Wow, these perceptions are not all that they appear to be. I think the difference is that the past Administration was searching for a carrot to lure the enemy within reach of the stick, while the current Administration has asked the enemy to please hold the stick while it retrieves the carrot and tries to figure out how to replace it with honey and tar and not get itself stuck.

World history pivots on the inner workings of the best minds in the new admin’s foreign policy section, minds which finished college in the last few years, really digging those cool Arafat tablecloth headresses.

Could not agree more. I have stated elsewhere in this thread, (#6) that Bibi will throw down the hammer before the summer is out. And then it all depends on Arab reaction. If the Arab states move against Israel, then there will be general war. If no reaction, then it will be Osirak II, with another period of false peace leading to the next crisis. And so it goes.

Not on this urdth. TOTUS would simply not get involved, dices fall as they may. UN would be suicidal, they may issue resolution after resolution, but it has no boots to put on the ground, let alone in an assured meat grinder.

Yes. WW X is coming but not that way.

General malaise. Despite government puffed up PR, Russians know Russia is sick. They don’t know what’s next, but have a feeling it ain’t pretty. Very prevalent mood in today’s Russia. So, they collect their salaries, that is the scope what they care about at the moment.

All of that may be true, but judging by the article it seems as though the opposite is true. Businesses tend to suck up to the people with the highest potential of paying out, so please explain, if in deed you did read that article.