The population of Europe is 745 million - more than double the size as the USA. The population of Russia is only 144 million, and Russia's economy is pathetic and ossified. The question everyone should be asking is: Why can't Europe muster a sufficient deterrent all on their own to puny Putin? Isn't it foolish to have relied on an ally half their size from across the ocean for so many decades?
Well, Wolf, several European countries would have loved to buy Canadian LNG and oil, but I'm assured there isn't a business case for it.
Europe has lots of energy in the North Sea. Norway and the UK could supply Europe if they could get their acts together. Germany has coal, France has nuclear... If so much of Europe hadn't been on the solar and wind charade for so long, they would be OK now.
If nothing else, Trump’s arrival has drawn into sharp focus the folly of policies driven by flawed ideology. Any objective assessment of Canada's current state creates a sobering realization that sunny ways have dire consequences.
Perhaps if all allies of the US and NATO would jimmy up on their own defence, as they are suppose to, this would not ever be an issue. What has happened is the American taxpayers are subsidizing all the allies who have not bothered to pay their share on their own armed forces and take lightly their own defence until there is a problem. It’s Nato members at fault for their own lack of attention and investment that other Presidents let slide. In other words it’s the US taxpayers taking care of Europe and Canada while the US takes on exponential debt. That should be as plain as the nose on every Canadian’s face. Ignoring our faults does not make way for blaming Trump for calling us out on it and demanding we all do our fair share. I am unsure how intelligent people seem to miss this entirely.
Yup. Well said. The sugar daddy is done with paying the freight. Trump, with all his flaws, is the sharp smack up side the head that everyone, including Canada, needed. Time to grow up & take responsibility.
Priority? Unmarked unexistant graves, DEI, Muslim Votes, China, Destroying Jody Wilson Raybould, SNC Lavelin, Embarrassing us in the world stage. Mocking Trump how's that working out for you Mr PM.
I believe that the much greater threat to Europe is not Putin and the Russians but the Muslim Brotherhood and Islam.
Europe has already been invaded by millions of military-aged single men waiting for the signal to begin attacking.
The invasion did not require nukes, missiles, bombers or submarines. All it needed was indoctrinated citizens and governments that no longer cared for their populations.
If anyone is still wondering why Trump might be just a little bit impatient with Canada's efforts on border security and the national defense file -
i) According to Blacklock's Reporter this week, the Canadian armed forces have only 52,000 troops and change. We would need to recruit 36% more just to get up to our own internally-imposed minimum level, which is way below our NATO commitment, which is way below Trump's latest request.
ii) An internal report says that 72% of those 52,000 troops are overweight or obese. In other words, we have fewer than 15,000 soldiers on active duty who are currently in fighting trim.
iii) We lose more soldiers to attrition each year than we are able to recruit. Recruitment dropped off a cliff after the Trudeau government implemented DEI policies in the military.
iv) Earlier this year, we procured sleeping bags for our troops that weren't even fit for Canadian winters. Our submarine fleet is only capable of operations for a few days each year.
v) On border security, our aerial surveillance only works from 9:00 to 4:00 on weekdays, the same hours as bankers but not the same hours as criminals. We have no nighttime capabilities.
Trump doesn't take Canada seriously because Canada long ago ceased to be a serious country.
Terry never have seen you lost for words in all the time I've been following you. This article is all over the map and you seem to have swallowed the fly Trump cast onto the water, which is unusual for you. Diane Francis had a better view and she has rampant TDS.
"An ‘existential crisis’ of our own making; Federal election must be held immediately; National Post29 January 2025Diane Francis."
Sure we have a flawed democracy that could do with some updating, but that is a very difficult nut to crack.
On a more base level, Trump views what Trudeau has wrought on us Canadians since 2015, is exactly what the Dems did to America. And Trudeau is akin in guilt for this as Biden and Harris were in the USA.
The “ostrich with it’s head in the sand” is Canada. Our country has been overpowered by the same Woke ideology that have ben supported and embraced by the Dems in the USA. Those forces are the forces of evil, through Trump’s eyes.
Trump needs to be taken seriously, but not literally. He is sabre-rattling for sure.
With his overwhelming support in his own country, it is his way of warning us Canadians that our PM needs to be singled out and ridiculed as Trudeau is the Canadian disciple of all that was wrong in America governed by the Dems.
Why shouldn’t he try to point out that submitting to all this negative Woke, Liberal climate alarmist ideology, identity politics, DEI, generational guilt etcetera Canada is in danger of copying what was destroying America before he was re-elected?
Trump and his advisors, through my lens are correct in believing that these ideologies are destroying the culture and the economy of a previously trusted and internationally respected neighbour north of the 49th parallel.
I’m not sure that Trump’s plan is all that mysterious. He is for America first, and he wants America’s allies to pull their weight. That just seems to make sense. For Ukraine, he wants the war to stop. Putting British and other European troops there to keep the peace, when a ceasefire is arranged, seems to make sense to me. I’m not understanding why this is “unbearable weirdness”
Oh for a leader, any leader, who has a clue about strategic deterrence. If Trump has a grand plan it is unknown and he seems to be just winging it as a rush of blood hits his brain.
The Russian economy is in the tank. Interest rates are at 21%. They are winning, very, very, slowly in Ukraine. The Russian railways are a few months from collapse.
Does anyone really think Russia is in any position to get salty with Europe proper? The German army may be a bit of a joke, but the Poles are not.
Go nuclear? 96 answering blasts from the UK alone makes that a final and fatal option.
Putin is a bit of an idiot but he's not that dumb. Ukraine will be settled in a couple of months and the Russian bear will crawl back to its den. Bloodied by its own stupidity and licking its substantial wounds.
As one of your commentors has pointed out, Terry, the real European problem is not Russia, it is mass, military age, Muslim migration/invasion. Russia will go back to sleep for a decade when the Ukraine war is ended. The invaders are just waking up.
Your Mom Terry raised at least one fantastic boy...you. I'm sure the other 2 are OK too.
I find it difficult to read more hypotheticals about what Trump will or won't do. Will he stupidly, in my opinion, withdraw troops from Europe. I hope not. Will be dangle the threat of tariffs in from of Canada...he's doing it now, but does he mean to implement it. America, our neighbour and for our entire history, a great friend. How could he do that? If he could figure out some way to get rid of Trudeau, I'd be OK with that. Meanwhile, keep on keeping on and always look for the bright side.
We were well on the way to ridding ourselves of Trudeau at least a year ago, with any unwanted American help. He's a dead man walking, and Trump seems to think he's still in the game. When Trump said about Poilievre, "I don't care what he thinks," that's all I need to know.
That is because you do not yet understand what Trump is doing and as an investigative journalist that belongs to you. I happen to know what Trump is doing, as does Brian Lily, and Daniel Smith. However if reporting and listening to news that hangs on to certain biases then you will never know what his plan is all about. Danielle Smith held a press conference today. It’s on You Tube. As is the Brian Lily podcast so I will leave it there. What the Illiberal’sa and NDP are about to do is destroy Canada, period. Make us their little communist state. Of course you may disagree as you like the idea of UBI. https://youtu.be/hIQPez6nmN0?si=-naViNJIC153e7cP.
I don’t think of us know what anyone is thinking. We can only go on observation and on past actions taken. I’ll not take a “Chicken Little” approach to any of it. I’m skeptical of all government and its underlying policies, particularly when we lived through “Russia collusion”, “her emails”, “51 ex CIA officers claim Hunter Biden laptop has all indications of Russian disinformation”, “the two Randy’s”, “Arrive Canada app” the list is long. SNC Lavalin would have sunk any other government in any other democratic nation. If Canada had a legacy media similar to the US, the populace would be better informed and Trudeau gone: and I don’t care what you say about Fox News or MSNBC. But, here we are.
The US has far too long shouldered the greatest defence burden for NATO and allies. The US has been after Canada to up its military capabilities, tighten the border, for decades, and address Chinese influence for about a decade. The trade issues Trump will be going after have been long discussed. The financial waste and cronyism being unearthed in ASAID is egregious. It’s good these issues are being hit head on, and I’ll wait to see the fall out, without looking for sky debris to hit me.
Trudeau is still the PM. He technically still is in the game. Why would Trump care about what a Canadian politician who isn't the PM thinks. That seems to mean, well, nothing much at all.
The concept of deterrence has not been lost but just about. Otherwise as some have said, the Russian invasions in 2014 and 2022 would not have even been considered. We let this happen. Not just Europe. But certainly Canada and the USA as well. Thanks to extraordinarily weak leadership. It maybe too late to undo this.
Geez, Terry, do yourself a favour and put up the paywall. Your work is worth the remuneration. Those of us with paid subscriptions signed up to support you; you deserve it.
I was a freeloader for quite a while but I eventually saw the light. Mind you, if you continue to just give it away I (and presumably others) might just accept your largesse! Okay, just kidding . . .
Acquire and build a following, entice them to regularly tune in, and eventually they will pay you for your thoughts - a strategy followed by many in this rapidly changing digital news and opinion frontier. That pay wall you yearn is only a matter of time...
Responding to a vulgar comment from a week or two ago, Terry: It appears that Howard Lutnick "gives a f*** about [Canada's] cow lobby." He says, "That's gotta end" and "That is a key focus of this administration."
Thanks for the icy cold water of reality. Our enemies outgun us and lack the moral compass that stay our military hand. But not to worry, America will save us, or will they? Wake up and grab your club, it's daylight in the swamp.
Excellent newsletter. Since the guest piece was presenting a scenario, what rough percentage of the Russian missiles does Dr. Maloney think, if he had to speculate, would actually launch successfully (how many Russian ICBMs would make it out of their silos, for example), what percentage would strike at or near their targets, and what percentage of the warheads would actually detonate? Are all or most of its nuclear warheads from the Soviet era and is the current disclosed RF military budget sufficient to maintain most of those warheads even if no corruption is assumed? Doesn't RF have a deterrence problem now after the poor performance of its hardware and related systems in Ukraine, as it is hard to imagine the picture with their strategic forces is much better?
"The A-135 system deployed around Moscow is currently Russia’s only system designed specifically to defend against ICBMs. The system is based around the Don-2N radar, which receives data from Russia’s wider early warning system. The Don-2N provides targeting data for the sixty-eight silo-based 53T6 “Gazelle” endoatmospheric interceptors, which are based at five sites around Moscow. As noted previously, the system was originally composed of both endo- and exoatmospheric interceptors; however, the sixteen 51T6 “Gorgon” exoatmospheric interceptors were retired between 2006 and 2007."
"These nuclear-tipped missiles still exist as part of Russia's A-135 anti-ballistic missile system. The system consists of 68 nuclear-armed interceptors."
The population of Europe is 745 million - more than double the size as the USA. The population of Russia is only 144 million, and Russia's economy is pathetic and ossified. The question everyone should be asking is: Why can't Europe muster a sufficient deterrent all on their own to puny Putin? Isn't it foolish to have relied on an ally half their size from across the ocean for so many decades?
Yes. Clearly. Foolish isn't the half of it.
Energy is life. Europe has none. Putin has an abundance.
Europe told itself they could be friends with Russia. But that’s been clearly a dream since 2014. Ten years pass and nothing’s done.
Well, Wolf, several European countries would have loved to buy Canadian LNG and oil, but I'm assured there isn't a business case for it.
Europe has lots of energy in the North Sea. Norway and the UK could supply Europe if they could get their acts together. Germany has coal, France has nuclear... If so much of Europe hadn't been on the solar and wind charade for so long, they would be OK now.
If nothing else, Trump’s arrival has drawn into sharp focus the folly of policies driven by flawed ideology. Any objective assessment of Canada's current state creates a sobering realization that sunny ways have dire consequences.
Thank the lunatic greens for European no-energy policy. And the morons who supported their policies.
Heck we don’t even rate compared to Iran.
Perhaps if all allies of the US and NATO would jimmy up on their own defence, as they are suppose to, this would not ever be an issue. What has happened is the American taxpayers are subsidizing all the allies who have not bothered to pay their share on their own armed forces and take lightly their own defence until there is a problem. It’s Nato members at fault for their own lack of attention and investment that other Presidents let slide. In other words it’s the US taxpayers taking care of Europe and Canada while the US takes on exponential debt. That should be as plain as the nose on every Canadian’s face. Ignoring our faults does not make way for blaming Trump for calling us out on it and demanding we all do our fair share. I am unsure how intelligent people seem to miss this entirely.
Yup. Well said. The sugar daddy is done with paying the freight. Trump, with all his flaws, is the sharp smack up side the head that everyone, including Canada, needed. Time to grow up & take responsibility.
Agreed 100%
There’s a strong feeling about that. The people who are normally pro-defense are also angry about Europe & Canada not contributing.
But this is not something we can do in a short time. It will take a while.
Trudeau considered defense a low priority. We all know what his priorities were.
Trudeau cannot spell priority. Don't too harsh in your criticism, there is no cure for stupidity .
Priority? Unmarked unexistant graves, DEI, Muslim Votes, China, Destroying Jody Wilson Raybould, SNC Lavelin, Embarrassing us in the world stage. Mocking Trump how's that working out for you Mr PM.
I believe that the much greater threat to Europe is not Putin and the Russians but the Muslim Brotherhood and Islam.
Europe has already been invaded by millions of military-aged single men waiting for the signal to begin attacking.
The invasion did not require nukes, missiles, bombers or submarines. All it needed was indoctrinated citizens and governments that no longer cared for their populations.
Ghadafi predicted this. I believe there are videos out there with him saying exactly that.
If anyone is still wondering why Trump might be just a little bit impatient with Canada's efforts on border security and the national defense file -
i) According to Blacklock's Reporter this week, the Canadian armed forces have only 52,000 troops and change. We would need to recruit 36% more just to get up to our own internally-imposed minimum level, which is way below our NATO commitment, which is way below Trump's latest request.
ii) An internal report says that 72% of those 52,000 troops are overweight or obese. In other words, we have fewer than 15,000 soldiers on active duty who are currently in fighting trim.
iii) We lose more soldiers to attrition each year than we are able to recruit. Recruitment dropped off a cliff after the Trudeau government implemented DEI policies in the military.
iv) Earlier this year, we procured sleeping bags for our troops that weren't even fit for Canadian winters. Our submarine fleet is only capable of operations for a few days each year.
v) On border security, our aerial surveillance only works from 9:00 to 4:00 on weekdays, the same hours as bankers but not the same hours as criminals. We have no nighttime capabilities.
Trump doesn't take Canada seriously because Canada long ago ceased to be a serious country.
Terry never have seen you lost for words in all the time I've been following you. This article is all over the map and you seem to have swallowed the fly Trump cast onto the water, which is unusual for you. Diane Francis had a better view and she has rampant TDS.
"An ‘existential crisis’ of our own making; Federal election must be held immediately; National Post29 January 2025Diane Francis."
Sure we have a flawed democracy that could do with some updating, but that is a very difficult nut to crack.
On a more base level, Trump views what Trudeau has wrought on us Canadians since 2015, is exactly what the Dems did to America. And Trudeau is akin in guilt for this as Biden and Harris were in the USA.
The “ostrich with it’s head in the sand” is Canada. Our country has been overpowered by the same Woke ideology that have ben supported and embraced by the Dems in the USA. Those forces are the forces of evil, through Trump’s eyes.
Trump needs to be taken seriously, but not literally. He is sabre-rattling for sure.
With his overwhelming support in his own country, it is his way of warning us Canadians that our PM needs to be singled out and ridiculed as Trudeau is the Canadian disciple of all that was wrong in America governed by the Dems.
Why shouldn’t he try to point out that submitting to all this negative Woke, Liberal climate alarmist ideology, identity politics, DEI, generational guilt etcetera Canada is in danger of copying what was destroying America before he was re-elected?
Trump and his advisors, through my lens are correct in believing that these ideologies are destroying the culture and the economy of a previously trusted and internationally respected neighbour north of the 49th parallel.
"We have seen the enemy and the enemy is us." 😒
I’m not sure that Trump’s plan is all that mysterious. He is for America first, and he wants America’s allies to pull their weight. That just seems to make sense. For Ukraine, he wants the war to stop. Putting British and other European troops there to keep the peace, when a ceasefire is arranged, seems to make sense to me. I’m not understanding why this is “unbearable weirdness”
You could have begun with "I'm not understanding" and left it at that.
Oh for a leader, any leader, who has a clue about strategic deterrence. If Trump has a grand plan it is unknown and he seems to be just winging it as a rush of blood hits his brain.
He’s promised his base to cut expenses. His base is isolationist and angry at the rest of NATO for not paying up. They don’t care about Europe.
Putin though the Fulda gap! As if.
The Russian economy is in the tank. Interest rates are at 21%. They are winning, very, very, slowly in Ukraine. The Russian railways are a few months from collapse.
Does anyone really think Russia is in any position to get salty with Europe proper? The German army may be a bit of a joke, but the Poles are not.
Go nuclear? 96 answering blasts from the UK alone makes that a final and fatal option.
Putin is a bit of an idiot but he's not that dumb. Ukraine will be settled in a couple of months and the Russian bear will crawl back to its den. Bloodied by its own stupidity and licking its substantial wounds.
As one of your commentors has pointed out, Terry, the real European problem is not Russia, it is mass, military age, Muslim migration/invasion. Russia will go back to sleep for a decade when the Ukraine war is ended. The invaders are just waking up.
Your Mom Terry raised at least one fantastic boy...you. I'm sure the other 2 are OK too.
I find it difficult to read more hypotheticals about what Trump will or won't do. Will he stupidly, in my opinion, withdraw troops from Europe. I hope not. Will be dangle the threat of tariffs in from of Canada...he's doing it now, but does he mean to implement it. America, our neighbour and for our entire history, a great friend. How could he do that? If he could figure out some way to get rid of Trudeau, I'd be OK with that. Meanwhile, keep on keeping on and always look for the bright side.
We were well on the way to ridding ourselves of Trudeau at least a year ago, with any unwanted American help. He's a dead man walking, and Trump seems to think he's still in the game. When Trump said about Poilievre, "I don't care what he thinks," that's all I need to know.
That is because you do not yet understand what Trump is doing and as an investigative journalist that belongs to you. I happen to know what Trump is doing, as does Brian Lily, and Daniel Smith. However if reporting and listening to news that hangs on to certain biases then you will never know what his plan is all about. Danielle Smith held a press conference today. It’s on You Tube. As is the Brian Lily podcast so I will leave it there. What the Illiberal’sa and NDP are about to do is destroy Canada, period. Make us their little communist state. Of course you may disagree as you like the idea of UBI. https://youtu.be/hIQPez6nmN0?si=-naViNJIC153e7cP.
I don’t think of us know what anyone is thinking. We can only go on observation and on past actions taken. I’ll not take a “Chicken Little” approach to any of it. I’m skeptical of all government and its underlying policies, particularly when we lived through “Russia collusion”, “her emails”, “51 ex CIA officers claim Hunter Biden laptop has all indications of Russian disinformation”, “the two Randy’s”, “Arrive Canada app” the list is long. SNC Lavalin would have sunk any other government in any other democratic nation. If Canada had a legacy media similar to the US, the populace would be better informed and Trudeau gone: and I don’t care what you say about Fox News or MSNBC. But, here we are.
The US has far too long shouldered the greatest defence burden for NATO and allies. The US has been after Canada to up its military capabilities, tighten the border, for decades, and address Chinese influence for about a decade. The trade issues Trump will be going after have been long discussed. The financial waste and cronyism being unearthed in ASAID is egregious. It’s good these issues are being hit head on, and I’ll wait to see the fall out, without looking for sky debris to hit me.
Trudeau is still the PM. He technically still is in the game. Why would Trump care about what a Canadian politician who isn't the PM thinks. That seems to mean, well, nothing much at all.
The concept of deterrence has not been lost but just about. Otherwise as some have said, the Russian invasions in 2014 and 2022 would not have even been considered. We let this happen. Not just Europe. But certainly Canada and the USA as well. Thanks to extraordinarily weak leadership. It maybe too late to undo this.
Geez, Terry, do yourself a favour and put up the paywall. Your work is worth the remuneration. Those of us with paid subscriptions signed up to support you; you deserve it.
I was a freeloader for quite a while but I eventually saw the light. Mind you, if you continue to just give it away I (and presumably others) might just accept your largesse! Okay, just kidding . . .
Acquire and build a following, entice them to regularly tune in, and eventually they will pay you for your thoughts - a strategy followed by many in this rapidly changing digital news and opinion frontier. That pay wall you yearn is only a matter of time...
Responding to a vulgar comment from a week or two ago, Terry: It appears that Howard Lutnick "gives a f*** about [Canada's] cow lobby." He says, "That's gotta end" and "That is a key focus of this administration."
https://x.com/i/status/1884716185104605363
It's almost like I'm clairvoyant sometimes.
Thanks for the icy cold water of reality. Our enemies outgun us and lack the moral compass that stay our military hand. But not to worry, America will save us, or will they? Wake up and grab your club, it's daylight in the swamp.
Excellent newsletter. Since the guest piece was presenting a scenario, what rough percentage of the Russian missiles does Dr. Maloney think, if he had to speculate, would actually launch successfully (how many Russian ICBMs would make it out of their silos, for example), what percentage would strike at or near their targets, and what percentage of the warheads would actually detonate? Are all or most of its nuclear warheads from the Soviet era and is the current disclosed RF military budget sufficient to maintain most of those warheads even if no corruption is assumed? Doesn't RF have a deterrence problem now after the poor performance of its hardware and related systems in Ukraine, as it is hard to imagine the picture with their strategic forces is much better?
I think the statement, "There are 68 active Russian launchers with 16 missiles each. . . that’s 1,088 interceptors,..." is incorrect.
Atlantic Council - Russian and Chinese strategic missile defense: Doctrine, capabilities, and development: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/russian-and-chinese-strategic-missile-defense-doctrine-capabilities-and-development/
"The A-135 system deployed around Moscow is currently Russia’s only system designed specifically to defend against ICBMs. The system is based around the Don-2N radar, which receives data from Russia’s wider early warning system. The Don-2N provides targeting data for the sixty-eight silo-based 53T6 “Gazelle” endoatmospheric interceptors, which are based at five sites around Moscow. As noted previously, the system was originally composed of both endo- and exoatmospheric interceptors; however, the sixteen 51T6 “Gorgon” exoatmospheric interceptors were retired between 2006 and 2007."
US DoD - Missile Defense Becomes Part of Great Power Competition: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2291331/missile-defense-becomes-part-of-great-power-competition/
"These nuclear-tipped missiles still exist as part of Russia's A-135 anti-ballistic missile system. The system consists of 68 nuclear-armed interceptors."