r/worldnews United24 Media 11h ago

Russia/Ukraine CIA Chief Told Moscow Russia Is Getting Weaker—Putin Reportedly Canceled Their Meeting

https://united24media.com/world/cia-chief-told-moscow-russia-is-getting-weaker-putin-reportedly-canceled-their-meeting-22121
11.8k Upvotes

839 comments sorted by

View all comments

3.0k

u/SneakyWheeler 11h ago

No wonder the first thing that leaked was that Russia "thinks the US is weak". 

Projection has been the theme of this decade, hasn't it?

1.0k

u/Savings_Macaroon3727 11h ago

I mean certainly not the same order of magnitude but US is not projecting strength vis a vis Iran.

330

u/BenDover42 10h ago

No and if they would have kept their head down a while after Venezuela they looked so sharp there between intelligence and military. It’s been a mess in Iran. They struggled against the new age of drones it would appear but let the boys down at Raytheon, Lockheed or General Dynamics figure out how much money they’ll make and they’ll release some insane tech in a year or two.

334

u/Apprehensive-Pin518 9h ago

I mean if looking sharp means ignoring international law then yeah they looked real sharp.

114

u/SpecialistCut7101 9h ago

Think like one of his supporters though, ignore laws and morals, focus only on what makes us look strong.

His supporters like looking strong. They do not like looking weak and they do not like paying a ton for gas.

65

u/Parliamen7 9h ago

Enforcing the world order you created is wahat makes you stronger

101

u/Good_Restaurant15 8h ago

Problem is their whole schtick is nothing but a dumb person's idea of what a smart/strong person looks/acts like.

They don't know what it means to maintain 'world order', they only know how to grift, and chaos is their means to do it.

30

u/TheMaskedMan2 6h ago

Their average supporter seriously thinks that all that influence was
‘weakness’ and ‘being taken advantage of’.

18

u/GipsyDanger45 5h ago

And that USAID was a waste of money, they don’t understand global issues or what “soft” power is.

8

u/Alundil 5h ago

This is because it's IN the name. It's "SOFT" power and so they, simplistically, think it's lesser than other forms of power/influence.

→ More replies (0)

17

u/Itsjeancreamingtime 6h ago

The crazy thing was the JCPOA was probably the single best diplomatic success in American foreign policy history in terms of harm mitigation, but nooooo we needed $5 gas

7

u/ExitLiquidity2026 4h ago

JCPOA was a softlanding for a moderate Iran to be integrated to the normal world. This should have paved way for Iranians to end hostilities towards USA, move towards a moderate oil player.

Republicans, in their classical stupidity and hate, fucked it all up.

2

u/2bad-2care 6h ago

I love how they managed to completely and throughly piss away decades of soft power buildup in a matter of months. /s Absolute morons.

3

u/ExitLiquidity2026 4h ago

The worst part is they still actively refuse to believe they are fucking idiots.

1

u/Optimal_Juggernaut37 1h ago

they only know how to grift, and chaos is their means to do it.

They are the door-to-door salesman of global domination. A nation built on the backs of confidence men, gangsters, grifters, prospectors and thieves.

u/Good_Restaurant15 29m ago

A nation built by slaves, then stolen by everyone you mentioned. Capitalism is the real enemy.

44

u/sandgoose 8h ago

In their minds the world order US imperialism created has resulted in the US being taken advantage of. They are... not smart people.

2

u/Daniel_The_Thinker 7h ago

I mean there are definitely cases of that, countries that benefit from that world order without buying in.

Trump is the loudest on that but he's not the only president to feel that way.

-7

u/Expensive-Sundae-831 7h ago

Of course they're not smart people. But you'll be saying this the rest of your life. Perhaps a different observation to make is to ask, why aren't humanity's "better angles" able to overcome this?

u/Parliamen7 1h ago

You mean better ancles

u/Expensive-Sundae-831 1h ago

beetle ankles.

10

u/leostotch 8h ago

OK but you're talking about what actually makes you stronger, not what makes them feel stronger.

5

u/SpecialistCut7101 8h ago

I really preferred the one we had just a few years ago, not a fan of “might makes right” since it might kill us all

3

u/ABHOR_pod 5h ago

You’re forgetting the most important aspect of conservative thought, which is that rules are meant to restrain others, not to control you. Enforcing the world order means putting other countries in their place beneath you, not following international law.

This is the one true ideology of all conservative or right wing movements and it’s one that’s never disproven.

1

u/Specialist_Cow6468 8h ago

You’ve gotta knock like 30 IQ points off where you’re at my friend. Yes, that is strength. It’s more about the appearance of strength in this context though

1

u/Flomo420 2h ago

Chief of police burning down the department to send a message to the criminals that he is super badass

11

u/iytrix 4h ago

That’s impossible to do because I can’t fathom what looks strong to them. They wore diapers over their clothes…..I’ve never interacted with people that have that low of thinking power, and I interact with thousands of the public daily. The closest I can grapple with it is their brains are just off and they wait for what to think. Like there is no “looking strong” action, just do anything and say “we so strong” and THEN that looks strong to them.

Paying more for gas and food is probably the only thought I’ve seen them have on their own, but even when told it’s not that bad a LOT of them got quiet. It’s like they’re taken the NPC modern insult and turned it into a badge of honor.

3

u/portobox2 5h ago

I cannot and will not divorce myself from reality so distinctly. Its like asking someone to really endeavor to think like an ant; serve the colony, serve the "King," consume consume consume.

8

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[deleted]

3

u/SpecialistCut7101 8h ago

If the workers had access to good public education (they don’t) they wouldn’t be regarded drones.

1

u/alexefi 8h ago

they do not like paying a ton for gas.

the do now, because cult leader told them so. what a few extra bucks to own the libs?

1

u/Resident-Fly-4181 4h ago

All that winning, big beautiful winning, so much winning that it's incredible how much winning is going on.

37

u/Bleyo 8h ago

Regardless of how you feel about Trump and his decision, it's fucking insane that our military flew into contested airspace and arrested a foreign president with no casualties.

11

u/mannyman34 7h ago

If you think that wasn't pre orchestratred with members of the venezualen government I got some coins and shoes to sell you.

11

u/Thisguymoot 3h ago

If you think that doesn’t also speak to how exceptional that operation was, I got some coins and shoes to sell you.

Everything that went into planning and making that possible, years of it, of having the right intel assets in the right places, was a textbook worthy example of a successful SMO. Compare it to the rushed and haphazard attack on Iran.

-1

u/Flomo420 2h ago

If you think that doesn’t also speak to how exceptional that operation was, I got some coins and shoes to sell you.

They found some traitors within the Venezuelan government to betray their leader and open the door for them

Shit birds of a feather and all that

2

u/Bleyo 6h ago

So?

2

u/dragonmp93 6h ago

Delcy Rodriguez says hi.

3

u/magicninjaswhat 8h ago

"Regardless of how you feel about Trump and his decision, it's fucking insane that our military flew into contested airspace and arrested a foreign president."

FTFY

5

u/Fun-Twist-3705 5h ago

"arrested a foreign president. dictator"

FTFY

u/magicninjaswhat 1h ago

Unprovoked and without congressional approval. Then also stole their oil. We aren't the good guys here and it was done completely illegally. There's 0 justification that makes this ok

0

u/TalesNT 4h ago

I think the issue is how they were recognized internationally, even if we all knew the vote counts were a joke. Also, if the US had issues with Dictators they wouldn't have helped install like 15 dictators over the years in Latam.

5

u/Fun-Twist-3705 4h ago

I'm certainly not defending Trump or US. Obviously their goals weren't "liberating" Venezuelan people or "bringing democracy" there (and they aren't even pretending this time).

they were recognized internationally

Pol Pot, Sadam, Asad, Gaddafi and a bunch of other dictators who were evil to various degrees also were. Until they weren't. So that's kind of meaningless, historically if western countries stop recognizing your regime as legitimate it effectively ceases to be 'recognized internationally'. That's almost always a political pragmatic decision and rarely has much to do with what the dictator is doing or treating his people.

1

u/Bleyo 6h ago

No US casualties, obviously.

First day of basic training we were told that our job is to kill people and break their shit and if you weren't ok with that, you should leave.

3

u/the_blackfish 7h ago

No US casualties, I take it your meaning?

-2

u/_Thick- 5h ago

Do people in the Divided States care about anything else?

1

u/Optimal_Juggernaut37 1h ago

our military flew into contested airspace and arrested a foreign president with no casualties.

In a country half the size of Alaska, with population less than 10% of the USA and a combined active military less than 10% of the USA active military.

Is it really that insane? Nuclear capable superpower sweeps in to kidnap president of a country 1/10th its size and annihilates any resistance.... golf clap

3

u/TheArmoredKitten 8h ago

Sharp like a knife in the hands of a crackhead. You don't have to be respected to be feared.

1

u/Akiasakias 3h ago

International "law" is just voluntary agreements made between countries. Its not what people think it is.

1

u/Apprehensive-Pin518 3h ago

if it is a voluntary agreement it is not law.

1

u/Akiasakias 3h ago

International law is a system of rules, agreements, and customs that govern how sovereign nations interact with each other. But those nations remain sovereign, which simply put means they can do whatever they want. They are only as constrained as they choose to be.

1

u/Alphabunsquad 2h ago

Acting irrationally and dangerously but appearing competent will at least project power opposed to acting irrationally and fucking failing at everything you are attempting.

1

u/Optimal_Juggernaut37 1h ago

When did they ever give a fuck about international law?

1

u/Fun-Twist-3705 5h ago

That seems orthogonal? The operation in Venezuela was pretty smooth and seemed like an easy win no matter how someone frames it (of course what really happened is that they simple made a deal with the current regime to allow them to stay in charge if they gave up Maduro...).

All things being even overthrowing dictators is a good thing, it's just really important why someone is doing that and what's the plan for the aftermath.

0

u/ElCazaPuta 4h ago

The reason is to steal their oil and no it's not good to go around overthrowing who u think is a dictator

0

u/MercantileReptile 7h ago

Some extortion and neo-colonialism is so sharp and witty.

-7

u/djabae 9h ago

They looked powerful and efficient. Nobody cares about international law.

4

u/Apprehensive-Pin518 9h ago

apparently.

1

u/Fun-Twist-3705 5h ago

It's not something that Trump came up with. France, Britain and other western countries did the same to Gaddafi and intervened in Syria for many years.

I mean Trump sucks, dictators like Maduro are not better than him they just can't do even as remotely as much harm on the global scale of course so it's easy for everyone to ignore them and let them do their thing.

0

u/bjos144 4h ago

Yes. Evil but competent. Short sighted in terms of maintaining the global order that serves the US well, but in the moment tactically adept.

The Iran situation looks both short sighted AND tactically incompetent.

20

u/Freshwater_Spaceman 9h ago

Is there any incentive for ‘insane tech’? The government is so corrupt that they’re just funneling money their way regardless of outcome. This is how empires fail.

1

u/Fun-Twist-3705 5h ago

US tech is already pretty insane, was for decades. The issue is just its very expensive and not really suitable for long lasting attrition warfare in a peer or close to a peer conflict. Long term even US can't afford to waste Patriots to destroy missiles that cost a fraction.

I'm sure they can make even more 'insane tech' the question is whether they can manufacture cheap weapons on a large scale suitable for drone warfare and obviously the "cheap" part is very unlikely.

4

u/Daniel_The_Thinker 7h ago

I mean the coverage is a little one-sided.

Is Trump achieving his goals in Iran? Hell no.

But its basically open season on the leaders of the Iranian government, the US has killed their leader, their cabinet, and a bunch of high-ranking military officers.

Our missiles work, our missile defense struggles from the same problem it always has: its cheaper to fire a missile than shoot down a missile.

5

u/akopley 9h ago

The cost ratio was way off on shahed vs patriot interceptors.

2

u/WtIfOurAccsKisJKUnls 5h ago

Good thing we don't fire patriots at shaheds, we use those on actual missiles

4

u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 6h ago

after Venezuela they looked so sharp there between intelligence and military

We blew up fishermen and stole a head of state. We absolutely did not look sharp between intelligence and military.

2

u/Ntroepy 4h ago

Are you saying they looked sharp by kidnapping the head of state and now blackmailing his replacement so US oil companies can reap massive profits by stealing millions of barrels of their oil?

I wouldn’t really call that “looking sharp” as much as asshole, bully behavior that blatantly ignores international law. But we’re big so fuck international law, right?

2

u/Feathrende 6h ago

By "looked so sharp" do you mean "looked so unbelievably unreliable that most places will forever think thrice before considering dealing with the US"? If so I agree!

2

u/Brodman1986 9h ago

I think china already has that tech.

2

u/sparkax 8h ago

Even way back in the 60's, they knew it was all Wall Street running the show and making bank off of all of the dead and dying American service members over there.

One of my favorite lines from Country Joe McDonald and Fish's I Feel Like I am Fixin' to Die Rag:

"Well come on Wall Street don't move slow
"Why man, this is war-a-go-go
"There's plenty good money to be made
"By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade
"Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
"They drop it on the Viet Cong"

1

u/blipblooop 6h ago

Raytheon lockheed and gd are in the business of making drones that cost between 2 and 400 million. The new age of 2 thousand dollar drones doesnt make them enough money. 

1

u/mchu_284 3h ago

insane tech is a drone with nuclear powered engine armed with laser? is it meant so?

1

u/John-AtWork 3h ago

A massive advantage of drones is that they are cheap and can overwhelm traditional defensive measures. We will probably see AI drones bringing down drones soon, but the gap is real for now.

1

u/Alphabunsquad 2h ago

I mean there isn’t really any tech that could control the Iranian situation. Their geography vs the geography of the other gulf states leaves everyone pretty fucked. Probably the only thing that could defeat Iran would be an insane amount of political infiltration or an insane committal of troops on the ground while accepting that pretty much all middle eastern oil production will be destroyed while Iran is being rooted out.

That said, the US does need a cheaper way to defend against cheap drones and that has been exposed.

0

u/VanCurious779 7h ago

Oh fuck off with this bullshit. No they won’t, they’ll keep lobbying to make the same outdated shit that already make and look after their true motive, to increase profit for stock holders.

Fuck outta here with this industrial complex glazing.

0

u/thecashblaster 7h ago

hey struggled against the new age of drones it would appear but let the boys down at Raytheon, Lockheed or General Dynamics figure out how much money they’ll make and they’ll release some insane tech in a year or two.

They were already working on anti-drone tech. It's just getting sped up now.

0

u/Hautamaki 6h ago

The boys at Raytheon et al vetoed US cooperation with Ukrainian drone makers because they were afraid they wouldn't be able to compete on price, so I'm not too hot on them right now either

1

u/BenDover42 6h ago

I’m talking about anti drone technology. Not drones.

2

u/Hautamaki 6h ago

Well my understanding is that drones are some of the best anti drone technology but either way, they should be learning from Ukraine but they don't want to have to compete on price so they are vetoing all US cooperation.

0

u/YourWifesBoyfrien69 5h ago

Venezuela population 30 mil, Iran 90 mil. I guess that's the difference. Size does Matter.

3

u/John-AtWork 3h ago

It is almost like "strong men" ultimately weaken a country.

7

u/-Moonscape- 8h ago

They will rebound by bombing some fishing boats in cuba

1

u/Ronho 6h ago

There are no fishing boats in Cuba. Only, military. They import all their seafood from Brazil.

3

u/Snitsie 9h ago

No but the entire Republican party has been projecting about everything illegal they've done the past years, or just projecting on gays because half of them are closeted.

1

u/Wasblindbutnowisee33 9h ago

Strength through Kegsbreath!

2

u/ragnaroksunset 5h ago

I'd argue that the US falling short in Iran is a far bigger case of exposed hubris than Russia falling short in Ukraine.

Granted, Russia has always faced logistical challenges projecting force to its land borders. And Putin certainly opened hostilities with bluster. Ukraine's defense, particularly given the reluctant and sub-standard help it's received from the rest of the free world, is far more than I would have expected. But historically Russia has never defeated its greatest enemy, the vastness and uselessness of its territory (building in muskeg is basically impossible) so there was no reason to expect them to do it this time. At the same time, in no uncertain terms, Ukraine will be rebuilding for decades and until it recovers it will be unambiguously worse off.

America allegedly has land and sea dominance over every other military on the planet. Iran enjoys heavy natural fortifications but if you told me before the conflict that America was embarking on an effective siege of the country, I would have thought for sure they would win.

Instead what happened is they went in for a quick decapitation strike, got pulled into a siege, and ended up failing at both - and if you ended the conflict today with the current state of play frozen, Iran would be better off than when it started. That is not to discount the deaths and infrastructure destruction, but with effective control over the Strait, they have the capacity to fund a recovery without serious allied support - and as long as that control persists, it will pay them dividends while at the same time economically hobbling every potential enemy economy around the world.

TL;DR Russia failed to project force in a way that everyone but Russia could have predicted. America not only failed to project force, but has made its target stronger through its failure.

2

u/kityrel 3h ago

It's kind of silly to split hairs on this. But I'd say both Russia and the US have catastrophically failed in whatever it was they supposedly were trying to do, and have made their foes stronger.

Russia has set itself back a generation, and will continue to diminish the longer their stupid evil genocidal war continues. Ukraine is fighting for survival and will never submit -- and despite the horrible deaths and losses, has grown much stronger militarily, and is setting itself up as a major power when the war finally ends.

Meanwhile the United States (Trump) spits on all her allies around the world repeatedly, wrecking its soft power. And then starts a war in Iran that -- more than Russia's honestly -- has a massively negative global impact. It won't just weaken the instigator, Iran's predictable blockade of the strait may soon cause a global economic meltdown. And because of this, and also due to insane (but predictable) mismanagement by the US government, the US strategic oil supply is depleting, and dire.

Both own goals were entirely avoidable. Arguably, not many people thought Ukraine would stand up to Russia as well as they have. But I think it was well known that attacking Iran like the US did was a very bad idea.

And honestly, I think that IS why Trump did it. He is literally trying to destroy the western alliances and the United States. You look at everything he's done, and it makes way more sense that way.

1

u/ragnaroksunset 3h ago

I mean I'll walk away compromising and saying "Both". That's totally fair. The idea that they're not the same order of magnitude is just silly.

2

u/Akiasakias 3h ago

1.5 million boys mutilated and dead, the destruction of 40 years of military stockpiles, and vastly diminished oil exports for decades is the lesser shortcoming to you?

Ok that's interesting.

America can destroy any other military in the world. They did it to Vietnam, they did it to Iran, but they don't have enough skin in the game, literally. They won't put sufficient boots on the ground not because they couldn't, but because they don't care enough.

The Russians care, its existential to them, and they are still losing.

1

u/HiIary4Prison 2h ago

Also, the US is under incompetent leadership at the moment. Had Biden or Obama declared war on Iran, the results would have been very different.

0

u/WillTasty6818 5h ago edited 5h ago

I mean to be fair they fuck shit up halfway across the world by having virtually zero casualties and zero boots on the ground.

While of course its well short of defeating iran, but its still paralyzing and extremely destructive to iran.

No other country could so "casually" fuck shit up at such a distance. Americans wake up every day and dont even understand they are at war and laying siege to a huge country.

I woudnt call that an embarrasing lack of power.

1

u/argument_cat 5h ago edited 5h ago

The UK did it with the Falklands. America also begged for NATO help in their stupid war in Iran, as they always do in their illegal and idiotic war follies. They have begged for NATO help more than any other NATO member, and benefited from NATO more than any other member.

They did kill those 120 school children though, so well done.

2

u/WillTasty6818 5h ago

I'm not american or supportive of the war. But to say they are incapable and ineffective is just too biased anti-americanism. As i said, no other country could so casually do the same.

Regarding falklands, i disagree, because UK did not lay siege to mainland argentina (and irans whole raison d'etre is to fight israel/usa...so its not like they are unprepared)

1

u/argument_cat 5h ago

Are they being laid siege to? Seems like they control the strait, and the US can't do anything about it.

0

u/WillTasty6818 5h ago edited 5h ago

Iran also needs the strait and cant pass it. Iran says they are under naval blockade.

The americans dont care about the strait, they have their own oil.

Meanwhile americans can probably strike whatever they want in iran.

So sounds pretty siege-y to me. 3

1

u/argument_cat 5h ago

The americans dont care about the strait, they have their own oil.

This is very naïve, and clearly incorrect.

If 20% of the world’s supply is choked off at the Strait, European and Asian buyers will rush to buy oil from Canada and the US instead. They will bid the price up to astronomical levels. Because US oil is tied to global markets, American refineries and consumers instantly face those sky-high prices.

Worse, this acts as an 'everything tax.' Jet fuel, maritime bunker fuel, and trucking diesel all track crude prices. When oil spikes, massive fuel surcharges are slapped on every cargo ship, plane, and truck. Those logistics costs pass directly to consumers, triggering massive systemic inflation.

This is why Trump is desperately trying to access Venezuela's oil.

Live in a global market, pay the global price.

0

u/Savings_Macaroon3727 4h ago

1.Expending munitions thousands of miles from home isn't much of achievment if it doesn't achieve much. Capability and effectiveness are not one and the same.

  1. The US is far from the only country with the abillity to conduct overseas operations, what is unique is the scale. Scale that apparently doesn't extend to stockpiles.

    1. I dont think being casual and disconnected from a war being conducted on your behalf is something to be celebrated. Either way that's not a measure of success.

-2

u/fyndor 9h ago

Yea it feels like we both are much weaker militarily than we pretend we are if we are being honest. We lasted a few weeks then ran out of all of our missiles basically.

7

u/LongPorkJones 9h ago

The military is only as strong as its leadership. The leadership is weak because the administration expelled anyone who would push back on going into Iran. Iran has been preparing for decades, we went in on the whims of a madman and his orange puppet.

-1

u/twinnuke 6h ago

You might want to check in on Iran. It’s not doing so hot. 80% inflation. Shortages. Water issues. It’s not looking good. More and more ships traversing again. And the US lost what, a few planes and some missiles and Middle East infrastructure. Along with some complaints from their sea vessels but that’s about it. It was also a good testing ground for the Ford.

3

u/Savings_Macaroon3727 6h ago

Yeah that's nice and all but none of the original strategic objectives have been achieved so far in this 2 weeks top "special military operation". The regime could collapse today and the US would still look weaker because it had projected the image that it was overwhelmingly stronger and trump's negotiation "tactics" regurlarly made it look like Iran had all the cards.

-1

u/No-Mamba7040 4h ago

Reddit might hate to hear this, but even if all actions in Iran haven't been executed perfectly. The US military has still projected far more capable, powerful, and sustainable military might than any other nation by far in recent years and decades, even with the recent business in Iran. No other nation has demonstrated capabilities that come even close. This "America's military is showing weakness" idea that's going around the internet is pure BS

2

u/Savings_Macaroon3727 4h ago

It is precisely because of America's projected and known capabilities that it's looking pharsical. If this had been conducted by the UK we would call it a relative success. This is America's 3 day special military operation. America has also proven it can fuck up at a larger scale than anyone, or have you forgotten Afghanistan and Vietnam. Where I'm from, we still carry the shame of our colonial past, America is completely insensitive to the death and distruction it causes.

68

u/Wurm42 9h ago

"Every accusation is a confession."

It's almost like these guys are working from the same playbook...

15

u/macaronysalad 8h ago

It has become so blatant and obvious. Almost every accusation is close to spot on what they do. Only reasoning I can think of is deflection. If they make the accusation first, then it makes it more difficult to reveal the truth without looking retaliatory.

23

u/KlingoftheCastle 9h ago

Fascism is rarely creative

1

u/LongBeakedSnipe 5h ago

The playbook is 'make it look like Trump and Putin are at odds going into the election'.

These kind of public exchanges are theatre.

162

u/Desertcow 11h ago

The US threw its soft power out the window, has been pulling assets and draining its stockpiles from around the world to triple down on one of its biggest military blunders, and can't reasonably do much to oppose Russia at this point besides sharing intelligence with Ukraine. The US' allies are almost as united against the US as they are against Russia right now

62

u/taylorisntavril 9h ago

Aheam! FORMER allies!

When USA threaten to invade us, we are no longer allies.

2

u/Subject_Amount_1246 7h ago

Thars exactly what russia and china want. We just need to wait 2 more year till an adult is back in charge

9

u/Nemphiz 7h ago

2 more year till an adult is back in charge

Na. Let's not do that. We have a lot, a LOT of shit that needs fixing in this country. No one will ever see us as a reliable ally if every 4 years they have to worry about every deal or agreement being changed and threatened with retaliation.

The only reason we have been a global super power is due to strength and soft power. We've lost pretty much all the soft power we had, and we are not showing a great deal of strength with stock piles running low and our military being ran by a fox news host who apparently despises qualified generals/admirals.

u/taylorisntavril 53m ago

The problem is that nobody wants an unstable ally.

You say "thats what they want" as if its something that might come to be. I am very sorry to inform you, but it has already happened.

Hope you guys have a better time when an adult is back in charge.

To actually repair the relationship, you would need to undergo some sort of thing like germanys de-nazification post-WW2. Do you find that likely to happen?

0

u/Black_Moons 3h ago

Nah, You need to actually do something, like protest more than one day per month.

Everyone sees that the American people are perfectly fine with how their government is going, as less than 0.1% of the people bother to protest on any given day.

4 years of an adult in the charge before they elect another manbaby, or the same manbaby and threaten to invade you again over nothing is not something you call an ally.

-8

u/Khalimdorh 8h ago

Checks NATO members

Ah yes, still allies.

18

u/Akikiriri 8h ago

I'm fairly certain that if any non-USA member of NATO would invoke articel 5, Trump would be like: You didn't BIDEN help me in Iran, why would I help OBAMA you now?

Still allies, on paper.

8

u/Nemphiz 7h ago

He literally said he would do that lol

4

u/Juan-More-Taco 8h ago

Technically correct, some would say the best type, on paper. But anecdotally; I'm not shooting anyone in protection of the USA. In fact I'd be more likely to be aimed at Americans.

MAGA would never respect article 5. They'd dump NATO first. Which is hilarious.

3

u/Daniel_The_Thinker 7h ago

Fair-weather ally

1

u/JakethePandas 8h ago

The US' allies are almost as united against the US as they are against Russia right now

So, not very?

1

u/tastystrands9 8h ago

Thinking the US couldn’t stand up to Putin because they wasted stuff in Iran is laughable.

10

u/Hackerpcs 7h ago

Ukraine needs ballistic missile interceptors like Patriots that are being depleted in Middle east to defend Gulf allies and US bases. It is being proven that US has much lower depth of ammo supplies for those and Ukraine bleeds a lot due to that, Trump's stupidity and loss in Iran messed things up for Ukraine too

15

u/HyperbolicModesty 8h ago

The US can't stand up to Putin because the current leadership appears to be politically compromised. But the performance against Iran makes many people doubt their military prowess, period.

1

u/Beautiful-Musk-Ox 6h ago

your missing how many billions the trump crime family and his cronies are making

congressional republicans have allowed through 95% of his bullshit and the large majority of his nominees like pete hegseth

1

u/deja-roo 1h ago

How is he "missing" that? What he was talking about had literally nothing to do with that at all.

104

u/Geckost 11h ago

The US is weak, but Russia is weaker.

35

u/obeytheturtles 10h ago

The children are fast, but Big Bird is faster.

18

u/jtr99 10h ago

Why is Big Bird chasing the children?!

28

u/obeytheturtles 10h ago

To keep his kill steak going.

5

u/digitalscavenger 9h ago

To keep his kill steak going.

Killer steaks is on my 2026 bingo card.

3

u/chonny 5h ago

Killer steaks is on my 2026 bingo card.

This bingo card is sponsored by RFK Jr.

1

u/3-DMan 8h ago

B-B-Big Bird kill!!

26

u/jimicus 9h ago

The secret is in the eyes.

You look at the sort of thing you might see flying in your garden - maybe a tit or a robin or a magpie - they've all got one thing in common. Their eyes are on the side of their head.

This is typically seen in prey species - creatures that regularly get eaten. They don't need binocular vision, but they do need to see roughly where a predator is coming from at all times so they can fly off in the opposite direction.

Now look at an owl or a peregrine falcon. Their eyes point forwards, and they have to move their head if they want to look back.

This is what you see in predators. They typically don't have to worry too much about something catching and eating them; instead they have good 3D vision so they can figure out precisely how far they are from their prey.

So - back to your question: Big Bird's eyes are on the front of his head.

He is therefore likely a predator.

Those children are his dinner.

16

u/mynamesyow19 9h ago

Speaking of eyes.

Biden told Putin in the early 2000s: ""You said you know he doesn't have a soul," Stephanopoulos said in an interview with Biden recorded in March 2021.

"I did say that to him, yes," Biden said. "And his response was 'We understand one another.' I wasn't being a wise guy, I was alone with him in his office. That's how it came about. It was when President Bush had said, 'I've looked in his eyes and saw his soul.' I said, 'I looked in your eyes and I don't think you have a soul,' and [he] looked back at me, he said, 'We understand each other.'"

https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-putin-russia-visit-soul-2022-3

1

u/shingdao 9h ago

Загадочная русская душа

6

u/TelescopiumHerscheli 9h ago

Big Bird's eyes are on the front of his head.

My eyes are on the front of my head. I'm looking forward to roast Big Bird for dinner sometime soon. There is no greater predator than man (and his children).

3

u/jimicus 8h ago

Good man; that's the right attitude to have.

But I don't think roasting him is the way to go. Big Bird is canonically 8ft tall; a bird that size will be practically cremated on the outside long before he's cooked in the middle.

Perhaps if you cut him up into pieces and slow-cooked them for pulled big bird?

1

u/Kandiru 1h ago

If you stick enough skewers in, (so he looks like he's having acupuncture) maybe that'll help it cook through?

2

u/PopGoesTehWoozle 8h ago

You had me at a tit in the garden

3

u/jimicus 7h ago

There is nothing wrong with watching tits in your garden.

If you can't find any, I suggest this cute little pair.

2

u/unhappinessNvrCame 7h ago

Get off social media. It's fooling you.

-1

u/Anarcho-Democracy322 6h ago

get off truth social. its fooling you.

1

u/circuit_brain 2h ago

Four legs good, two legs better!

1

u/deja-roo 1h ago

The US is weakened, not weak.

Russia still can't play in the same league.

u/Glittering_Cat_4234 1h ago

the US is the most powerful country on earth by far, wtf u smokin bruh

0

u/turb0_encapsulator 3h ago

they're both following the same fascist idiot dictator playbook that is completely out of touch with the 21st Century.

8

u/Spork_Warrior 9h ago

Russia also starting talking about possibly using nukes right after this meeting. They don't like feeling weak. They also don't like dealing with reality or exploring any sort of cooperation.

37

u/gokarrt 10h ago

they're both weak. china just sitting in the back rubbing it's hands together.

24

u/Tormidal 9h ago

The People's Republic of Doing Nothing and Winning

17

u/plaxitone 8h ago

I suppose if you call becoming a manufacturing superpower, buying up ports and global infrastructure nothing

0

u/jay212127 4h ago

The Big 3 Geo-politically for the last couple decades has been US-China with Russia a distant 3rd. the 2020s has Russia being cut down to a secondary power which is more reflective of their GDP - Equal to UK, Germany, Poland, etc. USA is going from being a global superpower with troops strategically deployed across the world to having no global bases - Middle east bases have been destroyed, with lots of talks of closing European and Asian bases.

China can end up being the clear #1 global power by the end of the decade without them firing a shot.

11

u/Orange_Queen 9h ago

Wait by the river long enough and you will see the bodies of your enemies go floating by.

1

u/kevro 8h ago

They play the long game.

1

u/magichronx 4h ago

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake"

-2

u/Haunting-Worker-2301 9h ago

These guys made the playbook and have been doing it for decades way back to the Soviet Union

10

u/AVRVM 11h ago

Both can be true at the same time. 20th century weapons and tactics just doesn't work in the 21st century it seems and both of the 20th century world powers can't adapt fast enough.

8

u/dragon-fence 7h ago

Well it’s not complete bullshit. The US has been severely weakened and damaged by MAGA.

1

u/nyuhokie 8h ago

The CIA could neither confirm nor deny that, upon hearing the news, Putin put his fingers in his ears and said loudly, "La, La, La...I know you are but what am I?"

1

u/Puglady25 8h ago

Why would we be advising them to make a deal? I mean, I get that if they were our ally and we wanted to preserve their sovereignty. I guess because of the nukes? Wouldn't time be better spent working with NATO, aiding Ukraine, and making deals to sieze those nukes when 'you know what' inevitably happens?
Because of who is in charge in the US, the USA is going to miss the opportunity to absolutely finish is oldest adversary. And it might have been in it's 250th year! Pathetic leadership.

1

u/NetQvist 7h ago edited 7h ago

Russia "thinks the US is weak".

huh.... interesting, first time I didn't think the opposite when it's "Russia Says"

1

u/BriefSpecial420 7h ago

That's why they tripped their efforts to run sabotages in Poland or Germany last 2 days

1

u/happytree23 6h ago

Projection has been the theme of this decade, hasn't it?

Millennium, unfortunately.

1

u/shortyman920 5h ago

US is weaker today but it doesn’t change the state Russia is in

1

u/Mutchmore 5h ago

It could be said for the us too..who knows what happened there lol

1

u/DuncanFisher69 5h ago

I mean, we just lost our 50th war in Iran this week. We’re out of missiles and out of oil reserves. Our allies hate us and find us less than reliable. Russia’s assessment that we are weaker is correct.

1

u/Utsider 4h ago

Politics has devolved into groups of people forming entities personifying narcissism.

1

u/shadoowpulse 4h ago

This kind of news always gets my thoughts spinning in the most fun ways

1

u/CastorVT 4h ago

I mean... running out of missiles didn't exactly help.

1

u/VegasGamer75 3h ago

Sadly, at this point, I think both are true.

1

u/Chuck-A-Luck-A-Chuck 3h ago

"Why not both?"

In this case both are turning into old men gumming their mashed potatoes and yelling about the weather

Ukraine and Iran have unmasked two major "super powers"

The question is not "IF" but "WHEN" China is going to capitalize

1

u/rubberpp 3h ago

Russia is controlling American politics, so if you think they're weak, imagine being under their thumb and how much weaker we are than even that

1

u/Skynuts 3h ago

I'm waiting for a world leader to claim his dad can beat up everyone else's dad, now that global diplomacy is looking more and more like a f*cking playground.

1

u/Obvious-Science-7119 10h ago

No weak! No weak! You're the weak!

1

u/LovesFrenchLove_More 9h ago

Funny is, both statements are true. Russia AND the USA are weak. Sooo much in common.

1

u/frddtwabrm04 8h ago

Projector projected on projector their own projections. Projector projected on the projector right back with their own projections.

1

u/JudiciousSasquatch 8h ago

Who do you think republicans learned it from!

1

u/Upside_Down_Hugs 7h ago

I mean, in this case he wouldn't be wrong.

Weak compared to how strong we could / should be. Lack of leadership is the biggest issue. Standing in the world. Expended many munitions that need to be replenished. Carriers in extended deployments due to issues in the fleets. Some bases have been seriously impacted by attacks, etc.

Still put Russia to shame, but we've fucked oursleves pretty good here.

1

u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 6h ago

Two superpowers calling each other names? Sounds like the big bad boys club is falling apart.

0

u/RedditTurnedMediocre 9h ago

Both can be true.

0

u/Thecobs 8h ago

Oh yeah the US sure is looking great these days….

0

u/Exotic_Release2979 6h ago

They can both be right.

0

u/FrostingSuper9941 6h ago

Both things can be true.

-1

u/PlatformVarious8941 9h ago

Both can be true here…

-1

u/Strict-Carrot4783 9h ago

The CIA has been compromised by Russia.