Trump's policy is not policy but self-serving games with Big and Dangerous Problems. The aim is not war but the use of cheap threats to drive leaders of these regimes to treat with him and then to pose before America and the world as a big Peace-Maker--as though they can't see through the self-evident lie that his predecessors had done nothing to further exactly these goals AND as though this kind of thing isn't reckless idiocy that could get American young people killed and American foreign policy mangled beyond recognition. We have an infantile fool sitting in our White House--and our ersatz leaders in Congress do nothing to team up against his incomprehensible follies. Several of these people asked several of my nephews to risk their lives after 9/ll in absurd military adventures in the MIddle East. The only condition under which they had any honorable moral right to ask that of these young people was to return the favor by pitting their own power and prestige against insane idiocy with the fate of the American people. But who expects Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer to do anything so unthinkable as to serve their country first and themselves then and only afterward? Or Lindsey Graham, or Pat Roberts, or Jerry Moran, or John Thune or Ben Sasse or any of the rest of these ponderous worthies, including a lot of Democrats?
2
@Harold Johnson
What has Mr Trump gotten out of talks with N Korea?
Well, maybe nothing for the USA, but wait a bit for the Trump Pyongyang Tower with a penthouse for the Kim family.
1
Oxford96
Chris N lists UK as his/her location. There is a good possibility that Chris N is a Brit or other citizen of the UK (not of the USA) in which case “our negotiator” is not necessarily his/hers. The UK has enough of its own problems. Let’s not burden them with one more.
1
Iran is clearly a natural ally of the US. They have come back a long way toward democracy (despite being a very flawed one) since the US and Britain destroyed their real democracy in 1956. The Iranian people are very western oriented if allowed. They have never invaded or attacked any of their neighbors, unlike others in the region. Our alignment with the odious anti-democratic despots in Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Gulf States, and Egypt and the questionable regimes in Jordan and Israel as "allies" is a historic mistake.
Netanyhu in Israel and mBS in Saudi have their own reasons for demonizing Iran; one to try to distract from his well deserved impending indictment for corruption and the other for fear of any form of democracy and both for being willing to use any ploy to hold on to power. Both Bolton and Pompeo are dangerous advisors.
All this makes for a very dangerous situation. The media must be extremely vigilant not to get sucked into a false narrative to try to provoke an unjust, counterproductive, costly unending war as the NYT did with its horrible Iraq WMD stories. It is crucially important that they do real investigative reporting on things like the claim of an Iranian nuclear weapons program when every intelligence agency in the world, including the US and Israel, confirmed that there was no such program, and the current scare of an "Iranian threat" to US interests based on nothing under than a highly suspicious Israeli source.
3
You make some good points, but a major mistake in defining “allies” by who is the leader of the current respective governmenst. Just as I would hate to see the US judged as an ally or not based on the aberration of our current administration, we should not judge other countries by their short-term leaders (exceptions noted). History has a long arc and our allies should be chosen with a long view, looking both forwards and backwards, not by the fashion of the day.
1
Totally too funny. Imagine where our country could be today if we had a normal president. The time and money wasted on Crooked Donald has side tracked our country from true greatness. Trump has been like a ball and chain dragging the U.S.A. down to his pathetic level.
5
What is s wrong with the traitor and NYT? One after another defection from his government. People can no longer write the times and get in! What is the NYT afraid of!
1
@parsifal
What???
4
I would think that all presidents have had challenges from 'rouge' nations, since the founding or our republic. 'To the shores of Tripoli' isn't some fantasy lyric--Jefferson had to send ships and marines. And on it went. So to single out Iran,Korea, and Venezuela as aggressive after Trump pledged to contain these 'rogues' is a bit misdirected and perhaps even biased
1
Of course they'll defy Trump. They know that Trump, like all bullies, is a wimp. He is confrontation averse and they, with the encouragement of Russia and/or China, will take what they can get.
5
@Frank
Once again I apply my litmus test: Is the post one that our enemies would love? Then perhaps there is a reason for it.
Before Trump was elected and right after the election, if you will review the media then --all we heard was that Trump would start a nuclear war within the first week. There's just no making some opposition parties happy.
There’s nothing like a multi-draft dodger to be the Commander-in-Chief of the mightiest military in the world.
You can count on Trump to chicken his way out of any conflict.
Trump. A coward of a president. That’s why Republicans love him.
6
@Opinioned!...Thank YOU for YOUR service. You did serve honorably, right? BTW, all of the current Dem candidates who came of age when the draft applied back in the day deferred their service, also. As did a President or two. Of course, no women candidates have ever hidden behind draft deferments. Once again, thanks SO much.
1
@Albert Edmud,
You’re welcome. Always a pleasure to meet an American who is respectful of veterans.
You’ll be glad to know that my wife also doesn’t swap my hands away — unlike the First Lady/Third Wife who embarrasses Trump the coward for the international press, dignitaries, and the US military to see.
3
@Opinioned! I thought the Left said he would start a nuclear war and had to be removed before he did. Short memories? No. Just opposition to every facet of his policies; every syllable he utters, every shoe his wife wears. Pathetic is too kind an adjective.
1
Trump sees foreign policy as a racist would. Pompeo see foreign policy through the blinkered eyes of a Christian fanatic. John Bolton sees foreign policy through the lens of FoxNews. What could go wrong?
9
@Barney Rubble
That's just your propoaganda showing. It has infected the Left's ability to think--and not just about this subject.
The Left reasons thusly: If we have a foreign policy and it affects people who are not white, then it must be racist, even if race is not the issue under consideration.
Or, if Trump's business benefits from any policy of his, like a booming economy, then he should not have instituted the policy; better that the country remain unprosperous just so long as Trump's business does not benefit.
It is such backwards "thinking" that all who engage in should be embarrassed but haven't studied enough logic to even accomplish that.
1
Oxford96
Maybe it’s just me, but I fail to ascertain just what exactly IS our country’s foreign policy under Trump. Would you please define if for us so we can determine if we think it’s racist. Thank you.
1
Why did the Egyptians made slaves of the Hebrews for more than 400 years?
Why did the all wise white U.S. Constitutional framers made slaves of Black African people?
Why did white Nazi Germans exterminate 6 million Jewish people?
In a war there has to be an undisputed winner and a loser....otherwise the war continues. Any time an outside arbitrator or mediator steps in and declares peace...it merely fuels the flames of war. This is simply the vile nature of mankind.
Yes, it takes brutality to bring about peace, right? Brutality such as:
World War I
Killed: 16 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
World War II
Killed: 60 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
Korean War
Killed: 1 1/2 plus Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
Vietnam War
Killed: 1 1/2 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
A soldier will either fall in love with war or with peace, but can not simultaneously love both.
Most humans are plagued with the same capricious, brutal, homicidal, warring, selfish, self serving, pompous, egotistical behavior which will always remain untouched and unchanged. Man should stop making war in the name of liberty, justice, peace and in the name of God (all religions in the world). The true God is good and would not be blessing soldiers nor war itself.
Humans will eventually self destruct due to their inability to control their inborn dichotomies of love vs. hate, good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, and moral vs. immoral.
1
@manoflamancha
Are you sure you are replying to the right article? You didn't say "Trump" once.
1
TLDR:
Trump has same problems with Iran, Venezuela, NK as Obama had
NYT criticizes Trump as per SOP
2
@kwb
But not with ISIS. Remember them? Soldiers being burned alive in cages? Men all in a row, hands tied behind their backs, having their heads sliced off for a propaganda video? Millions in revenue from oil wells from land won in war? Threats to expand their caliphate?
All gone.
Iran and Korea are terrorist nations. Their armies have repeatedly called for the destruction of our country. Blaming our country for their policies is pathetic self-hatred. Iran and Korea murder and torture their own citizens, do not allow freedom of the press, and foster terrorism. We did not cause that. Appeasment has never worked. I fail to understand how we are alienating our "allies" when we ask them to pay their fair share for their own defense, and when we ask for fair trade. It cost our country dearly to stop Hitler and Japan, but if we did not more than 6 million Jews would have been exterminated, all of Europe, and the Pacific would have been lost and we would not have a country. The time has come to stop Korea and Iran, and if we do not do so now, we will bring the world closer to a nuclear war. Wars are never good. Neither is the loss of freedom. Interestingly enough, both Germany and Japan became our allies after defeat.
5
@logodos jolly good paragraph you've written but distinction between North Korea and South Korea would be a big plus and undercuts your arguement.
Whilst you rightly do pick up on failings of Iranian and North Korean governance, I highly doubt another expensive and bloody war is the right answer because your chief negotiator cannot negotiate with Capital One let alone a complex foreign state.
12
@logodos How is N. Korea a terrorist nation and what have they done to label it as terrorism? How come Saudi Arabia is on your list of terrorism nation? Need to mention 9/11? Wahhabi Inspired terrorism on the streets of US, Europe and what not. Labeling Iran and N. Korea as terror nation is propaganda. Who created ISIS? Qatar and Saudis. And who defeat them? Iran. Women still can’t drive in Saudi Arabia but in Iran women driving is as natural as it is in the west. Go to any retail store in Iran you find women working or running a business. Lets be fair and honest.
12
@Chris N
"Your chief negotiator" is also yours. The enemy reads your disparagements and takes heart.
I fail to see the logic in your last sentence. If we do not succeed with negotiation there will be no choice but war. No president has yet succeeded in negotiation; one president after another has allowed North Korea to blackmail us into paying them plenty to avoid war; this president has stood his ground. It behooves actual patriots, which seem in short supply among those in your party, to support his efforts not undermine them by snarky posts.
1
Of course Bolton & Pompeo will be left holding the bag. It is the Trumpian Code: NOT ME...NO...NOT ME...THEM. I wish them luck but I pray for the rest of us. If they manage to stumble us into a hot war can you imagine Trump trying to bully his way out of that??
@Ivan W
If a few words were removed from the lexicon of Progressive propaganda, the Left would be speechless.
Neither Trump nor Pence have any real skills only gaslighting and pretending. Bolton and Pompeo want war somewhere to entertain themselves.
4
Trump has always been "all hat, no cattle" when it comes to his claimed accomplishments and abilities. The notion that this fool can craft a coherent, workable foreign policy is laughable. And now the whole world knows it. He's kicked multiple hornets nests and has no idea what to do.
6
@Aneliese
You might have heard the rumor that our economy under Trump's leadership is the envy of the developed world; that blacks have never in our history experienced a lower level of unemployment; that women, Asians and hispanics are also enjoying a record low unemployment level.
What a fool he was, when he told us that if he could reduce that corporate tax rate to make our corporations competitive on the international market; if he could get rid of thousands of business-killing regulations, if he could limit the labor suppy, he could put America back to work again.
Think of all the families that are now off welfare and all the daddies that can once again live at home and raise their children as a family.
What a fool this president is; he stands for free speech, and we all know that we are much smarter than Trump or the Founding Fathers. After all what did they know? They held slaves and that mean we should ignore the product of their labors: the Constitutional guarantees of freedoms.
What a bully Trump is: imagine suggesting to European nations that they should actualy pay waht they pledged to pay for their own defense in NATO. No WONDER he's not popular there, and being popular abroad should be
America's number one goal.
Bullying, incompetence, unilateral actions and disruption without a plan results in failure. Take trade with China. Here, many Americans agree something needs to be done. Good for Trump that he is confronting China. But he’s doing it his way. By acting unilaterally ( we do still have allies here) and bullying. I guess we will see how this works out.
@Jeff
And when it works out to our favor, will there be silence on the Left?
It’s alarmingly surreal that less than two decades removed from the neocon’s disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq, we are now highly vulnerable to another series of fatal international fiascos, curtesy of crackpots, incompetents, fabulists, ideologues, narcissists - bizarre government “servants” that can’t even get their “stories” straight.
4
@the doctor...Neocons deserve much of the credit for the disaster of Af-raq, but there is plenty of credit to go around. Most of Congress, the Intelligence Community, the Main Stream Media and most Americans were dancing in step to the drums of war. "Shock and Awe" and "Mission Accomplished" were met with thunderous standing applause. The relatively few voices of dissent were met with the derision of "Traitor" and "Treason". Remember the Dixie Chicks? Remember American fries, nee French fries? Remember the Tet Offensive? Nor did America.
@the docto
When in history has this not been the case? History is dynamic; if you read history of nations thousands of years ago, it was the very same story.
That being the case, a strong, advanced military and the patriot citizenry are essential to national survival--always were.
If it wasn't for the tax cuts and the ballooning deficits...all would be lost.
wait...
Trump has become the most arrogant bully on the planet. The dunning-kruger effect is strong with him. Might as well put the world into a toaster.
1
@glennmr
Actually the economy is raising all boats, including state budgets--even blue state budgets.
California will lbe having an unexpected surplus, for example, as will many other blue states.
We currently have spent this year alone over $800 billlion on illegal immigration when a wall would have cost $5 billion. And it is only May. If we could limit unnecessary expenditures and enjoy the benefits of all these new taxpayers who have entered the jobs market, we should be stabilizing pretty soon.
You had me until "Trump Said...."
It is my hope that European countries don't let Trump bully them into what seems like Mr. Trump's obvious provoking of Iran.
Now he is, as Michael Cohen said, telling Europe to go along with me.
But if they do, they become entrapped in Trump's web.
They should continue to do business with Iran.
Trump was the one who pulled out of the deal with Iran that Europe objected to.
Maybe it's time for them to say enough is enough with Trump.
He's nothing but a showboat.
Along with John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.
I can only imagine Vladimir Putin is laughing his head off at his 'trainee'.
Putin entire objective is to undermine the US in the eyes of the world.
And if he can, put the US in severe financial straits.
I can only imagine that when he is in talks to Trump, he is giving him pointers on the tactics to make next, knowing that those pointers will fail.
I wouldn't be surprised that he is also in talks with the leaders of Iran, Venezuela and most definitely North Korea on how to counteract with the US.
Trump is an easy target to be lured into doing something stupid because of his humongous ego and lack of common sense.
Heaven help us!
22
@marriea
What a remarkable piece of illogic! If you are not in Iran's employ, and only for purposes of this discussion, let's stipulate that, then it is clear you did not read the Iran agreement, because it offered us no protection and cost us $hundreds of billions on top of that. Iran is the world's number one source of terror. Europe wants to stay in because it wants to do business with Iran, not because it thinks, any more than we do, that it protects us from a nuclear Iran.
Instead of fearing that Putin will put us in severe financial straits, why not look at what he didn't do--he didn't collude with Trump--and then look at today's booming economy. trump ceated that through lowering hte corporate tax rates, removing 30,000 regulations and controlling illegal immigration at the borderuntil the left stopped him from limiting the labor supply, a limitation which actually raises wages and benefits by limiting the supply of labor.
My litmus test for whether a policy is good for America or bad is whether our enemeis would like it.
They clearly would love yours--indeed, could not have stated it better themselves.
@Oxford96
After you and I are gone, it will be proved that trump did in fact work with Putin to give trump an election edge.
After years of laundering Putin's money, it will be proved that Manafort et. al. all worked with Russia to discredit Clinton and sow massive social discontent.
Just because all of trump's indicted criminals failed to tell the WHOLE truth and elected to go to jail instead, does not foot to zero - no conspiracy with Russia.
Putin is in hog heaven as long as he as the video tapes.
2
We seem to have not learned from our failed Cuba policy.
Castro survived our extreme pressures because the millions of poor felt that he was on their side. Maduro survives because
he has helped the poor and they are now on his side. They are even organizing on a local level to wage a guerrilla war should the US invade Venezuela.
The suffering in Venezuela caused by the collapse of the price of oil from $100 a barrel to at some point $26
should be solved by negotiations between the parties
and not weaponized assistance
The real victims of Trump's economic sanctions are the ordinary people of Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. Creating acute shortages of food, medicines and other essential goods in sanctioned countries has become a weapon of undeclared wars.
12
@Ghulam
The alternative is that we become the victims, Ghulam.
@Oxford96 What alternative? Attacking Iraq was another disaster that the same band of people claimed victimhood. Preposterous. Your pretentious victimhood is overplayed. Princes (owner of Blackwater) are lined up to benefit from another war with Iran. The other princes Bolton, Netanyahu, Pompeo, Trump and Kushner are the ones benefiting from another long war. American public will pay with blood and treasure so princes can calm their war itches and become true owners of high rises in major metropolis. American public must not and will not put up with a bunch of rogue princes have a fun business with the blood of Americans and Iranians again.
1
The USA is only 5% of the worlds population but has the highest military budget in the world -- higher than the next 8 countries military budgets combined!
So how long did we think the other 95% of the worlds people would put up with our 1000 military bases around the world. And our constant abuse of countries. The small ones we try to take over or replace their leaders, even when they are elected by a democratic procedure (Venezuela). And China has had it with us.
For centuries, the USA was an invader and controller of other countries; we love hegemony.
They will have no more of it. The world is overpopulated and climate change has been here for decades; change, change, change and the other 95% has had it and they will , more and more, tell us to stick it. We need to be more cooperative, seek more peace, help the rest of the world.
The time has come: we have little choice unless we wish to see ourselves ruined by trade policy and constant conflict.
We need a real leader who understands the world. Recently, Trump stated that China pays us billions in tariffs. China does not pay us one cent in tariffs. Tariffs are paid by companies in the usa who buy goods, products and materials from other countries. They are not paid by the producers, like China! We of course pay them in the end because the prices of those good then rises. Do you want a president who does not understand basic economics? And lies? And is confused? And is an egomaniac? Does not understand the constituion?
19
@Frank
I'll just limit my reply to your first paragraph and your observation that the President who just created the best economy among all the world's developed nations does not understand economics.
As for the size of our military budget, didn't you and your party criticize Trump's efforts to get NATO nations to pay more for their defense?
1
@Oxford96
How wonderful of Obama to give trump the "best economy" after the 2008 sub-prime melt-down.
trump is roiling the "best economy" with his chaotic childish bully tweets as he destroys decades old global supply chains created by American companies.
the words trump and trust are at opposite ends of the value spectrum. The man is a stupid self-appeasing bull in china shop. That china shop is the U.S.
4
The US is ruled by an insular, rural/small city, nostalgic and uber religious people. These people have little use for the world around it, hence the aggressiveness towards tearing down all foreign alliances. It feels more comfortable with might makes right and has an affinity towards those authoritarian regimes that symbolize strength.
For most of time people the world over has lived in absolute tyranny. I think the future of your world is pulling back towards a dystopian view and less towards a just and fair view.
It’s what humans do.
1
@Practical Thoughts
Trump answers to no one; he owes no one; he's in no one's pocket; he's a billionnaire.
We have entered into foreign alliances that the Iran lovers posting here do not like, so they exaggerate. Iran is the world's greatest source of terror. Iran began the war in Yemen. Iran has been threatening our ally (you like allies), Israel, and Egypt and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Republic, the latter of which just engaged in an air exercise with Israel.
I have yet to find an Iran-lover who supports a strong Israel, and that is no coincidence.
After nearly 2 1/2 years, it has become quite clear that all of the worst fears of Mr. Trump's lack of preparation (and talent) for the job of POTUS were valid. Mr. Trump has none of the skills necessary for the job; unfortunately, the man he chose to be his vice-President has even fewer of those skills, and most of the few qualified people he chose for his cabinet have left, either resigning due to frustration or fired for disagreeing with the President. The fears of our (current and former) allies are justified: his actions clearly show that he cares only about padding his own fortune and those of the few "friends" he has. May our nation survive...
15
@AJB
The best economy in the developed world mysteriously ebades the consciousness of NYT readers posting here.
The lowest rate of unemployment for blacks in this nation's history--ditto.
Manufacture returning here --ditto; foreign capital returning --ditto.
Everywhere help wanted signs; everywhere families escaping poverty, finding hope--and hte Left sees, what? Nada.
The average person on the streets anywhere in Western Europe no longer sees the United States as a reliable ally. Every place I travel the reaction is eerily the same, "Why is he (Trump) doing this?"
They see the president cozying up to Putin and right wing hard liners like the leader in Hungary. It baffles people in the U.K. and France in particular. Americans died in the many thousands defending and liberating those countries. American pressure ended the iron curtain.
Now, with Iran posing a much closer threat to Europe than the U.S., the pressure on our allies to punish Iran on the behalf of the U.S. government comes with an "or else" attached to it.
The same sort of rudderless leadership is behind every single foreign policy move the administration makes. It may seem like some hard line negotiating tactic by the Art Of The Deal poser, but we all know the truth about his "wins" in business now.
Do we wind up in a war with a Iran? It will take one incident and we shall find out.
When he leaves office, whomever comes next will be cleaning up the myriad messes for years to come.
23
@John Harrington
Do you live in Europe? If not why are you not more concerned about how we view Europeans, and not vice versa?
They don't want to give up their business relations with Iran and many of them are anti-Semitic anyway--a two-fer for them. Germany, which only a few years ago bragged to tourists that it had gone all green, is now negotiating with Russia for a gas pipeline which would make them vulnerable during wintertime while all they while they seek our military protection through NATO.
They stifle free speech and jail people for breaking the code. Wonderful Europe.
Jews are being attacked by Islamists in record numbers; churches are being burned, all over Europe--over a thousand this past year alone. Do our presses emphasize any of this? Did you even know it?
I think he's doing a good job. We need to stay out of other people's business. That as been our problem for a long time, foreign intervention. Keep up the good work Mr. president. It seems like readers of the New York Times want the president to fail. I've been a subscriber to the NYT for almost a year now and every article is so negative and critical of the president. I agree some of the things he`s done are not so good, but not everything.
3
No progress with North Korea. Regression with Iran and a torn up deal with nothing proposed as a replacement. Foiled in our blatant intervention in Venezuela. Which of these do you think Trump is handling well?
2
@tom Active efforts to oust Maduro and confrontation aimed at regime change with Iran aren’t exactly keeping out of other people’s business. You have to distinguish the talk from the acts.
1
@tom Please explain. Just what business of others is Trump staying out of? He meddled in the Brexit affair. He pulled out of the agreement with Iran and left our allies perplexed and irritated. He more than meddled in the affairs of Venezuela by endorsing a challenger to Maduro and encouraging a military coup. He now has started his personal deal making with the North Korean dictator and it has gotten us nowhere. He constantly meddles in the affairs between the Palestinians and the Israelis. He challenges his own Republicans in the Congress so he can provide weapons in the war in Yemen to the Saudis. I could name more, but you get my drift.
2
It's not hard to size up our Fearless Leader (except for those who've decided to support him), so how can these foreign leaders, who've been in this game a lot longer, not see through him, and not know how to have their way with (or regardless of) him?
4
@Paul O Because we've now got an incredibly strong economy, and china, for one, relies on our purchases to keep her economy strong. But we are inceasing our manufacture base, and if things to down in these negotiations, that will only strengten our manufacture here at home; China knows it. She will negotiate once Trump wins in 2020; she may be able to stall, but not much longer than that ; her economy, compared to ours , is tanking.
I must admit that I no longer bother following what Trump says. My sympathies to those who do.
10
@Brian
I'm with you. Can't stand to see or listen to his blather. The man is the worst thing we ever encountered. This messing this smaller nations could easily end up in a shooting war. He's an idiot with no knowledge of history.
1
@BKC
Could you be more specific?
full of himself and woefully out of his depth, President Trump cannot be blamed for approaching our international challenges the way he approached business deals, resulting in a comparable lack of success. Mr. Trump has objectives, murky though at times they seem, but he is blind to the objectives of others. he pretty much sees everything as a business deal, where all the players basically share the same goal: to make money and to be able to show it off.
6
@Pottree
And how did that business deal that we know of turn out?
Now I am really scared.
Thanks a lot, Pottee
@Pottree
What do you imagine the goal should be?
The opportunity to remove Trump is here, and congress must take it and move to impeach him, no matter what the outcome, as soon as possible. Given our endangered constitution, it’s their elected responsibility to do so. Lest we not forget, Trump is literally in a position to end the world, and per heavily referenced article on Wikipedia: “...the president has almost single authority to initiate a nuclear attack since the Secretary of Defense is required to verify the order, but cannot legally veto it.” Given the people Trump surrounds himself with, even the addition of others between him and the nuclear button wouldn’t mean much. With the alarming damage he is causing here and around the world, which is expanding exponentially, at the very least, legislation should be passed as quickly as possible that provides more secure protections for the US and the world against his ability to launch nuclear weapons.
4
@Ma..."almost singular authority". What a non-sensical phrase.
@Ma
Oh, please, we heard this line of hysteria during the campaign: "He's going to start a nuclear war on day one!!!" Resist!!!
Actually, he uses a two-fold approach; he builds up our military strength and economic strength, then applies sanctions, not nukes.
But sorry to spoil your narrative.
The irony is that the only possible deal with North Korea must be structured like the deal with Iran: graduated reduction in sanctions in return for a graduated reduction in armaments, in coordination with other major powers and local powers. Instead Trump seemingly expects both North Korea and to unilaterally disarm before the US agrees to anything, which is even more ridiculous with Trump in office as he has proven himself to be completely unreliable.
5
@Michael Mendelson
Why don't you just let him do his thing and not try to figure out his methods of negotiation, since the Left got NATO 100% wrong?
What has "America First" wrought?
A stronger and emboldened Russia. A stronger and emboldened Iran. A stronger and emboldened North Korea.
A weaker NATO. A weaker WTO. A weaker UN. A weaker EU.
And, internationally, a weaker and less influential USA, even in our hemisphere.
To our friends, we've become less reliable. To our enemies, we've become less threatening. To ourselves, we've betrayed our most fundamental values.
His abysmal record as a businessman is one thing but bankrupting our country of its values and international leadership is not something lies, branding, and a network reality television show can effectively disguise.
10
The United States has completely lost its moral authority on the world stage. We have trashed out allies, started to tear down the rules and organizational-based systems set up after WWII to prevent future wars, and have allied ourselves with strong-man countries where the rule of law does not exist.
What would one expect if something like this happened? What you are getting. A clueless, disorganized, de facto strategy that has nothing coherent about it.
We will pay a price for Trump and we won't know what for a decade.
4
@Mike...Those "systems set up after WWII to prevent future wars" haven't been terribly effective. The US alone has been engaged almost continuously in warfare somewhere. As a whole, the planet has been the scene of unending wars. But, let's blame Trump anyway.
@Mike
Where do you stand on national borders, speaking of the international system?
Please. Would somebody be good enough to inform the (big-)Mouth that Americans are also thinking of Regime change. The target of the Americns is America itself. We have even set a date: 2020. Cool Hand Americans.
4
A self proclaimed genius businessman wins the highest office is proven to be a fraud losing billions while evading taxes, maybe a genius con man but is no one to follow. Those who believe a proven conman and cohort to his desires are doomed for failure. This goes for his deplorable followers, his GOP enablers and any international leaders.
4
@beachboy
Losing billions? The US is in a boom, exceeding all other developed nations--quite a feat. Blacks at an all-time (I repeat--all time--low unemployment rate, and other minorities--asians, women, hispanics--all experiencing record lows in unemployment. Some fraud.
"Last weekend, military and intelligence officials said they had determined that Iran or its partner militias were possibly planning violence against American troops in the region. The secret analysis prompted the Trump administration to speed up the movement of an aircraft carrier strike group and bombers to the Persian Gulf."
Sorry, that analysis was prepared by the Israeli intelligence based on the various scenarios of how Iran would react to the various forms of attacks by the US or its allies.
Regarding Iraq, southern Iraq has been the center of Shia Islam long before Iran became a Shia state in the 16th century. Further, the eastern and southern regions of Iraq was part of Iran until the Arab Muslim conquest in the 7th century. In fact, the ancient city of Ctesiphon near present day Baghdad (Persian name) served as a royal capital of the Persian Empire in the Parthian and Sasanian eras for over eight hundred years. Ctesiphon remained the capital of the Sasanian Empire until the Muslim conquest in 651 AD. Today, there are thousands of ethnic Iranian Shias in Iraq.
Majority of Iraqi Shias including the ethnic Iranian Shias want the US forces out of Iraq. There is no need for Iran to direct them. As for the Palestinians, they are fighting the brutal occupier of their lands. No need for Iran to tell a Palestinian whose family members were murdered by Israel to fight back. These are deliberate false accusations in order to have an excuse to start a war with Iran.
4
@
re: "Sorry, that analysis was prepared by the Israeli intelligence based on the various scenarios of how Iran would react to the various forms of attacks by the US or its allies. "
You are aware, aren't you, that Hamas is just a Iranian proxy, so, in effect, our ally was just subjected to an attack by over 600 missiles.
Would you have us sit tight or support our ally with a show of force?
Incompetence begets bankruptcy -- in business and in international relations. That's what we've got.
4
@
Actually, we're on the way to just the opposite. The first step is prosperity.
Check.
If you want to increase pressure on adversaries, the dumbest thing you can do is to begin by trashing your relationship with what used to be your allies.
35
@Solon Really? We destroyed Japan and Germany during WW2, and now they are amongst our strongest allies. History speaks louder than platitudes.
@logodos
There is no way that this is a relevant case.
Logic speaks louder than patently false analogies.
1
@Solon
Then let's see what in your view is a true analogy. His works for me. And we've picked up new allies as well in the middle east, but I'll bet you do not count them.
The rogue nation on this planet is the USA. Just ask the UN.
26
@Dwight Jones
You don't have to go as far as the UN, Doug, you can just ask me. We *are* a rogue nation in relation to our founding ideals, and we have been since that very beginning. I consider us to be the United States of Jekkyl and Hyde, and our hypocrisy has been on display all along. Until we remove the logs from our own eyes, we'll never be the shining city on a hill we aspire to be.
4
@Dwight Jones
You don't have to go as far as the UN, Doug, you can just ask me. We *are* a rogue nation in relation to our founding ideals, and we have been since that very beginning. I consider us to be the United States of Jekkyl and Hyde, and our hypocrisy has been on display all along. Until we remove the logs from our own eyes, we'll never be the shining city on a hill we aspire to be.
@Jim O'Neill
Thank you for substantiating my theory that the Left hates America.
These guys don’t get deferments for bone spurs.
11
This mob-boss/president is null and void of logic, intellect, compassion and common sense. He is a carny at best, with a worse side of jackal. It's time to dump trump before he does something really ugly that cannot be undone. Republicans, you are on the verge of being part of his disaster.
24
@Gary On the verge? That’s a big verge. I’d say they jumped right on board the SS Trumptanic two years ago and are still right there, heading into the iceberg.
5
@Gary
Can I help you out there with those adjectives--I just bought a new thesaursus. It never hurts to break the mold with new ones. Easier, too, than dealing with policies and facts.
2 of the 3 countries has substantial reserves of oil, no prizes for who the US President will go for....last
7
@goape4
The US is oil-independent. Catch up.
To take a quote from Sir Donald on the health care debacle, "Nobody knew it would be this hard." Well, except for everyone who told him just that! He doesn't read and he doesn't learn, but he does have a big gut from which he derives his policies. Sheesh!
21
The quote is “who knew it was so complicated?” What Don the Con meant was he never thought it would be complicated because he knows nothing about health insurance.
I’d say he knows nuthin’ ‘bout nuthin’ ‘cept con games, and he fails at them also. (See, e.g., Trump’s bankruptcy history)
Nobody knew that everything could be so complicated.
10
In order to justify the tragic amounts being spent on what is laughingly called 'defense' the US must forever create bogeymen and keep the fear industry humming.
Allowing a clear psychopath and dull-normal 3rd rate TV has-been to run the show is even more dangerous.
Sleeping well are you?
16
@Plennie Wingo
"In order to justify the tragic amounts being spent on what is laughingly called 'defense' the US must forever create bogeymen and keep the fear industry humming."
Right; the Left has spent a lot of ink in these posts explaining that the President is an ignorant jerk, while it endorses views like yours which are completely ignorant of the enemies we face in the world, of how our military actually operates, what its vulnerabilities are that our companies are now ordered to fix quickly, how many warships China is producing, or how anything real in the world actually works. It is scary what is not understood by the average Democrat, including that a booming economy helps to pay for defense. No wonder the Left supports an open border; it is completely lacking in knowledge.
Sorry Pres! You have shown the World how diplomatic former Presidents of the USA have actually been, and how greatly incompetent you are in that field.
You have given our Class Friendly Nations the boot, and welcomed the Nations that have forever given their state of their Union as we are enemy #1. He just does not get it, as in his usual statements as if he just meant a man in Church; "He's a really good guy!"
9
A fake president has no support.
At least we will have a GIANT political rally in DC on the 4th of July when trump declares himself the ORANGE MONARCH.
It doubt the fireworks will ignite. I would not attend that event if you paid me one million trump dollars.
13
@The Shredder
When I was in grade school I already would have recognized that name calling belongs there.
Trump's bullying and his inability to plan logically and foresee possible outcomes and consequences of his actions are dangerous for this country; they may lead us into war. In addition, Trump has shredded our alliances with countries whose interests align with our own (think Canada, Germany, France, and the UK). The failure of Republicans like Mitch McConnell, to stand up for what is rational and good for this country increases the danger. As other Commenters have noted, the news media need to make this extremely clear. Hiding from the danger of the Trump administration will only exacerbate the problem.
9
International politics are very hard to carry out, much less when you have to deal with so different cultures and Powers. Just see how complex Foreign Trade negotiations are.
5
President Trump's Foreign Policy, summed up in less then a paragraph.
"It's a policy based on "Gut instinct" and "feelings." It's a policy that is "Unencumbered by the thought process."
12
For over two decades, Bolton, neocons, and Israel have been advocating war against Iran. Should Bolton, Pompeo, neocons, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and UAE convince Trump to attack Iran, the result will be devastating and both sides will suffer heavy casualties. The US and its allies will destroy most of the Iranian facilities and kill thousands of innocent Iranians. The Iranians will retaliate and kill thousands of Americans.
Therefore, the anti-war US lawmakers, the US media, and the American people should ask the Trump administration if the loss of lives of thousands of innocent Iranians and the American soldiers, and the destruction of Iranian facilities, infrastructure and properties are worth it just to satisfy Bolton, Pompeo, neocons, and the aforementioned countries? Also, what guarantee is there that the Americans and the American interests in the Middle East will be safe after the illegal war against Iran is over considering that there are nearly a million ethic Iranians in the Persian Gulf Arab states and southern Iraq many of whom sympathies with Iran?
7
“Against the recommendations of top Pentagon and intelligence officials, Mr. Bolton and Mr. Pompeo pushed Mr. Trump last month to designate an arm of the Iranian military as a terrorist group, the first time the United States had done so against a part of another government.”
Bolton and Pompeo, both excited to have the opportunity to confirm that their approach is right, shortsightedly fed trump’s hate and now trump carries out their sabre rattling on a global scale.
No wonder trump is “Trump is irate that the strategies devised by his national security adviser, John R. Bolton, and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo...” They are all failures!
Trump should have listened to President Carter.
Carter said Trump told him that he [trump] is particularly concerned about how China is "getting ahead of us."
"And do you know why?" Carter said. "I normalized diplomatic relations with China in 1979. Since 1979, do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody? None. And we have stayed at war,"
Carter said the United States is "the most warlike nation in the history of the world" due to a desire to impose American values on other countries,…”
Who are we to call other nation’s military a terrorist organization?
So far, it’s the U.S. that has fulfilled that bill in the Middle East to the cost of over $600 trillion that we U.S. tax payers are paying for, 18 years later.
12
@LivingWithInterest . China is at war with Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia, and half the third world. Their predatory loans in Africa have resulted in defacto colonization.
What they have done in Tibet is beyond criminal.
Carter is full of it.
2
@Ernest Montague
Please, this is NYT. Don't try to deflect attention.
1
With the imposition of severe sanctions on Iran and ripping the nuclear deal Iranians now have been forced into only option and that is developing a nuclear weapon and test them. After paying a heavy price in enriching or not, this route is the only logical option left for them. With the leverage of becoming world’s new nuclear power then Iran can dictate a nuclear deal, if at all, and it cannot be ripped on a whim. After all who can blame them for choosing this option? Pompeo does not project any hint of a diplomat representing a nation. He seems like a lobbyist for MBS and Netanyahu. Such a degradation of a respected institution. Bolton is simply all about harming Iranian nation.
46
@Kabir Faryad
Israel, with the aid of Saudi Arabia, will NOT allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
You can take that as gospel, just as the certainty that the sun rises and sets each day.
Israel and Saudi Arabia will trigger a war against Iran if necessary to involve the US and stop Iran in its tracts.
3
@Kabir Faryad It is actualy much worse. A nuclear Iran destablizes Israel and the middle east. Countries like Saudi Arabia will not stand for a nuclear Iran and they will also pursue a nuclear deterrent. This opens Pandora's Box wide open. Nuclear war will be an option for everyone. This may result in a nuclear winter for the planet. SAD! But at least the Republicans get their tax cuts and no regulation. They would say it is a fair trade.
3
@alan
Alan, America is Pandora. A Nuclear Iran, will stabalise world peace. Sandi Arabia is an American poodle; but they, as they feed America, think that America is their poodle. The real McCoy is Israel, for decisions for America are made there.
3
Not to forget that these “rogue” nations – Iran, North Korea and Venezuela – have the support of China and Russia. Without their backing, they would hardly be so defiant.
Beijing is North Korea’s largest trading partner and sees Pyongyang as its protégé. Some two weeks ago, Kim Jong-un met Putin in Vladivostok, in an effort to rekindle the friendship his father had with Russia. Both Putin and Xi are determined to prop up the Kim regime as a buffer zone against South Korea, a US ally.
Russia and Iran are sharing an adventure in Syria, although both vie for geopolitical interests there. China is Iran’s top oil buyer and Trump wants Beijing to cut its oil purchases to zero. China has no appetite to follow suit and is seeking a way to dodge US sanctions.
Both China and Iran are heavily invested in Venezuela, and they are trying to overthrow the Monroe doctrine, knowing Trump has enough problems at home.
22
@J. von Hettlingen
Please read: Both China and Russia are heavily investested in Venezuela.....
2
@J. von Hettlingen
If Trump really had enough problems at home, we could thank the opposition party, which favors (as posts here make clear) Venezuelan leader Maduro, likes to see Russia and China taking a foothold in Latin America and Cuba, nice and close to us so they can replicate the Cuban Missile Crisis. But thankfully, the noise coming from the Left (he's a bully, he lies, he tweets, etc.) is so inconsequential, so stupid, really, that it does not, thankfully, cramp his style.
1
Of course they are challenging him; they see a president weakened by the opposition party, which projected the weakness these nations seek in us.
They perceive there is a chance that Trump will lose in 2020--and that makes them eager to take him on and support the party of weakness.
Same with the China negotiations. The opposition party seeks to weaken thee president, which weakens his negotiating position. We have forgotten that we are all Americans, and that if Trump prevails over our enemies and competitors, so do we.
2
@Oxford96 Trump has no cogent foreign policy or plan -- he is all bluster and bad-mouthing that borders on juvenile. He endlessly exaggerates, spins, shifts blame and flat-out lies -- to everyone about everything. Have you ever noticed that whenever he talks about foreign policy issues, he seems to always end his perspective or analysis with, "I guess we'll see what happens." And you want me to get behind that?
7
@Oxford96
Well, wrong on all counts.
Trump has himself pulled out of the Iran nuke deal, basically turning them loose to do as they please, all the while gas lighting our allies who also helped achieve the treaty.
In Europe Trump has weakened the NATO alliance by publicly insulting and threatening our allies for the furthering of Putin's goals.
In regards to the China negotiations, he should have stayed in the TPP which gave us the leverage of all the major Pacific rim economies to pressure China on trade.
Trump has failed on all these counts.
Further, your first posit on the opposition party weakening the POTUS is laughable, considering the GOP's 8 year long campaign to denigrate and wearing BHO.
Welcome to Obama's world, Trump!
(Huge laugh emoji here)
7
Trump is a weak president because he is weak individual. The character he played on TV was a fiction and he is a con (native New Yorkers have known this charlatan and wanna-be A-Lister for a long time). Read (skip his histrionic videos) what he actually says. It’s incoherent. He refuses to do basic homework on any topic (would you let your kids not do their homework? Shouldn’t the president be held to the standard of a grade schooler?).
He is clueless and prides himself on his ignorance. A true and skillful (actually even the least skillful) negotiator studies the material, background of the opposition, previous negotiations and their outcomes, macro economic influences, local, regional, and international power interactions, and then approaches negotiations in a well-informed, tactical and strategic way.
Trump plays whack-a-mole while those around him fill in for his lack of knowledge and skill with the most contorted mind-bending rhetoric heard in our recent history.
To attribute anything to Trump above a grade school (at best 3rd) understanding of what he’s negotiating is naive and self-deceiving at best.
Again, read transcripts of what he actually says - not his speeches and not the words and meanings his entourage says he says - read his words and see if they make any sense to you. Try to summarize his actually words without filling in meaning for them. It’s an eye-opening exercise.
14
Yes, Obama wasn't able to make any headway with N Korea, nor was Bush or Clinton, so I thought nothing else has worked, let him try a different strategy, but it seems clear now that is not going to work either, and may actually exacerbate the situation. As to Iran, the Obama administration, under John Kerry's guidance was able to get Iran situation under control, agreeable to everybody but Trump, and now he has taken a subdued crisis and made it into a real one. As to Venezuela, why does he think he has the authority to use military force without Congress's approval? It is past time for Congress to reassert it sole authority to declare war. Invading a nation is an act of war, and thus a declaration of war. According to the Constitution that authority lies in Congress. The president is Commander in Chief of the military only, he is not Commander and Chief of the entire nation.
17
@Caded
Yes and why would we be declaring any war against Venezuela, a nation that has not threatened us and clearly is in no position to threaten us?
A nation, that, I would venture, most people in the US could not find on a map.
5
@Caded Crazy is not a plan. Merely, trying something different does not yield a better solution. Other saner and smart people have rejected these options for good reasons.
2
As trump seems unable to fire anyone himself, who exactly will he get to fire the awful Bolton and Pompeo?Jared? Graham?Your guess is as good as mine.
6
The enormous power of the United States to strangle the economies of targeted countries is currently being felt in Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. We are just starting to hear of the pain and suffering of the people. How this plays out is going to be ugly and the US doesn't even have to unleash its military.
4
@Brian C
The US has been trying to strangle the people of Cuba into submission for the past 60 years. It has not worked and will not work.
4
@Brian C
I wish I could share your optimism that the US doesn't even have to unleash its military.
To the contrary, this is still Act I of the coming drama with Iran. It is extremely unlikely that this won't end with military action against Iran.
North Korea is a different matter. War means at least 10 million casualties, the destruction of all of SK and much of Japan, and the possibility of casualties on US soil. The US can't afford a second Korean War. Nevertheless, the US can't tolerate a nuclear NK capable of striking US cities, and NK can't tolerate UN sanctions forever. Contrary to Iran, I can't predict the outcome with NK.
Venezuela will probably see Maduro leave the country, but it's also possible that he will stay on, protected by Cuban and Russian military, as an absolute dictator.
There is a very good chance that a US economic and financial embargo will win out, and Russia does not have enough money to bankroll Venezuela for long.
Wow, his strategies have not produced the desired results in time periods that can be measured in months...
1
We erroneously assumed that as a result of electing a sociopath (who cannot empathize) and a psychopath (who loves hurting people), iron will cut iron, we will tame other psychopaths and sociopaths (take your pick starting with N. Korea, Venezuela, Philippines).
Sorry. They are amplifying not taming each others' psychopathologies. Trump and Putin sitting on a tree . . . .
Maybe we should elect an organized crime boss who is currently serving time in a high security prison the next time around.
At least they have run a successful business to the extent that they caught the attention of law enforcement (versus our current great leader who apparently has basically stiffed and swindled people on a massive scale for some fifty straight years).
If he looks like he is from Norway, so much the better.
13
It helps to be on the right side in a civil war, one of the lost lessons of the Vietnam War.
Hugh
7
As the saying goes "people who live in glass houses shouldn't cast the first stone". A rogue president cannot tame rogue nations. Trump is the most despised president in modern history and most of our advisories be it China, Iran, North Korea etc. with more intelligent leadership is using this against him. Heck his party of plutocrats, the GOP covers for him when he shows obvious admiration and agrees with our most dangerous enemy, the KGB mafioso Putin.
15
@beachboy
The only nation in the world with a positive rating for Trump is Israel.
I’m stocking up with water, canned, food, candles, batteries, cash and ammo.
2
Trump's bullyism tactics may work (although not well in his case) in real estate deals, it doesn't work with people who know how to play and use his narcissistic personality to their benefit. Putin and KJ Un have been enormously successful in playing Trump like a puppet. They know how to win against a neophyte and egocentric president with no leadership abilities. The U.S. has unfortunately become the laughing stock and patsy in the eyes of the world, and countries (allies and enemies) are taking full advantage of it.
18
Sorry, but the rogue nation is the USA.
19
Perhaps the headline should say ‘rogue nations are hoping for a return of traditional accords ‘ - that is, capitulation, terrible trade deals, turning a blind eye under the guise of oversight, and , of course endless barrels of American cash. It is amazing that this paper, and liberals seem to be giddy that the decades of stupidity in foreign relations are somehow desirable if it also means Trump efforts fail. On its face- politics aside- where should this country stand? That should be the goal, and the story. Not that I expect the Times to ever embrace that either.
2
@HENRY
The Iran deal was a great success and significant accomplishment. Trump spiked it out of Republican pique and an ongoing desire to make Obama look like a failed President - in the same way that they forced austerity on this nation under false pretenses. Unfreezing Iran's assets was not "giving them barrels of cash". It was a rare case of stopping a nation's advance towards nuclear weapons and opening the door to improving trust and future relations so we would not be dependent upon SA as our main ally in the region. The true progenitors of terrorism, through their export of Wahhabism, in the ME.
There may be some schadenfreud here, but democrats have not taken any actions to actively undermine our nation for political advantage. That's Republican schtick.
19
I at least respect the tone of your reply, but it is naive, to say the least, to declare the Iran deal a success of Obama, any more that it was with any Presidents since the Shah was overthrown. They have promised for decades that they would disarm per an ‘agreement ‘ only to be found circumventing over and over; otherwise why the need for yet another by President Obama? Obama’s deal was not strong enough to put before Congress, and there was zero inspection confirmation agreement by the Iranian regime. And if the planeload of cash was legitimate in any way, why the secretive late night flight and payment in cash currency? You don’t have to be a nuclear rocket scientist to see through the obvious rinse and repeat fake agreements that have not accomplished anything with regards to Iran denuclearization. That will only happen under extreme duress, which is what Trump is implementing.
1
@HENRY
So you think we "now" have a strategy? I too wish we had a well articulated vision of what the world should be and our role in it. But lately all I see is a series of disconnected random acts. The worst trade deals I've seen are with Japan and South Korea, but try to tell that to all the conservative voters with Toyotas and Kia's. I've heard no plan to renegotiate with those nations. As for barrels of cash, do you mean like security assistance for Israel and Afganistan or health dollars to try to keep ebola contained in Africa? I too wish we had a strategy beyond pandering to some group in the next election. Here at home, I don't wait for a crisis to know that we need the police and fire departments. I fear that now our America first plan, is just to jump from crisis to crisis.
5
"Each also poses a drastically different challenge to a president who...has not always been consistent in defining his foreign policy."
I had to giggle a little at this. "Not always been consistent"? How about, "Has never been consistent" or "Has not been consistent from one hour to the next"?
18
"Mr. Trump is irate that the strategies devised by his national security adviser, John R. Bolton, and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have failed to oust the Venezuelan leader, aides say."
I suggest Prince Jared as a suitable replacement for both of these gentlemen.
5
Trump becomes President and finds that the real world is different from what he learned about on Fox and Friends.
20
I'm sure the timing on all this is just coincidental. It's a new version of an old trick , called: Wag the Trumpf.
1
"Trump and friends" are unqualified to negotiate with representatives of Iran. Trump and his supporters not only are unable to negotiate in Persian, but fail to understand the behavior and diet of Iranians. Trump and friends lack ability and education to negotiate with the an Iranian genius like Mohammad Javad Zarif. Aside from that, the only way to "dump Trump" via the ballot box before 2020 is to encourage him to resign by protesting his demonstrated incompetence by means of massive demonstrations throughout the US. He must be persuaded to leave while he thinks he is winning.
2
Can we please calm down? US military, economic supremacy , it's array of eager vassals, and network of 1000 overseas bases ensures that any attack would result in the destruction if those responsible. No one is going to commit suicide so why the paranoia? Seriously? Who benefits from this deception?
1
@John Ayres
If you push (through disrespect, abuse) indivuduals they become destructive. Throughout hustory, just nations tolerate/absorb evil actions for some time, and then accept the challenge of the evil ones.
The law of gravity applies: what goes up, goes down. When the day comes, the 1'000 bases will be of no avail.
Unlike his predecessor, who had absolutely zero experience in international relations, President Trump has shown some backbone in dealing with these problematic countries. Nothing short of coups d' etat, and perhaps not even those, is likely to bring change in any of them. How can anyone blame the POTUS for the current state of affairs in the DPRK and Iran? The former has been a rogue country for more than 60 years; and the latter, since it invaded Greece at the beginning of the 5th century BC.
3
@Kenneth Cowan
I am beginning to suspect they despise Trump even more because of how weak (but will ever admit to) Obama was.
@Kenneth Cowan
We Americans are planning a coups d'etat of our own.
We have even fixed a date: 2020. We plan to consign the rif-raf to the garbage heap of history.
Iran honours all its treaties. The oldest peace traty in modern history is the one betwwen Iran and Turkey. America has broken EVERY peace treaty it signed. The latest example id the treaty America+5 signed with Iran.
Trump has had an easy ride the last 28 months. He walked into a strong economy, low unemployment, and strong stock market.
Lets give him credit where it's due. He's created about 4 million jobs since taking office. Another 7 million and he'll maybe catch the 11 million that Obama created.
The unemployment rate has gone from 4.8% to 3.6% under Trump. Nice job. Under Obama it went from over 10% to 4.8 so Trump has a long way to go.
Obama deported more illegal immigrants than the three previous Presidents combined and Trump has come nowhere close, despite all his rhetoric about being tough on immigration, it's more show than substance. Nothing new there.
The trade deficit has grown by 20% under Trump, so that's going in the wrong direction.
Today America can claim a new title...the worlds greatest debtor nation. Thanks to Trump we have record deficits and they're growing at unprecedented rates. China just obtained from rolling over some of their US bonds, get a few more countries doing that and we'll be on our knees.
And thanks to Trump the top .0001% of tax payers have been guaranteed that they'll be able to continuing paying about 13% in federal taxes. Unless of-course you're Trump in which case it's zero.
37
@MN 28 months? It's more like 19 months. Don't scare the country like that.
1
The "unlikely affinity" between Trump and Kim has always been a one-sided infatuation; Kim has been playing Trump for exactly what our illustrious president is. And, yes, in Trumplomacy, affection is as close to strategy as it gets. That, and blustering statements (to slightly modify a phrase the Times uses to describe Sara Sanders's White House versions of events).
Trump's vaunted negotiating skills got him into more than 3,000 lawsuits, the majority of which, reportedly, left Trump holding the short straw. Now with international "negotiations" we are seeing why. He could easily instigate hot conflict on 3 fronts simultaneously, with China and Russia pretty much assured to side with one or all of the trio. And since Trump has made known his aversion to upholding America's Nato commitments, the sound of dragging feet could be the support we get from our European allies.
24
@Glen trump's biggest skill in those lawsuits has been getting others to pay the tab for his failures. It's not different now. The country is going to be paying for this scam for decades
8
Confusing. implusive and reactive domestic and foreign policies and associated (re)actions will prove to be both the root of the DJT administration's failure and its legacy.
8
'“I think what can change is the people can change the government,” he said on a podcast hosted by Mr. Morrell, in what appeared to be an endorsement of regime change.'
Wake up, people. We certainly need a regime change. Make it come true. Let's hope this happens in 2020.
19
@DREAMER: I agree. Why go all the way to the Middle East and spend thousands of lives and trillions of dollars to change a Regime when you have a Regime right in your own front yard that needs changing and costs only an hour or so to change with a simple direct vote ?
10
so tired of winning.
and when Bolton starts a war somewhere, we'll REALLY be tired of winning. I can see Trump easily saying-'why do we spend so much on a beautiful military if I can't use it?'.
12
I guess as the "act of the deal" founder, he has discovered others play it much better. Problem is this is not a game and in fact could be a long term disaster in safety, economics and god forbid war. Every day this little man with a huge ego is in office I fear for our nation.
9
@NewJerseyShore : Me Too. I fear that this little man will bring down Nuclear Winter upon this very Earth, our only home.
The headline refers to the three nations as "rogue." Venezuela is not a rogue nation.
Unlike North Korea and Iran, Venezuela is not even remotely a U.S. national security threat. Trump has sought to transform an internal Venezuelan political problem into an international crisis.
Conspicuously absent is Russia, which has long been an American adversary and a legitimate threat.
It's hardly news that Trump is in way over his head as president.
16
@Ricardo Chavira
Venezuela is not even remotely a US national security threat?
Just wait when Russia starts basing bombers and ballistic missiles in Venezuela.
@Gualtiero If that's what Putin wants that's what Putin will get. Trump won't object.
It is incredible that the person who berated the Iran deal for so long is now risking everything we have because of him. Clearly he does not make the best deals.
4
In the 80s he would threaten takeovers against companies but neve follow through, his game is weak and everyone knows it.
13
The erratic, ill-informed and bellicose foreign actions of the White House are for domestic consumption alone. Erase Obama's legacy at any cost. Appease the raging base no matter what that takes.
Likewise, Putin's power runs through Trump. After all, Putin is presiding over what is, by all standard measures, a failed state. Trump and nationalism are keeping him afloat.
In that same vein, Kim, Duterte, Maduro, Orban and their ilk are playing Trump and playing to the home crowd. Nobody easier to con than another grifter.
None of this group including Trump cares about human rights, democracy, the rule of law, an independent judiciary.
Trump couldn't care less about our own traditional aspirations and values. We have often failed to fulfill them, but he wants to jettison them entirely.
The Iran deal was not perfect but it is far better than where we are now. Under Obama it looked like we were well on our way toward bringing Iran back into the community of nations.
We have arrived at a new place now. The people of Guatemala, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, etc. are now also suffering as a direct consequence of the fecklessness of Mr. Trump.
13
I guess one could call the President's moves on Iran and North Korea a work in progress, if one presumes a second term, so this article may be a bit premature. But Venezuela is not a "rogue" nation, although they may be an "adversary", and they do not in any way pose an existential threat to the United States. The efforts of the U.S. and part of the international community to push Juan Guaidó into office have clearly failed and only made things worse. The U.S. should just back off and let events in the country proceed down their natural path. There's just no need for any gunboat diplomacy against Venezuela; that government will fall eventually of its own internal contradictions.
8
Calgary calling - The United States continues to be the most fascinating country in the world and Americans the most resilient people the world has ever seen. If America and its institutions can survive Mr. Trump, it can survive anything.
27
If America and its institutions can survive....right now, that seems to be a very big "If" particularly given the toadies that are in the Senate, such as McConnell.
13
As utterly clueless as Trump is at either foreign or domestic policy. a monster like Bolton is likely to fill the foreign policy void as Miller has done on domestic policy.
26
@Bill
So by filling the void, you mean injecting poisonous gases? Excellent plan! Most bigliest of all plans.
3
@Bill The only hopeful note in this article is the prospect of Bolton and Pompeo's demise.
3
It would be interesting to see who the nations of the world put on the list of "rogue nations" ?
19
If you scratched below the surface what do you think you would find? Russia and Trump's buddy, Vladimir V Putin. My guess this is not a coincidence that all three are dissing the USA. Putin is playing this for all it's worth. He's worried his boy is losing his grip and taking full advantage of all the distractions going on in Washington. Russia is still calling all the shots and unless and until the GOP gets some backbone this country will remain in the turmoil Trump's presidency is causing.
21
There was a counterweight to Iran’s adventurism in the Middle East; Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. But we blew that up, and disbanded the Iraqi army. Once again, we are driven to solve a problem we created with our own ill-predicated interference.
24
@Edna - Not only that but Iraq is now firmly in Iran's camp after the US having emboldened Muqtada al-Sadr who leads a huge Shia pro-Iranian base of followers.
5
@Edna
In fact, Bush the Younger and his second Cheney let Iranian spies push the US into finishing the war with Iraq that they could not do on their own. Now we have an even bigger fool at the wheel.
6
Trump couldn't tame his own hair with a the conditioner in the world, let alone rogue nations.
23
Trump’s foreign “policy” - not that he really has one - has been not only a complete failure - but a unmitigated disaster for the country.
24
Trump owns the low moral ground vis-a-vis Iran, and Venezuela, no matter what one thinks of Maduro as only Trump could. But if nothing else, he's proved that sanctions don't work, so, before long, I expect to hear about new trade initiatives with all three of these countries in an effort to head off the Chinese who are surely working on their own trade deals in the dawning light of our declining influence.
Americans were never meant to rule the world no matter how exceptional we thought we were. Donald is making China great again.
13
Who could have imagined that the most dishonest, inexperienced flim-flam artist to occupy the oval office in the history of our nation would turn out to be the most inept at foreign policy?
50
Like getting hit over the head and still dizzy and nauseous, when Trump publicly insulted and pushed away our allies, we entered a new era of "My country right our wrong" and watch, stupefied as he writhes and twists, bullying everyone.
I hope the fog lifts in time to VOTE in 2020.
Or that the Democrats send him into the corner to think about what he has done.
8
Here's a Trump alternative fact, a lie about North Korea.
TRUMP: “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”
Jun 13, 2018: Trump’s tweet.
22
Sadly Trump has mad the USA a rogue nation. Unreliable, mercurial, ruled by the whim of a man off kilter, thin skinned, emotional and vindictive.
He embraces rogue leaders and loves his dictators. And the GOP just smiles and allows him to chip away at the institutions that made this country.
He’s weak and ignorant. He is a disaster.
26
You left out the Palestinians who, after he moved our embassy to Jerusalem pretty much told him there is no possibility of a settlement with Israel. So much winning!
19
He seems to be trying something different. Why not because whatever past administrations have done has been a total failure.It's not over til it's over the NYT of all papers should know this.
5
@Sean Mulligan: I disagree. The Iran nuclear deal was pretty successfull and so were the sanctions against North Korea and Russia under Obama. No doubt Obama would have had a fitting policy in regards to Venezuela. Trump is just doing whatever strikes his fancy, without any strategy, seeking out allies to increase international pressure and consideration of the consequences of his actions. The total failure is on Trump, as usual.
22
@Sean Mulligan He is a total and complete disaster, failure as a leader, criminal and grifter. If you like him, that's your business and for conscience to deal with.
5
To Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif:
Please know that it’s Trump, not America that’s an unreliable partner. But if you can be patient until 2020, we’ll dump this lunatic and restore our diplomacy with you to help move the world ahead in a constructive effort again.
8
@Sane citizen Are you sure about that? Don't bet the farm...
2
The question is, who would tame the Idi Amin of America? You can pass all the condemnation resolutions you like against the Third World rulers of Asia, Africa, and South America, but what do you do when the leader of the UN's Big Five member nations, which hold veto powers, goes berserk?
Actually, the situation we face is much worse than that. The leader is unhinged, incompetent, and corrupt beyond belief. And there's no likelihood of the situation changing for the better anytime soon as it looks like he's taking care of leaders of his political party so that they stay behind him?
7
I’m sure that the Dotard will lose big time this coming election. I could feel it!
4
If you mean lose by the popular vote and win in the electoral college then yes. We all know that he’s going to carry the EC again
2
@Joe I sincerely hope that in 2020 we will get rid of President Trump, but remembering 2016 after he introduced himself in June 2015 as a candidate for the presidency of the USA saying what he said about Mexicans, I do not think the American people have learned anything new about him. Gos save us.
1
Any analysis is meaningless; trump only thinks of his "rallies" to the red hat wearing crowd. And Pompeo and Bolton? Really?
5
They know he is a fool and they are playing on his narcissism to advance their own ends. Since he has clearly shown that he will do anything to protect himself, watch for him try to make himself a war president in an election year. A cornered animal is always dangerous.
13
Trump will go down as the worst president in history. Let’s hope he doesn’t take us with him.
59
The emperor has no clothes...
28
Dennis Rodman would be a better negotiator with Kim than Trump.
36
Never in my life did I think I'd be rooting for a foreign adversary.......
28
So much winning. I’m tired of it.
31
Correction : The "rogue nation" in question is clearly the United States.
33
I stand well off to the side of present-day America and honestly can make neither heads nor tails ...
in the matter of following you in many of your endeavours (since Vietnam, I suppose), I must respectfully decline.
5
"Give me your lunch money, or I'll thump ya"!
"No. And I'll thump you straight back".
The dilemma of the bully through the ages.
I find it appalling that the America I know and admire, is on the verge of re-electing this conman and fairground huckster in 2020.
40
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer... but do not go to bed with them. Someone needs to explain to that person is in the oval office, that an enemy is an enemy for a reason.
These dysfunctional relationships have been such for years and The Sun God feels he can rectify all in one or two meeting while saluting and smiling . Meanwhile, his minions throw accolades and are shouting Nobel Prize... when all along these derelict leaders are are laughing and furthering their agendas.
Too bad we cannot impeach for demonstrating such obtuse behaviour.
16
A blind person could see how dangerous Donald Trump is and how completely incompetent his policies are.
Where is the Republican Party? How on earth can the Republicans in Congress still back him?
What will it take to impeach him for violating his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution?
I am sick at heart for what he is being allowed to do to my country.
33
There is really little which can be said. We have a president who has little skill beyond hucksterism. His base is the ignorant, the misfits, the disenfranchised, and the angry failures who buy into his sociopath rants. A sociopath will tell whomever they are talking with/to whatever they believe will give them the best results at that moment in time. They don't understand or pay attention to history and they don't consider the future or side effects of their actions. It's all about them. The results were easily predicted two years ago. What's happening now is the result of putting an incompetent narcissist at the wheel. hopefully the country can survive this absurd, failed experiment.
36
Does anyone even care what Trump or his GOP lackeys' say, threaten, claim or predict?
2
trump is out of his league with regards to international diplomacy. He is deft at bombastic boasting, and highly incapable of meaningful amelioration.
He met with Kim Jong Un at least twice in private, likely to manipulate him, then boasted that his power of mind led to "love letters" sent by Kim. That relationship is now in tatters. It's become evident that trump is incapable of forming an actual human relationship with Kim or with any nation's leader. Every European leader is highly wary of trump, and refrain from meeting or talking with him.
On the international front, trump is an oddball outcast being shunned, yet he yearns for us to see him as a powerful negotiator. The truth, revealed through nary an accomplishment, is that trump knows only how to bully and manipulate.
With North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela, trump has batted Zero. Many will say he has done worse than bat zero, since he has taken each international relation from a former positive state of mutual respect or a neutral state of detente, to a current negative state of personal animus between the leaders.
trump is amazingly adept at creating anger and hatred.
This guy does not belong in any negotiating room.
He's a highfalutin boob, masquerading as a nabob.
He is still An Apprentice.
17
Challenging him? They’re laughing their heads off at him.
14
American policy now and in the past in Iran and Venezuela are reprehensible. We need to stop attacking countries for oil and resources. The USA needs to defund the military and use our resources for beneficial policies. I was sorely disappointed and ashamed of many of the Obama administration's policies, but Trump makes Obama look much better. America's Republican Party is Fascist. American military policies are misguided. We need to defund the military and expand natural individual rights.
7
Trump pushed North Korea, Iran and Venezuela to the right of right and is proud of his pride.
5
They're acting like they're dealing with a clueless stooge who is all talk, but can't back it up. Sounds about right.
24
Trump is incompetent as evidenced by his erratic behavior. Withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran was a mistake. We should have negotiated a separate agreement with Iran on things like missle tests. The world needs fewer nuclear nations. It is dangerous to have such a man as President. America is less safe because of Trump, Pompeo and Bolton.
18
Trump says lots of things most of which are utter nonsense. What they accomplish is to give voters the idea he’s a man of action.
7
Trump’s policies are neither hawk nor dove. They are bizarre; under the wrong circumstances he might get many killed—including us.
12
It is not wise to wave this flag in front of Trump; he's fully capable of bombing millions of people due to such goading. He's not going to acquire sophistication in diplomacy at this stage.
8
America is definitely going to war because Trump is desperate to hold on to power.
Don't count on the Republicans.
They sold their soul to the devil long time ago.
Americans and US treasure will be wasted.
Good grief!
12
Trump has no teeth. Oh sure, he talks like a addled mobster, but he never follows through nor does he hold these nations accountable.
Apparently, nobody knew that foreign policy could be so complicated.
8
As with most of what trumps says it is just his blowhard nature, gasbag wind and short attention span that gives US the ramblings of someone who cannot be believed about most anything. For a president this is not a good thing.
6
Similar to those who say they can eliminate poverty, manage the climate or tame Chicago political corruption. Nothing lost in trying.
Bush stayed in the White House mainly because the electorate didn’t want to change Presidents in the middle of his war. Trump could engineer the very same thing. With Bolton on board, he’s got the man to make it happen. If we’re headed that way, we might need to impeach him just to save lives. I’m sure quite a few countries would assist in that venture. Any country out there with some Trump dirt, get it to someone who will use it wisely (not Mueller) fast. Not one person’s life is worth Trump’s ego, and in my opinion Trump is worthless.
10
North Korea, Iran and Venezuela — decided this week they could take on President Trump?
Really?
None of this statement is true and will not become true if is written in the NYT.
Venezuela was threatened by the US with a military intervention not the other way around.
Iran, especially its people, are sick and tired to stick to the JCPOA while the US is preparing to go to war because the Trump gang needs a war, Trump himself needs to play the big man to impress his friends of the glowing orb and because Bolton wants to have a picnic in Tehran.
North Korea has learned a lesson never to trust the US and has decided to do so.
And the NYT calls this to "take on the US"?
Sorry, but that is just plain wrong and nothing else.
Iran would be the best ally the US could have in the region were it not for the stupid revenge poplitics of the US that tries to move Iran back into being the US backyard it was made by the 1953 CIA led coup.
But no, Trump is crawling up the colon of his friends in Riyadh and wants to show them that he has the biggest gun and knows how to use nuclear weapons to impress his murderous friends in the kingdom and in Israel.
Venezuela would be best let alone and have the locals sort out their issues.
Without the common enemy from abroad, Maduro would already have fallen in this hunger stricken country.
And North Korea is doing what is has been doing for decades, demands and retreat in order to keep its system alive.
It is the US and Trump that's the problem.
13
@Thomas
Even a cursory examination of US imperial foreign policy and intervention reveals the same errors over and over. Trump is the latest incarnation. It reminds me of the famous quote by Tacitus: "...and where they make a desert they call it peace."
3
How could he possibly tame rogue states when he is turning his own country into one?
18
There are no rogue nations- just rogue leaders.
The US should know, one was (s)elected for us by putin.
15
By now Trump has claimed everything that any political hack might have thought of. You might think that all Americans would have learned that nothing Mr Trump says or does has any connection to reality. He lives in an alternate world where wishing for something to happen actually makes your every wish come true. Alas, we live in the real world where real people learn that reality is based on observable facts and not wishful thinking. But why, after two years of seeing every prediction of Donald Trump proved false, do so many MAGA-hat wearers still think he is anything but a bloated fraud with little power to make lives better for working Americans, and those who would like to be working?
9
"The Night Tweeter" is a habitual failure from adolescence who had to develop a huge compensatory ego. Look at his record, his passage through life. Anyone who places their trust, their hopes, their confidence in him are self-deluded in my opinion.
15
Trump hasn’t hired any of the best people. He has no plan, no staff and no long term ideas past today’s news cycle. Presidency by tweet is a marketing plan not a governing strategy
Presidency by tweet is designed to distract us while republicans dismantle our federal government, turning us into a feudal banana republic. Canada is going to need a wall to keep us out.
18
The problem with being a bully is this: Sometimes the bullied will take you on and see if you are as bad as you say you are. Trump is finding this out the hard way. Iran is now totally ignoring Trump and doing what they want; North Korea is calling Trump's bluff by starting up missile testing; Syria has been handed over to Russian influence due to Trump backing out; The Russians do not care what Trump says or does; even Venezuela's dictator-president called the Trump backed politicians' bluffs---and Trump's people backed off. It is interesting how people like Trump do not understand that actions speak louder than words, and if you choose to act, real consequences will emerge. Trump is learning this lesson the hard way these days.
7
The jury is still out on whether President Trump’s foreign policy will “tame” rogue nations like Iran however a verdict has been rendered on past administrations and the “experts” who advised and participated in their failures. Trillions of dollars wasted, tens of thousands of American lives lost and maimed and more instability now in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria then when all the conflicts started.
President Trump is making Iran’s authoritarian regime look weak. The simmering antagonism toward it by the general populace has increased as it became apparent that most of the economic benefits resulting from the Iran nuclear deal went largely to the Republican Guards and Iranian supported terror groups instead of improving their lives.
Kim Jong-Un is China’s flunky. After elevating Kim with a summit the president abruptly dismissed him like a lap dog. Forcing him on a three day train ride home without so much as a bone. For someone worshipped as a deity in his country the episode hardly burnished his image. Maduro may represent a rogue nation but Venezuela is hardly a foe. It is a failed socialist state that will serve as the president’s poster child in exposing the the failed policies espoused by Democrats like Bernie Sanders.
In less than three years president Trump has significantly weakened the leadership in each country without expending our treasure or the lives of American service men and women. If that isn’t pretty savvy negotiating I don’t know what is.
If a rival foreign power wanted to accelerate the decline of American influence in the world, it couldn’t have done better than to help elect a person like Donald Trump. In 2 years he has succeeded in alienating some of America’s long-time friends (Canada, Western Europe) and cosied up to some of its enemies, (Kim and Putin). He has torn international trade agreements and dealt a blow to American credibility. He conducts foreign policy via twitter and makes gut decisions, where a good thinking brain, deep knowledge of international affairs and a sense of history might be a useful starting point.
9
In whatever direction Trump’s tongue wags, look in the opposite direction, and you’ll find the truth.
11
I wonder if you appreciate the risk you take when you point out that rogue nations don't take the President's military threats seriously. Aren't you calling his bluff and challenging him to order some military demonstration? If he rises to the bait, I hope he doesn't think first of the 'really big (nuclear button) on [his] desk' but goes instead for some poor country that can't fight back. I will be sorry for that country, buy not as sorry as I will be if there is a war. Is there a contemporary moral equivalent of Grenada that you could suggest, something with nice photo ops where the President could say 'Mission Accomplished'?
3
It's a given Trump will start a war. It's just a matter of why, when and who. The reasons why are his lack of experience, confrontational and reactionary style and purging of experienced/moderating staff. Essentially he has centralized power in to himself. There is nothing to stop him. He has alienated our allies and isolated the US so he can't count on anyone having his back. The danger is real and imminent.
9
'Mr. Trump is irate that the strategies devised by his national security adviser, John R. Bolton, and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have failed to oust the Venezuelan leader, aides say.'
It is high time for Trump to show his mettle. Bolton and Pompeo are sissys. It is time for Trump to fly into Venezuela, piloting his own plane, if necessary and challenge Maduro to a knife (or whatever weapon Trump is comfortable with) fight to the very death.
Let's hope decimates Maduro in one lunge.
2
Maybe Trump should write wonderful, exquisite, beautiful. fantastic letters to those countries leaders?
5
That's what nations do when they don't get their way. They challenge us. Why would we choose any other way? Appeasement is somehow more amenable? I don't think so.
4
In the case of North Korea, it is Kim who thought he got Trump in his clutches, but Trump escaped. So, he is furious with his team. He knows that Trump needs to make progress to get re-elected and he also knows that is the most important thing in his mind. Trump makes bogus claims of success that may include a Trump tower in Pyongyang and lifts the sanctions few weeks before elections. In case of Iran, all the rumbling is based on manufactured evidence, a scenario played out with Iraq. Hope, we don’t take that path. In case of Venezuela, calling for a regime change is partly based on domestic politics to lock-in Florida into Republican column in 2020. In any case, calling for regime change is a bad policy. We no longer have diplomatic skills to work quietly with the regimes in power to bring about incremental progress in the desirable direction. We cannot have foreign policies change with changes in White House occupants.
7
@Kodali: We no longer have a State Department so no diplomacy can happen and we have a Secretary of State who is a Bible thumper who wants war with Iran. We have a 'leader' who says, "I alone can fix it" and he doesn't want pesky diplomats around, messing up what he wants, heck, we don't even have notes from meetings with dictators so we have no idea what is being said in our name.
8
What's wrong with this sentence:"Each [North Korea, Iran and Venezuela] also poses a drastically different challenge to a president who has little experience in handling international crises, has struggled to find the right balance of diplomacy and coercion and has not always been consistent in defining his foreign policy."
This sentences is wrong. It should read: "Each also poses a drastically different challenge to a president who has NO experience in handling international crises, has NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT FINDING the right balance of diplomacy and coercion and has NEVER been consistent in defining his foreign policy."
There is no evidence that Tump thinks about these things at all. His only preoccupation is himself, his interests, and his image. The sentence normalizes Trump by imputing to him motives that he does not share. STOP IT!
47
@Avis Boutell: They want to make him sound like a 'real' president instead of a fake one from a scripted reality tv show who can do no wrong, but without the script could do nothing at all except bellow.
6
Trump said he would tame rogue nations. Now we are one.
31
A surface recap of where we are in three critical instances. But with no mention of China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia. key players in these dramas, I feel rather like a 3-year old being fed pablum.
And in mentioning Bolton’s request for attack authorization, I guess we are supposed to ‘be very afraid’.
When exactly, under MAD, is the other side supposed to ‘be very afraid’? Mutual? Ha.
8
While our president prides himself on his "deal-making" prowess, there is no evidence that he knows anything about making a deal. He can exercise the powers of the office of presidency, but his lack of vision, his corresponding unsteadiness and his inability to understand the limitations of presidential power make it impossible for him to negotiate anything of significance. Brace yourselves for war and subsequent disaster.
20
"Mr. Obama’s advisers are now punching back, pointing out that none of the simmering impasses are easy to solve, and certainly not without careful diplomacy."
The crux is that the Dotard in the Oval Office doesn't even know how to spell 'careful' and 'diplomacy'.
21
With Iran and Venezuela it's all about oil. Under the previous agreement which they have observed until now, Iran was not a nuclear threat. N. Korea will keep its nukes as a shield against outside aggression. Venezuela is under constant siege by sanctions and threats of military intervention (war.) Why? Because their vast oil wealth is held by the government for the benefit of the poor, and out of the reach of privateers.
Trump's administration, like others before it, is run by privateers. It is piracy by privateers. Our land, water and air have been hijacked by those who don't even consider us when they plan their next profitable adventure.
If the democrat party doesn't stop kowtowing to these pirates, we don't deserve to call ourselves a democracy.
18
@betty durso
Thank you.
We are a nation that runs on chaos, personal relationships, and snowflake narcissism. Our leader spends his time and energy attacking talk show hosts and sports celebrities online, while the world takes advantage of a president who can't spell the word.
Trump can't tame himself; why then, should he be able to tame the nations of the world?
27
Our President says that the bad relationships with Iran, North Korea and Venezuela is former president Obama's fault. I say that if Trump says anything, it's probably false. He has pulled out of the Iran agreement which set the stage for a nuclear Iran. He has failed miserably with North Korea, and Venezuela is worse under his "leadership by tweets". All three of these Trump big ideas are failures and will have to be corrected after he leaves office, The sooner the better.
25
at least nyt admits these conditions didn't start with trump...now to admit that trump's inheritance, the strength of our adversaries
was nurtured by his predecessors.
why so quick to pin conclusions on the ongoing complexities of international affairs...no trump voter here, but a citizen willing to support our engagement, so much better (active) than obama's apologies (aversive) and the cheney/bush "shock and awe" (that still costs more every day than it would take to feed and house the homeless across the country).
there are and will be ups and downs, but the net is positive (a miracle considering the congress who have made things worse by their failure to do their legislative job, for example, cleaning up the immigration law mess, pushing the white house toward infrastructure action, etc.
the wager here is that if we can stop whiining about adding a dollar to the cost of a baseball cap we can, once again, make them here in the USA, and so on..."war", cyber and economic, is still war and we the people are, like our parents and grand parents before us, are in it...the question is will we join in the effort, bite the bullet before it smashes our brains if you will, like they did or will we continue to bleat over the merest inconvenience?
if trump fails, the country fails...the choice less turmp's than ours...either reignite and unite behind the "can do" of yore or wander in factions in search of self-centered safe spaces.
1
@ecco; The question is not “whether Trump fails” - Trump has a long history of failures in every organization he’s ever run, and he’s running the country into the ground the same way he ran his other businesses: through incurring massive debts, failing to uphold his side of bargains, and threats.
The only question I’d how badly this ends for the US. I expect lots of countries are quietly working together on a financial system that is relatively immune to unilateral US sanctions. It’ll take a while, and Trump will be out of office by then - so Republicans will undoubtably blame Democrats for this inevitable result of Republican policies. It’s what Republicans do: enact policies which appeal to their base voters while ignoring the inevitable long-term consequences, then blame others when the inevitable occurs.
11
@ecco
Based upon Trump's record-- the conjugation should read: 'had failed,' 'has failed,' 'is failing' and 'will fail.'
10
The "affinity" formerly shared by North Korea's Kim and Trump could never have been sustained because the only goal of a mighty bully is self-preservation: room for one at the top. I wonder every day why our Senators and Representatives think and act like this will not change. Until a bipartisan Congress decides that their work on international relations matters Trump will fill that vacuum, starting with trade agreements which upend our economy; until the Supreme Court realizes its power in foreign policy, it will continue to reflexively enable Trump's fiats, such as the disastrous Travel Ban. With regard to the mess in Venezuela, perhaps the influence we have in Colombia, where so many Venezuelans are fleeing, will prove that the traditional Foreign Service careerists there can help stabilize the region in the long term.
3
Trump’s request to Iran to call him is like asking ET to call home - pure fantasy and nothing more than theater. Trump, a legend in his own mind, thinks he’s the master of the deal, but banks, foreign leaders, and even members of his own party recognize his fraudulent claims. Our problem living with this Trumpian sham is that the President hold nuclear codes and the constitution and our laws offer no remedy for a crazy man being in charge of the doomsday arsenal. Accidents and world wars happen. Let’s hope the present Commander-in-chief is removed from office, either by voters or some other mechanism, before his willful ignorance and grandiose ego leads to an international catastrophe.
18
The Trump administration came into power with no clear agenda on international or domestic politics but to interrupt whatever negotiations were done during the Obama administration. They just wanted to erase that legacy and is biting them back: TPP, though not perfect, would’ve isolated the Chinese and would’ve given the negotiating leverage to start new equal deals with China; the Iran deal had the nuclear interests of the region in line so they could have a way to start conversations in other more treacherous situations; Venezuela was not a problem during the Obama administration, as they limited to observe what decisions were made there and tried to not intervene as much, given the long bad history of US intervention in Latin America. What is happening in Venezuela right now is all on the Trump administration to handle. Regarding NK, the Obama administration left full records on how to deal with it and how to move on, and the Trump administration dismissed it as fast as they entered the Oval Office. All these has in common that this administration believes it can deal with the world alone, with no clear message nor strategy but the likeness and personal intuition of the President, which has been clearly demonstrated does not work. Also, the belief that America was great during cold war era policies like Bolton and Pompeo’s, so distant from how the world is connected today. Is a shame of administration and I hope it is voted out soon.
15
Let’s be honest, Obama was a weak president, drawing lines and doing absolutely nothing when they were crossed. At least Trump has done more to confront rogue nations like N Korea and Iran. Let’s hope for all our sakes it ends well.
3
@Hjb
If only they could acknowledge publicly what they acknowledge in private and that is that Obama was an incredibly weak president. Weak presidents wreak havoc. It's always there for the next president to clean up,
@Hjb
Analyses of his current record do not really support details of the claims made-- certainly trade policy is hurting Americans.
2
North Korea withstood decades of sanctions and even starvation of its population to build a nuclear arsenal. They will not give those up. This problem has vexed every president for 40 years. Trump and his administration are no doubt the worst of the bunch having achieved precisely nothing. Except promising to pay a ransom for the release of Otto Warringer.
Trump and his cronies pulled us out of the Iran agreement, which took years of patient negotiation and contained Iran’s nuclear ambitions, for what? Absolutely nothing. Now we are in a far worse position because Iran is no longer bound by the deal and we’ve alienated our key European allies.
Trump makes big promises, but like the novice he is, he can’t follow through or deliver anything. He didn’t even know the composition of US nuclear triad when running for president. His followers somehow think this ignorance will translate into accomplishments. Mind boggling. He just taps into anger and resentment, which is not a strategy to actually solve problems.
The US economy is undergoing the results of a decade long expansion in job growth, productivity and expansion. Trump has the good fortune to be present for that. So his only “accomplishment” so far was actually wrought by the good policies and expertise of his predecessor.
He is working on undermining that as well with his full blown trade war.
15
@Michael - Not sure who "Otto Warringer" is; perhaps you're thinking of Otto Warmbier?
Only a FOX watcher thinks American has not lost ground worldwide under Trump. He and his followers are anti-rationalists with no patience for history, science or data. In a complicated world the chances of an anti-rationalist approach being successful is very small.
But that really doesn't matter for Trump and his supporters. For anti-rationalists, the truth is the story you make up. So no matter what happens on the world stage, FOX and Trump will claim victory. And even as the world burns and Russia ascends, the line from FOX and Trump will be: "we're better off than under the African-American president, Obama."
19
@Henry Crawford So true.
5
Two of Trump's impulses are in conflict here. His isolationist urges, and his needing to be seen as the toughest guy on the block.
There might be a way to square both of these instincts, but it would take someone with a skill set far, far beyond his ability.
We will have to resign ourselves to an uneasy muddling about over the next several years,
and hope the damage is limited.
Cross your fingers.
8
"The War Powers Resolution is a federal law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. The Resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution. It provides that the U.S. President can send U.S. Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, "statutory authorization," or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."
"The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without a Congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of each of the House and Senate, overriding the veto of the bill from President Nixon."
-Wikipedia
Allowing Trump to ignore Congress and weaken constitutional checks and balances could prove disastrous if he decides that sabre rattling isn't enough. If young men begin dying because of his incompetence, will you still cheer him on?
6
@rab
It was not Trump who served in Vietnam, nor will his children or those of the 1% in time of war.
5
The zero-sum argument that the only choice is between doing nothing and having a public policy brawl over Twitter is obviously and patently false. But it is that argument that Trump supporters make over and over to justify his behavior on every issue.
It's like arguing that the way to deal with toe infection is either doing nothing or amputating it.
Trump's very behavior presents the biggest hurdles in any negotiations. Public ultimatums work badly against dictators. His incessant lying, reversals, and exaggerations leads the counter party in any negotiations to never really take him seriously and always look for a way to play his obvious infantile and narcissistic character traits.
Real leaders succeed by strategy, diplomacy, and clear communications of demands and consequences via diplomatic channels.
We don't have a real leader, we have El Presidente.
10
Well, give POTUS some credit at least on north Korea.
I have been Pyongyang and other places over there.
I was not enthused by his out reach to little rocket man. The reason being that the fat puppy and his close aides are only interested in self preservation when you see the rest of the country starving while they live high on the hog.
So, his outreach came to a nought. But his immediate predecessor had warned him that a war was imminent on the peninsula. So, at least 2 years later - not even a skirmish.
As to Iran - this is our enemy going back to embassy seizure. Our Congress is on record for a regime change as one of America's states goals. Obama threw a monkey wrench with hisIill advised peace initiative.
So, this POTUS has at least gone back to what congressional intent is.
As to Venezuela, despite Monroe doctrine, American governments have treated countries in South America with benign neglect - except Cuba.
We had hoped that other South American countries would resolve Chavez and Maduro issue on their own. Yet, nothing has happened. So, blaming POTUS for what has been a long term policy is hardly on the mark.
One thing for sure, we, Americans should start asking questions on whether sanctions are really the best tools for behavior change.
From Russia to Venezuela - I submit that sanctions as a tool of foreign policy have failed miserably.
1
Why on earth would anyone start with the premise that DJT, a 6-time bankrupted casino owner rejected by every American bank as a bad loan risk, was even possibly minimally qualified to lead the US or take on any country? Those countries don’t rely on FOX like his supporters. Having done due diligence, whether an ally or enemy state, every nation knows it is dealing with a paper tiger who succumbs to flattery in a heartbeat and whose only focus in life is keeping himself atop the very shaky pedestal of his pathological narcissism. They also know his incompetence is aided and abetted by an ethically compromised Republican Party leadership that looks the other way in order to stay in power. As they say, what could possibly go wrong?
16
So forgive me if I state the obvious.
War with any of these countries will be the biggest 'distraction' that trump can use to draw attention away from the investigations, questionable policies, and scandals swirling around this president, his family, and his administration.
The human cost of an unnecessary conflict with any of these countries will be a high price to pay to preserve one of the least competent U.S. administrations in 200 years.
The TRUTH has been in short supply from this white house. I know that I can not be the only one here that can see the obvious.
9
" The enemy of my enemy is my friend" seems to be Trump's motto.
Even if that enemy is actively working to subvert world democracy and free enterprise.
4
The people who elected him were fooled by him, which most of them still don't realize. The rest of the world gave Trump the benefit of the doubt, but now most nations, "rogue" included, have figured out what kind of negotiating skills he has. China, I am sure, is planning to negotiate themselves an even better trade deal than the one they have now. All they have to do is let Trump pretend he "won." The rogue nations are winning by humiliating him - he needs a victory.
11
@Peter
Stop insulting Trump's supporters. It's getting tedious.
We are all immensely enjoying the Trump economy, even if you cannot bring yourself to do so.
@AACNY
The economy does look pretty good if you make a living trading stocks, but my taxes and health insurance have gone up more than my investments and “wage increases” have been able to compensate for, and I have more investments than the average American. I don’t enjoy an economy where only the rich get richer. Some people do, I guess, but I think it’s because they’ve been fooled into thinking the little bit that trickles down makes it worthwhile. I don’t mean to insult Trump supporters - plenty of people can’t do math. I do question their faith that the failed casino owner / fraud university owner known as “the king of debt” knows how to make us all rich. My personal take on it is that he has used my credit card to give the wealthy $100, and me $10, while raising my cost of living $15. I’m not fooled.
3
@AACNY I suppose everybody has their price. For some a few trickled down dollars is all it takes to make subverting the constitution and betraying the country perfectly acceptable.
2
An man unfit to lead will leave a mess for his successor.
9
The need for regime change in Iran as the Trump administration proclaims, will serve the country exponentially when the present administration is gone. Threatening Iran with war is groundless, insane. It is largely about Trump's bluster, though reality attests how spineless, inept and dangerous he is. European countries aren't worried about Iran's threat yet Trump chooses to go against a general consensus merely to impress how a strong and fearless he is, while reality attests, he is just the opposite.
5
Trump and his accolades live in an alternate reality that sees America as a post WWII hegemonic power. Not. Utter madness. Blind, clinical narcissism and more. The band plays on.
8
It took Osama bin Laden eight months to size up George W. Bush before deciding to take his shot. Osama, no dummy he, obviously assumed correctly that Bush would save his best stuff for finding Saddam Hussein & non-existent WMD's, and using what's left to pursuing him and his mob. That sure worked out well for the United States.
And now we have another genius in the White House, but with a big difference. Friends and enemies alike understood from Day 1 that Trump's a puppet of Putin and the Russians. No one required more time to size him up to determine if he has inner strength or weakness. It must be assumed that the respective Iranian, North Korean, and Venezuelan leaders fully perceive that he's weak.
A weak, unpredictable leader is dangerous. Hate to say it, but it's very likely that the United States is in imminent danger of another homeland attack by a rogue nation.
8
@Stop and Think I hope this doesn't happen.
Trump is the wrong man, doing the wrong things, in the wrong place, at the wrong time of history.
10
Past performance is a great predictor of future performance. Mr. Trump lost $1.17 billion in financial investments during 1985-1994, one of the most robust economic times in US history. Only a fool would believe that Mr. Trump will be a success in international relations and diplomacy.
Americans must start to look at what Trump has done and stop listening to his rhetoric, lies and false promises of great success just down the road. Misplaced Senatorial support for this incompetent President is going to eventually hurt the lives of all Americans no matter whether they are registered Republicans, Democrats or Independents.
When Mr. Trump fires Pompeo and Bolton for "their mistakes" maybe Ivanka and Jared will be nominated to hold these posts.
7
Many people, myself included, always believed Donald Trump what's a Showboat with far too small a propeller. As a negotiator, he was a bully and remains a worse one. He is totally out of his depth and incompetent to be conducting the business of this country around the world, never mind within its borders. Our enemies and adversaries have been playing him like a bad fiddle, and it's tragic to admit how often they are right. It is time for this political horror show to end.
And just a thought: why is Sarah Huckabee Sanders still getting a federal paycheck?
9
When you're a "rogue" President, just what you'd expect. To re-coin a phrase, "There's no honor among rogues."
1
We who are not 'shrinks' may need the psychology experts to identify many of trump's statements, "policy" undertakings and 'ideas' as "projections" -- but when trump 'twittered' that Mad Magazine's cover-boy, Alfred E. Neuman, might just be a Pete Buttigieg doppelganger, the "projection" was obvious to all but trump's sycophants in the U.S. Congress and the MAGAniacs in 'gen pop.'
3
@Thomas Murray. “What, me worry?” says trump as he creates chaos nationally and internationally on a daily basis?
3
@Larry
GOOD ONE! (Why didn't I think of that?)
2
Past performance is a great predictor of future performance. Mr. Trump lost $1.17 billion in financial investments during 1985-1994, one of the most robust economic times in US history. Only a fool would believe that Mr. Trump will be a success in international relations and diplomacy.
Americans must start to look at what Trump has done and stop listening to his rhetoric, lies and false promises of great success just down the road. Misplaced Senatorial support for this incompetent President is going to eventually hurt the lives of all Americans no matter whether they are registered Republicans, Democrats or Independents.
When Mr. Trump fires Pompeo and Bolton for "their mistakes" maybe Ivanka and Jared will be nominated to hold these posts.
1
Has Trump changed us into a rogue nation?
1
Worse part is that it seems unlikely Trump will get that Nobel Peace Prize.
1
Real diplomacy and real statesmanship are far beyond the capacity of this fake reality show “tycoon” to contemplate—no less put into practice. Sorry, Mr. Stable Genius!
5
Some leaders may not have what it takes to be an effective head of a country, but they are smart enough to surround themselves with capable people to help them succeed. Unfortunately, Trump himself has no foreign policy knowledge, talks big talks, and has surrounded himself with people who are just as bad as himself. He keeps hiring and firing, but they are all ineffective, big mouth like himself, and now, we are in crisis.
2
Any written word beyond “Trump Said..” is meaningless.
DJT cannot be trusted on any level and world leaders know it and use it to manipulate him.
He is weak.
What DJT says is dangerous but what he does is worse.
6
If I was the leader of Iran, I would set up diplomatic meetings with North Korea and Venezuela to establish an alliance. NK sends nuclear experts and parts to Iran. Iran sends food, medicine and weapons to Venezuela. Venezuela sends crude oil to NK. That would strengthen each country, and the group could work together against the United States. Strange how the White House can't see what their efforts could cause, they must be all fools.
84
@Fred
We know that the White House, led by the as-yet unindicted co-conspirator and "First Fool" holding the con at its rudderless helm, is 'chock-full' of fools -- but, unless khamenei, kim and maduro follow your advice … so are they!
(Not 'rooting' for those guys … Just sayin.')
6
@Fred
I expect that "maximum pressure" includes intercepting NK ships in international waters to enforce UN sanctions. That will make imports to and exports from NK more challenging. The US has been practicing for years with key allies to stop and board NK vessels. The UK, Australia, Japan and others are involved.
NK won't stand by as its ships are stopped, boarded and/or seized. It MAY become the trigger for military action.
1
@Fred
Fools rush in where people who understand international politics fear to tread.
In these two years Trump undoubtedly has put forward a new approach to conflict solving in foreign policy which pivots around the idea of not sending troops abroad to implement regime change or intervene in conflicts that end up not being won outright. It is the right idea. Let’s see what happens with Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. Will he be able to stay militarily an arms lengths from them?
Wouldn’t it be useful to have a fully staffed State Department? Isn’t it a blatant abrogation of Trump’s duties as POTUS to not adequately staff the State Department, particularly for service in our most strategically important and diplomatically complex countries and regions?
6
Does anyone really believe that the divisiveness between our political parties is advancing our international goals?Whether one likes Trump or not, he won the election. Rather than sowing discord, which in turn leads to both our allies and our adversaries berating and ignoring us, perhaps it is time to stand behind the administration's foreign political agenda. It is apparent appeasement does not work.
Had Obama not entered into an agreement with Iran that neither the American people nor Congress wanted, perhaps we would not be in the quandary we are in now. Had any previous president engaged in direct talks with N. Korea, perhaps we would not be in the quandary we are in now. Had any other president confronted China in the past about their continuing unfair trade practices, perhaps we would not be in the quandary we are in now. Had any past president acknowledged that Jerusalem was the Israeli capital, rather than "passing the buck" for decades, perhaps we would not be in the quandary we are in now. Had a different president confronted Maduro when he came to power, perhaps we would not be in the quandary we are in now.
Perhaps none of these measure would have mattered. However some "shake up" was in order. Had Congress instituted an immigration policy, rather than playing partisan politics, perhaps we would not be in the quandary we are in now.
Whether his agenda works or not, a new policy was needed.
@bsb...Everything you stated is equivalent to saying: 'other countries appease to American interests'. Sorry, but in real life, America is not the center of the universe. The Iran agreement that Obama made was in accord with OTHER nations. The US did not go in it alone. With North Korea, the US policy was in accord WITH OTHER NATIONS. The US did not go in it alone. With China, the US, before Trump, was trying to pressure China along with OTHER NATIONS. In the case of Israel, the president is clearly playing favorites, and once again, leading the US alone down this path. And finally with Venezuela, Mr. Trump is confronting their president for what reason? It is surely not because he has any love for Venezuelans. No. It is for American influence over Venezuela's oil fields. Since Mr. Trump became president, he has unilaterally made decisions with a myopic view on the US economy and isolationist American interests only. This 'shake up' that you speak of is an illusion. Mr. Trump hit a hornets nest and you know what happens when you hit a hornets nest: you get stung from every direction.
4
As domestic politics becomes more divisive, the best option to reunite the nation and to improve chances of reelection is to start a lovely war.
13
@Gerard It worked for G.W.Bush.
1
I think all this stuff is happening all over, including at home, because Trump actually believes what he tells his base at the rallies. He thinks he's the best there is, was, or ever shall be. He thinks he can out duel anybody. Especially those of a different race.
This is not the temperament America wants in a President.
40
It's really hard to get past the first sentence of this article in which North Korea, Iran and Venezuela are described as having "long defined themselves as bitter adversaries" of the US. It's almost as if we are meant to believe that the US has never misbehaved on the world stage or in regard to those countries in particular. We've had North Korea surrounded for 60 years, and we carpet-bombed their civilian. Having a nuke makes good sense to them. As for Iran, we installed a torture state there in 1952 did we not? We also gave Saddam bombing coordinates so that he could kill a lot of Iranians in the Iran-Iraq war. Venezuela? What has it EVER done against the USA? It sure hasn't imposed trade and other financial sanctions against us that have harmed tens of thousands of our citizens. They did send a lot of free heating oil to the South Bronx though.
39
@WRosenthal: Yes, the USA has a dark past with these three (and many other) countries. That doesn't negate the fact that Trump is still inviting and/or escalating conflict with these countries, on the contrary...
4
A really bold American President would reach out to the Iranians.
A war with them would just kill many people and kick the current problems further down the road.
Iranian people will not accept another British and American puppet government. The experience with Shah’s I and II put an end to that.
American problem on the Middle East is a failure to accept the full picture and the realities .
There are eighty million well educated Iranians. The current regime came about due to the power vacuum after overthrow of the Shah whose secret police had disposed of any opposition.
Neither Israel or Saudi Arabia want to see a strong Iran emerge under any regime. The divide and conquer technique works well against the Arab nations which are essentially divided societies, traditionally ruled by strongmen.
Trump is erratic enough to suddenly reach out to Iran, but he will have to get rid of Pompeo and Bolton.
77
@Robert
Bob, “The divide and conquer technique works well against” any people who are unaware of the devices and deceits of all Empires — and this is particularly of danger to people who are unaware of this first, last, and most dangerous Disguised Global (crony) Capitalist Empire on ‘our earth’.
4
@Robert Let's remember that America put the Shah in power; it is one reason Iran does not trust America. We should engage Iran and work towards the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. We should build on the nuclear deal with Iran instead of withdrawing from it.
11
@Robert...Reaching out to a regime whose rallying cry is "Death to America" doesn't seem like a strategy with a real chance of success. The whole Sunni-Shia thing is a bit of a problem, too. However, the Ayatollahs may put their fatwahs and jihad aside in the interest of world peace.
I loved this gem from the article.
“President Trump likes Chairman Kim,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, as if affection constituted a strategy.
So much summed up in that statement.
Thank you and keep up the very good work Mr. Sanger and Mr. Wong.
35
No fan of Donald Trump, but I don't see how Maduro staying where he is can be seen as a challenge to Trump.
3
@HKGuy
Trump, as any president before, hated socialist leaders. This hate made him make crazy decisions, like recognizing an opposition leader as president of Venezuela.
2
Certainly in the case of Iran any belligerent rhetoric by the Mullocracy is hot air posturing. Trump had brought the Iranian economy to its knees, and the status quo of Iranian belligerence is unsustainable. And if anyone thinks Trump will allow N Korea to relapse, the clearly are too blinded by Trumpophobia to be able to see what is coming.
5
"The president’s own views are hardly set in stone. White House officials say this keeps enemies off balance, but it has the same effect among allies and within his administration."
Put simply -- he can't be trusted to live up to any agreement. He cheats at golf and in any other endeavor in which he engages.
38
The correct approach is to match "maximum pressure" with "maximum diplomacy" (to the extent that the opponent is willing to talk seriously).
The problem is that, once you go down the road of "maximum pressure", you must prepared to go to the bitter end, which means the potential for war.
In a nutshell, the reason that the U.S continues to fail against its adversaries (and especially NK), is that there is very low credibility that the U.S. is prepared to fight, and U.S. actions betray this outcome. NK is quite simply convinced that the U.S. MUST eventually "blink", because it is not willing to fight a war which would likely result in the deaths of 10+ million people, plus environmental and economic devastation to a degree not seen since WWII. By contrast, NK is fully prepared to sacrifice its citizens to maintain absolute control. Under these conditions, it is IMPOSSIBLE for the U.S. to prevail.
Iran is a somewhat easier case. Here, the U.S. has much more leverage, plus Iran does not have nuclear weapons (yet). The U.S. has the ability to destroy Iran's heavy infrastructure from the air, and Iran's ability to fight back can be contained. That makes Iran very vulnerable. However (as the Iran-Iraq war demonstrated) the Mullahs won't back down unless presented with the prospect of regime collapse. The economic strangulation which Trump has set in motion will certainly lead to war, and both Israel and Saudi Arabia have existential reasons to break Iran's spinal cord
2
The problem has been well demonstrated. He has no concept of civics, governing, or the post war order. That’s just a start. He embraces chaos and competition and surrounds himself with adulators rather than adults. He is particularly partial to lickspittles and toadies and has no coherent foreign policy nor competent advisors. He is of negative moral character and his adversaries know this and take him for a ride during which he is mugged, rolled and pantsed. He’s loathed the world over, particularly in Europe. Who benefits from this? In short the administration is a train wreck. So is congress and the courts. Reality TV doesn’t make for good government. Enough.
41
On Iran Trump was wrong to rip the nuclear deal without any justification or consideration that six major nations worked tirelessly to reach. If it wasn’t for Netanyahu and Isreal’s greatest asset AIPAC, this nuclear deal would have remained in place. If Iran restarts its enrichment activity to 20 percent or more and Saudis follow who else but Europe and Israel endangering their security. To think that Iran will collapse as a result of these sanctions, it is not plausible just as the neoconservatives thought overthrowing Saddam will make Israel safe. If Russia does not allow the collapse of Maduro regime it is impossible to think Putin will allow Iran’s government to fall. After the imposition of severe sanctions, Iran has every insentive to speed up their weapon grade enrichment than not.
All these wars, sanctions and choosing sides in the middle east’s millenial old struggles is pouring more fuel to the fire. Instead US should let them work it out between themselves. If you can’t be an honest broker then don’t make the problem worse. Siding wholesale with Israel on matters concerning Palestinians, and hurting the feelings of muslims all over the region, siding with Sunni/Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi against Shiite Iran, propping dictator Sissi of Egypt against the wishes of their people, leaving Afghanistan and Libya in chais mode has consequences. The consequence is economic deprivation, environmental degradation, lack of security, and no hope for the future....
10
This is one of many areas where Americans can be thankful for the incompetence and inexperience of Trump and his cub scout troop (no offense to the Cub Scouts intended).
What may be more appalling is that I don't really think Trump cares. He's just trying to manage the right wing media at home and create some fantasy tough guy scenarios that he believes will carry him to 'victory' in 2020.
18
One opinion of the article’s analysis is that this administration’s foreign policies are determined by whatever gets the biggest reactions at Trump campaign rallies.
8
The manner in which Trump deals with other nations, including the USA's traditional allies, can best be described as bullying, insulting and interfering—all attributes of a "rogue nation". He is leading America away from democracy towards dictatorship. His contribution to world peace is less than obvious and his capability to handle diplomacy is non-existent. Twitter rants, lies and insults are no way to make friends and influence people but I guess he is not interested in doing so as he seems to think that one word from him and everyone should do as he says. Well the POTUS can no longer claim to be the leader of the Western World and what he says is daily becoming more and more of little account. The sad thing is that Trump's behaviour is affecting how the world views the USA and at the moment the view we have is not a good one. I feel sorry for my friends in the USA and I feel very sad that their country is in a moral and political decline.
18
President Trump is losing his credibility not only in Iran but also in the allies of the U.S. To abolish the plan of nuclear weapons is the most important priority in the world. So European countries and Japan have made every efforts to discourage Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. But their efforts come to be in vain. In Japan, which is the only country suffered by atomic bombs, quite a few people are disappointed at Trump’s policies toward Iran.
7
It comes down to a rather trite saying "Would you buy a used car from this man?" Trump has proven that he is a vulgarian and can not be trusted. In international relations it all adds up to failure on a massive scale.
6
Let me analyze case by case.
Many Republicans blamed Obama Administration that it was too soft on Iran and the nuclear deal with Iran was found fault with. But what has happened now? The deal is falling apart. Iran has threatened to continue with its uranium enrichment. Trump wanted to satisfy Israel. The result is, back to square one.
As regards North Korea, it is more shameful to Trump Administration. Even after POTUS directly negotiated with Chairman of North Korea, that too twice, there is no positive out come. Kim has resumed his weapons testing. Another set back to Mr.Trump.
America is in no way disturbed by Venezuela. Why unnecessarily intervene in that country? Failure to organize a coup has resulted in President Maduro consolidating his position. Yet another shame to Trump Administration.
To satisfy his ego, Trump is disturbing the good work of Obama Administration. However, is he surrounded by right people to counsel him properly. I wonder not. All such people have either left him silently or have been fired by Trump.
In all the above three countries, military option is not advisable. It will only plunge America into a quicksand. It is yet to come out of Afghanistan.
8
Let's hope that newspapers and other media remind us over and over about Bolton (and his new twin Pompeo) before he starts another war that's as tragic and disastrous as Iraq has been and continues to be. Hundreds of thousands of children died as a result of Clinton-era sanctions on Iraq. Hundreds of thousands more died as a result of Bush W's war. Why are we now allowing John Bolton to push a hapless Trump to war with Iran, a nation that has complied with the nuclear agreement? Who wins in this situation?
11
I know that this is not, strictly speaking on topic, but you could argue that Trump's America-in-decline is playing into the hands of China-on-the-rise. Think about it. The Trump administration's foreign policy is a confusing, chaotic mix of threats, bullying and ultimately ineffectual sanctions. The bombing and invasions may or may not come next. Meanwhile China goes about methodically colonizing the world by building roads, bridges, fast trains and mines; and by buying up strategic ports.
19
Maduro is a democratically elected President. Period. Venezuela is not rogue. Unlike the United States, Venezuela has also helped the Haitian economy by keeping Haiti's oil prices low prior to the U.S. latest efforts to destabilize Haiti. In both cases it is the United States that is attempting to install illegitimate puppet governments by coup, sabotage, coerced negative trade balances, bloodshed, and force generally. This includes U.S. mercenaries that have been caught in both nations. Who is the rogue? The premise that U.S. multinationals can go in and steal these countries' oil and other natural resources based on the fact that they are non-white and in this hemisphere is a criminal relic and must be replaced by a new equitable system, where all prosper.
7
There is some dispute as to the polling validity of Maduro’s most recent re-election. But the same could be said of China or Russia or a myriad of other nations. So, to single out Venezuela is to simply pick on the runt of the bad leader litter.
The combination of trump's simpleness and bluster puts us all at risk, but I have no doubt that he has no idea what might happen! Not that he would ever care about us...
4
So these three nations called Trump's bluffs. Along with every other country in the world. Honestly, who hasn't? He's not exactly a genius.
12
A credible threat US troops were being targeted? Time to move the troops into position. Weapons of mass destruction? Time to invade Iraq. He alone can fix it? Fire and Fury. That which the world has never seen. The bully on the world's playground , at some point, will have to throw the first punch. Because if he doesn't he will be portrayed as a wimp. Then what? Trump will throw that punch, not because of any real threat, but to make a statement that the flab hanging down from his upper arms is really muscle. And his followers will then have to decide if watching their children go to war, war waged solely to make their leader look tough, is acceptable. Just as with how he treats women women, he will get away with it 'because they will let him'.
9
To be fair, the "rogue nations" are starting to look tamer in comparison to the incompetent mess Trump has made of US foreign policy.
6
George W Bush failed disastrously in foreign policy, starting a string of unwinnable wars. Obama couldn't fix the mess with drone strikes and Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan remain some of the worst places in the world to live in.
Now Trump continues a pattern of American meddling, occupation incompetence and failure.
When will Americans realize their foreign policy disasters are not the fault of their Presidents but due to their belief they alone can interfere anywhere in the world?
8
Those rogue nations realize Trump has been undermined every step of the way by the Dems, media, etc. (E.g., the Cohen testimony was timed to coincide with Trump-N. Korea peace talks). They're emboldened enough to wait out Trump and get a better deal from the next more pliable president like a Beto O'Rourke or a friendlier one like a Bernie Sanders.
2
I still do not understand which" US interests" are at stake.
What threat is Maduro to the US; As for Iran or NK they are not going to bomb Washington tomorrow, as predicted by Bush junior.
And if it is to protct the Saudi's, we are net exporter of oil. So why dont we let these people alone. Assuming they are mad dogs, do we have to try to tame them?
Walking with noisy fanfare and a big stick is not going to serve any purpose, except trying to please part of Trump electorate who still believe they are John Wayne in the old Far West
4
Bolton recently let it slip as to what the real goal is of this admin. He blatantly stated it was for American oil companies to take over Venezuela's oil industry. Thereby keeping the support of big corporations and as a side, strangling our most frightening enemy (not), Cuba.
2
“I see it being a policy of disruption without any plan for replacement,” said Dalia Dassa Kaye, director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation, a research group.
Oh, this is like the Republicans approach to EVERYTHING.....like Obamacare, for instance
4
Oh please. Trump supporters? Wake up. Pay attention.
You elected a man with no government experience, and no foreign policy experience or knowledge of history, who was already deriding the intelligence agencies during his campaign, and has the attention span of a gnat, and has done absolutely nothing to help all those millions of people for whom he promised he would bring back thousands of jobs in coal and manufacturing.
I just do not understand. How can anyone not see that this man should not be the President?
It's sick. And maybe it's the final culmination of None Dare Call It Conspiracy,
14
I think most of the rest of the world looks at the United States as a rogue nation that's needs taming. And this article is again written from the perspective that we, the U.S. have some right to bully and tell everyone how to run their countries.
7
trump was clueless when he criticized former Presidents and diplomats and he’s still clueless about diplomacy, his tactic is bullying not diplomacy.
11
If you put a petulant child in charge, that has zero knowledge and experience of anything, and who doesn’t listen to anyone that does, this is what you get.
Nuclear war feels inevitable at this juncture. Only the 25th amendment can save humanity.
11
It's not surprising that after years of walking all over the US, that these countries don't like Trump's doing what he said he would do.
What's more they get a sympathetic audience from the Times which has Trump derangement syndrome.
2
Americans are often described as being arrogant by europeans, whether expats or tourists, and calling these countries "rogue" shows exactly why that's so.
2
Under Trump we have become a rogue nation ourselves.
9
@Paul Ruszczyk
Perhaps today's most succinct comment.
the problem is not president Trump.
It's the warmongers in the form of Bolton and Pompeo.
The way forward for America (as it has always been yet never recognized due to the insanity of American exceptionalism) is for the administration to eschew bilaterlism in favour of embracing global multilateral coalition to bring rogue nations to heel. A genuine endeavour to bring Europe, Russia and China, etc. onto one page with America where global interests are recognized as aligning with national interests is so much more effective across so many fronts than America going it alone and isolating itself not only against its adversaries but also against all of its traditional allies. The way is completely clear, but has no chance for Mr. America First (or is it Last) to recognize.
3
Bolton and Pompeo are being given their shot after years of preaching, and they are badly failing. In Trump they have their best chance to explore the effectiveness of their war games. When they are dismissed we can move on.
88
By then it will be too late for even global climate change to measure an impact.
We will be devastated and war will take over.
12
@AIR, if they are allowed to continue inflicting their damage, moving on will be hard if not impossible. It is better to cure this political cancer at stage one rather than stage four, wouldn't you think?
23
@AIR
As we have seen from Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq it is going to be difficult if not impossible to move on from a new fourth front of war in the Middle East.
3
In a documentary on Putin, he said attain power before you attain wealth. Trump put the cart before the horse. With power comes the ability to convince other, which is an unlimited resource when compared to how far your money can go. Trump has convinced Americans that money is power and as a result, to protect that view, he causes a political and constitutional crisis that could spur a real civil war at home with National Guard troops surrounding the Capitol and more government shutdowns over money. If Trump can't hold onto his power over three small rogue nations, then Putin, who knows what's what, will fill the void.
15
USA may have the most powerful military machine ever build in the history of humanity, there is limit to what you may be able to do. Just look at Vietnam (1945-75) and now Afghanistan (2001-...) where they were and are unable to win on the battlefield. USA still needs allies and has to do more on the diplomatic front and less on the military front. Remember what General Mattiss said to the Senate years ago. He said that every time the budget of Secretariat of State is cut the consequence is that he is force to buy more ammunition.
17
@Wilbray Thiffault General Mattis was correct. However, we have diplomacy conducted by one man and no one is listening anymore and that one man diplomacy is proving to be quite the disaster.
2
@Wilbray Thiffault
lol. As if Americans, who would vote for someone like Trump and his Republican cronies, can understand what that analogy means.
1
The irony to me is that the one Patriot battery replaces three that were taken away only a few months ago. Nothing happened months ago that warranted taking the batteries away. We can’t spend enough or built a big enough Navy to fight around the world in Korea, in Venezuela and in Iran. Even FDR had to decide to save Churchill first.
4
Richard wrote: "We can't spend enough or build a big enough Navy..."
Actually we can. It would require bipartisan popular support and political will for an extended period of time, but it is possible, just not probable.
Richard also wrote: "Even FDR had to decide to save Churchill first."
There were a multitude of factors dictating the "Europe First" strategy in addition to an isolationist U.S. being a neutral power with a less than 200,000 standing Army and the World's 7th largest Navy on Jul. 7, 1937 when Japan invaded China, still so on Sep. 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland; the Navy had shrunk somewhat by Dec. 11, 1941 when Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.
A far, far different set of circumstances than those faced today.
1
Trump’s only consideration with respect to any of these geopolitical challenges is what best serves his own domestic political interests. Sadly for the future of American power and influence internationally, as hapless as Trump’s foreign policy has been by any objective measure, in terms of providing useful fodder for his reelection campaign, it might well be as productive as he thinks it is.
21
@Aaron Walton
And what would that “useful fodder” be, Sir?
@Jo
What fodder? This fodder:
1. The bogus talking point that he succeeded with N. Korea where Obama failed
2. The equally bogus talking point that he's dealing forcefully with Maduro and with Cuba in order to fire up the Venezuelan and Cuban emigre vote in South Florida
3. The even more bogus talking point that his Iran policy is moral and effective whereas Obama's was feckless in order to glean big donations from the likes of Sheldon Adelson and votes from white evangelicals who think that anything the Israeli government says about Mid East politics is the truth.
2
a largely meaningless article with mostly pointless comments that follow. the article should have instead noted that these problems have been historically intractable by more conventional politicians, and therefore alternative approaches should be attempted. Kim, the iranians and venezuelana do not follow conventional norms theirselfs. And don't believe that obama/kerry resolved the nuc issue with iran. if any democrat wins the presidency, the situations in these countries will likely revert to still grimmer conditions if there is reversion to the historical status quo. Perhaps trump will not resolve anything at the end, but it is also certain that maintaining obama's approaches (strategic patience) would have certainly not also. . I favor trump's approach at this point that focuses on more personal engagement, using his experiences in his businesses that are now profitable, in part because the other approaches have proven to be shallow and ineffective.
9
@sh A meaningful article, followed by a largely empty comment. Trump's "personal diplomacy" has failed in North Korea, and, fortunately, has not been tried in Iran or Venezuela. The criticism of his efforts within the article are spot on.
131
"...businesses that are now profitable..."?
8
@sh
Today Iran has no nuclear warheads thanks to the agreement reached by President Obama & John Kerry but that will end shortly with the policies of trump/pompeo. Nothing has changed with Kim regardless of trump’s bluster to the contrary. If anything trump has raised the expectations of Kim that we would ease sanctions but that was never going to happen. Nothing further has to be said about Venezuela, this administrations ineptitude self evident. Lastly, trump’s businesses are profitable? How do you know? Have you seen his tax returns? And that is not even germane to this subject.
8
It’s “a policy of disruption without any plan for replacement,” said a RAND official. That’s a perfect description of Trump’s entire time in office. It’s all his supporters expect and require.
142
@WestHartfordguy trump thought the negotiations were about future gala events at trump properties, and jobs for his family. His plan was to full Huang golf courses and hotels with Koreans and open a few new gems in the Far East. Now these plans are ruined. Those are consequences. I hope Donald doesn’t give Kim his deposits back.
4
To be blunt,
Let’s acknowledge the quality of government is being determined by politicians’ expectation of what would be done in 2020 by Reality Show lovers who enjoy thrills and suspense offered by Mr. T’s shifting/arrogant words and deeds and media coverages. It’s like market bubbles being formed through expectations on expectations. Reality Show lovers would vote Mr.T into the White House again and Republicans to re-gain the House.
2
@WestHartfordguy
"It’s “a policy of disruption without any plan for replacement,” said a RAND official. That’s a perfect description of Trump’s entire time in office. It’s all his supporters expect and require."
Yes but Trump & the GOP had a plan to replace Obamacare , you remember that , right ?
"Mr. Trump even acknowledged that he frequently had to rein in Mr. Bolton,"
What a thought while pondering the evisceration of the State Dept. that someone as ignorant as trump in foreign affairs knows enough to muffle the war lover bolton.
112
An angry old man from Queens, yelling at the television.
Donald Trump is Archie Bunker.
320
@MidtownATL
Nailed it. But don’t insult Archie. He was much more of a progressive than our king of Queens could ever hope to be.
16
Archie had a good heart...unlike donnie who most certainly doesn’t. Can’t wait to see trump’s current reality tv show cancelled and him up to his ears in legal battles once gone from the National political scene.
27
@MidtownATL Archie was way cooler, at least he made it funny.
9
It is ridiculous and terrifying that trump is this country's Commander in Chief. How can a narcissistic con man, who is not only ignorant of foreign policy but is too lazy to learn about foreign policy issues, be making such critical decisions? What a pathetic state of affairs. I look forward to the time where maga refers to any year prior to 2017.
162
The obvious alliance Trump has created is between N. Korea, Iran and Venezuela. NK has the technology & nuclear fuel to expedite Iran's development. Also, Kim could bootstrap Venezuela if he chose. Iran and Venezuela have the oil N. Korea needs so the basic elements of a deal seem in place. All three will be emboldened by Trump's rejection of America's former allies.
In effect, Trump's erratic, inept, belligerent "gut feel" have exacerbated America's worst nightmare in three hemispheres.
Bravo, President Grifter. In only 26 months you've done more to threaten world peace than Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini.
116
You are correct. It was much better to not try to do anything that might be useful. That was the policy of the Obama administration. Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea were prosperous, happy, and did not present any threats.
1
@Richard Winchester It's always better to NOT do something stupid.
With tensions dangerously escalating here and around the world, I find the following description of trump both laughable and comical in a tragic sort of way.
"a president who has little experience in handling international crises, has struggled to find the right balance of diplomacy and coercion and has not always been consistent in defining his foreign policy."
I understand journalists feel compelled by professional decorum to describe trump in such generously diplomatic and polite terms.
But is it necessary for media to carry on implying trump actually possesses the knowledge, wisdom, intellect and temperament necessary for the office he holds?
To suggest he struggles to seek balance, understands diplomacy, has given deep thought to actual policy or could spell coercion without help is laughable and serves no good purpose other than to carry on the charade that this president is up to the job.
He clearly isn't and never will be - pretending otherwise is unwise in the extreme, diplomatically speaking.
271
@Deb
Well said The responsible media needs to stop coddling trump and the Senate GOP enablers.
26
@Deb
Thank you. Even the Times cannot seem to get this right. They are simply not describing Trump when they portray him with these phrases. They are describing a typically competent and fit president. None of us, including the Times, had the wherewithal to properly discuss or deal with somebody like him.
9
Trump is in over his head.
It's not a surprise that the first president in history who was not in the military or who didn't hold elective office before wouldn't really know what to do once he became president. Trump doesn't have a clue. And the international professionals, diplomats and intelligence officers, all know it. Now are fiercest adversaries are figuring it out too.
Just like Trump said concerning health care, "This isn't easy..." now he's finding out that solving problems posed by Venezuela, Iran and North Korea is harder than he thought. It's just what President Obama told him; North Korea is one of America's biggest problems.
I just hope the world can take another two or six years of this guy.
59
Your statement that "tensions are escalating" with Iran omits the cause. You should have said, "The Trump administration is aggressively provoking Iran, even though Teheran continued to observe the nuclear deal despite U.S. withdrawal a year ago."
National security adviser John Bolton still thinks the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a good idea; he published an Op-Ed piece in the Times in 2015 headlined, "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran."
Bolton and Mike Pompeo's aggression could trigger an awful accident. On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes, a warship in the Persian Gulf, shot down an Iranian civilian airliner by mistake, killing all 290 people on board. Including 66 children.
227
@James North
Trump would never never have hired a character like Bolton on his own.
Ask around and it will become known, that the appointment of Bolton was a reward to a very large donor with ties to a foreign state.
17
@James North: Plus, we only have Trump’s word about these supposed threats. Given the lies told to justify Iraq War 2, I’d question how much we can trust these supposed threats.
As to reaching a deal - Trump routinely breaks deals - he’s done this all his life. Given that Trump refused to honor previous deals, why would Iran, Venezuela, or North Korea trust him to uphold his side of a treaty now?
17
excellent..... we now have the yello, bone-spurs in chief playing with real military toys, in the run up to an election, when he is on the back foot, what could possibly go wrong?
83
Obama blew it in Iraq, and his misadventure in Libya was especially problematic, because it undoubtedly was not lost on Mr. Kim that giving up on your nuclear ambitions may not win you any credit in Washington. Afghanistan where we had a lot more casualties than under Bush was also poorly played and stemmed from his silly rhetoric about a war of choice, etc. Trump has no successes so far and is terrible at building a coalition, for example against China which was totally doable. But no failures really. Maybe he gets lucky in Venezuela, and long term Iran and China have major demographic issues, so there someone down the road can probably cut a better deal.
3
@Cobble Hill"
But no failures really. Maybe he gets lucky in Venezuela, "
I'll take Obama's blown deals which by all estimates and evidence were working over the guy who blew a billion trying to run a casino any day. The thought of him getting"lucky" in diplomacy while not while running gambling houses is morbidly funny.
129
@Cobble Hill ;The sentence should say "Bush/Cheney blew it in Iraq"....Obama picked up the pieces and led with intelligence and decency..Something is short supply with this administration.
6
@Cobble Hill Please explain how Obama blew it in Iraq.
Was it the withdrawal that was agreed to and signed by G.W. Bush and Obama acted on that is how he blew it?
As for the rest of the comment, it makes as much sense as the first part-none at all.
6
Where’s the art of the deal?
You can’t scam a scammer - his (our) adversaries have been doing it for a much longer time.
They’re better at it than trump will ever be.
The USA will be the loser in the long term even if the tariffs only cause short term pain.
46
"White House officials say this keeps enemies off balance...".
Hmm, it appears that Trump and his court jesters are those off balance, out of touch, and in a league of their own.
Does Trump believe that his schoolyard bully tactics will work?
History says no, particularly if we look at the results of years of bombing Vietnam.
Are his embargoes hurting the bad actor country's leadership? No, the people suffer and soon many will side with their leadership.
Once upon a time we had a State Department staffed with professionals who knew the political landscape of the countries and regions they were responsible to monitor. What happened to the professionals? Were they silenced in belief they know nothing? Have they resigned and taken lucrative positions in the private sector?
Alas, we have Pompous Pompeo, Bludgeon them Bolton, Prince Jared and a myriad of know-nothings, along with Trump, who still believe that previous administrations efforts were terrible.
It would appear the smart guys in the room are now having quite the laugh as those three countries, and possibly the E.U., are thumbing their collective noses at the imbecilic actions of a know nothing.
Business negotiations involve some give and take and trust.
From accounts concerning Trump, there is no trust.
Given Trump's sad behavior thus far, I don't blame those countries for not having trust in him.
Lastly, you catch more flies with honey....Trump should learn this.
56
@Dan: Rex Tillerson focused on hollowing out the State Dept and did a good job of it. Now Pompeo is finishing off the State Dept.
My thought is that Trump's "I alone can fix it" means he doesn't want those pesky diplomats around getting in his way with his love relationships with Kim, Putin and Xi.
7
His approach does keep them off balance.
Much like trying to deal with an insane person keeps people off balance. Impossible to get an idea what they (he) will do next.
Crazy.
1
Dictator Maduro and his supporters can shout or chant whatever they want. But the majority of the Venezuelan are not his supporters. They are starving with no electricity or water and they stand by the Venezuelan constitutional interim President Guaido.
As you point out, Trump did not follow-up in his foreign policy with Venezuela. He should go ahead and listen for once. Listen to Bolton. It would be a reverse Bay of Pigs. If he does not, the Venezuelans in Florida will not give him their vote. Add the Puerto Ricans who will not vote for him. They keep comming. Thanks God.
2
@Aurace Rengifo Listening to Bomb them Bolton will get us into a shooting war, cause the deaths of those who oppose Maduro and incite the rest of the population.
Second, it would be a reverse Bay of Pigs and we inherit a broken country if this country was to act on our own.
Third, Russia, as the piece states, is Maduro's new best friend and that will prevent the grifter from any action.
Lastly, Puerto Ricans who have residency on the mainland are eligible to vote for a president. Commonwealth residents cannot vote in the general election, and given Trump's disdain for the Puerto Ricans and anyone else that is brown, I seriously doubt many would vote for him.
28
@Aurace Rengifo The problem is that Puerto Ricans cannot vote in Presidential elections.
@Aurace Rengifo The majority of Americans do not support Trump and his corrupt administration. But that administration could survive another six years.
1
There was never going to be a taming, the whole world knows that Trump is a joke and he makes us the laughing stock of the world.
92
@BTO The most desperately needed regime change is in the U.S.
168
The rest of the world is finding it easy to step all over such a tiny, tiny, little man as Donald J Trump.
This Great American Fraud (GAF) needs to he rectified.
62
Trump couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat !
57
I don’t care about these rogue countries...my bottom line is that I’m doing much better under 2 years of Pence and Trump than I ever did under 8 years of Biden and Obama!
1
@Charlie, you are doing better under Trump simply because of all the hard slog that Obama and Biden put in, Trump (as usual) and Pence are simply coasting on that hard work.
111
@Charlie
That's the Obama rescue and expansion you and Trump/Pence are benefiting from.
107
Charle,
Do you not remember the Great Recession? Bush drove the economy off a cliff.
Obama inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression.
I took years to begin to revive our economy, especially with republicans fighting him all the way.
Remember Ted Cruz and sequester?
Be honest, Obama handed off a strong economy and trump has put it on steroids with tax cuts for the ultra rich and record spending and deficits. We will pay the price for his madness.
117
As with Obama-care, so with nuclear arms control: “. . . a policy of disruption without any plan for replacement.”
There’s no end to the damage, which a fool can unleash, particularly if he or she has loads of foolish supporters.
71
Diplomatically, braggart Trump is as useless as a blunt knife or a glass hammer, blaming others for the same mistakes he is so well endowed with. Case in point, as he has not the faintest idea how to deal with North Korea, Syria and Venezuela, among others....diplomatically. Ir's all brute force...however truncated by his incompetence and lack of sustained attention. That Bolton and Pompeo, supposedly more enlightened, cannot find a smarter move by inducing Allies to show a joint resolve, is a disgrace. Remember Obama's red line on al-Assad? It pales with all the current one's, and it takes all credibility, and self-respect, away.
27
@manfred marcus, Obama's 'red line' is a myth, go back and read what actually happened, Obama said there was a red line that could not be crossed, when Kerry was asked what the Syrians could do to avoid military intervention quipped 'they could give up all their chemical/biological weapons', and guess what happened? Russia stepped up and brokered the deal, it was not the failure its been painted, it was a stuff up but who's stuff up is debatable. As for Trumps diplomatic skills, there are none.
22
This would be pretty funny if it wasn’t so serious.
We have a blowhard President with no experience or knowledge in this foreign affairs or diplomacy. He thinks world leaders are similar to contractors he hires and tries to stiff on his building projects.
Bolton and Pompeo are this generations Cheney and Rumsfeld—itching for war at any cost.
Iran? His obsession w Obama cost us stability.
N Korea? Kim came back from the Putin mtg and started the tests. And Donnie is scared of Putin.
Venezuela? Whatever happened to the Monroe Doctrine?
The Trump Doctrine: Lie, Blame others, and Give in to Putin’s needs.
52
Before he became President, Trump was a real estate scammer, tax fraudster and draft dodger. Now he leads the most powerful military on Earth. How exactly then are we less a danger to the world and all its inhabitants than North Korea and Iran?
91
@Tom Baroli Exactly! You need regime change!
24
Trump- err Bolton- has all but telegraphed intent to wage war with Iran. Why? A war-time president gets a bump and Bibi has Trump in his pocket.
44
I believe that Yankee go home, is already well translated into English, has been prevalent in Japanese, French and Increasingly into German.
Added to Iranian Persian, Korean and Portuguese/Spanish.
Bullies only ever end up with Allies, who are even less trustworthy than the Bully not many of the US Sabre rattlers were prepared to personally show up.
Iran could easily be the US Suez crisis.
8
To say that Bolton and Pompeo 'can't walk and chew gum at the same time' is an understatement. And grossly overestimates the complexity of walking and chewing for people with normal nervous systems.
And the 'stable genius' puts his trust in having Kim as a BFF, as a way to make progress that will lead to a solution for peaceful coexistance on the Korean peninsula. At least, for the foreseeable future, Kim doesn't have anymore half-brothers that he wants killed using nerve agents in a public airport.
19
Whatever Trump says about his powerful influence and ability to control some situation or other, it’s certainly not to be believed. Not with his history. At one level, he’s simply out of his element and doesn’t know. Incompetent to the highest degree. At another, he lies obsessively, trying to convince something as credit to his ... and his alone ... personal power. This ... these taken together ... is the story of his life, as documented last week in a NYT article. No leader in the world is fooled by him; he’s not in their league, though he can be easily “played.” He greatly needs flattery. One quoted comment from him in the present report that Bolton is an “amazing” person is interesting: Actually, I think that’s about as true as Trump gets ... but in a naive, ironic way, of course.
14
If no one stands up to this man and makes it stick, what will he ultimately do or become?
15
@jb I'm hoping he turns to dust.
President Trump is taking a big gamble on several fronts at the same time on a set of bluffs that he alone can fix anything being the “best negotiator”, smartest President ever without the requisite skill of reasonableness and the vision that a President needs. He wants to punish Iran by forcing it to accept a regime change. He wants to change North Korea through China’s help – given that all else failed – while he is challenging the second largest economy of the world to be tamed to American demands. He is facing a crisis down south in Venezuela where Maduro government is reluctant to heed to American demand as they have neatly pocketed the Russian.
The architect of all this is our beloved President who quietly engineered shifting $1.5 bn from Afghan budget to serve a political goal of building border wall – the greatest wall in the history of America – down South. What would happen now if Talibans rev up their pressure on Afghanistan given this sudden window of opportunity?
What if the Congress finally decide not to fund any open war unless it is fully rationalized and vetted by the Congress? What set of excuse could he muster for his base if his multifaceted gambit fails? Is it worthy to proceed any further?
13
@Sam Sengupta In a word, for your last question, no.
4
Trump is so busy fighting like his life depends on no one seeing his taxes or anything else about him. He’s also trying to claim that no one and all documentation involved in the Mueller report is off limits. I don’t think he has time or the capacity fo anything else.
It’s very distressing to have Trump dealing with super serious situations with foreign countries. Trump appears to do no preparation and listen to no one when he meets with Kim Jong Un. Pompeo and John Bolton appear to be out of Trump’s loop on Venezuela and Iran so no one can tell what’s being done. The current foreign policy is a house of cards that is anything but reassuring.
24
@Javaforce
He is too busy with tv and golf to study and consult about American issues.
26
Trump is an utter failure on North Korea, the Middle East, Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran.
His supporters don't care. He gives them what they want and that's all that matters.
46
@Mark
"He gives them what they want and that's all that matters."
What is it that they (Trump supporters want) ?
1/ More tax breaks for Trump & the 1% ?
2/ Less heath care , to choose to die or go bankrupt or both ?
3/ More Minimum Wage jobs ?
4/ More federal debt that will have to be paid by their grandchildren ?
5/ More "hate" of the "others" who are somehow threatening their jobs & getting ahead of them ?
6/ Cutting support for public education while for-profit schools are pushed. (helps with maintaining segregation)
The rational world will eventually begin placing sanctions on the USA as it has on Iran , Venezuela , Cuba , NK , Russia , etc. while penalizing any nations that do not comply. The US dollar will no longer be the world`s primary currency & the US banking control will wither. China will be the leader including in high tech. The US will be mainly a supplier of food to China.
Can you imagine the right wong noie that would have followed if Obama said he "fell in love with Kim"
39
Iran was never a FAIR player ! It's fascist fanatical regime's mentality and mindset belongs in ancient antiquity at best.
Therefore they must be regarded and treated as such.
You cannot REASON wit such people !
"In every country in every age the priest has been hostile to liberty" Thomas Jefferson.
And there lies the REAL Iranian problem. As long as radical despot imams hold a regime's reigns the people will be violently oppressed by such ignorant despots whose ideologies are against liberty and progress and who selfishly care only of their personal aims and benefits !
Trump is adopting the right approach toward Iran at this time. Strong sanctions supported by whatever military backup may be needed should Teheran attack us forces or allies. Establishment of a us base in Israel also if necessary.
Iran cannot be allowed WMD because they will eventually inevitably use them or ate least supply their hamas and hezbollah cronies to.
Bottom line America should avoid military confrontation if at all possible but use it with speed and extreme force against those who despise freedom and reason should they use aggressive force !
Welsh expat foreign correspondent Asia Pacific.
3
Wake up Paul. Iran abided by the Treaty not to produce arms grade nuclear materials prior to Trump's irrational withdrawal from the carefully negotiated Treaty which found support even by Putin. Is the world (including Israel) safer now?
We will never have security & peace of mind as long as we have a dotard (thanks Mr. Kim) in the White House. Vote 2020 & rid us of The Great Dictator.
26
@Paul Martin
If you’re so gung-ho about a war with Iran, you should join the U.S. military, instead being an expat in Asia of pontificating about it.
25
@Paul Martin
Trump is a fool who thinks he can bully Iran, NK and Venezuela the way he did his victims in NY for years. He does not seem to realize the precarious situation he has put us in.
He does not seem to realize he cannot order people around. He does not seem to realize that cooler heads, even in those own administration do not listen to him.
The people who do listen to him: weak-willed Republicans in Congress and his core worshipers.
14
Trump is a balloon full of bluster, bravado and entirely empty of any understanding of geo-politics, economics or world issues. He is squatting in the WH, enriching himself and his spawn and their hangers-on, until eviction, and continues to debase the USA presidency. Every day. Good luck with that!
53
@KennethWmM That about sums it up. God help us.
20
@KennethWmM
“balloon full of bluster”. - very nice
12
Donald Trump is the ultimate armchair quarterback. He's never called a play or carried the ball, never gotten his hands dirty, never really had to take responsibility for his actions. Trump thinks he knows a lot more than he really does and doesn't take advice. He's very good at threats and very bad at follow through. His worst impulses have been reined in by his own entourage, by the courts and now by a Democratic majority in the House. Rather than try to reach consensus with America's allies, he has attempted, unsuccessfully, to browbeat them into submission with his wrongheaded foreign policy moves. He is easily manipulated by leaders like Putin and Kim Jong-Un, who know that smarmy flattery will get them everywhere.
Our adversaries know this. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Trump commands no respect from friend or foe; he flails and flounders in public, denies reality, and shamelessly brags and congratulates himself when there is absolutely nothing to be proud of.
The world now sees Trump for the buffoon that he is; and sees the American voting public that allowed the buffoon to occupy the White House as the product of a nation in decline, one that has failed to educate and inform its people to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century.
This is the saddest chapter in American history since Andrew Johnson bungled his way through Reconstruction, setting the stage for over a century of racial strife. We may not ever recover from it.
108
A perfect description of the man only the 'deplorables' could love
22
@chambolle I believe we may recover provided we, the people who are, in theory, to be answered when we question the government and provided we find the right people to replace the swamp dwellers we have allowed to turn a public service into a lifetime career of grifting and doing little for us.
10
Venezuela is a quagmire, I visited there in the 70's when the concorde flew from that country and even close to the airport I recognized the slums !
The wealthy lived good but most folks struggled to survive.
This no doubt eventually led to the people desiring socialistic change because they WRONGLY believed like the Russians,Germans and Italians for example that it would result in better lives and justice,etc. But the unsurprising result of historical repetition was a corrupt,repressive regime inviting Russian bases on it's territory and shipping planeloads of gold bars to Moscow in return for support,etc !
Now we see the old Mexican standoff, Maduro still has military power (not good) because he obviously bribed the generals ! The country is greatly divided with no solution in sight.
As Marx discovered together with his followers communism and socialism in the WRONG hands doesn't ever succeed for the masses, it only creates totalitarian despots and regimes as we clearly see happening in Caracas now !
Maduro wants Castro like control where he can run Venezuela like Fidel ran Cuba and only the Castros and senior military officers ended up benefiting and living the good life and owning anything of value !
This writer recognizes the dilemma but cannot foresee an acceptable outcome in sight it is Chile dejavu and the stalemate standoff with the populace as hostages will continue for some time !
Welsh expat foreign correspondent Asia Pacific.
2
@Paul Martin
Venezuela is in a "quagmire" of its own design. There are less than twenty extended families who can trace their ancestry back to the Spanish conquests and these people OWN Venezuela. The own all the good land, the industry, etc. and they feel entitled to it, because they've always owned everything. Their largest blow came when Chavez nationalized the oil industry. I'm not saying that was a good thing, but no one really wants Venezuelan oil anyway. The oil there is heavy crude: difficult to extract and also refine.
Keep in mind that Venezuela was masquerading as some type of pseudo-democracy even before Chavez. The nation's owners will never change. These types of people have never changed throughout history voluntarily. They must be forced to change and that, they know, will destroy their comfort, security, and the source of their riches which is firmly cemented in the contempt and repression of the rest of the population. The country is where it is because they refused to give an inch, to change, or to allow their country to change.
5
@Moehoward Most of those SA countries are the same. In the mid-1960s I attended a private school that a lot of SA sons and daughters of diplomats attended. One of my friends, Fernando was from Venezuela. His family kept all of their money in gold in Spain and they had a plane and pilot on 24 hour standby in case they had to evacuate the country quickly. This was almost 60 years ago, so I'm pretty sure it hasn't gotten any better.
Wild rogue nations have always been a source of worry and cause for concern among the stable, mature, democratic and 'freedom loving' states of the world. The US always takes the lead in dealing with these nations, making sure they know that the norms and international institutions that govern and control international relations are enforced, supported, and apply to all countries equally.
Until Trump came along. Now, it seems, "Only I can save us." Trump has concluded that the best way to deal with rogue nations is to join them. The US now confronts and sanctions, condemns and cordons these nations unilaterally; continually pressing them, confronting their international stature in ways that seem designed to force these already pariah nations towards armed confrontations. Saber-rattling, apocalyptic Trump pronouncements (remember "fire and fury like the world has never seen"?) -- Trump, Commander-In-Chief Bone Spurs, seems intent on forcing an armed conflict, perhaps to distract and deflect from his corruption and the internal political woes he has at home. Once upon a time We the People could be sure that no president would abuse the sacred trust of wielding the power of the US military for crass political power and personal insecurities... but now, in the age of Trump, I have to wonder: would Trump get the US in a war, perhaps in Iran, just to get a 'wartime president' bump in his "ratings"? So low have we sunk that this has to be a valid question, with Trump.
16
Yes!
5
It’s almost like the U.S. elected a guy who didn’t have any governing or diplomatic experience at all. Who could have predicted that he’d struggle this way?
27
@Louise Cavanaugh
Almost? Not even in jest.
6
@Louise Cavanaugh There is no "almost like". We did elect a guy with none of that experience you speak of.
And many foresaw what the outcome would be.
It is sad the Bernie crowd who appeared to have stayed home in their tantrums against Hillary allowed the grifter to rise to power.
11
Trump’s first and most fundamental mistake is his belief that our allies bring no value to the table. He has alienated the very nations who could help us with all these issues. Fundamentally Trump is a failure at leadership as his life experience has not equipped him to collaborate with others when needed. The Times reporting in this regard on Trump’s finances and the assistance he received from his father put paid to the mythos of Trump as a successful business leader. Now we see him making the same mistakes on a global scale where the consequences could be the deaths of millions. His father isn’t her to bail him out of these situations and relying on the likes of John Bolton or Mick Mulvaney to guide Trump through these issues leaves my heart cold with fear. Get him out of office ASAP.
18
Trump isn’t fighting a 3 front war, he’s also picking a fight with China and the House of Representatives to make it a 5 front war. Given that all 5 know that Trump is trying to take them all on by himself and is in way over his head, I wonder how Trump’s supply of Harry Potter’s Felix Felicis (also called "Liquid Luck") is going to bail him (and us) out of these troubles this time.
6
Trump has failed miserably at making deals. He has unilaterally withdrawn the US from deals. He only seems good at destroying deals.
49
Attempting to fly on wings made by his father, Icarus went too near the sun, lost his wings, and fell into the sea.
Ovid. Metamorphoses, Book VIII.
30
What is a rogue nation,any nation that asserts it's own sovereignty.
7
@DC, see Steve's slightly earlier comment for a good summation of what qualities constitute a rogue state.
1
All of the countries listed here will have the same fate. Nothing diplomatically or militarily will bridge the impasses. The lucky ones will create a thriving black market to help them through tough times. Four out of ten North Koreans are facing famine and Venezuelans are food insecure. The market forces will find a way to feed North Korea and Venezuela. This will shift alliances on the ground and make some people in those countries rich and powerful enough to provide a check to reign in the tyranny of their own governments. The best thing we can do is to encourage those black markets to form and offer them safe heavens. No government or person can stop the supply and demand profit machine. I hope the new mafias have enough foresight to hire economics PhDs like others did in the past:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8PAtFsJY5q0
1
Donnie is looking for a war, being egged on by the war fetishist Bolton, another of many of republican chicken hawks that to the one, evaded serving in Vietnam.
This time there is no 911 to encourage enlistment and with unemployment low the only available people will be the true losers in life. They had better forego the drug testing for military service or guarantee citizenship to "illegals" if the ranks need to be bolstered. I'm betting having "bone spurs" will not be a disqualification this time.
If there is a real shooting war started the draft will most certainly need to be reinstated. That'll be popular. Let's see all those trump supporters put their children in harm's way, after all, you support has no bounds, apparently. Isn't that worth your child's life?
13
Let us not mince words. Trump is an extreme narcissist. He actually believes he knows everything that he needs to know because of his superior intelligence- he says he doesn't need to read anything. Trump is only concerned with rousing his racist base and tweeting lies and nonsense. For every serious matter, he only takes advice from his hard core right wing and inept advisers including Pompeo, and Bolton.
Every world leader including those in North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Chuina and yes, Russia knows that Trump is totally ignorant and they treat him accordingly. The Republican Party has handed over the reins of power to an TV clown Donald Trump, who disgraces the US with every move he makes, with every breath he takes.
Democrats must put forward a unified front against the GOP/Trumpian universe of gross incompetence and backwards world policies. We must not allow this nation to sink hopelessly into the deeply polluted Trump swamp created by the Republican Party. There will be no return.
94
Go to the scorecards:A State Department drained of career diplomats, embassies without ambassadors or under qualified appointees, alliances broken for the whim of an ego and no discernible coherent policies or plan. Sanctions and diplomacy by battle groups seem to be the fall back position. Should the militaries in any of these three nations exchange fire, the President will find himself alone and cornered. Quite a recipe. Such a deal.
28
Actually the US is becoming more like the rogue nations that we demonize (whether rightly so or not). We don't abide by international agreements. We make them up as we go along. We have a dangerous arsenal of nuclear weapons at our disposal and have threaten military action against a number of countries. We criticize the United Nations. We try impose our evangelical beliefs on the rest of the world. We are vindictive utilizing our ability to impose economic embargoes against Cuba and Iran for example.
We stand along side China as one of the world's biggest polluters, scoffing at the Paris Climate Accords.
We are a mess.
94
“... a president who has little experience in handling international crises, has struggled to find the right balance of diplomacy and coercion and has not always been consistent about defining his foreign policy.”
Trump doesn’t know the meaning of the words “balance” and “diplomacy,” and his “foreign policy” is as changeable as his moods.
From the moment Trump set foot in the Oval Office, it was a case of “Mr. Bull, meet the world’s china shop.”
33
@Susan Bullying is what he does whether it is national or international.
By now other world leaders know how to manipulate him and he consistently fails.
He is in the back pockets of N. Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia and many others.
Bullying does not work. It shows weakness and incompetence something that he and his base just don't get!
Just watch the patient Chinese get the better of him and , unfortunately, our nation!
9
He can't even tame his rogue administration! The pretense that he has ANY ability or the respect of a "leader" of any other country, socialized or rogue, is not even funny.
42
Have you ever noticed that Trump and Kim share so many narcissistic and destructive traits - including clothing the size of circus tent? ...and they both have the WORST hair cuts.
Not to be superficial, but this buffoonery is much more than skin deep. At least Putin is healthy and has a good tailor, as does Xi.
20
Not only do clothes 'make the man' they show you who he is.
7
@RealTRUTH The last U.S. President who couldn't button his suit jacket was Howard Taft.
3
"There is a special Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America."
This quote, or variations on it, has been around for nearly 200 years. Subject to historical dispute, it has been attributed to many wise souls, including Otto von Bismarck, the original Iron Chancellor. If the term "American exceptionalism" has any real meaning, this probably sums it up.
The essence of American foreign policy under Trump thus far has been dumb luck. Foreign leaders have viewed him with disdain, but his scary unpredictability purchased him space to maneuver. Many have seemed content to wait him out. They hope, like Joe Biden, that he will prove to be an anomaly.
But patience is wearing thin. Little Rocket Man was promised the moon, and he still wants it. Harsh sanctions on Iran at some point will make the regime reckless if it decides that it has nothing further to lose by rolling the dice. And while most Venezuelans regard Maduro as corrupt and ineffective, many do not regard installing a US puppet as an obvious improvement.
Each of the three is a volatile situation that could easily spin out of control. Another crisis in the Middle East could provoke widespread regional warfare. There is little to be done with Kim beyond either bribing him or threatening nuclear holocaust. And a US invasion of a Latin American country, though certainly not without historical precedent, would be seen as a return to imperialistic excess.
Is the honeymoon over?
13
The leaders of our adversaries realize that Trump is an ignorant, blowhard paper tiger, as Mao might have put it. He likes to bask in the shine of the American military and its high-tech arsenal, but he's not going to risk using it in ways beyond a one-day headline-grabbing cruise-missile strike. Trump doesn't have the patience or knowledge to run a serious military campaign against a determined enemy -- and he certainly lacks the credibility to do so.
16
@RT, I wish I agreed. But lack of knowledge hasn't stopped him yet. And he has access to weapons that make long campaigns unnecessary to do terrible damage or set catastrophes in motion. And he is a toddler who throws tantrums. There is grave cause for concern.
9
President Trump's increased aggression toward Iran is steeped in self interest. If things begin to go badly in Washington in his myriad conflicts with Congress, a war could be a perfect distraction. I doubt most Americans have an appetite for yet another war in the Middle East, but the Republican party would get behind him in the name of national security and so would many of his followers. This could sweep a lot of his domestic political problems under the carpet. Trump is sufficiently narcissistic to do such a thing.
22
Ah, like tariffs, it's a piece of cake. It's easy. Just ask the guy in front of the t.v. during his "executive time."
When you are a stable genius, you don't sweat the small stuff.
14
The US has no vital national security interests in North Korea, Iran or Venezuela which would justify the death of American soldiers in battle. North Korea is a threat to South Korea and Japan, not the US. Iran is a threat to Saudi Arabia and Israel, not the US. And Venezuela is a threat only to the welfare and lives of its own citizens.
The biggest failure of current US foreign policy has been the failure to take America first seriously as a principle and not just as an empty slogan. Why does the US need to spend its blood and money defending other countries? What good are allies with a vastly weaker military than you, who will never be able to stand up to an adversary in a serious fight, and always come running to you for protection? What exactly do you need them for?
As of right now, the only wars the US is likely to get into in the near future are for defending allies who are of no use to you militarily. Japan, South Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia and most of the NATO nations are parasites living off the US military. Let them defend their own countries or perish.
3
@A Cynic
Right. And the US might as well give up anything they share in common with their long-time allies. Maybe we should not trade with them either. Maybe we should should shut down any facilities we have in their country.
Maybe should be isolationists and pretend the outside world does not exist.
Then one day when, for some reason, we decide to check up on the outside world, we will see that it has passed us by. Even worse, they will forgotten about us and can't see the usefulness of dealing with us at all.
3
Trump’s expertise comes from studying the mass media. Otherwise, he’s pretty much without knowledge nor the skills of people who have accomplished things in foreign affairs. Yet, a whole lot of people place their faith in his presumed ability to perform better than all those people with real experience with such things. Why?
5
@Casual Observer Why? Because they are still clinging to their guns and religion. And of course, he loves the uneducated.
3
@sonya
Because he promised them to go backwards, to some mythical "good old days".
2
I really don’t think that it’s a matter of guns nor religion. It is related to a tribal mentality which sees him as representing their view of things, but it’s less a view than feelings about them being separate from the rest of us. The stereotyping of people who appreciate working together to solve collective problems as being silly and gullible, and people who feel that they are being left behind as our world changes being stereotyped as people being intolerant and bigoted is simplistic and dismisses any mutual interests and ability to work together.
Those who voted for the Trump presidency had only his speeches, tweets, and lies to consider before voting. Now they have his results (or lack of results) to evaluate Trump's "Ready! Fire! Aim!" foreign policy and the black and white differences between Trump's rhetoric and his results. It will take many years after Trump is gone to repair America's 'trusted ally' status in the world. It is truly sad to see how in only 28 months Trump has destroyed America's relationships with its closest allies and failed to build even one multi-country alliance to counter China and/or Russia aggressive actions against the U.S.
42
Regarding a physical confrontation with Iran: If Mr. Trump and his team would pause to look at a world map, they would see that Iran has more land mass than Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Everybody old enough to vote ought to remember how the invasion and occupation of Iraq was a bite too big to chew. Afghanistan continues to be the graveyard of empires.
Lets everybody cool off for a minute and rethink how we can co-exist with these problematic states instead of rattling our sabre every time Donald Trump feels his manhood is threatened by Nancy Pelosi.
23
Nothing Trump says means anything. Here one day, gone the next. He's clueless, just bumbling from sore talking point to sore talking point. Time for him to go. 11/3/20 is the day we finally get to render judgment on him. No doubt, he will be found wanting.
6
The world has been shocked by Trump into thinking he is a different type of politician. A completely new species.
It turns out he is just the same as all of them - hot air.
7
The leaders of those 3 nations know an incompetent chump when they see one. They see arrogance basking in ignorance.
Trump is an easy mark. How embarrassing for our country.
171
@John Adams
I am not embarrassed. I didn’t vote for this administration and I am glad for the House ‘18 election and am hopeful it’s a one-term travesty.
As a Slovenian young woman said to me yesterday: “ . . . It’s not because he’s American”. IOW, he doesn’t represent most of what and who America is. And a lot of people around the world know this . . . Including those 3 nations you speak mentioned.
Along with an aggressive narrative which any nation would have to respond to Trump and his 'team' are moving troops, planes and ships around. Is it possible they are gearing up for a war, by 'coincidence' just in time for the presidential election? This is a charge I would not lightly make. But in the case of Trump, anything is possible, as 24/7 it's always only about him.
The story of his first 2+ years is out; the hearings, the charges, the denials. On top of that we have SDNY charges.
He is scared, angry, confused.
This was not supposed to happen! Mistaken or not, Trump thinks/hopes that being president shields him from prosecution, so getting re elected is his primary objective.
Most republicans cannot alter their sycophant behavior. They are 'all in' ... during their primaries he insulted, bullied, lied, bragged ... Then the crowds cheering his lies ... The repubs? Not a word as they slink back to the yoke. ...
War? Loss of life? Lack of attention to real issues? Waste of resources? More enemies in the world?
None of this matters. But nothing will help him.
In January 2021 when Trump leaves the white house a private citizen the deluge will begin.
It will be swift, merciless, and just.
10
While have always been afflicted with collective (and selective/convenient) amnesia. In contrast, other countries have very long memories while others never forget.
So let's remember:
1. Iran: The CIA admitted to having a key role in the 1953 overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, who was democratically elected. This, of course, ushered the hideous regime of the Shah (our very own puppet)...which eventually triggered the Islamic Revolution.
2. At least half a century of direct and indirect CIA meddling in Venezuela...which persists to this very day.
3. As for North Korea: Air Force general Curtis LeMay, head of the strategic air command during the Korean War, estimated that the American campaign killed 20 per cent of the population (roughly 3 million people).
So these three nations are "rogue"? No, they just don't forget and certainly don't trust us.
23
And don’t forget which country (and which dictator) we backed in the Iran-Iraq war.
This is a lot less about Islam than most people think. But very few of them even remember that we originally backed Saddam Hussein, let alone the perfidy of the 1950s, which proved the lie of our claims to respect democracy.
8
WE are becoming a rogue nation with Trump's serial lying and denial of the rule of law and international accords.
If our previous allies cease supporting us, it's on Trump and his Republican sycophants. That has become OUR reality and a serious change is way overdue! They defeat tyrants in many other countries through revolution. So far, but I suspect not for long, we have resisted this because some of us still believe in our Constitution. There is a limit.
12
@RealTRUTH
The person who should believe most deeply in the constitution is sitting in his bathrobe watching Fox all morning and tweeting nasty remarks. He thinks that is all there is to being president, and rallies of course.
Yes, there is a limit. One of these days, we are going to reach ours.
3
When it comes to diplomacy, the main problem with Trump and Pompeo is that they won't or can't state what they actually want from other countries. Their demands are too non-specific for any real negotiation. Trump thought he was getting complete denuclearization from North Korea, but didn't put the work in to get an agreement on what that would actually mean. With Iran, who knows what Trump and Pompeo actually want. And while it seems in Venezuela they want nothing short of regime change, they have no ideas on how to achieve that.
11
@Wayne Cunningham
The trouble with their diplomacy is that neither of them have a clue what it is. They think it is bluster and bullying. You know, like running a business.
5
@Wayne Cunningham
You are far too naive in your assumptions. Trump and his Republican associates have set an all new low for political engagement; raid the U.S. Treasury. America is now a Kleptocracy.
Venezuela is being slung around Washington as if it is a verbal bean bag. They are hoping to capture votes in Florida while setting up oil tycoons to benefit from the chaos.
There is no other reason for political engagement under this administration. Short the market on tweets with regard to China. Blackmail Qatar to bail out 666 Fifth Avenue. It is all there in black and white.
Vote him out of office, or face the loss of all of our sputtering “democratic” institutions.
6
While Trump has been pinning love letters, Kim has introduced new Russian short range ballistic missiles that thwart the American Patriot system. Iran is well positioned to cause havoc not only in Iraq and the Gulf but Afghanistan too, could a rapprochement with their former enemy the Taliban be near?
What are few ships, some bombers and a couple of Marine battalions going to do----not regime change. Nothing could finish Trump faster than a military debacle in the Middle East.
A relevant lesson from the conflagration that gripped SE Asia 50 yrs ago in that time and space are used effectively by some regimes with iron wills as evidenced by this incisive quote from Pathet Lao general. On being informed in 1972 that unless his forces pulled back, American B-52's would return, he replied:
"We have fought the bombers for 10 years, if they come back [ on Wednesday ] we will fight another 10 years."
7
It's easy to see from outside at this point that Trump is out of control and impotent. He is under Putin's controlling restraint, and so, North Korea, and Syria know where to look for who's really in charge.
As for Iran, it has refused to be goaded since Trump took on the Iran Hawk stance in order to appeal to Bibi, Shelly, and the Michael Ledeen neo-con set. Europe and Russia will both protect Iran for opposite reasons. Russia ultimately profits from Trump engaging a war with Iran. But they will never want it to appear that they do so willingly.
5
Every single attempt at dealing with N. Korea had been a disaster for one simple reason; like errant children, they - N. Korea - will NEVER abide by what they agree to.
The simplest, SMARTEST thing to do; simply DON'T give them what they want; attention.
Ignore then.
Perhaps no one had noticed, but what they do is use any meetings with their despot as propaganda. It's a 'closed garden', and the only input they have is from these, which are repurposed to suit THEIR needs (making the depot look 'good, victorious'), but - without feeding their game, they won't be able to do this.
As every other method of dealing with them has so far come to nil, I'd be amazed is anytime could justify why trying something so simple, so . Inexpensive (in terms of give-ins, as well as everything else) shouldn't be tried.
Ignorance IS bliss.
2
@U.N. Owen
Ignoring North Korea was tried by the Cheney administration. It is the reason North Korea is now clearly on the path to nuclear weapons.
Carrots work better than sticks, and you cannot monitor what you refuse to acknowledge.
5
@U.N. Owen Maybe the press should use the same strategy towards our own President. Ignore the Tweetstorms, ignore the lies. Deny him the room.
5
Power without control is a very dangerous thing.
6
It’s almost as though the emperor wears no clothes and these countries can see that — either that or they’ve just seen the pics but either way.
18
The leaders of each of these countries are the decision makers who make things happen. Instead of putting pressure on them, just pay them off.
Evidently, then, the only acceptable trade posture choices are that the US roll over and get its belly scratched by China, or we ship everything from China back to them. When will the left quit micro-analyzing trade negotiations in order to proclaim our President a failure?
1
Bring it on. Trump is reasserting the right of the United States to protect its own social and economic interests at home and abroad. Rogue nations such as North Korea, Iran, Syria and even Russia and China are now on notice. No more appeasement and apology tours such as those that took place during the Obama administration. It's a new day, and America is not going to be pushed around and blackmailed any longer.
5
@paul you are so ignorant of the facts it is truly astounding you managed to make a comment.
You actually think a president that has stated he "is in love with" Kim, a brutal dictator is not appeasement?
Trump takes his marching orders from Putin, that is as plain as day.
As far as China, Donnie is just a confused mess, hope you like soybeans, there's plenty to be had here in the USA.
It is really amazing how you right wingers fall for a tag line and never look beyond it.
24
@paul: when has america
ever been pushed around and blackmailed?
- doing away with first americans to begin with.
- throwing nuclear bombs to test their effect on humans?
- inducing 80+ regime changes over centuries?
- invading other countries based on lies [e.g. about WMD]?
- "nudging" still other countries to violate their own
laws & help the US throw drones on faraway lands?
US social & economic interests at home & abroad?
- biopiracy? land grabbing?
- monocultures across the globe destroying small farmers'
livelihoods en masse?
- big tobacco suing countries bc their non-smoking policy
prevents them from making millions?
- big burger & big soft drink makers' unhealthily addictive
menus served around the globe, around the clock?
- big seed companies selling farmers hybrid seeds they
can't reproduce, need to buy annually & incur heavy debt?
sounds harsh?
i am just trying to give you an idea of the fact that
quite a number of countries on earth do have reason
to feel "pushed around & blackmailed" by US interests.
US aircraft are using an airport in my country [in europe],
to move troops and military equipment to the middle east,
and i definitely do NOT feel comfortable with that.
my government? couldn’t care less about my discomfort.
13
@paul
Uh huh. If only you could point to one of these that has not done whatever it pleases with Trump.
6
What is interesting here is that all three countries - North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, are all close allies of either Russia or China or with both.
When we have to deal with the problems of these three countries, what we do not see is the invisible guidance and counsel which these countries are receiving from both Russia and China.
North Korea's Kim meets with China, prior to or after his meeting with Mr. Trump. Lately, Kim has visited Russia. Both Iran and Venezuela, have their continuous dialog with Russia and China.
In a long time, we may now be seeing both Russia and China, combining themselves, undermining our foreign policy efforts.
In the eyes of these three countries, they see people like Bolton and Pompeo as novices, handling our foreign policy.
If we have not learnt our lessons from both Iraq and Afghanistan, we may be preparing to involve ourselves in another unnecessary war in the Middle East. Both Saudi Arabia and Israel subscribing to it.
We have a problem with our diplomacy, and not applying it right.
35
@citizen
“invisible guidance”?
Bolton and Pompeo “novices”?
Equating Iran and Afghanistan with trade negotiations?
Really?
2
@citizen You have a major problem with your president
5
Trump - or rather Pompeo, Bolton, and Shanahan - are sending US Navy, Air Force, and Army forces into the ME based upon “intelligence” that attacks by “Iranian proxy(?)” units are said to be “imminent”...this looks like a preparation for a D-Day invasion, for God’s sake! What are these people doing? Is there no one in Congress demanding some sort of briefing? Intelligence? Intelligence? We don’t need no stinkin’ intelligence, “real men” go to Teheran. Trump, golfing in Bedminster or Mar-a-Lago, wherever, while his administration is looking to start yet ANOTHER war in an unstable region where the consequences of such an insane act are to be damned. Madness.
368
@Vic Bold II
But the Saudis and Bibi will really, really like him! Maybe they are leasing his name for a building even as we read.
41
@Vic Bold II: Your comment made me realize I don't know who the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since Corker retired. Somebody named Jim Risch. Ever heard of him? Me either.
Nobody's doing their job.
35
@Vic Bold II. He’s letting Bibi and the Saudis bait him into military threats against Iran. Bibi is embolden having just squeaked our another term and the Knesset keeps moving further to the right.
Maybe they’ll do us all a favor and accelerate the end of the world sparing our grandchildren the suffering of a slowly dying planet that Trump is also playing a big part in.
28
I don’t think there is anyone left on the planet who has read any fact based publication who could describe Donald as a savvy negotiator. I still think his first Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, summed it all up rather aptly when he described Donald as a cursed moron.
In his hometown, Donald has been the butt of the joke since the 80s. He is clueless about almost everything that matters and too self absorbed to know it. He was mercilessly lampooned by Spy Magazine and nothing has ever changed. He just has a longer track record of wreckage and deceit in his wake.
459
@NJLatelifemom
Well said.
So sad that some Americans and my "friends" still say Trump is no different from other politicians.
I have since de-friended all of them.
20
My prediction: Iran is the primary target of choice, not only of Trump and his minions but also of the Saudis and Israelis. Trump cannot "not"support the Saudis and working with the Israelis on an Iran strike fits with his support of that country.
Venezuela: Trump will avoid direct involvement due to his (likely) promise to Putin that he (Trump) will follow Putin's lead and not get involved.
North Korea: As long as Trump believes there's a Nobel Peace Prize on the horizon, he'll maintain his "love" for Kim Jung On...
15
The biggest rogue nation today is the US, due to the fact that it has a rogue president,
530
@Ken S
The US has been a rogue nation for decades.
As a result of US regime change efforts in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran and Venezuela, a growing share of people around the world see U.S. power and influence as a “major threat” to their country" https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/14/more-people-around-the-world-see-u-s-power-and-influence-as-a-major-threat-to-their-country/
12
Is Iran in fact a "nuclear threat?" Is her potential possession of nuclear weapons any more destabilizing or threatening to the peace of the world than is Israel's actual possession of 200-500 nuclear weapons, with which she seeks (with lavish U.S. support) an absolute military domination of various peoples with nearly 60 times her population? And let's remember, here, that Israel's nuclear weapons are the sole such arsenal in the Middle East. This sort of "threat" language which has become routine in our public conversation masks its own enormously problematical assumptions, including the deceitful illusion that Israel's and America's interests in that region of the world are one and the same thing.
19
It is now, thanks to Trump. And yes, Iran is.
2
@David A. Lee
Please let us know where you get your figures about Israeli nukes. Ues, they probably have some, but 200-500?
Netanyahu and Trump are using each other and the result will be total ME devastation and probable American nuclear involvement.
There is no diplomacy with Trump, only bullying hyperbole, feckless threats, lies and narcissistic propaganda.
3
Americans should brace themselves, and be prepared to take to the streets in protest, if Trump decides the solution to this challenge to his masculinity requires him to start unleashing our military.
177
@Jim Bob
Seems we should be in the streets now actually with the assault on the Congress’s oversight responsibility. Sadly, most Americans seem asleep at the wheel hardly aware of the damage to the Constitution taking place in plain view.
Ginning up a conflict by Bolton would get people to the streets though, I agree. I don’t trust a word he and Pompeo say or their alleged intel.
26
US should try to compete by throwing money there to help disrupt them instead of using the military to intimidate them.
If US want Iraq 2.0, the warmongers in the Beltway should be prepared for $4-6 trillion dollars bills that will sink US on top of human casualties. This is per Harvard study done a few years ago.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/290981-study-iraq-afghanistan-wars-will-cost-more-than-4t
7
@freokin Besides, Iran has a much larger population than Iraq (81 million vs 37) and they are much more technologically advanced. Persian culture is older and mpre advanced. So any US intervention in Iran would be much worse than the "cakewalk" that was predicted for Iraq. And this buy (Bolton) are from the same bunch that predicted a "cakewalk" and only have made the situation in the World (not only the middle east) worse everytime someone has listened to them.
11
@freokin
It’s a good plan, what could go wrong?
1
@Roberto Román L. - I pray to God that there is no mistake, no mistake in judgment. American soldiers are in harms way and a mistake by a rogue person could result in a spiraling conflict.
3
What? The art of the dealmaker told us it would be easy. Instead of electing a Hercules who could do all the tasks he promised, we've elected a pencil neck who can't deal his way out of a traffic jam. But he's in love. With our enemies.
Pompeo and Bolton really want our kids to keep dying to suit their mindless aggression. trump just want bragging rights. None of them can see farther than their own male domination issues.
New hat logo for the maga crowd:
Ready, Shoot, Aim.
104
"The pushback from the three nations is especially stark, given Mr. Trump’s disdain for the foreign policy of President Barack Obama."
There's nothing like the comeuppance of having the same result in dealing with the dictators you so roundly criticized for years. Based on what I read here, we seem to be in far worse shape from dealing with these 3 nations than we were under President Obama.
I agree with the authors of this piece that the combination of Trumpian inconsistency, impulsive switches in policy born of impatience and extreme misplaced confidence in his ability to charm adversaries has increased the chances for avoidable crises to break out.
This president, who likes to be hands on, has yet to learn (if he can at all) that diplomacy takes time, expertise, cohesion, and above all, a long-term strategy.
78
@ChristineMcM
Individual-1 likes “hands on” young women and girls, particularly favoring Miss Teen America contestants.
11
@ChristineMcM
Clearly he can’t learn, occasionally someone talks him off a ledge and he reins in some stupidity, followed shortly after with another harebrained scheme within a few days.
12
@Kathryn Thomas: which is why I wrote (if he can at all) in parens after that phrase, because I basically agree with you.
4
"Mr. Trump’s problems with all three countries reveal a common pattern: taking an aggressive, maximalist position without a clear plan to carry it through"
No, Trump's problems stem from a lack of understanding of anything beyond the sound-bite level. His comments are only targeted at sounding good on Fox that evening, and change from day to day. To suggest there is a plan at all gives him too much credit.
145
It's obvious the GOP has become the party of rage. Is there anyone they aren't angry At? There is no center that is there to build something that lasts. An empty shell eventually caves in.
12
Trump said he intended to wind down the US warlike posture in the world and focus resources at home. This contrasted at the time with Clinton's strategy which appeared to be " Look, I am more aggressive and bloodthirsty than any man". And now he has so many threatening moves in progress your head spins, and he has hired Dr Strangelove for foreign advisor. All this , but we must not assume there is a saviour on the field yet.
3
Obama was unwise to not follow the example set by Libyan nuclear and WMD disarmament. All Iranian equipment for nuclear power and energy must be taken out fo the country as it was done with Libya. [1]
Obama's plan had absolutely no way of totally stopping the Iranian nuclear program and so had to be scrapped for a more reasonable plan to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump shouldn't be blamed for Obama's mistakes and in fact should be congratulated for trying to fix the mess that he inherited.
Meanwhile with sanctions against selling oil, Iran's economy will plummet and will result in civil unrest unless the Iranians agree to a peace agreement where they ship their nuclear weapon technology out of the country.
Sanctions that prevent Iran from selling oil will help to stop the funding of Iranian terror organizations such as Hezbollah.
[1] https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/LibyaChronology
@David MD I'm sorry, you don't seem to have proper information. Iran signed the UN nuclear non proliferation agreement and has abided by it (after the UN and Obama deal was signed). If one signs this treaty, specifically one can have nuclear energy for "peaceful" purposes (I agree that's something of an oxymoron). On the other hand, both Iraq and Korea have shown dictatorships that if you really want safety, the best way is to *have* nuclear weapons. North Korea does, and President Trump "loves" Mr. Kim. Iraq didn't, and was invaded and smashed; Israel does, and no one says a peep. So (unfortunately) the lesson here is if you want to be safe, it's best to have nukes. Absolutely crazy, but that's what realpolitik shows.
13
Iran did exactly that with most everything. And it is insane to think they’ll simply meekly go along.
Quite literally, the country’s rulers cannot.
But you want do-overs on the whole, “No, this’ll go great, they’ll welcome us as liberators!”
7
@David MD
Actually, Libya is very much on the minds of both North Korean and Iranian leadership as the example NOT to follow.
7
THE U.S. HAS BECOME A ROGUE NATION under Trump. Our Rule of Law is being systematically destroyed, our international agreements are broken and our participation in the United Nations goes only as far as what Trump, the would-be despot in our White House, personally wants in his quest for absolute power.
The U.N. was formed as a venue to promote peace and understanding in the international community. This country has manipulated it as though it were an arm of Trump's corrupt administration, like everything else. When he is losing the football game, he takes his football and goes home (well, hypothetically speaking because one cannot play football with bone spurs, can one?).
If America is stupid or naive enough to believe that we can dominate or even exist in this 21st Century world without being a member of the world community (and hence accommodating their necessities as well as ours), we are worse fools than even Trump and his cabal. We cannot exist without the rest of this planet in peace and trade. Denying this is national suicide, and Trump is doing just that.
35
Simply stated, why would anyone sign a deal with such a mercurial character as Trump. Saying his changeability “keeps adversaries off-balance” indicates that such nations would hesitate to sign any deal that Trump might walk away from the next day.
Let’s add that the economic spat with China might well lead it to start favoring next-door neighbor N Korea. And Kim has already won his negotiation with Trump. He got Trump to travel halfway round the earth, he got equality with the American giant, and got to sit at the atomic “big boys” table. Sanctions. As long as Korea’s elite keeps access to sanctioned goods, the rest of the population doesn’t count!
So let’s summarize. Trump has spent his time dissing our allies, including Canadian exports in tariffs for “national security” reasons! Does he expect invasion by Dudley Doright? And he betrays allies (by reneging on the Iran deal without consulting them) and now he threatens allies concerning Huwai (not saying Huwai(probably misspelled!) isn’t in the wrong, but threats especially when you’re negotiating with China?
I almost expect Trump to declare “Who knew Foreign Policy could be so complicated?”!
17
@Steven Chinn
Dudley Dorights in Canada won't invade, but they do avoid purchasing US goods and services, travel to the US, etc. in response to Trump's behaviors.
We are neighbors, NOT friends, now.
12
@Kelly
Sad. I don't trust us either.
9
To be fair - all of these countries have leaders smarter than he is or at least more greedy. It's not a fair fight. He might be able to pull a fast one if he had real estate to sell. An alternate strategy would be to borrow money from them then default.
5
North Korea: Kim is never going to abandon nuclear weapons and Trump is never going to understand or accept this. Any hope for constraining or mitigating NK's nuclear weapons program is going to have to wait for some other President.
Iran: I don't believe this alleged threatening behavior by Iran is real. Why on earth would Iran attack the US military, directly or indirectly, in either Iraq or Syria? They have great influence over Iraq's government now and the US is gradually receding from involvement there. In Syria they support Assad, who has already won, and Trump wants to get out of there anyway.
Venezuela: The US has exhausted its main strategy for removing Maduro and has no viable Plan B. So, Maduro is stronger and Guaido is weaker and Russia, China, Cuba and Turkey are still in place.
By my count that makes our Boy President, the Great Negotiator and foreign policy genius, 0 for 3.
28
@PeterLaw And it is not just his "axis of evil". He is apparently unable to get his replacement for NAFTA through Congress, having insulted all the legislators he needs to convince to ratify it. The "deal of the century" supposedly "negotiated" by his son-in-law is so obviously DOA, that they won't even tell us what is in it. It is hard to imagine a foreign policy success right now. His only way out is war.
3
'“President Trump likes Chairman Kim,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders . . . ' If he isn't ashamed to announce his affection for a despotic murderer, then he isn't trying to tame rogue dictators, he's merely an honorary member of the club himself. And he's on the road to finishing off whatever is left of America's good standing and influence in the world.
19
"Instead, Mr. Maduro and his supporters are still shouting a slogan that no doubt would translate well into Persian and Korean: “Yankee, go home.” "
And French, German, Greek, Arabic, English, Chinese, Sanskrit, and anywhere else people see, hear and smell. The stink is becoming overwhelming.
Also, obvious to all is that Trump is an impulsive, not to be trusted partner or adversary. Why would any leader enter into a negotiation with him?
Just like he pushes the Democrats towards articles of impeachment, he pushes our adversaries towards war. It becomes the only way forward.
8
Really, this needed a headline? I predicted it when Trump was elected. They are laughing at him behind the scenes. The positive side of this is that with 2020 approaching, Trump feels like he needs to keep his promises and do something. That will probably create enough chaos by the election so that he will lose. He has not yet learned tha people do not actually want any of those things they demand politicians to do to happen...
4
Lack of intelligence, humility, morality, and knowledge has consequences and they cannot be indefinitely postponed due to dumb luck.
22
America needs to restart a Military Draft. If people want to vote for hateful war mongers, then the consequences should be personal. No bone spur exemptions either.
34
@EW
Agreed.
3
"Each one is betting that Mr. Trump is neither as savvy a negotiator nor as ready to use military force as he claims. Each also poses a drastically different challenge to a president who has little experience in handling international crises, has struggled to find the right balance of diplomacy and coercion and has not always been consistent in defining his foreign policy."
He is not a negotiator, he is a bully.
He thinks threatening will get him everywhere, and it gets him nowhere.
He has no experience in handling international crises (unless he's bullying the Scottish countryside on behalf of his golf course).
He doesn't believe in diplomacy because he thinks he can sweet-talk everyone.
He has no foreign policy unless he listens to Hannity or Bolton or whoever has his ear in the past 5 minutes.
He is an empty suit. Weak. A coward. Has no clue what he's doing, what he wants to do, and what next steps to take.
He has no plan.
I am frightened for my country.
85
“The president’s own views are hardly set in stone”, say his advisors. Seems to me his views are barely set in sand. What views? That he’s better than that so-and-so Obama? That he “alone can do it”? That he has the greatest presidency since before the presidency even came into existence?
Lord have mercy.
15
it's almost as if our foreign policy is being controlled by a foreign power directly opposed to our interests
57
@true patriot
No almost about it!
Trump is just enacting Putin's playbook.
Trump is a traitor and needs to go!
1
Trump is looking down the barrel of three guns, any wonder why he would want a second term, much easier for him to return to private citizen and lob his disdain to anyone who will listen.
2
You could also add China to the list as another challenge at this time.
What worked for Trump as an aggressive bully in his business - with his father or fixer(s) taking care of any problems - doesn't work at all on the international stage, especially after going out of his way to alienate all American allies, and because he is an emperor without any clothes, all image and no substance. His supporters can't see that, but you bet foreign leaders do.
Maybe he thought Putin would be his fixer, in which case he was mightily wrong. Or, conversely, he really believed he could actually charm Kim & Xi by exchanging 'beautiful' letters and trusting his 'gut' instincts. Wrong there too!
6
What he meant to say was "The Rogue Nations will Tame me" or maybe he wanted to say "A Nation will Tame a Rogue like Me"
3
" the presidency supposed to the age the president not the public"
Jon Stewart
I am a thousand years old now!
9
The moron can't run a legitimate business successfully. How, in God's name would you believe that he could tame anything, let along countries with leaders that are SO much smarter than he is and have nukes?
Economics will go just so far, and we cannot carry on a multi-front economic war and narcissistic bluffing with the world. Trump is too egocentric and stupid to understand this. Are you?
712
@RealTRUTH Thank you. Nothing like a nice, concise summary. It is totally insane that this man is president. Half the country knows this and is in complete shock, not to mention completely terrified. The other half seems to be taken up (cult?) w messianic zeal for an individual who's entire public and private record clearly demonstrates it would be hard to find anyone in America less suited or deserving to lead this once great nation. Just incredible times (end times?) we live in.
110
@Russell Iser
MORE than half the country knows [that trump as president is insane]. MORE than half. Much LESS than half support him, like LESS than a quarter of the electorate (23%).
I wonder how it would be if we could hold anti-trump rallies every day somewhere with a million people showing up & rallying around a real Leader of any stripe/color/whatever who speak Truths and Reasonableness!
38
@Jo
To Jo, Russel and realTruth:
Yes to all that, but you have to admit that he seems to get everything he wants. He does whatever he wants and totally gets away with it.
His strength is that we are beholden to honor and tradition so we cannot bring ourselves to run him out of town. Our respect is our weakness.
19
Trump couldn’t run a casino without going bankrupt. Somehow it’s surprising that he’s utterly lacking any skill negotiating with foreign countries?
467
Trump and his Axis of Idiots scare me. They are driving a bus on a lonely road without a license or GPS. He's begging for a fight of which we'll all be losers. But, he'll claim victory.
374
@Speedo And blame someone else for the disaster!
60
How long before American boys are dying due to the incompetence of the Village Idiot? This bankruptcy will be paid in blood.
571
@C. Neville
I’d give that about 11 months. Have to wait for the Spring to launch a ground war in Central Asia.
18
I suspect the pool of volunteers willing to take on another war for dubious reasons is drying up fast. Look for a draft soon.
23
@C. Neville
And, it's not just American boys. It's innocent people in foreign nations, caught up because trump only cares about himself. He is a scourge on this earth.
13
The Trump administration has already started an economic war against Iran with sanctions aimed to kill Iran's economy. The withdrawal by Trump of the world's treaty with Iran, withdrawal from the TPP and interfering in Venezuela added to a tariff war against China, our allies, and neighbors has turned us into a rouge nation. We are now set on using military power and alliances with dictators, vice diplomacy, in the world to achieve a corrupt crony capitalism here and in the world.
But the real risk is a miscalculation, and WWIII is started.
90
@Newman1979 As with sanctions on Iraq and others -- the first and perhaps only ones to suffer will be children and other disadvantaged Iranians. Those in power will continue to eat well and have health care.
8
@Newman1979 rogue
4
The guy couldn't handle real estate deals most of the time. So why did anyone think he could handle international relations, especially as he changes his mind from day to day.
The scary thing he is inching toward a war with some country and is too dumb to know it.
Meanwhile he is scaring the socks of us who live next door.Bobs have a habit of not knowing borders, and we live next door
123
@DenisLove
I am so sorry.
9
"The president’s own views are hardly set in stone. White House officials say this keeps enemies off balance, but it has the same effect among allies and within his administration."
"Your mind plays tricks on you, you play tricks BACK!" seems more accurate in describing the "thought process" of the traitor, in dealing with the three countries in discussion.
The "Pee Wee Herman Initiative" is the best label for our "foreign policy".
20
Why is EVERYONE missing the point?
Individual 1 is gravely MENTALLY ILL and no one is addrssing this so let me be the first:
https://ibb.co/WxnNmPb
250
@Naomi. He also is not that smart when it comes to the things that US Presidents need to know.
8
Correction to my previous comment:
You don’t think our nation’s leader (sic.) would purposely start conflicts to adopt this strategy, do you? True, it didn’t work for either of those presidents, but past failure has never discouraged this president from trying a losing STRATEGY again.
I see trouble ahead FAR more serious than previous attempts.
*https://politicaldictionary.com/words/rose-garden-campaign/1980/
8
@ReadingLips Don't mistake tactics for strategy. He has no strategy, as he cannot conceptualize anything beyond today's reactionary "idea".
5
Dovish -- did someone give POTUS a dictionary?
5
@Jay Schneider
He does not want and believes he does not need one. He has My Fuhrer on his nightstand and the love letters from Korean & Chinese leaders.
3
Trump made his political career as a carnival barker.
He has no substance. I hope the fools that elected him realize this at least now.
190
@Surya
I doubt it, but if they did they wouldn’t care.
28
@Surya
We only need a percentage of a certain size of the fools to recognize their foolishness.
Sadly, that's about the best we can hope for.
15
@Surya
I don't think so.
i have talked to some of hid supporters. They still think he is like all other politicians.
He and his supporters need to be defeated. Period.
They are and act like our enemies.
Sorry. No other solutions.
10
Of course you will, Donald. You're so incompetent you can't even run your own country. The only thing you do well, is to lie on a regular basis.
Being clueless and incompetent is no way to run a country. You are failed business man and a failure as a president of a country that deserves so much better than what you have to offer.
Do everyone a big favor, and just quit. You're not up to it.
334
Oh Donald! You missed your chance in Vietnam.
96
With a fool as the President and a warmonger in Bolton as National Security Advisor we are on the precipice.
314
Throw in Pompeo, who believes God chose Trump to be President, and the Three Stooges would have had more credibility and competence, to run the US.
14
Nobody from the US army "serves" in Iraq. The USA occupy Iraq, that is. And if some from the occupying force are killed, nobody cares besides their families, not even the POTUS. They are simply pawns in a chess play, where always the industrial military complex wins. Some are clever enough to know that after they "served".
16
“Rose Garden Election Strategy”
During the Iranian Hostage Crisis, which bookended the 1980 election campaign, President Carter affected an air of concern that foreign affairs was higher than routine elections and chose to stay at the White House rather than actively campaign for re-election. During 1992, the first Bush tried the same.
“When an incumbent politician uses the trappings of office to project an image of power for the purposes of re-election.”*
You don’t think our nation’s leader (sic.) would purposely start conflicts to adopt this strategy, do you? True, it didn’t work for either of those presidents, but past failure has never discouraged this president from trying a losing losing again.
I see trouble ahead for more serious than previous attempts.
*https://politicaldictionary.com/words/rose-garden-campaign/1980/
4
@ReadingLips
To win the election you have to carry out an invasion. Neither Carter nor Bush Sr. was that venal.
1
All utterly predictable. No real plan beyond "disruption", no discipline, no coherent strategy, no organization, no collaboration; nothing but posturing and allowing advisors to be pitted against each other. It's basically all for Trump to be perceived as "tough" and "winning". We will be at war soon, I think, because Trump thinks it will get him re-elected.
157
@LS
Congress, do your duty! Claw back the war powers that are your constitutionally given prerogative.
McConnell, are you listening?
16
@nora m
"McConnell, are you listening"
NRA/Russian $$ propped up McConnell is getting exactly what he wants:
tax cuts and elimination of pollution protections as expected by his wealthy donors
corporations are people/money is speech court appointees (under the guise of caring about the "unborn" while actually harming the born) to protect the flow of $$$ to Republican pockets
Ongoing foreign power interference to set voters against each other and to undermine candidates who actually care about protecting us.
Heart-rending that anyone still can be duped into voting for a Republican by a Trumped up war or other "fear itself" rabble rousing threats.
5
The U.S. is a rogue state. With vast accumulation of nuclear weapons. Unstable, criminal leadership. What option are on the table for regime change.
84
The U.S. is a rogue state. With vast accumulation of nuclear weapons. Unstable, criminal leadership. What option are on the table for regime change.
11
Should USA military might be used to defend Trump's fragile ego and should American lives be put a risk for a draft dodging blowhard. Running foreign policy on twitter is chaotic which is Trump's style of management. Trump is easy to read ,tell him he is the prettiest president ever ,project his photo on the wall and he will gush like a prom queen. Putin controls Trump when ever he wants as Trump has yet to say an unkind word about Putin ,while he trashes war heros like McCain, Mueller and Kerry. The school yard bully Trump will cut and run once a dictator stands up to him which might be good as Trump is not worth one American life lost in service to his fragile ego.
63
"Take on President Trump?"
That was funny. Maduro is a cheesy bus driver dictator with no legitimacy, no support other than that he bought, and no future. He's nothing, nothing but a socialist parasite.
North Korea is adept at milking money out of the US. It appears Trump will stand up to that.
Iran? That's a whole other question.
4
I would suggest the premise of the article is mistaken. From where I am sitting, it appears that the US is in fact (and international law) a rogue nation. No one is constrained to accept the administration's increasingly capricious behavior.
33
Who doesn't know that Donald Trump believes that tweeting and speaking nicknames while watching Fox News and playing golf is ' fighting ' and 'working'?
Who doesn't know that Donald Trump,Sr. inherited 295 streams of income from his daddy that prevented him from suffering the consequences of his supreme lack of any independent business acurmen and success?
Who doesn't know that Donald Trump, Sr. is bloviating bully buffoon without any government or political experience at any level?
Who doesn't know that Donald Trump,Sr. is ignorant, immature,immoral, intemperate and insecure and subject to and in need of flattery?
50
A lion tamer walks into the lion’s cage with a whip and a chair not to beat the lion to death first before it even moves but to use in response the the lion’s reaction to their presence. That’s how taming is done, unlike the headline’s inference that the lion isn’t going to be tamed unless it first just sits their quietly like a lap cat when the tamer walks in. How’s the tamer supposed to know what to do next to tame the beast unless it reacts and then responds accordingly? With no more traveling circuses it’s understandable why people don’t realize this anymore.
3
So now the US is sending the assault ship USS Arlington to the Gulf, apparently to show the Iranians (again) who is boss.
We can only hope that the Arlington isn't another USS Vincennes.
9
And ... North Korea could sell a few nukes to Iran and Maduro, also Cuba because that’s the next crisis country. The small ones can be carried by a diplomat in the overhead bin! Boy is the world going to be tense and dangerous then!
4
The other issue President Obama had a better idea, was aiding Central American countries to strengthen their governments and reduce crime that was sending refugees to our border. Mt. Trump has cut that aid, and threatened to build a wall. Look what is happening at our southern border now.
41
Did Trump say he would "tame rogue nations?" I'm not sure they are challenging him. He's challenging them. He's pushing them farther than you'd expect would work. The final verdict on that isn't in. The final verdict on Obama is in. He was supine with Iran and North Korea, and quite bellicose with Libya and Syria. In every case, the results were poor, except with Iran. In that case, whether the results were good or bad depends on how highly you rate a pause in nuclear arms development. It's not as good as discontinuing, but it might be better than nothing.
3
President Trump is an unstable leader. His business practices and presidency prove his inabilities. We are slipping further into isolation from our allies. World advisories are increasingly gaining more stable positions against our failing democracy. Until 2020, which will hopefully remove republicans form power in the Senate and Executive branch our only defense against this unstable force lies with Congress and a politically unbiased Judicial Branch. Every individual needs to get involved in removing Trump, his base, Republicans and Oligarchs from power.
15
His cult like supporters disagree. They truly believe in the conn. I suggest they all let their military age males join Trumps army. There are many fine warriors sitting idle in farm country watching their soy beans rot. So come on Donald, start a war, you know you want to wear a generals hat. Command your followers to glory.
9
As Congress (the House) continues to undermine and obstruct Trump at every turn, these "rogue" nations are embolden to disregard Trump's demands and actions as temporary nuisances to their long-term objectives.
2
@Bruce Hall I'm sorry Bruce. Sincerely, no one outside the US can really take any of Mr. Trump's "demands" seriously. For the rest of the world living outside the US, he's a serious threat. For US citizens, he should be an embarrassment.
9
I was just in the Middle East. There is already a re-alignment of countries with China and Russia, over an unstable figure head whom the world dismisses as an aberration and unelectable.
If Trump had any stamps on his passport other than Scotland before he took office, I would be amazed.
We are now a laughing stock to the rest of the world. Let us hope that soybeans produced by the mid-west now laying to rot bu sanctions or scorched by flood waters wakes people up. He needs to be voted out of office.
225
He needs to be impeached NOW. Congress is not doing their job.
trump is putting the republican plan to destroy our country on the fast track. We cannot wait for 2020.
30
@H.A. Hyde1: He had a Russian stamp on his passport. Don't forget that one!
47
@H.A. Hyde1...we can't wait that long.He should be removed now under the 25th amendment.There has never be a less "fit"president.A great opportunity is 7/4/19.Worldwide protests against trump taking over the 4th.
2
Trump is getting played and it is only a matter of time before he uses the military to punish these countries. He firmly believes that "might makes right," and that to show weaknesses during negotiations does not achieve results. But Trump is a novice, a bumpkin on the world stage. I fear that rather than accept defeat and face embarrassment for his failed policies, he will unleash the military -- it is, after all, a Republican thing to do. While that may play out with a place like Granada or Panama, countries like Iran, N. Korea and perhaps Venezuela may prove more difficult to crack without boots on the ground, which means more body bags at home.
11
Anyone who has been through junior high learns it is a lot easier to stand up to a bully than it first seems. Trump continuously overplays his hand and has virtually nothing to show for his bombast.
12
The difficulties President Trump is having with North Korea, Venezuela and Iran are entirely due to the interference of Bolton, Pompeo and the rest of the neocon warmongers. President Trump must fire them immediately before they get us into yet another war.
11
Note that our relations with the three nations mentioned here have rapidly deteriorated since John Bolton and Mike Pompeo took over our foreign policy. They are quite likely to get us into new wars which will inevitably become catastrophes like the old wars. Once again, millions of innocent citizens will die or be displaced because of our unending and astonishing follies. To quote Pogo: We have met the enemy and he is us.
37
@Mike Murray MD
Relations with other countries aren't exactly Happy Days, either.
We in Canada are still affected by Trump's declaring that our steel and aluminum affect US"national security" and are subject to Trump Tariffs. NAFTA - the USMCA version - has not been ratified (is it even up for discussion in Congress?) . And, asylum seekers flood into Canada from the US, looking for residency that they can't get there.
With Trump-led USA as a neighbor, Russia, on our northern border seems relatively benign.
Other countries have similar grievances and impressions of the MAGA-Master and his administration.
10
@Mike Murray MD
When will the rest of the world ignore the US hegemony and begin to put sanctions on the USA ?
ALL empires fail in time and Trump is greasing the skids on the fall of the USA`s empire. The US dollar will lose its global primacy as will control of the banking system. China is rising. Trump`s USA is declining. The ability of the US to support its ballooning federal debt will mean that the military budget will shrink a la the USSR of the 1980`s & all the empires that ever existed.
Can a Democrat gov`t organize a soft landing or will the USA be another Trump-GOP failure ?
1
Who knew international diplomacy could be so complicated?
11/3/20. VOTE.
18
Most Latin Americans loathe US spurred or involved coup attempts, as the antithesis of the democratic rule of law, no matter what their politics. How did the Honduras involvement of 2009 work out for Hondurans? Death squads - so often the aftermath of US decisions rip the franchise from the hands of an electorate.
12
@Monica Yriart
At least, we're effective in training the death squad instructors of those countries' militaries.
1
Why is anyone who is at all familiar with Mr. Trump's history of business failures at all surprised about his lack of success in dealing with unfriendly foreign countries and their leaders? He can claim whatever he wants to, but it doesn't make it true. Investors figured out he didn't follow through on his bluster, and now the rest of the world has.
20
Trump likes to pick verbal/twitter fights with everyone from Canada to Iran, with no benefit to the USA. He has achieved nothing useful in foreign policy, and has weakened relations with our allies. Now Iran can go back to building nuclear weapons and undermining Israel, since there is no benefit in holding back, Maduro can terrorize his people as much as he wants with no fear of US intervention, and Kim will continue hiding his nuclear weapons. Sanctions don't work well since China, Russia, and our allies are tired of all the bluster, tariffs, and lies.
15
America is full of bunk with all of our sanctions which are starving the poor of these countries that we are punishing.
We have become the Sanction capital of the world.
Sanctions means punishment and mostly it's punishing very poor people.
The real truth is that other countries should be
sanctioning (punishing) us because we have killed more people (for less reason) than any other country with our wars since the end of World War Two (1945)
We (and the world) would be better off if we stopped punishing poor people around the world and started to fix our own broken institutions at home.
We have a president who lies to us on a continuing basis.
He is rich so we should get something out of him with sanctions(punishment) rather than sanctioning starving Venezuela( we are currently sanctioning that country)
Forget about all the sanctions(punishments) for others and better to start fixing things right here at home.
We have a lot to fix and we should sanction ourselves for not fixing our own broken institutions.
17
"...a president who has little experience in handling international crises,"
Yet Trump has had a great success, which has been heartily endorsed by the mainstream media, - the appointment of Juan Guaido, someone who has no real claim - to the Presidency of Venezuela. A bloodless (partial) coup based on the whims of that political "genius" in the White House. If anyone has the least doubt of this ridiculous appointment they should visit Wikipedia which lists Guaido as the "partially recognized President."
4
Trump has spent so much time and energy “ tweeting “ about “witch hunts” that he has given almost no time to the development of a foreign policy.He has heaped scorn on his predecessors for not solving international problems but has no prescriptions himself for constructive solutions.Every problem is worse now than when he took office and in addition there is a crisis at the border and he has started a trade war with China.Pompeo and Bolton are hawks- there is not a diplomat in sight in this administration!
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@JANET MICHAEL There has been a witch hunt. If Trump has been distracted, whose fault is that?
1
@JANET MICHAEL: He's also spending a lot of time coming up with nicknames for all the 2020 Dems. And there's a lot of them, so, wow, that's a lot of work there. Today he came up with one for Pete Buttigieg: Alfred E. Neuman, of Mad Magazine. Mayor Pete responded in a calm way, suggesting that our president's time would be better spent trying to end the China tariff war. He also said he had to google Alfred E. Neuman and said he guessed it was a 'generational' thing, which was a polite way of saying Trump is old.
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@sophia
Mad and Alfred E. Neuman are still around, but your point is cute.
With Trump, the emperor clearly has no clothes and all the problems ‘he alone can solve’ continue to fester. He talks like is a tough guy but ‘bone spurs’ and a doc friendly with his father kept him out of the draft, he threatens North Korea while giving credence to their loathsome ‘tough cookie’ of a dictator. With Venezuela, he thought Maduro would fold up and leave, forgetting about the Cuban and Russian advisers propping up the regime. With Russia and Putin, he is getting so badly outplayed that he is a laughingstock on the comedy shows and late night programs while downplaying the proven election meddling.
Sadly, other nations’ leaders are seeing what so many here in the US miss—Trump is an empty suit, he has no grasp of foreign policy nuances and surrounds himself with weak advisors. We will be lucky to get through his presidency without a major crisis.
17
Easy, there's a difference:
When North Korea tests missiles that might carry nuclear warheads, that's okay.
When Iran tests regular missiles, that's not okay. No way!
You see, North Korea has a "North" in it, and that makes it okay.
Got it? Good, because that's "deal making." Next issue?
12
A concise summary, certainly useful to those folks who do not follow these matter closely every day.
5
Every failure so far was predictable. Basing foreign policy on bluster and threats only goes so far and backfires when opponents realize there is no strategy to back up the threats. It is not hard to see what the some likely outcomes are. Maduro will stay in power because Trump will not take military action. Maduro will eventually jail most of his opponents. North Korea will continue building weapons and will use Russia to evade enough of the sanctions to keep going. It is quite possible that China will not cave on trade negotiations and decide to try to wait out the Trump administration. The tariffs hurt Trump’s rural constituency more that the blue states. China is clever enough to focus their retaliation on states where Trump voters live. Iran is the most scary one. Netanyahu has wanted the U.S. to start a war with Iran for years. The Saudis have also wanted the U.S. to strike Iran. The combination Bolton’s reckless policies along with Netanyahu’s ability to manipulate Trump makes stumbling into a war with Iran likely. While the U.S. has much greater military power it is quite possible that the we could lose an aircraft carrier and a significant number of ships in the Gulf if Iran feels it has nothing to lose when it is attacked. Russia will continue to exploit every Trump blunder to create havoc wherever it can. Even if Trump’s presidency is limited to only one term his foreign blunders will leave the U.S far weaker than when he took office.
35
Trump's ex corporate VP explained that his business empire collapsed in the 1990's when he stopped taking any expert advice and simply did what he wanted. His billions in defaulted bank loans, loser casinos , failed airline/sports franchise/yacht, et al were the result. Only a savvy showbiz hustle- Mark Burnett- salvaged him with The Apprentice. This fantasy version of Trump, scripted & staged, saved his 'brand.'
Now President Trump has Bolton & Miller 'advising' him on foreign policy.Their extreme belligerence makes Trump feel virile, despite the absence of coherent strategies or longterm policies.
America's role in the world has been degraded to staged posturing to bolster Trump's political brand. He bounces between snarling aggression and silly seductions (excerpted from past schmoozey corporate dinners where flamboyant pandering won him favors). His global failures are the judgment he now faces.
Heaven help us all. 2020 cannot come fast enough....
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Each one is betting that Mr. Trump is neither as savvy a negotiator nor as ready to use military force as he claims. Each also poses a drastically different challenge to a president who has little experience in handling international crises, has struggled to find the right balance of diplomacy and coercion and has not always been consistent in defining his foreign policy. This is Trump’s achilles. We need a President who recognizes the value of good international relations. That is beyond this President’s abilities.
13
I have to disagree. Even though there’s no clear pattern in the execution in these three cases, the outcome seeked is the same - ousting the current regime to install one that is favorable to the US administration. I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do .
2
@Jagdeer Haleed
Not quite
Yes trump wants regime change in Venezuela, and less actively and noisily, Iran. But trump “fell in love” with Kim and his north Korean Necrocracy regime, and sees “great potential” for it.
It should be burnt to the ground. Iran should not be a theocracy, but Venezuelans can do whatever they want.
2
@Rihard The US in the past has actively discouraged secularism in the Middle East and specifically in Iran. We're in no position to complain about a theocracy there. And in any event Iran is nowhere near as theocratic as our BFFs Saudi Arabia. Israel is also becoming more theocratic by the day. So is the USA.
2