Europe not really feeling the desire to avenge Hillary Clinton's humiliating defeat

[Darth Executor]

https://www.usnews.com/news/business...against-russia

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and Austria voiced sharp criticism Thursday of the latest U.S. sanctions against Moscow, saying they could affect European businesses involved in piping in Russian natural gas.

The United States Senate voted Wednesday to slap new sanctions on key sectors of Russia's economy and individuals over its interference in the 2016 U.S. election campaign and its aggression in
Syria ( ) and Ukraine. The measures were attached to a bill targeting Iran.

In a joint statement, Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern and Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it was important for Europe and the United States to form a united front on the issue of Ukraine, where Russian-based separatists have been fighting government forces since 2014.

"However, we can't accept the threat of illegal and extraterritorial sanctions against European companies," the two officials said, citing a section of the bill that calls for the United States to continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.

The liberal-neocon axis of evil seems to be going through hard times.

[shunyadragon]

The leaders of Western Europe are more disgusted and and disappointed having to deal with Donald Trump for at least 3 1/2 than to worry about Hillary.

Source: http://www.politico.eu/article/trump-confirms-europes-worst-fears/

U.S. President Donald Trump (center) delivers a speech next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on May 25, 2017 | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

Trump confirms Europe’s worst fears

Worried continental leaders discover that the U.S. president’s brash and unpredictable persona is not an act.

U.S. President Donald Trump (center) delivers a speech next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on May 25, 2017 | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images
Trump confirms Europe’s worst fears
Worried continental leaders discover that the U.S. president’s brash and unpredictable persona is not an act.
By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG 5/26/17, 8:28 PM CET Updated 5/29/17, 5:30 AM CET
BRATISLAVA — If “hope dies last,” as a favorite German aphorism goes, Europe needs to find a Plan B for dealing with Donald Trump.

For months, Europe’s leaders quietly hoped the American president’s bark wasn’t as bad as his bite, that his cartoonish public persona was just that — a caricature that would give way to a more sober, statesmanlike approach once he took office.

No more.

Trump’s speech at NATO’s new Brussels headquarters on Thursday, in which he again berated U.S. allies for not spending enough on defense and suggested they “owe massive amounts” in back payments, confirmed to Europe’s leadership that Trump doesn’t just play the Ugly American on TV.

His characterization of Germany as “bad” for selling too many cars in the U.S. (many of which are made there) betrayed what some European officials say is at best a crude understanding of transatlantic commerce and at worst, shocking ignorance.

For Europe, any remaining embers of hope that Trump could be reasoned with were doused in Brussels.

“It took him just a couple of hours to undo all of the goodwill Pence and Mattis and others in the administration had built with Europe over the past couple of months,” a recently retired senior U.S. defense official said, referring to a diplomatic offensive that included trips by Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis to reassure European allies after Trump’s inauguration.

© Copyright Original Source

[Darth Executor]

The leaders of Western Europe are more disgusted and and disappointed having to deal with Donald Trump for at least 3 1/2 than to worry about Hillary.

Source: http://www.politico.eu/article/trump-confirms-europes-worst-fears/

U.S. President Donald Trump (center) delivers a speech next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on May 25, 2017 | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

Trump confirms Europe’s worst fears

Worried continental leaders discover that the U.S. president’s brash and unpredictable persona is not an act.

U.S. President Donald Trump (center) delivers a speech next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on May 25, 2017 | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images
Trump confirms Europe’s worst fears
Worried continental leaders discover that the U.S. president’s brash and unpredictable persona is not an act.
By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG 5/26/17, 8:28 PM CET Updated 5/29/17, 5:30 AM CET
BRATISLAVA — If “hope dies last,” as a favorite German aphorism goes, Europe needs to find a Plan B for dealing with Donald Trump.

For months, Europe’s leaders quietly hoped the American president’s bark wasn’t as bad as his bite, that his cartoonish public persona was just that — a caricature that would give way to a more sober, statesmanlike approach once he took office.

No more.

Trump’s speech at NATO’s new Brussels headquarters on Thursday, in which he again berated U.S. allies for not spending enough on defense and suggested they “owe massive amounts” in back payments, confirmed to Europe’s leadership that Trump doesn’t just play the Ugly American on TV.

His characterization of Germany as “bad” for selling too many cars in the U.S. (many of which are made there) betrayed what some European officials say is at best a crude understanding of transatlantic commerce and at worst, shocking ignorance.

For Europe, any remaining embers of hope that Trump could be reasoned with were doused in Brussels.

“It took him just a couple of hours to undo all of the goodwill Pence and Mattis and others in the administration had built with Europe over the past couple of months,” a recently retired senior U.S. defense official said, referring to a diplomatic offensive that included trips by Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis to reassure European allies after Trump’s inauguration.

© Copyright Original Source

Please stay on topic or I will ask you to leave the thread.

[One Bad Pig]

https://www.usnews.com/news/business...against-russia



The liberal-neocon axis of evil seems to be going through hard times.

I'm guessing that Syria was thrown in to get some more Dem support.

[Darth Executor]

I'm guessing that Syria was thrown in to get some more Dem support.

I would have thought dems would be the driving force of this given that it was their candidate that was humiliated in the wake of the hacks. The bigger question is what the neocons have to gain.

Germany/Austria think the US wants to sanction Russia to benefit its own shale oil distribution (an accusation almost certainly not without merit given neocon enthusiasm for the sanctions). I'm curious how liberals on this board square wanting strong relationships with European allies with sanctioning Russia for humiliating Hillary Clinton.