Latest news with #ColdWar
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Adios, isolationism: Trump embraces role as global cop
During his first term, President Trump memorably declared that 'we more and more are not wanting to be the policemen of the world. We're spending tremendous amounts of money for decades policing the world, and that shouldn't be the priority.' His MAGA base may justifiably have thought that America, loaded shotgun in hand, was going to hunker down behind its border wall and tariff barriers during a second Trump term. It hasn't worked out that way so far. Instead, Trump is doing what U.S. presidents have done since the end of World War II — policing the world. In just six months, American diplomats helped to negotiate a peace agreement in the decades-long conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, claimed credit for 'preventing and ending' a war between India and Pakistan and are trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Trump ordered a devastating attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, which even internationalist presidents like Obama and Biden had refrained from doing, and a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen to protect shipping in the Red Sea. In 2022, then-Senate candidate JD Vance (R-Ohio) staked the isolationist flag by saying, 'I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.' Trump just announced that 'we're sending weapons to Ukraine' in connection to funding from NATO, an organization Trump is suddenly warming to. 'It's not a rip-off,' the president added. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, suddenly sounding like a Cold War internationalist, reassured America's Asian allies at a security forum in Singapore that, 'No one should doubt America's commitment to our Indo-Pacific allies and partners.' And Trump just took his global police role to another level by attempting to modify how a major economic power conducts not its foreign policy, but its internal affairs. He threatened Brazil with 50 percent tariffs unless it dropped criminal charges against far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2022 election. This isn't to say that Trump is an effective global policeman or is even acting in the national interest. Iran may still possess the ability to build a nuclear weapon despite Trump's boast of having caused 'complete and total obliteration.' Wars still rage in Gaza and Ukraine, and the Houthis are still sinking ships in the Red Sea. The Brazil tariffs also defy economic logic — the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil — and appear driven by Trump's inexhaustible sense of grievance over his own criminal indictments. Meanwhile, your Starbucks order may soon have a surcharge because the chain imports 20 percent of its coffee beans from Brazil. Nor is there any assurance that this outburst of internationalism is here to stay, because Trump's policies often have the shelf life of yogurt. Flattery from that foreign leader or a lack of gratitude from this one, and presto — a new policy. If Trump resumes pressure to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal, he'll look more like a 19th-century imperialist than a 21st-century internationalist. Can an American president be an effective global leader, whose power depends heavily on building and maintaining alliances, while conducting a tariff war against American allies? Twice in the previous century America looked inward as successive world wars broke out. Twice it was forced to send millions of U.S. soldiers overseas to fight anyway. Until Trump came along, every president since 1945, Democrat and Republican, recognized that, to quote President John Quincy Adams, while the U.S. should not 'go abroad in search of monsters to destroy,' there will always be 'monsters' on the prowl for us. Whether Trump understands that is the question of the day. Gregory J. Wallance was a federal prosecutor in the Carter and Reagan administrations and a member of the ABSCAM prosecution team, which convicted a U.S. senator and six representatives of bribery. He is the author of 'Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Insider
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The US Navy needs a big fix to get ready for a war with China. Here's the top admiral's plan.
Bogged down by shipbuilding struggles and maintenance woes, the US Navy faces an uphill battle to get its fleet ready for the next high-end conflict, which could be against China and its rapidly modernizing military. Adm. James Kilby, the acting chief of naval operations, outlined for Business Insider how the US plans to maintain its edge and fix long-standing readiness problems. "The Navy is committed to maintaining a ready fleet," Kilby said, explaining that the Navy is working to increase its ship readiness by improving the maintenance processes and reducing delays, increasing the procurement of spare parts, and taking a "focused and deliberate" approach to "manning, training, modernization, and sustainment." Kilby said that the "goal is to achieve and sustain an 80% combat-surge ready posture by 2027," the year that China's military is expected to be ready to fight a war over Taiwan. Such a war could quickly become a conflict in the Western Pacific, drawing in American and allied militaries against China. Naval forces would have a critical part to play in that fight. The acting CNO said in April that the Navy's average combat-surge readiness was about 68%. Last September, then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti released a plan to increase readiness by 2027, which included a focus on streamlining warship maintenance to eliminate delays, pushing to integrate drones into fleet operations, and retaining personnel to prevent the loss of valuable workforce experience that can be difficult to replace. "To increase our combat surge readiness," Kilby explained, "we are reducing the number of platforms in depot maintenance through improved business and maintenance practices, as well as certifying training earlier in the force-generation cycle." The Navy's issues are centered on strained public yards, tremendous maintenance backlogs for combat ships, and stresses on the American shipbuilding industry, hollowed out in the years since the end of the Cold War. Rising costs, deferred maintenance for aging hulls, staffing shortfalls, and industrial and supply chain limitations have created a situation where existing ships aren't being adequately maintained and new ones aren't coming fast enough. China has the largest navy in the world, and it is building new warships at a faster pace than the US. A larger force size and stronger industry could allow Beijing to endure more losses than Washington in a major conflict between the two adversaries. US Navy readiness for a Pacific conflict has been a heightened concern since the US became heavily involved in the Middle East conflicts. Aircraft carriers and warships have rotated in and out of the region since the fall of 2023 for near-constant operations focused on threats from Iran and Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. For instance, during Israel's brief war against Iran last month, the Navy positioned two carrier strike groups in the Middle East and moved several other warships capable of ballistic missile defense into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea — putting an immense amount of firepower around the region. These operations have resulted in extended deployments for aircraft carriers and their crews and have depleted critical missile interceptors that would be needed in substantial quantities for a war against China. The Middle East conflicts have put a strain on the Navy. Some analysts argue that these fights offer only a glimpse of the kind of high-intensity combat operations that the sea service would potentially face in a Pacific fight. "While the Navy must respond to today's crises, it cannot do so at the expense of future readiness," Kilby said. He added that "we must exercise strategic discipline of the use of our forces, while increasing the surge readiness of our Navy without sacrificing scheduled maintenance so that the fleet stands ready for high-end conflict with China."
Extra.ie
11 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Popular Dublin location named third worst 'tourist trap'
Temple Bar has seen its high prices and cobbled streets finally rewarded — as the third biggest 'tourist trap' in the entire world. Famed for its €10 pints of Guinness and being where most tourist will enjoy their first pint while on holiday in Dublin, Temple Bar's reputation precedes itself, with most Irish people, either from the capital or elsewhere, usually trying to avoid the place. Now, Nomad eSIM has released its list of the biggest tourist traps in the world, with Temple Bar taking home the bronze, coming in ahead of Paris' Eiffel Tower and Niagara Falls. Temple Bar has seen its high prices and cobbled streets finally rewarded — as the third biggest 'tourist trap' in the entire world. Pic: Derick P. Hudson/Shutterstock Checking reviews of the cobbled streets of Temple Bar, the term 'tourist trap' was mentioned a massive 687 times — with Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and Las Ramblas in Barcelona coming in first and second. Rounding out the top five was Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, once a crossing point between East and West Berlin and one of the lasting symbols of the East-West divide during the Cold War, and Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Among the chief complaints about Temple Bar from tourists include its prices, as well as dirty streets and lack of safety and local culture — with one person who reviewed the location describing it in three words: 'overcrowded, overpriced and overrated.' The Temple Bar in Dublin Pic: Joaquin Gomez Sastre/NurPhoto via Getty Images 'Disgusting place,' another wrote. 'The smell of urine, dirty, drunken people, litter everywhere, overpriced, rude, unfriendly people. It was simply disgusting. Not safe during the day and definitely not at night. Not a place to bring kids.' Nomad eSIM, who sell eSIMs to people who are travelling abroad so they don't have to pay roaming charges, has said that tourist traps should be avoided by said tourists, saying that they're more about 'selling to visitors' rather than being about the place itself. 'Crowds grow, prices rise, and what made it special fades away,' Eric Morhenn of Nomad said. 'Sometimes it's best to just a few blocks away and see where the locals go.' Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco has been named the biggest tourist trap in the world. Pic:As for his advice, Mr Morhenn said 'avoid the spots with big signs and pushy sellers and instead, look for places that feel a little quieter, and simpler. 'Visiting outside the busy season helps too; things slow down, and you get a better feel for the place. And don't be afraid to ask someone who lives there. People usually love to share their favourite hidden spots.' Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco Las Ramblas, Barcelona Temple Bar, Dublin Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin The Royal Mile, Edinburgh Niagara Falls, Canada Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Takeshita Street, Japan Eiffel Tower, France Stockholm Old Town, Sweden
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Brit kids 'being groomed by Russian and Iranian spies to carry out attacks in UK'
Russia and Iran are grooming children and convincing them to carry out attacks in the UK as part of a sophisticated proxy network, according to Scotland Yard officials British children are being groomed by Russian and Iranian spies to help carry out state-backed attacks in the UK, senior counter-terror officers have warned. The hostile states are targeting youngsters online in an attempt to use them as "proxies" to carry out criminal activity, Scotland Yard said on Tuesday. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans told journalists: "Ultimately we have children and adults in these environments, particularly online environments, where they can easily be targeted, be groomed into conversations into tasking, some might be disenfranchised and be looking for something The message to people like parents and teachers is be vigilant, understand the risk that exists in these spaces, talk, educate, report your concerns, that helps us to protect people." Commander Dominic Murphy said his officers had arrested at least one youngster in their "mid-teens" amid a "long-term trend" of hostile states carrying out attacks in the UK. Ms Evans revealed there has been a five-fold increase in state-sponsored incidents since 2018, adding that it was "highly likely we will continue to see growth in this area". She warned that the rising threat was due to the "erosion of a rule-based international order" and "great international instability". It comes after Dylan Earl, a small-time drug dealer from Leicestershire, was convicted of plotting to set fire to a London warehouse containing communications equipment destined for Ukraine. Earl was working for the Wagner Group, the mercenary unit controlled by the Russian state. Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, and Nii Mensah, 23, were convicted last week at the Old Bailey of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life after the blaze at the unit, which sent aid and internet satellite equipment to Ukraine. The attack was orchestrated by Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, who admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group. Ms Evans said a fifth of British counter-terror policing is now dedicated to battling a surge of state-backed threats. She told reporters that the fact she was hosting the first Met Police press briefing on the danger posed by hostile foreign nations was a reflection on the 'scale and intensity" of the threat. The majority of the attacks are coming from China, Russia and Iran with a number of cases due to come before British courts in the coming months. Mr Murphy said: "The volume of those arrested have continued to grow at a rate that I'm not sure any of us predicted." The officer has previously warned that state-backed espionage in Britain is at its worst since the Cold War. He said on Tuesday: "Iran really does continue to pose a very real physical threat to individuals in this country." Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, said in October that authorities had stopped 20 state-backed plots hatched by Iran in the UK since 2022. Mr McCallum warned of an 'unprecedented pace and scale' of plots posing 'potentially lethal threats' to British citizens. Iran was the first foreign power to be listed on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs), aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence.
The Hill
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Adios, isolationism: Trump embraces role as global cop
During his first term, President Trump memorably declared that 'we more and more are not wanting to be the policemen of the world. We're spending tremendous amounts of money for decades policing the world, and that shouldn't be the priority.' His MAGA base may justifiably have thought that America, loaded shotgun in hand, was going to hunker down behind its border wall and tariff barriers during a second Trump term. It hasn't worked out that way so far. Instead, Trump is doing what U.S. presidents have done since the end of World War II — policing the world. In just six months, American diplomats helped to negotiate a peace agreement in the decades-long conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, claimed credit for 'preventing and ending' a war between India and Pakistan and are trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Trump ordered a devastating attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, which even internationalist presidents like Obama and Biden had refrained from doing, and a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen to protect shipping in the Red Sea. In 2022, then-Senate candidate JD Vance (R-Ohio) staked the isolationist flag by saying, 'I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.' Trump just announced that 'we're sending weapons to Ukraine' in connection to funding from NATO, an organization Trump is suddenly warming to. 'It's not a rip-off,' the president added. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, suddenly sounding like a Cold War internationalist, reassured America's Asian allies at a security forum in Singapore that, 'No one should doubt America's commitment to our Indo-Pacific allies and partners.' And Trump just took his global police role to another level by attempting to modify how a major economic power conducts not its foreign policy, but its internal affairs. He threatened Brazil with 50 percent tariffs unless it dropped criminal charges against far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2022 election. This isn't to say that Trump is an effective global policeman or is even acting in the national interest. Iran may still possess the ability to build a nuclear weapon despite Trump's boast of having caused 'complete and total obliteration.' Wars still rage in Gaza and Ukraine, and the Houthis are still sinking ships in the Red Sea. The Brazil tariffs also defy economic logic — the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil — and appear driven by Trump's inexhaustible sense of grievance over his own criminal indictments. Meanwhile, your Starbucks order may soon have a surcharge because the chain imports 20 percent of its coffee beans from Brazil. Nor is there any assurance that this outburst of internationalism is here to stay, because Trump's policies often have the shelf life of yogurt. Flattery from that foreign leader or a lack of gratitude from this one, and presto — a new policy. If Trump resumes pressure to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal, he'll look more like a 19th-century imperialist than a 21st-century internationalist. Can an American president be an effective global leader, whose power depends heavily on building and maintaining alliances, while conducting a tariff war against American allies? Twice in the previous century America looked inward as successive world wars broke out. Twice it was forced to send millions of U.S. soldiers overseas to fight anyway. Until Trump came along, every president since 1945, Democrat and Republican, recognized that, to quote President John Quincy Adams, while the U.S. should not 'go abroad in search of monsters to destroy,' there will always be 'monsters' on the prowl for us. Whether Trump understands that is the question of the day.
