TRUMP AND TURKEY’S “DEMANDS”

It’s very clear the future of NATO, the future of the US’s relationship with Turkey and the status of the Syrian conflict are not on what we call, “The ten meter target list”. Simply put, they are not “Hot Button” items, at least not this week. As it should be, domestic issues will consume the new US Administration’s first week or so in office. Other “issues” will come up in the daily meetings, briefings, but its obvious President Trump is out to show he is different. He’s out to prove as much as possible, “I mean what I say”. That was evident with his actions first thing Monday am. But, as the dust settles on everyone still in shock that he is in the White House, other issues will continue to boil to the top and very few of them are going to be more important or more emotional than the issues of Russia and NATO. As I’ve said before, the US relation with Turkey is not a hot topic for the new President, but Turkey’s role in NATO provides the topic with an above normal ranking.

DEMANDS:

To put it politely, it appears the Turks are making demands part of the initial rapprochement strategy with the new US President. To make it simple, the Turks want Gulen and they want the US to stop supporting the PYD. Now, President Trump has already been told by his team these demands would be on the table long before the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister gave his press conference, so some level of discussion has taken place on both topics. By the way, coming across like you are making “demands” to a guy like Trump is a very poor strategy! It works with passive, progressive people and Trump is anything but that!

OPTIONS:  

What does a Billionaire Businessman’s mind think of when someone comes to the table “hard” from the beginning? What happens when the other side starts with, “demands”? My bet is, the first reaction was or will be, “so, what’s in it for us”? “What happens if we don’t give them Gulen? What happens if we don’t stop support for the PYD? If we give them one or both, how does it help us”? Yes, I know, this is somewhat the typical discussion any Department of State or National Security Team would have with any President. The difference is, Trump’s perspective was shaped by years of hardline, complex business deals that had huge levels of risk, financial risk. Short answer; he thinks like a Businessman, not a politician and that has been the worry of the professional political elite from the day they thought he may go to the White House.

What if President Trump says “no”? What if he says “No” to both issue or to one of them? Then what? What does Turkey do? Step away from NATO? No! Let more refugees flood into Europe? No. That plan has run its course and it was a concept the Tsar came up with anyway. So, what does Turkey do? How mad does the Mad Turk get? Simplistic “upside vs downside” logic. If that is what President Trump falls back on, a business model, then how does Turkey react? Better yet, did anyone in Turkey formulate the potential responses that might come from the new US President? Just how far did they think this through?  When you toss a hardline stance on to the table from the very first meeting, you need to have a plan in case it all goes bad! What’s Turkey’s “plan”?

OUTSIDE INFLUENCE:

Can the Turks take such a hardnose approach to the new US Administration without anyone else having an opinion of what it might lead to? Did the Turk’s share with anyone the stance they were going to take? Did anyone else catch wind of it? If you guessed the Tsar, you win the prize! Remember those “wedges” I have been talking about? Well, the Tsar has been driving wedges for several years and the Ottoman wedge with the West is absolutely one of his top three! So, it stand to reason Russia would anticipate Turkey’s initial stance and they most likely have anticipated the possible courses of action from the US, based on Trump’s personality profile. A profile they have spent a great deal of time developing!

What does this stance by Turkey mean to the Tsar? Does it help or hinder the Russian goal of weakening NATO? What are they anticipating the most logical response from a person like Trump to be? Perhaps they even, behind the scenes, helped Turkey formulate the stance? Piss Trump off, weaken NATO as a second order effect? That would not surprise me in the least! Keeping Turkey on an adversarial stance with the West / US / is a logical goal of the Russians. Nudging a hothead like Egodan to do so is really fairly easy!  

THE US OPTIONS:

As I stated before, the basic logic with President Trump will go something like this. “What’s in it for us”? Question number two, “So what”? Does the US need Gulen? Does it need to support the PYD?  Does it make the US look weak? Does it send the wrong “message” if he gives in on both demands? Hint, successful Businessmen seldom give in! Is there a compromise on the two topics? In Trumps opinion, is a compromise even worth thinking about? The complex side of this discussion, when it finally takes place, will have some interjection from the Department of State and the Intelligence Community and they will both address the issue of Russia! Is this decision just about the relationship with Turkey or does the Russia factor have to be injected? My vote is yes! The Russian “factor” must be placed on the table. The issue is, the Trump Team has to get a very Attention Deficit Disorder / ADD/ President to follow the logic. Yep. I would be willing to bet you the Russian profile on Trump has him listed as “ ADD”! Will they leverage that profile marker? You bet! Trump’s ability to listen to an entire, intel breakdown of an issue is going to be a work in progress. Why do you think the topic came up before he was ever even sworn in? Not a new issue when it comes to US Presidents, but it will be an issue as that will impact how decisions are made.

MY BET:

When will this issue of Turkey’s demands really come to the table? When the Trump Team starts to really engage the Tsar’s Team, that’s when! The one thing the Trump Team will be able to do is convince him to let them do more homework, before they ask him for a final decision! “ Mr. President. Let’s see where the Russians are with their relationship with Turkey. Let’s see just how committed they are to their new so called relationship after we place a few other ‘options’ on the table”! Can the US pull the Russians away from Turkey? Do they even need to? Are there other “options” out there? One thing is for sure. The future of the US relationship with Turkey will start as a bargaining chip and it will not be Egodans chip to bargain with. Get use to it folks. The Trump way of doing business is based on a very different formula than what has been historically used by the US Department of State. Turkey's “demands” are just one example of how things are going to be different!

By the way. I saw a few French readers are passing my post around. Keep up the good work. An audience I will address more and more in the near future. You have some interesting times ahead of you.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-has-two-main-demands-from-trump-administration-to-mend-ties-with-us-fm.aspx?PageID=238&NID=108319&NewsCatID=510

IT’S THE FIRST MONDAY FOR THE TRUMP TEAM. IT’S “ PRIME TIME”!

Well, much to the mortification of Hollywood and the left, it finally happened. Donald Trump is now President of the United States.

Two weeks ago, I addressed the issue of wedges and how the Trump Team was going to need to start driving wedges between certain weak alliances in order to set a course for a more stabilized US foreign policy. The Gorilla in the room that needs to be addressed is the so called alliance between the Tsar and the Dragon. I’ve beat that one up in several post, so let me move on to one that is not as important, but needs to be worked and worked soon.

Iran:

Safe to say the only thing that holds the alliance between the Tsar and the Persians is the common goal of countering the West / US/ in the region. Is there love between the Persians and the Russians? No. Is there a history of them holding hands? No. Do the Persians feel like they are “played” by the Tsar? Yes. Are the Persians attempting to fulfill the Tsar’s dreams in the region? No. The Iranians have their own dreams and they are not based upon the vison of Moscow. Leverage point West and the foundation for a wedge if the driving team knows what they are doing.

So a so called “Peace Conference is being held starting today and the topic is Syria. Five years ago on this blog site I stated that the moment the Iranians or the Russians decided Assad was no longer needed, the end of conflict in Syria would be near. Here is the problem. The Russians are dealing to end the conflict and the inputs of the Iranians are not on the table. The Tsar is setting the terms of the “deal” and that deal is predicated on how he can leverage the Mad Turk and the new US President. Iran may hold up their hand when it comes time to vote. They may even be allowed to voice an opinion of what needs to happen in Syria, but words in the air will be all that opinion amounts to. The future of Syria is tied to the future of Eastern Europe and NATO’s status. What the Persians want for Syria is of no consequence in Moscow. Syria is a bargaining chip and a tool, nothing more! The so called “land bridge” between Iran and their proxy fighters in Lebanon, that to can become a bargaining chip for the Tsar and Trump to parlay over. The future of Syria is not up to Iran or the GCC members, or at least the Tsar Doesn’t think so. I will address that potential fatal flaw in a few.

PRIME TIME:

Here comes the Billion dollar question. Is the Trump Team ready for Prime Time?

Does the new US team understand how to leverage what is taking place between Iran and the Russians?

If I was asked how to place a wedge between the Iranian and Russian “Alliance”, this would be my plan. Ready?...........................................  I would let the Tsar handle Syria anyway he wants. Don’t show up to the talks. Don’t have an opinion of the outcome of the talks. When the Tsar has his big post event press conference, let him have all the glory! Let him build all the anger towards him. Let the Persians feel like second class citizens in their own backyard. Yep….Let the Tsar abuse the Persian dreams and build the Persian anger. Shift the hatred! Can the West and the US see the advantage of letting the Tsar win? In the end, if Tlass becomes the proxy, interim leader of Syria. Tlass, a man who walked away from Assad and the Syrian Army in 2012.  A man who fled to one of the GCC nations. Is this someone the Persians had in mind to replace Assad? No! It’s a Russian, Turk idea, and the Iranians were not in on the concept and will not be given a vote! Turkey wants the Shia Militias out of Syria. The GCC want the Shia Militias out of Syria and the Tsar has no advantage by agreeing to let them stay. In the mind of the Persians, does the land bridge survive? Is the Tlass deal good for Iran? No!

So, what becomes of the Tlass deal if it takes place? Do the Iranians give up on their dreams of controlling, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon? No! Do the Iranians see Moscow as the real threat to this dream? Hint. They already do!

So what does the Trump Team get from this event? If they follow the strategy I spelled out, what is the advantage? The wedge! That is the advantage! The thin cloth that binds the Iranians to the Russians is torn. The Iranians become more isolated than at any time in the past decades. Now, here comes the hard part for Trump’s team. The Tsar has probably played this Peace Conference / Tlass/ issue out. Has he come up with what he believes is the proper counter to damaging his relationship with Iran?  Well, he’s come up with something, but how it will play out, not even the Tsar can be assured. Risk. It’s his middle name.

So imagine this. Imagine after the Tsar declares a victory in solving the Syrian Civil War and after the Trump team has agreed to go along with it, the next event that involves the Persian is the US announcing it is going not honor the Iranian nuclear deal? Does the US go to the UN and address this? Who knows, but knowing Trump’s style, probably only from the position of informing the UN not “asking” them. You can bet this will be on the agenda when President Trump meets the British Prime Minister. Don’t worry about Merkel. I’m not sure the new US President cares what she has to say about Iran.

Look. In the end. What the Trump Team cares about is the Iranian nuclear arms deal. The future of Syria is not on the first 100 day list. The destruction of the Daesh is! The deals made between Trump and Putin are made at their level, not the Iranian level. The blame for making the Persians look insignificant in the region will go to Moscow, not DC or London! The nuclear deal will fall apart and the Iranians will be faced with a dramatic decision. Do they openly resist the new Syrian “deal”, or do they let the Tsar win? My met is the Shia Militias are not coming out of Syria anytime soon and in the next few months they may even have new targets! There will be no peace in Syria anytime soon, but the Iranian nuclear arms deal will change and the status of NATO will change as well.

Yep. It’s Monday morning and the new Team in DC better be ready for Prime Time! 

TRUMP’S STYLE OF FOREIGN POLICY…. WHAT WILL BE THE REAL DIFFERENCE?

Well, according to the Liberal, Socialist, and Pacifist left, the end is nearly upon us! The U.S. is only 28 hrs. away from having Donald Trump as President! What is going to happen? How soon will the rest of the world really begin to hate the US? News flash….a large part of the world already dislikes the US and most of them work at the United Nations. Everyone is speculating on what Trump will be able to do and not be able to do. What will he change first? Side note: The idea that over fifty sworn political members of one US political party would deliberately not attend the inauguration is pathetic, but I won’t run down that rabbit hole now.  

We could play, “What if”, all day, but let’s take a look at a broader more important topic that will have a much larger impact on the next four years than what Trump does first or second.

STYLE:

What will be President Trump’s style in the realm of international affairs? For the past eight years, the US has taken a stance often attributed to “Progressive thinking”. Let an issue come to the table, see what the other side / sides/ have to say and or offer and then find a way to compromise that hopefully everyone will abide by. Risky in the business word and not widely accepted in just about any segment of the business world. This concept makes it extremely difficult to achieve individual goals that may not be popular with those who are coming to the negotiation table. It is easy to say, “no’ or “I don’t agree” when the point is made in a passive manner. It’s simply not how the world of international relations works. No. You don’t have to come to the table with a hammer or your shoe, Soviet jab there, but the odds of achieving an objective are not fundamentally based on capitulation to a common level.

Trump’s “style” will be very different. As I’ve said before, he attacks problems / issues/ with the attitude of an aggressive Businessman. A Businessman who has been very successful in many parts of the world. Will he come to the table with his shoe? No! Will he come to the table with a plan for what he wants to achieve? Yes. Will he leave room for negotiating a workable compromise? Yes! The art of negotiation is often the center of gravity for very successful Business minded people. Will the Trump team be aggressive? Yes and that is the real change for not only the US, but for all of those who have been dealing with the US. Is Trump’s “style” akin to Passive Aggressiveness? If I had to deal with his team on a continuing bases, I would bank on “Passive Aggressiveness[DS1] ” before and after the meetings, not during the meetings.

Offence / Defense:

Here is another way you can look at the issue of the pending Trump style.  For the past eight years, the US has come to the table on Defense! Worried the world was so angry for all the aggressive behavior the US had shown over the past decades that it had to apologize and just sit and listen. Disastrous!  A “Leader” who so many leaned on suddenly showed up and said, “I’m sorry and I don’t want to lead anymore”! The world slide into even a deeper crisis and that scared the US so much that they felt the only answer was to be even more neutral. These are the actions of Passive people. Defense! Everything you do is based upon not upsetting the other side. Everything you do is built around compromise!

Offense! Can the Trump Team go on Offense and not be perceived as being over aggressive? To the US’s enemies the answer will always be “No”! Can the Trump Team have a plan that is based on what is good for the US and what the US is willing to compromise on? Yes. Will the Trump Team have bartering as a centerpiece of its international policies? If you coming to the table with the Trump Team, you better be ready for that concept.  

Like it or not, the US has been on Defense for the past eight years. The Trump Team is coming to the table on Offense! Let’s see how that plays out.

---

 [DS1]

ERDOGAN AND THE EVER CHANGING FUTURE OF TURKEY.

“Terrorist”? Now if you deal in dollars or Eruos, you are a “Terrorist”? The same as having a bomb? This is the leader of one of the key NATO partners? Like the old saying goes, “with friends like this, who needs enemies”? It’s a good thing most of the important people in the world know Egodan is a nut job, but he’s a dangerous nut job. In classic Turkish style, the military, at least part of it, tried to remove him. Again, another old saying, “ when you go to assassinate someone….don’t miss”! Beautifully played by the Tsar, the Mad Turk ran into the arms of the Russian Bear and boy, is there some history there when it comes to the Ottomans and the Russians! Economically snubbed by the EU and completely misplayed by the US administration, Egodan, it really is a good nickname for him, has been floundering around, ranting and raving about everyone that is out to get him and or  Turkey! But now, now the dollar is the weapon of “Terrorist”? Egodan is man who truly believes that wild, inflammatory statements are the best way to get attention and then your way! The problem is, eventually, most people stop paying attention to the rants! How often have you witnessed a Mother or Father just walk away, ignore, a child’s hissy fit? Yep, the same seems to apply to Egodan. His comment about the dollar and the euro didn’t even make the major news networks in the West / US. Come to think of it, most of his statements don’t show up in the West at all! I wonder just how infuriated that makes him?  But, then again, most of his diatribes are for internal consumption and as such, coverage by Western Press may not upset him too much.

TURKEY’S FUTURE: 

I can’t remember if I addressed Turkey in my 2017 predictions and I’m too lazy to go back to look.  The attached article didn’t catch my eye because of the discussion of Turkey’s debt. It was the Terrorist statement that was the eye grabber, but the overall, economic future issue is worthy of someone conducting a detailed review. You can bet the lending and business communities are doing just that.

As has been the case in the US for the past eight years, leadership can only last so long when all they do is place blame for everything that is not going right in the country on someone or something outside of their control. The blame game works, but it only works for a period of time. What happens when the blame game begins to play out in Turkey? How does Egodan crack the whip if the Turkish economy continues to falter? What is the next level of “blame”? Better yet, is there anyone who he can turn to that can save him?

Putin! If your answer was the Russians, then you guessed wrong! The Tsar has one goal and one goal only with his tolerance of the Ottoman fool; the degradation of NATO. Well, really two goals. The movement of fuel, but the short term goal is to weaken NATO as much as possible. Pipes can be moved, nations cannot.

The puppet strings have been masterfully placed on the Ottoman Sultan, but the Tsar’s confidence in how strong they are is the question. Perhaps a few more common goals, a few more favors or concessions might do the trick, but bailing out the billions of dollars, Terrorist tools remember, of debt, well that is not going to happen given the status of the Russian economy. It’s easier for the Tsar to inflame the temper of the Ottoman than it is to pay off his delusional spending debt. Making a statement equating the dollar to Terrorism, well, that was music to the Tsar’s ears. Drive that wedge! Keep pushing the Sultan to walk away from the West and NATO.

When the Tsar and President Trump meet, I wonder what part of that conversation will involve the Turks, if it even does. The Sultan will have to sit and wait to see what message his “friend” that Tsar brings him from the meeting. The Tsar will want to push the issue of NATO and Eastern Europe, but he will do so as a bargaining chip, a huge chip at that. As for President Trump, the Businessman, NATO support and or the reduction of support is also a bargaining chip. A chip not just for Europe and truthfully, Europe is not the first bet Trump will make with that chip. That chip is saved for the Tsar. The question is, what does President Trump want in exchange?

One things is certain, the NATO discussion between the US and Russia will not involve Egodan!

Side note: The funding stream attached to NATO membership is something the Turkish military understands.

If the Tsar can win some level of concessions on the issue of NATO in Eastern Europe, then guess what? He doesn’t need the Mad Turk anymore and tossing someone aside is a specialty of the Tsar. Oh, by the way, when the handshakes and the photo ops are over and when the Sultan walks away, they still don’t like each other! Who can Egodan turn to if the Russians and the US write him off? Can he find a new friend? Can he speak to the Dragon? Will the Dragon want to speak with him? If not, he can do what every spoiled brat child has a tendency to do. He can create a bigger mess in his room!

Dollars, Euros and “Terrorism”…..just how mentally unbalanced is this guy?

 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/01/turkey-erdogan-says-dollar-euro-holders-are-terrorists.html]

MURDERS AND MEXICAN UNIVERSITIES IS THERE A STORY HERE?

Universities, the historical incubator of social discontent and often unrest. That holds true for Mexico as well and that is why this story caught my eye. Guerrero Mexico, the Southwest corner of Mexico. The historical birthplace of the unrest in Mexico. The murder of the tenth member of the faculty of the Autonomous University of Guerrero or their family members in the past year. If that is true, name me another institution of higher learning where ten members of that institution have been murdered in one year? Okay, leave out Syria and Iraq.

If you want to set in motion the potential for unrest, then allow something horrific to take place close enough to young college students that they can see it, talk about it and then have coffee over what it means. If you wish to add additional pressure on the Mexican government, let another story develop about death surrounding the life of those who live on or are associated with the Universities in Mexico. Let this all take place in the region of Mexico where the Universities were designed for the poor, working farm class families where pride runs deep for those who dream of their children having a better shot in life then they did. The memories of the 43 students who were rounded up and never seen again still runs deep in the social conscious of the common, working class Mexican. Yes, an event that could have brought down the Mexican government if it were not for the low expectations of its citizens that the government would ever tell the truth!

Why are these murders taking place at this University?  Is some latest, greatest drug gang behind these killings? Why? Look, the bottom line with any of those groups is this. If you don’t interfere with their ability to make money, then they could care less if you live or die. What is taking place at this university that has them taking such brutal action? Kidnappings for profit? Is that the game? Most likely not. Why kill the Son and the Husband? Is the school leading a social movement against the drug gangs in the area? That’s not out of the question, but nobody is making that claim that I have seen. I’m not going to play Homicide Detective here, but I will address the concern I am sure is, or should be, troubling the Mexican Government.  

REPERCUSSIONS:

Just how much attention do the murders at this University get? Are the leaders in Mexico City working this issue or are they relying on the inept and corrupt government of Guerrero to solve the case?  Basically, how much danger is in if for the government if they don’t solve this case? Trump is coming into Office this week and the issues with that are far more pressing to the leaders in Mexico City than yet another string of murders, even if they do have ties, once again, to a University.  The amount of energy the Mexican government will expend on this case will be directly proportional to the level of pain it may bring to them. I would be willing to bet the folks in Mexico City are spending more time monitoring the Social Media post coming from that campus and who is responding to them, then they are trying to stop what is taking place.

What happens if these murders are never solved? Will the students and faculty just move on?

What happens if the murders continue? That one is easier to answer. The government will have to at least appear to have some interest in the event, much like they did with the disappeared 43. Find a suspect, make a big scene arresting them or him and then declare victory. Remember the murders in Juarez? Over two hundred female victims and public outcry that boiled over into the US and then a Bus Driver was snatched and tagged for the whole show. Problem was, the murders continued!

CONSPIRACY:

Do you want to continue to cause increasing tension in Mexico?

Do you want to continue to destabilize the US’s Southern Border?

Do you want to continue to divide the US population on the issue of border security?

Do you want to force the U.S. to worry about its own backyard and less about other parts of the far away world?

If you desire all of these things, then continue to let Mexico slide into the mud of a collapsing, third world country.

Allow the Universities to become social hotbeds once again.

Allow the working class poor to continue to see Mexico City is indifferent to the rest of the “Fly over country” and watch the enemies of the U.S. leverage this pressure for their own gain.

Something is going on with the Autonomous University of Guerrero and it doesn’t matter if it’s something as simple as out of control drug gangs. The danger is far more serious than that.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2017/01/professors-murder-was-10th-linked-to.html

PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP AND THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.

 WHAT'S GOING ON?

I didn’t go back and check, but I am fairly sure I’ve addressed the intelligence communities “issues” in the past. Now, it’s safe to say, I have a firsthand experience with this operation and it’s “community” and as such, my opinion of what is taking place between them and the President elect may not be to the liking of either side of the US political arena. Let me get a few key statements out of the way and then I will defend my opinions.

·        Does the Intelligence community “shape” reports / briefings based on political / leadership issues? Yes.

·        Is the information that is often derived from the field level collection points changed? Yes.

·        Does this take place at only the highest levels of political leadership? No! It takes place, to some degree, at all levels. The art of editing “intelligence” is a poorly executed process.

·        Are Intelligence agency leaders politically influenced? Yes. The higher the brief, the more influenced they become.

·        Is the private sector as good as or better than government controlled agencies? In many cases, yes!

·        Do agency heads worry about not upsetting their Bosses? Sadly, the answer has become “yes” with an ever increasing trend.

·        Must “intelligence” be weighed against foreign policy or economic issues? Yes.

Okay look. Gathering relevant intelligence / information / at almost every level is difficult once you get past the “raw data” stage. A street cop gets a tip on a criminal and passes it on to a line supervisor. Then, the line supervisor decides is it worth passing on to the next level or did the Officer tell someone else without the Supervisor knowing about it. How many times does a slice of intelligence get reviewed, modified before it’s passed on, incorporated into a larger topic or just dropped? The whole process of initial gathering and then collation and then review and then more collation and then more approval is almost universal. It takes place to some degree at all levels, local law enforcement or satellite data. It’s a cumbersome, methodical process that has far more opportunities to be wrong that it does to be right. A picture of a new launch pad in North Korea doesn’t equate into the North Koreans are going to attack South Korea. Slices of information that must be combined with multiple levels of other data has a real tendency to become lost or worse, corrupted. When you factor in speed, the need for information in a very short period of time, the process becomes far less reliable. So, the “Art of intelligence gathering is extremely difficult. It’s often very expensive and even more often provides poor results or worse, false information! In the end, it’s a never the golden key to proper decision making. To some of my close friends out there, we lived by a saying. “First reporting is almost always wrong”!

Does this down and dirty explanation of how intelligence gathering works explain what is going on with Trump and the “Community” in the US? It only tells part of the story. The rest is ugly, in my opinion and just about as dangerous as anything can possibly be for the safety of the nation.

INTELLIGENCE LEADERSHIP:

Is it new news that agency level leaders can be politically motivated, intimidated? No. It’s been going on from the beginning.

Is something that has been going on in the past less dangerous in the 21^st century simply because, “it’s always been like that”? No! The world is changing by the minute and those changes can make old concepts, old accepted practices, extremely dangerous in today’s word.  Remember, with social media and the World Wide Web, opinions and perceptions move far faster than political response. “ Arab Spring”!

Leon Pennetta! Totally unqualified to lead the organizations he was politically chosen to head. Does anyone think for a minute the briefings he had prepared for his Boss were not skewed based upon what he thought his Boss wanted to hear or even worse, needed to hear? Is that any different that anywhere else? Pennetta is just one example of what takes place all over the world. Do you think for a second the Tsar’s key leaders shape reports based on what may upset him? The only time that takes place in the West is when an agency head is looking to expand their budget and even then, the information is taking with a grain of salt. “He” or she, “ Is just trying to protect / grow / their budget”!  

In the 21^st century, can nations afford to have such a key process such as “intelligence” manipulated based upon, “the old ways”? What happens when a person comes along and wins the election in the most powerful nation in the world and that person didn’t come from that “old way”?  What happens when that person is a Billionaire who has conducted “Business / Intelligence all over the world with just about every government that matters? What should happen when that person says, “what are you doing and how are you doing it”?

Look! Calling out the US Intelligence Community in the US is a very bad idea.

Having the political counterparts leaving office and the media that supports them inflame that issue is so dangerous to the US, the people should be very…very….worried.

It’s a hard, inaccurate and messy job. It’s a process that needs to run by complete professionals. It’s a process that cannot become a political tool as it has in the past.

Beware! This nonsense is more dangerous to the US than most of its people know.

Trust me when I tell you, the US’s enemies know this all too well! 

JERUSALEM! AN EMBASSY MOVE AND WHAT MIGHT IT MEAN?

Is the US really going to move their Embassy to Jerusalem? Is there really an advantage for the US to do so? What are the upsides? What are the downsides? If they do make the move, can the region really get any more violent? If the US doesn’t move, what will it hurt them? Was it just a campaign promise like thousands in the past? Has Trump already had this conversation with Israel? How would the Arab countries really react? Do the Palestinians really matter that much to them? Is it an issue of honor? Okay, I could go on for about an hour with snapshot questions, but trust me when I tell you, there are people who are assigned to come up with such questions and then have possible courses of action for each answer. Well, at least that is the way it is supposed to happen! Trump could very well be a CEO more than a President in that he has already made up his mind on what he wants to do on the issue and that is that! It wouldn’t shock me in the least.

This morning, on this topic, I think I will play one of my favorite games, yep, “What if”?

What if? What if President Trump really intends on moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem even when some of his “Experts” tell him it’s not a good idea?

What if Part of the “Deal” President Trump is going to form with the Tsar is to have the Russians support this move or at a minimum give a, “No comment”? The Russians get their way in Syria and the US gets Trumps way on the issue of the move! Not a fair trade, but that won’t be the only bargaining chip. Does the Tsar really care if the US moves their Embassy to Jerusalem? The fact of the matter is, large issues are the ones that go on the table when the Tsar and Trump finally, truly start communicating. Is the move large enough of an issue to even make the list? The stabilization of the region and the sphere of influence both nations envision, that is what will be negotiated. If the Embassy issue impacts ether of those two topics, then yes, the move will make it onto the table. In the end, it’s nothing more than symbolism, or a trigger! To be perfectly honest here, the issue will be decided or has been decided without the inputs of the Palestinians. Yes, they sent a letter to Trump and yes they gave politically vailed threats, but will the region burn itself down over the move? No!

What if? What if the move really goes through? What will the Middle Eastern Nations do? What they say is merely a matter of political words and so many words have been spoken in that part of the world in the past thirty years they simply all blend together. What will they do? More accurately, what can they do and what are they willing to do? Declare war on Israel? No. Allow Terror groups to increase attacks on Israel? A dangerous game, especially for the Abbas and Gaza! Can the countries of the Middle East afford to stand by and watch the city that is most sacred to their religion be formally recognized as part of Israel? Does anyone in this world truly believe that Jerusalem is not part of Israel, regardless of their religious beliefs? Does anyone really think that that city will someday be taken from Israel? So, just how much sacrifice are the counties of the Middle East willing to make? Are they going place their own nations in ruins over the move? No! Will violence come from this move? Oh yes! I can assure you there would be violence and perhaps on a scale not seen in for many years. If you want to give the Radicals fuel for a worldwide fight against the US, then make this move. Abbas is a puppet and the West ability to counter the global Terror network is already strained beyond its ability to maintain. Violence is a guarantee. Nation state support for the Palestinians will be in the form of lip service.  

The final, “What if”:

What if Trump has communicated to the Tsar, “Look, I’m moving our Embassy to Jerusalem and we need to make sure the groups that might cause trouble are dealt with prior to the move”. The message is this, “You and I determine the fate of the region and this is just one step in letting the region know who calls the shots”!

Now, you can punch holes in my theories all you want, but the fact of the matter is, Trump and Putin are going to sit down and figure out what needs to happen in the Middle East. You may not like that and it may make you angry I said that, but the world works off of reality and perception.

What does this potential move mean? It means the Tsar and Trump are going to meet and decide no matter what!

Post January 20^th 2017 is going to be an exciting time and a dangerous time for those poor people who will suffer the counterattacks. Yes, the victims of the world continue to be victims!

How disappointed God must be!