a fan wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:28 pm
MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:08 pm
Nah, that's what we have
national intelligence agencies for. We don't have states doing this.
And the IC knew. And Trump knew.
US intel has the exact numbers of dead? Or heck, within a reasonable range?
I'd wager they don't.
And yes, we ALL assumed they are lying. But again: in what world does that give them a pass?
And again, if it was a EU nation reporting the real carnage in real time, with real media cameras? I believe that would have been ENORMOUSLY helpful. Its really difficult to picture what a pandemic looks like....
Agree to disagree. Let's move on...
no, certainly the IC wouldn't have "exact numbers". I'd wager China doesn't either. This thing hit them hard and fast and it overwhelmed them. People were scared to come in, died at home.
But our IC knew that at each stage of the spread and the reaction to it. I would think they'd know certainly within some range of accurate. I'd bet the reality could be as much as an order of magnitude higher than they reported, but that would be in the far outer range. More likely 2X.
But then they did indeed choke it hard.
But we actually do agree that if our western cameras had been watching the carnage in real time the American public would have reacted sooner, demanding action. That said, I don't think the reaction of the American public would have been nearly the same with those same film in China as we would of countries with which we are more familiar.
But where we may still disagree is whether Trump blew it.
IMO, he was told what was coming and didn't listen, indeed he actively fought against the reality and worsened the reaction.
Still is.
Is it that he's simply stupid and venal? Partly.
Partly he's been so fixated on his trade war with China, both creating enormous tension and suspicion, serious worsening of the relationship (part of why Trump pulled the scientists last summer), and then his desperation to announce a 'win' coming off the impeachment process. Pinballing back and forth.
Bottomline, he actively worked against a more urgent reaction to the coming wave. Doc says things in some extreme ways, but Trump's 'leadership' on this cost lives and trillions of dollars.
None of that lets China off the hook for their errors.