INF Treaty

[firstfloor]

Trump lets Putin off the hook.

[One Bad Pig]

More like, Trump lets US off the hook.

[firstfloor]

More like, Trump lets US off the hook.

Putin is laughing his head off. He was believed to be breaking the treaty and has now escaped any possible sanctions. These weapons are intended to intimidate Europe. Trump has turned his back on his European allies.

[oxmixmudd]

Putin is laughing his head off. He was believed to be breaking the treaty and has now escaped any possible sanctions. These weapons are intended to intimidate Europe. Trump has turned his back on his European allies.

It's bad in term of Russia/Europe/US tension. Its feels to the Europeans like we are continuing to abandon our NATO commitments. It's bad in terms of opening back up an unbridled arms race between the US and Russia. It is good in that China has no limits on its capacity to produce such missiles and has been producing them and we can't respond to their actions. With Russia producing them anyway (but perhaps at a reduced rate) I am not sure what the right decision would be. Certainly without the treaty they'll make as many as they want and as many of them as they think will give them an advantage. But I'm not sure that having hard limits on our production serves our interests if both China and Russia are continuing to produce them and we are not. It certainly would be the most scary for Europe, at the same time if they produce them and deploy them in mass, we will (or should) certainly respond in kind. We need them in Japan(Taiwan?) anyway if China is going to have them. As usual, its a nasty mess made worse by Trump being a jerk.

Jim

[Mountain Man]

More like, Trump lets US off the hook.

Pretty much. For six-years, Russia has been thumbing its nose at a treaty put in place by the Obama administration, so what's the point of even leaving it in place?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo:


Responding to a question on whether or not this will lead to an arms-race with Russia:


https://theconservativetreehouse.com...to-inf-treaty/

[One Bad Pig]

Putin is laughing his head off. He was believed to be breaking the treaty and has now escaped any possible sanctions.

Oh, sanctions. I'm sure those had Putin shaking in his boots.

[JimL]

Oh, sanctions. I'm sure those had Putin shaking in his boots.

Not with his partner Trump in the White House he isn't.

[NorrinRadd]

It's bad in term of Russia/Europe/US tension. Its feels to the Europeans like we are continuing to abandon our NATO commitments. It's bad in terms of opening back up an unbridled arms race between the US and Russia. It is good in that China has no limits on its capacity to produce such missiles and has been producing them and we can't respond to their actions. With Russia producing them anyway (but perhaps at a reduced rate) I am not sure what the right decision would be. Certainly without the treaty they'll make as many as they want and as many of them as they think will give them an advantage. But I'm not sure that having hard limits on our production serves our interests if both China and Russia are continuing to produce them and we are not. It certainly would be the most scary for Europe, at the same time if they produce them and deploy them in mass, we will (or should) certainly respond in kind. We need them in Japan(Taiwan?) anyway if China is going to have them. As usual, its a nasty mess made worse by Trump being a jerk.

Jim

This statement from NATO doesn't quite support your assessment.

[One Bad Pig]

Not with his partner Trump in the White House he isn't.

Nice attempt to ignore the broader question. Since when have sanctions caused regimes to significantly alter their goals?

[JimL]

Nice attempt to ignore the broader question. Since when have sanctions caused regimes to significantly alter their goals?

When they hurt significantly enough. Iran agreed to the nuclear treaty in order to lift the crushing economic sanctions.

[Mountain Man]

Nice attempt to ignore the broader question. Since when have sanctions caused regimes to significantly alter their goals?

In this case, Russia was blatantly ignoring the treaty, and if the US continued to follow it, it would leave us at a military disadvantage.

[One Bad Pig]

When they hurt significantly enough. Iran agreed to the nuclear treaty in order to lift the crushing economic sanctions.

Iran agreed to the nuclear treaty because Obama gave them everything they wanted in return for an unverifiable promise.

[Mountain Man]

Iran agreed to the nuclear treaty because Obama gave them everything they wanted in return for an unverifiable promise.

And tens of millions of dollars in cold, hard, untraceable cash.

[Cow Poke]

When they hurt significantly enough. Iran agreed to the nuclear treaty in order to lift the crushing economic sanctions.

And they're adhering to it like an Eagle Scout, right?

[firstfloor]