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US Ends Support For Ukrainian F-16s

(ukrainetoday.org)
1184 points ctack | 4 comments | 09 Mar 25 11:08 UTC | HN request time: 0.746s | source
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Waterluvian ◴[09 Mar 25 15:04 UTC] No.43309624[source]▶
I think this from French senator Claude Malhuret sums it up:

    This is a tragedy for the free world, but it’s first and foremost a tragedy for the United States. [President Donald] Trump’s message is that being his ally serves no purpose, because he will not defend you, he will impose more tariffs on you than on his enemies, and he will threaten to seize your territories, while supporting the dictators who invade you.
I’ve thought for a while now that the U.S. has spent a long time building up subjective resources in goodwill, trust, reliability, etc. (you can certainly bicker about the details here). But with Trump, they’re cashing in on all of that. They’re selling the laptops and office chairs (sometimes quite literally) as a business strategy.

I think there’s a fatal misconception among many Americans about where their prosperity comes from. They’re not special or exceptionally capable by any means. It comes from wielding tremendous economic and military power gently, preferring cooperation over conquest.

My concern is that the consequences of the current strategy are too far into the future to act as a sufficient deterrent. It’ll feel like it actually works for a time. But then eventually everyone hates you and adapts to exclude you.

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1. glitchc ◴[09 Mar 25 15:26 UTC] No.43309877[source]▶
No, I'm afraid you're wrong. US prosperity is rooted in its overwhelming military might. People dare not take it on for fear of reprisal. Those who occasionally try are quickly reminded through reciprocal action. US companies benefit greatly from secure operations and relatively laissez-faire domestic economic policies to grow into world behemoths.

Don't kid yourself for one second into thinking that your safety and security are tied to some "Kumbaya good feeling" that random strangers have towards you. The stick may be silent most of the time, but everyone knows it's there.

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2. rincebrain ◴[09 Mar 25 16:48 UTC] No.43310925[source]▶
It's both.

The stick being silent only works if people believe you won't randomly start swinging it if they cooperate, and people trusting you not to swing wouldn't matter if you didn't have a stick.

3. tim333 ◴[09 Mar 25 17:39 UTC] No.43311566[source]▶
Meh. I think that's backwards. The US has a strong military because of its economic success.

Same with China. Get rich first then buy guns.

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4. glitchc ◴[10 Mar 25 01:29 UTC] No.43315983[source]▶
Making money is just one step. Buying weapons is the second, and making your own is the next major leap. Many countries get to the second step, but a select few get to the third. Buying doesn't guarantee safety, after all the supplier can cut you off from critical ammo and support at any time (that's what's happening right?)

It's a conscious choice for a country to specialize in weapons manufacturing, and the US, well it's the best at it. Does it come for free? Definitely not, it comes at a huge cost. We can't have so many other things because we do this. But we do buy freedom with it. Peace-loving Americans have to do some real soul-searching: Would their success and comfort be possible without those weapons? Would they still have their freedoms? The first thing tyrants do is take away weapons from the public, lest their enemies rise up against them in armed insurrection. Which of the two parties is more likely to do so?