire political landscape in Canada shifts based on what’s happening in America. It’s fascinating.

Court Blocks Deportation of Pro-Terror Student Protestor

by | 2115, 10 Mar 25 | , | 6 Comments

Let’s hope this is overturned soon. We must preserve our ability to deport non-citizens.

Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Columbia University over the weekend, despite having a green card, his attorney told ABC News, sparking an outcry from civil rights groups. His attorneys subsequently filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his arrest.

 

“To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” Judge Jesse Furman wrote in a notice ordering a conference for Wednesday morning in the case.

 

[…]

 

Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, released a statement Monday, saying, “For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby. I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world. Please release Mahmoud Now.”

Perhaps he should have been working, schooling, and tending to his family instead of using his time and energy to support terror.

Syrian Civil War Rages

by | 1742, 9 Mar 25 | | 0 Comments

There isn’t an end in sight.

A UK-based monitor said 830 civilians were killed in “massacres” targeting Alawites on the west coast on Friday and Saturday.

 

The BBC has been unable to independently verify the death toll of the violence, which is believed to be the worst since the fall of the Assad regime.

 

In a speech broadcast on national TV and posted on social media, Sharaa, whose rebel movement toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, also promised to hunt down Assad loyalists.

 

The fighting has also killed 231 members of the security forces and 250 pro-Assad fighters, according to the monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), taking the overall death toll to 1,311.

 

“Today, as we stand at this critical moment, we find ourselves facing a new danger – attempts by remnants of the former regime and their foreign backers to incite new strife and drag our country into a civil war, aiming to divide it and destroy its unity and stability,” the interim president said on Sunday.

 

“We affirm that we will hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who is involved in the bloodshed of civilians or harming our people, who overstepped the powers of the state or exploits authority to achieve his own ends,” Sharaa added in the video speech, posted by state news agency Sana.

My guess is – not informed by events in Syria but informed by what history teaches us – is that whatever violence may have been perpetrated by Assad loyalists, if any, is being used as an excuse by the new regime to liquidate opponents – both political and religious.

What’s really interesting is that Russia has long been a supporter of Syria and uses their influence there as a counterweight to the US’ influence in the region. But Russia has been largely silent supporting neither the Assad forces nor the new regime. It speak to how the Ukrainian war has drained Russia’s ability to intervene in other places in the world.

Deported Indians Share Stories

by | 1840, 8 Mar 25 | , | 1 Comment

Yes. When you illegally enter another nation, you deserve to be treated like the ne’er-do-well you are. I would expect the same treatment for an American who illegally entered India. Send them home in shackles.

Gurpreet Singh was handcuffed, his legs shackled and a chain tied around his waist. He was led onto the tarmac in Texas by US Border Patrol, towards a waiting C-17 military transport aircraft.

 

It was 3 February and, after a months-long journey, he realised his dream of living in America was over. He was being deported back to India. “It felt like the ground was slipping away from underneath my feet,” he said.

 

Gurpreet, 39, was one of thousands of Indians in recent years to have spent their life savings and crossed continents to enter the US illegally through its southern border, as they sought to escape an unemployment crisis back home.

 

There are about 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the US, the third largest group behind Mexicans and El Salvadoreans, according to the most recent figures from Pew Research in 2022.

 

Now Gurpreet has become one of the first undocumented Indians to be sent home since President Donald Trump took office, with a promise to make mass deportations a priority.

 

Gurpreet intended to make an asylum claim based on threats he said he had received in India, but – in line with an executive order from Trump to turn people away without granting them asylum hearings – he said he was removed without his case ever being considered.

 

About 3,700 Indians were sent back on charter and commercial flights during President Biden’s tenure, but recent images of detainees in chains under the Trump administration have sparked outrage in India.

 

US Border Patrol released the images in an online video with a bombastic choral soundtrack and the warning: “If you cross illegally, you will be removed.”

 

[…]

 

But on the ground, the intimidating images and President Trump’s rhetoric seem to be having the desired effect.

 

“No-one will try going to the US now through this illegal ‘donkey’ route while Trump is in power,” said Gurpreet.

Corpses for Criminals

by | 1812, 26 Feb 25 | | 0 Comments

If there is anything that illustrates the imbalance of morality in this conflict, it’s this. Hamas is returning mutilated bodies of hostages. Israel is returning fat, healthy criminals and terrorists.

Israel and Hamas have moved forward with a hostage exchange, with the bodies of four dead hostages returned to Israel, officials said.

 

Israel has received the “coffins of four deceased abductees” that had been transferred from Hamas to the Red Cross, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

 

[…]

 

The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that was reached in January. Last week, Israel did not release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners it had agreed to release after Hamas returned a wrong body in place of the body of one of the dead hostages it said it would return. The correct body was later returned to Israel.

Zelensky Willing to Step Down for Peace

by | 1641, 23 Feb 25 | | 0 Comments

No, Ukraine didn’t start the war, but Zelensky did use it as an excuse to suspend elections and consolidate power in his hands. The fact that he is offering to step down (if you believe him) instead of standing for election says something.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to “give up” his presidency in exchange for peace ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 

“If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that. And I also can exchange it for Nato membership for Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president said in response to a question during a news conference.

 

His comments came after US President Donald Trump called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” earlier in the week.

 

“I wasn’t offended [by the comment], but a dictator would be,” Zelensky, who was democratically elected in May 2019, responded on Sunday.

70 Christians Beheaded by Muslims in the Congo

by | 1631, 23 Feb 25 | | 0 Comments

Monsters

JOHANNESBURG – Seventy Christians have been beheaded with machetes or large knives, according to multiple groups that monitor terrorism and persecution, by Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – and yet the world remains mostly silent.

 

The 70 Christians were first rounded up by Islamist rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group affiliated with the terror group Islamic State, or ISIS, according Open Doors U.S., which monitors Christian persecution around the world. The Christians, reportedly all from the Lubero district, were forced out of their homes allegedly early in the morning of Feb. 13, with the rebels shouting, “Get out, get out.”

 

They were taken hostage, and moved to a small Christian church in the village of Kasanga. There, inside the building that had until then been considered a sanctuary, they were first tied up, and then all 70 were beheaded, the groups say.

Islamists Make Gains in Bangladesh

by | 2047, 18 Feb 25 | , | 4 Comments

This is an ideology that eats whoever allows it to flourish. It must be marginalized and eradicated wherever we see it.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, is currently undergoing a political transition after widespread protests ousted its authoritarian government last year.

 

An interim administration is currently in charge but there are concerns that Islamist groups, which had been pushed to the fringes, have become emboldened again.

 

The women’s football match was the third to be cancelled in northern Bangladesh in less than two weeks due to the objections of religious hardliners.

 

In the Dinajpur area, roughly 70km (43 miles) west of Rangpur, Islamists protesting against a game clashed with locals who supported it, leaving four people injured.

Egypt Threatens to Rebuild Gaza

by | 1954, 18 Feb 25 | | 0 Comments

Ohhhh noooos… not that. Why do other countries only step up in response to America’s actions instead of their own accord?

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt is developing a plan to rebuild Gaza without forcing Palestinians out of the strip in a counter to President Donald Trump’s proposal to depopulate the territory so the U.S. can take it over.

 

Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said the proposal calls for establishing “secure areas” within Gaza where Palestinians can live initially while Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the strip’s infrastructure.

 

Egyptian officials have been discussing the plan with European diplomats as well as with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to two Egyptian officials and Arab and Western diplomats. They are also discussing ways to fund the reconstruction, including an international conference on Gaza reconstruction, said one of the Egyptian officials and an Arab diplomat.

India Invests in Nuclear Power

by | 0923, 17 Feb 25 | , | 0 Comments

This is the way.

Indian state power company NTPC is looking to build 30 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power capacity over the next two decades, three times more than expected, at a cost of $62 billion, three sources said.

 

The country’s top power producer, which mainly runs coal-fired plants, is seeking land for its ambitious plan in a country where local resistance to such projects is high, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter.

NTPC was targeting 10 GW of nuclear capacity but tripled the goal after the government this month announced plans to open up the sector to foreign and private investment, the sources said.

Rubio Arrives in Riyadh for Peace Talks

by | 0823, 17 Feb 25 | | 0 Comments

Pray for peace.

RIYADH (Reuters) – Russia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would hold talks with top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Tuesday that will focus on ending the war in Ukraine and restoring broader Russia-U.S. ties.

 

Rubio arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Monday on a previously planned trip. U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who were set to arrive later on Monday, will join him at the talks with Lavrov.

Login | Register

Archives

Categories

Pin It on Pinterest