If Argentina’s dictator, Leopoldo Galtieri, had waited just six months to invade the Falklands, there would have been no task force for Britain to retake the islands. The aircraft carriers, Invincible and Hermes, intrinsic to the mission’s success, would have been delivered to Australian and India.
Would Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine have floundered so badly had he waited until 2024 when Donald Trump could possibly be president? Would Trump, the man accused of being the Muscovian candidate for the White House who was prepared to accept the Russian occupation of Crimea, and had faced an impeachment inquiry for withholding military aid to Kyiv really have provided Volodymyr Zelensky’s government with billions of dollars of arms, enabling his country to fight back?
If China’s Xi Jinping, sabre-rattling at present over Taiwan, was to delay any invasion he may have planned what would be the reaction of Trump? After all, he threatened to pull US forces out of the Indo-Pacific and warned allies in the region that they should not expect the US will defend them against Beijing.
It is, of course, far from inevitable that Trump will win the Republican nomination, trailing as he is Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, in the polls. The showing of the candidates he endorsed in the midterm polls has been poor.
More and more senior Republicans including those previously ardently loyal) are now saying it is time for the party to move on. A YouGov poll at the weekend showed that DeSantis had a seven-point lead among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters for the nomination. But it is worth remembering that in 2016, nine months before Trump won the presidency, an NBC News/Waill Street fournal poll had given Ted Cruz a two-point lead over Trump. There is a long way to go before the nominations close. We now await the former president’s announcement.
Denne historien er fra November 16, 2022-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra November 16, 2022-utgaven av The Independent.
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Ireland hold off Argentina fightback in narrow victory
Ireland survived a major scare as they kickstarted their autumn campaign by holding off a spirited Argentina side to return to winning ways with an unconvincing 22-19 victory in Dublin.
Revamped England hope to disrupt mighty Springboks
The mixed memories of an enchanting Paris evening cut short have swirled in English heads for 13 months.
England find a new way to play... without their captain
Once again, Harry Kane is the first name on the England football team teamsheet.
EU allies are impatient for Brexit reset, Starmer is told
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to step up his plans for a postBrexit reset of relations with the European Union after an unprecedented warning from the Bank of England.
Cop climate talks no longer fit for purpose, say experts
Former high-ranking UN officials have written an open letter calling for a complete overhaul of the Cop talks, stating that the process is \"no longer fit for purpose\" in dealing with a rapidly intensifying climate crisis.
Ukraine will have to pay the price for Putin and Trump's delusions about one another
Tom Watling speaks to US and British former officials about the overconfidence of the president-elect and Russia's leader
Iran 'won't block Lebanon' in ceasefire talks with Israel
Iran will back any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a ceasefire with Israel, a senior Iranian official has said, signalling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.
RFK Jr faces pushback to nomination from the right
Robert F Kennedy Jr is facing criticism from proand antiabortion activists, arguing he is not a conviction politician
Met Office says winter is coming with 20cm of snow
The Met Office has issued several yellow weather warnings for snow and ice for this weekend and the start of next week.
Five guilty of killing teens in mistaken identity case
A man and four teenagers were found guilty yesterday of murdering two boys in a case of mistaken identity in a botched revenge attack.
