No. of Recommendations: 2
Italy agreed to join the Belt and Road back in 2019 or so (the only G7 country to do so, IIRC) - and then withdrew last year. They thought better of moving into the Chinese sphere of influence.
There was much more to it than that.
Just because your intent isn't to make it easier for the Chinese to take over the world doesn't mean that you're not taking actions that can have that result.
You're making the same fatal mistake that all D.C. bureaucrats have been for a long time: That what we're doing was a path to success. It wasn't. Quite the opposite.
And despite the silly Eeyore and 'we're turning into bullies and bully bad' arrant nonsense that's being bandied about by some of the slower board members, there are legit things that need to be examined in the modern world. Being able to do that dispassionately is what separates higher level thinking from the emotionally-driven rending of garments that some are doing.
Was driving home listening to CanTalk on Sirius XM last night (it's a Canadian talk show about Canadian politics). Fascinating show. The host was freaked out about tariffs and Canada having to "look elsewhere" for partners. This went on for a while before a defense expert came on the show. The guy said, "Hey, the United States is signaling that we can't count on them to the same degree as in the past". She asked what he meant. Dude said "Welllllll....we have a lot of coveted territory to defend".
The host then asked what he meant. He said Canada was an Arctic Nation, home to countless resources and noted that many nations want the minerals, oil and gas, shipping access and fish. He then dropped the news on the show that Canada's armed forces were woefully unprepared for literally anything: their readiness level is about 50%.
She asked, "What does that mean?" He replied, "If we need to do something, only half of what we have on paper is able to do it". Also noted that while the Liberal Government has talked a big game they haven't actually done anything - no real readiness increases and they're way under the 2% GDP target.
It's another thread to lay out what should be obvious but evidently needs to be spelled out. A conflict is coming. I've told you that there are those in the federal government that think 2027 is the year (but the strategic rocket forces debacle likely delays that). It's time to prepare.
