This thread about Trump and Europe went viral because it’s as grim as it is real
8.
8. If we get there, the implications are innumerable & terrifying: Russia pawing at Baltics &other E & C European states; breakdown of joint defense structures; withdrawal of US troops from Euro bases; less restrained German foreign policy; weaker US power projection to Eurasia.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) July 9, 2018
9.
9. That just scratches the surface. We honestly cannot begin to imagine living in a new era without these international organizing structures. Because for all of NATO’s challenges, no sane person or American political leader has or would contemplate such a reckless move.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) July 9, 2018
10.
10. But it could happen. Our President doesn’t know the history or strategy, doesn’t listen to experts, personalizes everything & makes it transactional, & loves the drama of the outrageous move that dominates cable TV coverage. For him, pulling out of NATO is all gain, no cost.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) July 9, 2018
11.
11. Even as I write this, it sounds fantastical. I will be the happiest person on the planet if I look back at this thread and say, man, you were way overreacting. But we need to be ready for this awful scenario to play out.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) July 9, 2018
12.
12. I repeat: we are potentially on the verge of a wildly dangerous cascade of events that will devastate our interests, weaken our leadership, abandon our allies, embolden our adversaries, and make the world a darker and more brutal place.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) July 9, 2018
13.
13. We have done no planning for this course of action. No one thinks it is a good idea. But one man, whose knowledge and values are wanting, whose motivation is suspect, and whose supporters follow him blindly, could take us there. END
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) July 9, 2018
Lucky 13, eh? Here’s what people made of it online.
https://twitter.com/ColinKahl/status/1016502041756258304
The reality is that Trump is not just sabotaging NATO but he may well be putting us on a path to withdraw from the strategic alliance. It is a move that would upend the international order as we know it, with catastrophic consequences to come.
Read the thread. https://t.co/JDrNEy5UaH
— HawaiiDelilah™ (@HawaiiDelilah) July 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/ShreddedReTweet/status/1016677424308936705