Awesome wrap up, Joe! Thanks for putting it there so concisely and eloquently.
You have reminded me of one of the first lessons I learned while serving as the EUCOM Mediterranean policy guy during the late 80s in the midst of the base agreements negotiations with our Allies and partners - Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Spain.
In the wake of changes of command (or key senior leadership, or political administrations), there is a propensity for the new guys coming in to push strongly for quickly developed, on-the-surface simplistic solutions to thorny, long-standing issues. The basic rule: If the proposed “solution” is obvious and easy, then it’s going to be a non-starter, leading to waste of time and resources, and likely exacerbation of the issue.
"It will require dedicated strategy, complex coordination, sophisticated logistics, artful diplomacy, and buy-in on both sides of the Atlantic."
True, but I doubt that the Trump Administration is capable of (or interested in) anything that requires those attributes. Sincerely hope that I am wrong.
Well said, Joe. Were we just so much smarter then ... or did we just keep our eye on the ball?
Awesome wrap up, Joe! Thanks for putting it there so concisely and eloquently.
You have reminded me of one of the first lessons I learned while serving as the EUCOM Mediterranean policy guy during the late 80s in the midst of the base agreements negotiations with our Allies and partners - Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Spain.
In the wake of changes of command (or key senior leadership, or political administrations), there is a propensity for the new guys coming in to push strongly for quickly developed, on-the-surface simplistic solutions to thorny, long-standing issues. The basic rule: If the proposed “solution” is obvious and easy, then it’s going to be a non-starter, leading to waste of time and resources, and likely exacerbation of the issue.
"It will require dedicated strategy, complex coordination, sophisticated logistics, artful diplomacy, and buy-in on both sides of the Atlantic."
True, but I doubt that the Trump Administration is capable of (or interested in) anything that requires those attributes. Sincerely hope that I am wrong.
We talking about a malignant narcissist and a two bit NYC real estate developer. It's too much to expect MAGA to behave like adults.