Here we go again.
It would probably be better if Trump simply learned not to talk, to try and keep his big, ignorant, embarrassing mouth closed every now and then.
Maybe he never heard these words from Mark Twain:\
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
Apparently, he truly believes he is the "very stable genius" that he claims himself to be. But man, for a genius, he sure the hell gets a lot of things wrong. Like, almost everything.
Here he went again, talking about fairly recent history in Afghanistan, and getting it very, very wrong, quite typically. He claimed that the Soviet Union was right to invade Afghanistan, because terrorists were pouring into that country, and they needed to take care of it. Here, specifically, is what Trump said:
“The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there.”
This is clearly wrong. The Soviet Union went in there to try and raise up a Communist government there. The instability that resulted from the invasion helped to create terrorists, some of which formed into the Taliban and Jihadis, many of whom came to haunt the United States in different ways, and for different reasons. But the Soviet Union itself was not being plagued by a migration of terrorists from Afghanistan at the time. And many are calling Trump to task for this false narrative on recent history, including the conservative leaning Wall Street Journal.
He went on. Of course he did. Because when you are dead wrong, and you have an ego larger than the superpower that you are the head of, what else are you going to do? Here is some more of what he said, which is at least not as blatantly, outrageously wrong as his previous statement:
“Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia, because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan.
“The problem is it was a tough fight. And literally, they went bankrupt. They went into being called Russia again, as opposed to the Soviet Union. You know, a lot these places you’re reading about now are no longer a part of Russia because of Afghanistan.”
This is clearly wrong. The Soviet Union went in there to try and raise up a Communist government there. The instability that resulted from the invasion helped to create terrorists, some of which formed into the Taliban and Jihadis, many of whom came to haunt the United States in different ways, and for different reasons. But the Soviet Union itself was not being plagued by a migration of terrorists from Afghanistan at the time. And many are calling Trump to task for this false narrative on recent history, including the conservative leaning Wall Street Journal.
He went on. Of course he did. Because when you are dead wrong, and you have an ego larger than the superpower that you are the head of, what else are you going to do? Here is some more of what he said, which is at least not as blatantly, outrageously wrong as his previous statement:
“Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia, because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan.
“The problem is it was a tough fight. And literally, they went bankrupt. They went into being called Russia again, as opposed to the Soviet Union. You know, a lot these places you’re reading about now are no longer a part of Russia because of Afghanistan.”
Now, this is not as dead wrong, to his credit (only with Trump, do we seem to have to give credit for not being totally, completely clueless and off base). Indeed, the Soviet Union did go bankrupt because of Afghanistan. And indeed, this bankruptcy helped to hasten the decline and ultimate demise of the the Soviet Union, so that many other republics were created from what had been the U.S.S.R..
But what I find telling here, personally, is that Trump stated - with the benefit of hindsight - that the Soviet Union was right to invade Afghanistan. Granted, he was wrong about his reasons, but the very idea that the former superpower was justified in waging a war that ultimately bankrupted it and led to it's decline and eventual dissolution should have many Americans very worried, particularly given his inflated military budgets, and his constant talk of trying to be tough and willing to fight wars, supposedly in the national interest. If the Soviet Union was right to fight what many in the world saw, and continue to see, as a war of aggression that turned sour and eventually bankrupted the now former superpower, that seems to suggest that Trump might be willing to lead the United States to a similar kind of costly war. And let's face it, the United States has fought in two very costly wars simultaneously in recent history, with one being in Afghanistan.
Not exactly encouraging to hear Trump's version of history, or the apparent lessons that he, and almost no one else, takes out of it: that a superpower is right to wage a war that most of the world sees as aggressive, and which ultimately bankrupts that nation and leads to it's decline.
Let us also not forget that Trump is actively and aggressively pursuing the same policies that have also led to bankrupting the United States: tax cuts and incentives to the ultra-wealthy and to the corporate welfare program.
Sometimes, it is astonishing that one man could be so damn wrong so damn often, and about so damn much! It truly is staggering.
And you might think, given how humiliating it is to have all of the times that you were wrong aired out for literally all the world to see like dirty laundry, that he might stop. But he just seems incapable of doing so.
Well, that's Donald Trump. He was the man elected to represent the country, to be the face and voice for at least four years. And he is exactly what most people thought he would be, or even worse, and there is no indication that he is even capable of slowing down his own humiliations or failures.
Plus, Trump also managed to insult the other allied nations who actually sent troops to assist in the struggle against terrorism in Afghanistan, which by the time of the invasion in post 9/11 2001, had indeed become a hotbed of terrorism. Just in case his rise to the White House and subsequent behavior has not turned enough of the rest of the world off already, he seems almost intent on finishing the job by really disgusting the rest of the world with his "Ugly American" face and voicing the worst, most arrogant, dismissive, and entitled opinions imaginable. That way, if the United States might actually need some help from someone else someday, Trump will have thoroughly burned all of those bridges, like he is doing in so many ways already, particularly with his trade wars and comments like lumping dozens of countries as "shithole nations."
All this winning, eh?
Here are two articles, including the Wall Street Journal article, that discusses Trump's recent shared opinions on Afghanistan, which will be yet one more major blemish on a presidency that already has seen more than it's fill of them, all under two years still! I know, it feels like it has been a whole lot longer than that for me, too.
Trump’s Cracked Afghan History His falsehoods about allies and the Soviets reach a new low. 681 Comments By The Editorial Board Jan. 3, 2019:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-cracked-afghan-history-11546560234
AP Fact Check: Trump’s Afghanistan Comments Inaccurate by the Associated Press, January 5, 2019:But what I find telling here, personally, is that Trump stated - with the benefit of hindsight - that the Soviet Union was right to invade Afghanistan. Granted, he was wrong about his reasons, but the very idea that the former superpower was justified in waging a war that ultimately bankrupted it and led to it's decline and eventual dissolution should have many Americans very worried, particularly given his inflated military budgets, and his constant talk of trying to be tough and willing to fight wars, supposedly in the national interest. If the Soviet Union was right to fight what many in the world saw, and continue to see, as a war of aggression that turned sour and eventually bankrupted the now former superpower, that seems to suggest that Trump might be willing to lead the United States to a similar kind of costly war. And let's face it, the United States has fought in two very costly wars simultaneously in recent history, with one being in Afghanistan.
Not exactly encouraging to hear Trump's version of history, or the apparent lessons that he, and almost no one else, takes out of it: that a superpower is right to wage a war that most of the world sees as aggressive, and which ultimately bankrupts that nation and leads to it's decline.
Let us also not forget that Trump is actively and aggressively pursuing the same policies that have also led to bankrupting the United States: tax cuts and incentives to the ultra-wealthy and to the corporate welfare program.
Sometimes, it is astonishing that one man could be so damn wrong so damn often, and about so damn much! It truly is staggering.
And you might think, given how humiliating it is to have all of the times that you were wrong aired out for literally all the world to see like dirty laundry, that he might stop. But he just seems incapable of doing so.
Well, that's Donald Trump. He was the man elected to represent the country, to be the face and voice for at least four years. And he is exactly what most people thought he would be, or even worse, and there is no indication that he is even capable of slowing down his own humiliations or failures.
Plus, Trump also managed to insult the other allied nations who actually sent troops to assist in the struggle against terrorism in Afghanistan, which by the time of the invasion in post 9/11 2001, had indeed become a hotbed of terrorism. Just in case his rise to the White House and subsequent behavior has not turned enough of the rest of the world off already, he seems almost intent on finishing the job by really disgusting the rest of the world with his "Ugly American" face and voicing the worst, most arrogant, dismissive, and entitled opinions imaginable. That way, if the United States might actually need some help from someone else someday, Trump will have thoroughly burned all of those bridges, like he is doing in so many ways already, particularly with his trade wars and comments like lumping dozens of countries as "shithole nations."
All this winning, eh?
Here are two articles, including the Wall Street Journal article, that discusses Trump's recent shared opinions on Afghanistan, which will be yet one more major blemish on a presidency that already has seen more than it's fill of them, all under two years still! I know, it feels like it has been a whole lot longer than that for me, too.
Trump’s Cracked Afghan History His falsehoods about allies and the Soviets reach a new low. 681 Comments By The Editorial Board Jan. 3, 2019:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-cracked-afghan-history-11546560234
https://www.voanews.com/a/ap-fact-check-trump-afghan-comments-inaccurate/4729988.html
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