The West Has Three Enemies to Worry About
The recent meeting between Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-Un shows that the West has three significant enemies to worry about on various levels. There are other powers that are not favorable to Western policies, such as Brazil, Argentina, and Iran. However, at this moment, what matters is the military threat that China, Russia, and North Korea pose to the rest of the planet.
The Russians have already demonstrated the power of their war machine with the invasion of Ukraine, and they are unlikely to accept any proposal other than continuing the occupation. Moscow has also rejected US proposals to end the conflict, which is a sign of political confrontation, even with the change of tenants in the White House.
China continues to threaten Taiwan, even against the wishes of the Americans and under threat of international isolation similar to that which occurred with Russia. However, its economic influence in many countries could lead to a different stance.
Relations with the new US administration are not the best, but there is the possibility of an understanding to maintain geopolitical balance.The latest threat to global security is North Korea, which also constantly provokes its southern neighbors and Japan. Donald Trump will once again be forced to meet with a dictator to avoid a regional conflict.
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From where I sit, Mueller's testimony changes nothing. As matters stand now, each side claims victory on the merits. The only "contradiction" from the Mueller report is its holding back from announcing that Trump did obstruct justice and would have been indicted for it were he not a sitting President. This was imposed upon Mueller by Trump's minion, Attorney General Barr.
Trump personally welcomed and invited Russian interference in the election, and was glad of it. Then he lied about it and instructed people to lie about it for him.
Q: Trump and his campaign welcomed & encouraged Russian interference?
A: Yes.
Q: And then Trump and his campaign lied about it to cover it up?
A: Yes.
I don't see much of a contradiction there. It contradicts Trump's insistence that there was "no collusion," but "collusion" isn't the standard. Soliciting or accepting something of value from a non-U.S. source is the standard.
More important is the efforts of Trump and his minions to cover up the truth, both before and after Trump took office. Firing James Comey was only the most glaring of the many incidents of Trump's direction and control of efforts to prevent and obstruct investigation.
Nevertheless, impeachment was always unlikely to happen, as Pelosi has made it clear that she prefers to see Trump defeated at the ballot box in the 2020 elections. Perhaps she is right -- those who like Trump ignore the evidence that Trump has broken the law and enjoy that he defies expectations for mature behavior from the President; meanwhile, those who dislike Trump do not need to hear the evidence again. Both groups are relatively small compared to the voting population as a whole, which does not follow politics with any real care or attention and tend to vote for their own party regardless of who the candidate is.
Will Trump be re-elected in 2020? That remains to be see. The election is still fifteen months away, and much can happen between then and now. The opening of a war with Iran would be immensely unpopular; the U.S. has been at war since 2001 and is weary of it. The economy has been expanding non-stop since 2009 and it is in the nature of economics that expansions cycle inevitably with recessions. Democrats have reason to hope that Trump will simply lose in 2020. They also have reason to fear that Trump will win, simply because being the incumbent gives him many advantages and he seems to have a core of support based strictly on his cult of personality.
Right now it appears the outcome of the election will come down to five states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. What will make the difference there is a combination of the on-the-ground competency of both parties in the areas of registration and turnout; whether economic trends are improving or declining in late October and early November 2020; and whatever new issues face the U.S. a year from now.
The end result is: it's far too early to tell, and based on what we can know right now, it's too close to call.
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