Terry Virts

American, Texan, Father, former USAF F-16 pilot & NASA Astronaut. Trying to bring some common sense and happiness down here to Earth.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

I’m watching the news - CNN is covering the Trump speech, his grievances and his lies.

And Fox News is praising Trump for firing the speech writer who was betting on world events. And how Democrats are anti-Israeli.

Two different information universes.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Joni is spot on.

[Joni Askola @joni_askola]

Elbridge Colby wants the benefits of an empire without any of the responsibilities.

Elbridge Colby's latest lecturing of US allies shows just how out of touch Washington is with the reality of its own decline. He wants to have it both ways, but his logic is falling apart.

The current Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, has a track record defined by failing to deliver his promised pivot to Asia and advocating for policies that cost countless Ukrainian lives.

Despite this, he is currently trying to tell middle powers how to manage their defense. During both of Trump's terms, the US urged Europe and other allies to spend more and stop relying on American taxpayers. It was a reasonable point, and allies are finally taking steps to increase their defense capabilities.

But the moment these countries try to build a collective middle power strategy, Colby starts warning them against it. In a recent X thread, he argued that allies should not build up their own defense industrial bases because they cannot compete with the US. He wants them to spend more, but only to buy American weapons, ensuring they stay entirely dependent on US goodwill.

You simply cannot have it both ways. In the past, relying on US weapons made sense because the US guaranteed security. But Colby is asking allies to maintain their dependence while the US actively disengages, reduces European troop levels, cuts aid to Ukraine, starts trade wars, and appeases shared adversaries. If the US is going to behave like an unreliable partner, why would Denmark, Canada, or any European country spend billions on US weapons instead of investing in their own domestic industries and cutting their dependence?

You cannot destroy your own geopolitical leverage and still expect allies to blindly follow your demands.

Trust is a currency, and the US has spent the last 18 months destroying it. Had Washington stood by Ukraine and maintained its commitments, it would have the leverage to negotiate. Instead, they destroyed their own influence, and no one is going to sacrifice their own industrial sovereignty for a partner that is already walking out the door

[Michael Weiss @michaeldweiss]

Joni gets it exactly right. I’d add a few things to his analysis.

The EU’s SAFE program to prioritize domestic arms procurement over U.S. purchases is only a logical consequence of the MAGA shakedown of the last eighteen months, a shakedown that has coincided with Colby’s various side hustles. See the serial pauses on Biden-authorised aid packages to Ukraine, or the cancellation of cross-border strike authorisation using Western munitions — an authority since mercifully transferred to SACEUR in opposition to Colby. SAFE also looks prescient in light of the stockpile shortages and reported hiccups in foreign deliveries resulting from the Iran war.

As Joni notes, you don’t get to tell the Europeans they must become militarily independent and autonomous because they’re on their own, only to then dictate terms about who they can and can’t buy weapons from.

Also important to remember is that Colby is despised most of all by Republican defense and security hawks in Congress. I mean to say, they really, really hate him.

This is why whole sections of the NDAA were written to shackle him vis-a-vis Ukraine aid and U.S. troop withdrawals from Europe. (Rubio stopped the latest attempt by DoD; and while the headlines attributed that attempt to Hegseth, who is busy worrying about the T levels of the enlisted, it is always Colby shaping Pentagon decision-making.) This is also why Kirill Dmitriev, whose efforts to broker rapprochement between Moscow and Washington now lie in ruins, is amplifying Colby’s pompous and hypocritical nonsense on Twitter, while the same Republican hawks in Congress advance Lindsey Graham’s sanctions bill with Trump’s evident consent.

And it’s not just Europe being bullied anymore.

At the weekend, the FT reported that erstwhile booster of a “pivot to Asia” has taken to hectoring the Japanese and Australians about their pre-commitments to defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. Colby is now using a snap Pentagon review of AUKUS to muscle Canberra over as-yet-undelivered U.S. submarines (no doubt to great bellylaughter in Paris).

Even “ideal” allies that tick all the MAGA boxes eventually get treated like the help by this entitled asshole, who only pretends to have strategic prerogatives and principles, but who has burnt so many bridges, as it were, he’s got more enemies at home than abroad.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

The presumptive Director of National Intelligence is not allowed to speak the most basic truth.

This would certainly seem to be a precursor of interference in the midterms.

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

Jay Clayton's election denialism did not go well

During his confirmation hearing for DNI, US Attorney Jay Clayton was reduced to shrugging and sitting in silence as Democrats like Jon Ossoff and Mark Kelly simply asked him to acknowledge the obvious truth -- that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and Trump lost

But Clayton was too afraid of offending Trump to do so, instead stammering through dodges like "uhm, you know, I'm not going to do this with you"

Here's a supercut from Clayton's disastrous hearing:

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Happy Bastille day tout le monde!

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

@USWPColby Of course our allies are looking for a different way forward when your administration constantly threatens our friends and cozies up to our enemies.

Incompetent, immature, and corrupt are the 3 words that define this Trump administration.

[Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 @GLandsbergis]

Coalition of the Importing

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

It's beyond disturbing that West Point grad and Congressional candidate like @AlexMealerTX would reflexively support ICE after murdering a fellow Houstonian.

She knows ICE's pattern of lying and coverups.

She has no business representing TX-09 in Congress.

[Alex Mealer @AlexMealerTX]

Today is yet another reminder of the dangers law enforcement face everyday as they protect our safety. I have full confidence in law enforcement’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure justice is served.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Thorough investigation.
Full accountability.
To the highest levels of government.

This isn't being reported on Fox or Newsmax, btw.

[Franco @GeraldSwazo]

@HQNewsNow Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Another person dead at the hands of ICE. This man, a Texan, had been in the country for 35 years, and was working as a construction worker.

ICE’s history of lying has erased public trust and an independent investigation must happen, with full accountability where appropriate.

[Anonymous @YourAnonCentral]

ICE agents shot and killed an unarmed civilian in Houston, Texas. The victim was a construction worker, a father of three US citizens, had lived in the US for 35 years and was applying for a work permit. He panicked and tried to flee when he mistook masked, armed ICE agents for thieves.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Can you see climate change from space? My thoughts on our beautiful planet: https://t.co/5wPt1lwnS5

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

“THIS WAR NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT!!!!”

- Joe Biden, on Iran

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Ukraine is out of Patriot missiles and it’s allowing Russian ballistic missile attacks to kill civilians.

We need to become the arsenal of democracy ASAP and get them the air defenses that they need.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

@LindseyGrahamSC Senator Graham, git er done. It’s time for less talk and more action.

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

Translation: Ukrainian strikes against Russian refineries are working.

[Craig Kennedy @CraigKennedy77]

Some ominous oil export numbers for Moscow caused by Urals export supply now exceeding firm demand. With the loss of so much refining capacity, Russia is being forced to export more crude and less product. But with the expiry of the US sanctions waiver in mid June, firm demand from India and elsewhere has dropped sharply, causing Urals export volumes to once again exceeding levels of firm demand, as happened back in December-January. Consequently, unsold on-the-water inventories of Russian crude are rising. That supply overhang, in turn, is further widening the Brent-Urals spread, which exceeded $27 in the week up to July 3. Moscow now faces a stark choice: maintain current production levels, and accept $40 Urals FOB prices that will further widen its gaping budget deficit? Or cut production, in hopes that higher Urals price will more than offset lost volumes. Either way, it's more bad news for the Kremlin. @JLeeEnergy https://t.co/5jSwT4lM7h

[MLB @MLB]

A look at everyone trying to avoid responsibilities at work today after the 4th of July weekend 😮‍💨

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

LIVE now!

[Emily Matthews @EGMatthews]

Coming up in about an hour! @general_ben is an absolute pro on these topics. You won’t want to miss the conversation…

RSVP below:

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

12pm EST today—well worth a listen from @general_ben:

[New American Center @NewAmCenter]

Is Ukraine finally gonna win against Russia, and is the war in Iran closing out or ramping up?

We’ll be discussing it all at 12pm EST/9am PST on Monday July 6th with General Ben Hodges!

https://t.co/EXcUgyaWsf

[Emily Matthews @EGMatthews]

Coming up in about an hour! @general_ben is an absolute pro on these topics. You won’t want to miss the conversation…

RSVP below: