Professor Richardson puzzles – perhaps she really understands but is funnin’ us – over very recent governmental moves by President Trump:
In other words, Trump is cleaning out the few national security leaders who were not complete lackeys and replacing them with people who are. It’s funny timing for such a shake-up, especially one that will destabilize the country, making us more vulnerable.
Today Washington Post diplomacy and national security reporter John Hudson noted that a source told him that the “Trump administration just gave Congress formal notification for a massive arms transfer to the United Arab Emirates: 50 F-35s, 18 MQ-9 Reapers with munitions; a $10 billion munitions package including thousands of Mk 82 dumb bombs, guided bombs, missiles & more….” This deal comes two months after the administration’s Abraham Accord normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE opened the way for arms sales.
The UAE has wanted the F-35 for years; it is the world’s most advanced fighter jet. They cost about $100 million apiece. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has secretly been pushing for the sale of the arms to the UAE in the face of fierce opposition by government agencies and lawmakers.
It’s not hard to connect the dots. As Trump’s own children have testified, Trump is motivated by money, and a recent report from The New York Times has indicated he has a shitload of debt about to fall right on his neck.
So what does he do? A few weeks ago the Arab nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to normalize relations with Israel. My speculation is that the deal is this:
- UAE normalizes relations with Israel.
- The United States Executive, despite the vociferous objections of lawmakers and intelligence agencies, agrees to sell the most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-35
- Under the table, UAE also agrees to cover Trump’s imminent debts, and maybe even his long-term debts.
That much has been agreed to, as evidenced by the Administration announcement.
The real danger here is not that Trump escapes his debts by cheating at playing government. The real danger is that UAE has the F-35 and its technology.
It can sell it to Russia.
It can sell it to China.
You’ll notice that covering Trump’s debts won’t cost UAE a thing, as Russia and/or China can easily supply the funds in exchange for F-35 technology.
It can sell or otherwise share it with other Arab League countries which are still actively hostile to Israel. So much for Trump being a big friend of Israel.
And this takes me all the way back to why Trump is so ill-suited for his attainment of the Presidency. He doesn’t understand the big picture. He’s trained and practiced the art of making and losing[1] money all of his life, but he has apparently no clue about international relations.
And that’s a large portion of the Executive.
If Israel, or even ourselves, find ourselves in the middle of a shooting war in a few years, and our F-35s are suffering large losses, we’ll know who to blame. President Trump, his supplicating Republican Party, and 62 million voters who voted him in 2016, all supported by a conservative disdain for expertise.
And Paul Ryan will be right down there in a Hellish circle next to Trump.
And our options? Limited. Fortunately, delivery takes time, and Biden may simply cancel the deal the moment he comes into power, leaving UAE high and dry.
