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US Foreign Policy 3.0: We're The Mets of International Diplomacy

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MichVandal said:
It’s not as if there are thousands of seal teams ready to rescue everyone all the time around the world.
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What, no, there clearly are. That's why Benghazi was so unforgivable. They can just magically spawn up more SEALs as needed. And they can just throw them into any situation at the smallest moments notice. It's not like they need in-depth information and training on the specific area they get inserted into to be able to execute flawless maneuvers or anything. They're magic.
 
MichVandal said:
Only embarrassing for those who never risk leaving home. Otherwise, it can just happen when you go live. It’s not as if there are thousands of seal teams ready to rescue everyone all the time around the world.

No wonder you worship your guns at home.
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I live in Nairobi and have for several years after additional time spent in such garden spots as Burundi, Northern Ethiopia, and Rwanda (actually quite nice in a Singaporean type of way). I've "evacuated" myself from an earlier ethnic flare up in the region I was living in Ethiopia in 2016. Anyone living in many countries in the developing world knows there are risks, from the mundane like awful driving habits and enforcement of traffic regulations, to the possibility that in unstable states, peace may not last as long as you think, even in the leafy green diplomatic quarter.

I feel sympathy for people there as you build up ties and communities with other expats and locals that are painful to just leave saying nothing of your job, but I don't expect the US Government to save my a** if Kenya were to go and have another bout of violence ala 2007-8 and I decided against any sensible judgment, to sit tight. These people aren't victims and I've sadly seen far too many like her hang on well after it would be sensible to the point where we've had to require people to sign letters of releasing my employer from liability stating they were going to sit in Addis Ababa and wait for the TPLF to roll into town, despite us telling them to GTFO (and here's the plane ticket we bought for you).

If this possibility is that much of a no-go for someone, then stay in the US or look for work in any number of countries that are not at high risk of serious instability.
 
BoomGoestheDynamite said:
I live in Nairobi and have for several years after additional time spent in such garden spots as Burundi, Northern Ethiopia, and Rwanda (actually quite nice in a Singaporean type of way). I've "evacuated" myself from an earlier ethnic flare up in the region I was living in Ethiopia in 2016. Anyone living in many countries in the developing world knows there are risks, from the mundane like awful driving habits and enforcement of traffic regulations, to the possibility that in unstable states, peace may not last as long as you think, even in the leafy green diplomatic quarter.

I feel sympathy for people there as you build up ties and communities with other expats and locals that are painful to just leave saying nothing of your job, but I don't expect the US Government to save my a** if Kenya were to go and have another bout of violence ala 2007-8 and I decided against any sensible judgment, to sit tight. These people aren't victims and I've sadly seen far too many like her hang on well after it would be sensible to the point where we've had to require people to sign letters of releasing my employer from liability stating they were going to sit in Addis Ababa and wait for the TPLF to roll into town, despite us telling them to GTFO (and here's the plane ticket we bought for you).

If this possibility is that much of a no-go for someone, then stay in the US or look for work in any number of countries that are not at high risk of serious instability.
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I feel really bad for the people trapped, and can only imagine that things changed so quickly that they could barely, or not, react.

Sucks 1000%. But not an embarrassment for the US.
 
French Rage said:
Guys like Drew want to be all about freedom and personal responsibility if you want them to pay a cent more in taxes but then the second they get a paper cut they're whining like the little ***** boys they are for someone to come and help them.
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Exactly the same as his Fraternal Twin Colonel Huckleberry Sanders the Governor of Arkansas.
 
ISW is changing its coverage to prevent the Russians from gaining any advantage.

ISW is aware of concern regarding the effect of ISW’s maps and assessments on Ukrainian operational security. Recent media coverage speculating about potential Ukrainian courses of action has used and in some cases misrepresented ISW assessments to make predictions in ways that are inconsistent with the intent of ISW’s products and do not reflect ISW’s institutional views. While our aim is indeed to enable informed reporting about the war by providing granular insights into the situation on the ground, the nature and purpose of our assessments is to evaluate the war as it unfolds and not to provide insight into Ukrainian planning. Inferring predictions of Ukrainian operations from ISW maps and assessments that do not explicitly offer such predictions is inappropriate and not in accord with their intended use.

ISW is committed to doing everything we can to avoid compromising Ukrainian operational security or telling the Russians anything they don’t already know—that is why we focus heavily on reporting what Russian sources say and show (and why we do not collect on Ukrainian forces or operations). We are also focused on ensuring that our products are accurate and reliably sourced. We prioritize both accuracy and protecting Ukrainian operational security over the rapidity of reporting. There is far more speculation about and forecasting of future Ukrainian operations by other organizations and individuals than we engage in, and we will continue to adhere to our conservative approach.

ISW will make no forecasts whatsoever about what Ukrainian forces might or might not do, let alone where or when they might do it. We will be particularly careful to avoid statements that might be construed as offering such forecasts in the coming weeks. We ask journalists and media organizations to avoid attributing such forecasts to our reports when we have not made them. We will also avoid commenting or offering assessments about whether particular Ukrainian advances or operations might or might not be part of counter-offensive efforts, with a particular eye on avoiding anything that might suggest where we think the Ukrainian main effort is or will be. Our published Russian order of battle of 23 APR explicitly stated that we do not offer any assessment at all about what parts of the front might be more or less advantageous for a Ukrainian counter-offensive, for example.

Our approach to mapping changes in control-of-terrain is inherently conservative and delayed. Our mapping of previous Ukrainian counter-offensives was regularly days behind events because of the requirements for confirmed sourcing our methodology uses. We will not, therefore, be aggressively adjusting our control of terrain maps to keep them up-to-the-minute but will rather be adjusting them as sufficient evidence emerges such that any changes we make will likely have been broadly reported. That was the case, for example, with the Kharkiv counter-offensive—media reports of Ukrainian advances were well ahead of our map changes.

ISW is committed to helping policymakers and the public understand what is occurring in Ukraine as accurately as possible without in any way compromising Ukraine’s ability to liberate its occupied lands
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No doubt Republican sources will do the same to protect their wet dream Putin.
 
So, um, yeah.

UN officials said Tuesday that one side in the Sudan conflict has seized control of a national health lab in the capital of Khartoum that holds biological material, calling it an “extremely dangerous” development.

The announcement came as officials warned that more refugees could flee Sudan despite a cease-fire between rival forces.

The fighting has plunged Sudan into chaos, pushing the already heavily aid-dependent African nation to the brink of collapse. Before the clashes, the UN estimated that a third of Sudan’s population — or about 16 million people — needed assistance, a figure that is likely to increase.

Dr. Nima Saeed Abid, the World Health Organization’s representative in Sudan, expressed concerns that “one of the fighting parties” — he did not identify which one — had seized control of the central public health laboratory in Khartoum and “kicked out all of the technicians.”

“That is extremely, extremely dangerous because we have polio isolates in the lab. We have measles isolates in the lab. We have cholera isolates in the lab,” he told a UN briefing in Geneva by video call from Port Sudan. “There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab in Khartoum by one of the fighting parties.”

The expulsion of technicians and power cuts in Khartoum mean “it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the lab for medical purposes,” WHO said.
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I hope that lab just has what is listed below. That’s scary enough. But the most terrifying pathogens known to man originate from Africa and if those are in the lab, muh god. But hopefully not
 
FadeToBlack&Gold said:
Taking a teaching job in a war-torn region and bringing your toddler along is definitely a smart decision with no risk whatsoever.
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A-fucking-men. People act like they get to make risk-free decisions and that having an American passport absolves them from responsibility. Every decision you make, especially as it relates to foreign travel, is a calculated risk. Whether you recognize that or not. An American passport comes with some amazing benefits, but it's not an obligation for the country to send in Seal Team Six.

I'm pretty sure the State Dept puts pretty plaintext warnings on their site about travel to many of these countries that have ongoing stability issues. No different than foreign countries warning LGBTQ+ citizens about travel to the southern US.

("You" in the general sense)
 
dxmnkd316 said:
A-****ing-men. People act like they get to make risk-free decisions and that having an American passport absolves them from responsibility. Every decision you make, especially as it relates to foreign travel, is a calculated risk. Whether you recognize that or not. An American passport comes with some amazing benefits, but it's not an obligation for the country to send in Seal Team Six.
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Arranging independent travel to places currently designated by the US State Dept. as "DO NOT TRAVEL" - Iran, North Korea, Russia, Eritrea, Sudan, etc. - as an American should be considered putting your life in your own hands. Especially if your reason for going is educating the citizens (particularly educating women in Islamic & many African countries) or religious proselytizing. DoS even forbids their own employees from traveling to certain neighborhoods or regions in some Level 3 designated countries with a lot of crime/potential for civil unrest. If a DoS advisory says they have a limited capacity to help Americans in trouble in a particular country, you go at your own risk. It should be that simple.
 
Having facilitated travel by both official and ahem unofficial personnel to garden spots, I've been aware of the insurance and the various informational packages these utter sociopaths brave patriots receive. The desks basically say "if you step on inch off your itinerary you are on your own and frankly you deserve everything you get." It's probably the only time the USG is honest with federal employees, contractors, and traveler civilians. There is no grey area -- these people know exactly what is going to happen.

If they don't believe it applies to them because they're fanatical cross suckers or aggro warrior derps, well, FAFO.
 
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Erdogan cancels campaign stops for the next couple of days due to illness. I'm seeing social media speculation/rumors that he started feeling unwell after a meeting with a Russian official, but nothing credible yet.

Polling indicates that there's a chance he might finally be ousted in next month's elections, though much like Poots it wouldn't surprise me in the least if his fixers steal victory by any means necessary.
 
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