Article

2020-02-11 Europe

Whose side should your country take in a conflict between the US and China? Europe is sitting this OUT.

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by 3dc 2020-02-11 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top
File under: Commies

#1 What matters is how they vote, and what the subsequent governments do.

Ok. So when will it be put to a vote? When the missiles are flying?

Don't you want an earlier indication? Is this not a good indication? Do you have a better one?

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 00:31|| 2020-02-11 00:31|| Front Page Top

#2 Two possibilities:

A) The European popular will has expressed itself. Europeans see no distinction between us and the Chinese Communist tyranny. The people have spoken. Let their will prevail.

B) European popular sentiment is not synonymous with or aligned to Eurooe's best interests. European elites should disregard the expressed preference of European populaces and follow the lead of their brothers in democracy across the pond.

Which is it?

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 00:37|| 2020-02-11 00:37|| Front Page Top

#3 Whose side should your country take in a conflict between the US and China?

That's a BS question. What kind of conflict? Trade dispute? Surprise nuclear attack by China on the U.S.?

And what does "taking side" mean? Sternly worded letter? Or European troops fighting a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?

This is nonsense.

Posted by European Conservative 2020-02-11 04:11|| 2020-02-11 04:11|| Front Page Top

#4 Maybe know they can comprehend why we sat out 1939-41. We only got in when the members of the Axis Powers declared war on us.

Posted by Procopius2k 2020-02-11 07:06|| 2020-02-11 07:06|| Front Page Top

#5 #4 I believe you over-complicate, P2K. Europeans firmly believe that it's (crude & unrefined) Americans' job to defend Glorious European Civilization, while it's Europeans' job to provide USA with moral guidance.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-02-11 10:24|| 2020-02-11 10:24|| Front Page Top

#6 g(r)om, the way things are going in Europe, there soon won't be any of the glorious European civilization to defend. They will all become part of the Ummah.

Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2020-02-11 10:47|| 2020-02-11 10:47|| Front Page Top

#7 Support for NATO down in France and Germany, report says. Both countries would prefer the US intervene militarily rather than their own forces.

All of the benefits and none of the obligations. NATO is dead, Europeans killed it. Time to shut it down and bring the troops home. Europeans say the bases aren't for protecting them, they're nothing more than hubs for our military adventures in the Middle East.

I have a hard time disputing this accusation.

Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-02-11 10:58|| 2020-02-11 10:58|| Front Page Top

#8 "B) European popular sentiment is not synonymous with or aligned to Eurooe's best interests. European elites should disregard the expressed preference of European populaces and follow the lead of their brothers in democracy across the pond."

This is the exact same methodology used by US elites to disregard our interests and wage war after endless war all over the planet. It is very unwise to swing this one around. It has a 100% guarantee that it will boomerang and be used against us.

Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-02-11 11:07|| 2020-02-11 11:07|| Front Page Top

#9 I don't know whether A) or B) is true. But it's one or the other. Can't pretend we can have both.

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 11:22|| 2020-02-11 11:22|| Front Page Top

#10 Two possibilities:

C) Overwhelming entropic apathy, swirling the drain.

Posted by Skidmark 2020-02-11 12:07|| 2020-02-11 12:07|| Front Page Top

#11 Why should Europe get involved in a conflict between the US and China? What's in it for them? How would they possibly have anything to gain?

I look forward to an answer that's not "because it helps us".

Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-02-11 12:34|| 2020-02-11 12:34|| Front Page Top

#12 How could Europe get involved?

A sternly worded letter in the UN perhaps? If they sided with China I'm pretty sure the US wouldn't provide the transportation or logistics they'd need to get involved in any combat. If they sided with the US I doubt the US would provide that either as it would detract from those assets being used by America.

Posted by rjschwarz 2020-02-11 13:40|| 2020-02-11 13:40|| Front Page Top

#13 Similar albeit slightly lower percentages would favor sitting out a conflict between the US and Russia.

Face it, we need to wind down NATO and focus on areas of cooperation with Russia in order to contain China.

China is the main threat. China, China, China.

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 15:15|| 2020-02-11 15:15|| Front Page Top

#14 What's the olde saying?
Being peaceful and being harmless are important distinctions?

Posted by swksvolFF 2020-02-11 15:29|| 2020-02-11 15:29|| Front Page Top

#15 Russia's threat to us and Europe is trivial compared to the Chinese threat. People have to stop looking in the rearview mirror.

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 15:31|| 2020-02-11 15:31|| Front Page Top

#16 OK my "why" question got a big fat zero. I can only assume that's because there IS no answer. Let's try a different tack.

Assuming Europe got involved: what could they do, exactly? Their militaries are weak and feeble and are more hindrance than help. See: Afghanistan. Hell, they had to be held by the hand to destroy Libya, which was 1% the strength of China.

Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-02-11 15:38|| 2020-02-11 15:38|| Front Page Top

#17 Stop playing war games and think strategically. Europe's market is absolutely critical to China and to Russia. We need to build up our own trade zone and keep China down and out.

Prevent a war from happening by turning around China's economic trajectory. Source goods from our own - North America, UK/Oz, Europe.

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 15:41|| 2020-02-11 15:41|| Front Page Top

#18 So, we all know that Trump's trade war is hurting China bad, right? Companies are leaving and not coming back.

This new coronavirus is hitting China hard. Real hard. Factories are not open, schools, businesses, restaurants, you name it. They're taking a huge hit to fight this thing. It will only accelerate the flight. See http://www.chinalawblog.com/

Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-02-11 16:56|| 2020-02-11 16:56|| Front Page Top

#19 ^ Turning point. Happy days.

Posted by Lex 2020-02-11 21:21|| 2020-02-11 21:21|| Front Page Top

23:51 Guillibaldo and Tenille4557
23:41 gorb
23:32 Woodrow
23:30 Woodrow
23:19 Woodrow
22:44 trailing wife
22:17 Frank G
21:55 Cesare
21:28 Skidmark
21:21 Lex
21:14 Lex
21:13 Lex
20:24 John Frum
20:07 magpie
20:03 jpal
19:52 Alaska Paul
19:48 Herb McCoy
19:45 Ho Chi Darling of the Giants5137
19:45 Frank G
19:44 Lex
19:42 Lex
19:40 Lex
19:25 Lex
19:16 Zhang Fei