Guest Post by Patrick J. Buchanan
Has President Donald Trump outsourced foreign policy to the generals?
So it would seem. Candidate Trump held out his hand to Vladimir Putin. He rejected further U.S. intervention in Syria other than to smash ISIS.
He spoke of getting out and staying out of the misbegotten Middle East wars into which Presidents Bush II and Obama had plunged the country.
President Trump’s seeming renunciation of an anti-interventionist foreign policy is the great surprise of the first 100 days, and the most ominous. For any new war could vitiate the Trump mandate and consume his presidency.
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Trump no longer calls NATO “obsolete,” but moves U.S. troops toward Russia in the Baltic and eastern Balkans. Rex Tillerson, holder of Russia’s Order of Friendship, now warns that the U.S. will not lift sanctions on Russia until she gets out of Ukraine.
If Tillerson is not bluffing, that would rule out any rapprochement in the Trump presidency. For neither Putin, nor any successor, could surrender Crimea and survive.
What happened to the Trump of 2016?
When did Kiev’s claim to Crimea become more crucial to us than a cooperative relationship with a nuclear-armed Russia? In 1991, Bush I and Secretary of State James Baker thought the very idea of Ukraine’s independence was the product of a “suicidal nationalism.”
Where do we think this demonization of Putin and ostracism of Russia is going to lead?
To get Xi Jinping to help with our Pyongyang problem, Trump has dropped all talk of befriending Taiwan, backed off Tillerson’s warning to Beijing to vacate its fortified reefs in the South China Sea, and held out promises of major concessions to Beijing in future trade deals.
“I like (Xi Jinping) and I believe he likes me a lot,” Trump said this week. One recalls FDR admonishing Churchill, “I think I can personally handle Stalin better than … your Foreign Office … Stalin hates the guts of all your people. He thinks he likes me better.”
FDR did not live to see what a fool Stalin had made of him.
Among the achievements celebrated in Trump’s first 100 days are the 59 cruise missiles launched at the Syrian airfield from which the gas attack on civilians allegedly came, and the dropping of the 22,000-pound MOAB bomb in Afghanistan.
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But what did these bombings accomplish?
The War Party seems again ascendant. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are happy campers. In Afghanistan, the U.S. commander is calling for thousands more U.S. troops to assist the 8,500 still there, to stabilize an Afghan regime and army that is steadily losing ground to the Taliban.
Iran is back on the front burner. While Tillerson concedes that Tehran is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, Trump says it is violating “the spirit of the agreement.”
How so? Says Tillerson, Iran is “destabilizing” the region, and threatening U.S. interests in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
But Iran is an ally of Syria and was invited in to help the U.N.-recognized government put down an insurrection that contains elements of al-Qaida and ISIS. It is we, the Turks, Saudis and Gulf Arabs who have been backing the rebels seeking to overthrow the regime.
In Yemen, Houthi rebels overthrew and expelled a Saudi satrap. The bombing, blockading and intervention with troops is being done by Saudi and Sunni Arabs, assisted by the U.S. Navy and Air Force.
It is we and the Saudis who are talking of closing the Yemeni port of Hodeida, which could bring on widespread starvation.
It was not Iran, but the U.S. that invaded Iraq, overthrew the Baghdad regime and occupied the country. It was not Iran that overthrew Col. Gadhafi and created the current disaster in Libya.
Monday, the USS Mahan fired a flare to warn off an Iranian patrol boat, 1,000 meters away. Supposedly, this was a provocation. But Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif had a point when he tweeted:
“Breaking: Our Navy operates in — yes, correct — the Persian Gulf, not the Gulf of Mexico. Question is what US Navy doing 7,500 miles from home.”
Who is behind the seeming conversion of Trump to hawk?
The generals, Bibi Netanyahu and the neocons, Congressional hawks with Cold War mindsets, the Saudi royal family and the Gulf Arabs — they are winning the battle for the president’s mind.
And their agenda for America?
We are to recognize that our true enemy in the Mideast is not al-Qaida or ISIS, but Shiite Iran and Hezbollah, Assad’s Syria and his patron, Putin. And until Hezbollah is eviscerated, Assad is gone, and Iran is smashed the way we did Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen, the flowering of Middle East democracy that we all seek cannot truly begin.
But before President Trump proceeds along the path laid out for him by his generals, brave and patriotic men that they are, he should discover if any of them opposed any of the idiotic wars of the last 15 years, beginning with that greatest of strategic blunders — George Bush’s invasion of Iraq.
fascinating that the US seems to have a Sunni preference over the Shiites. the more radical, fundamentalist Sunnis would seem to be our natural enemy even with their excessive natural resources as bribe. they are anti-Christian, anti-woman, anti-semitic, anti-homo, anti-religious freedom, etc. obama clearly had a Sunni preference, as seemingly Trump has, and the Clinton’s took lots of money from Sunnis. obama bowed to them, bush kissed them even though they funded 9-11. so it seems we are a Sunni loving bunch, while they fund madrassas all over the west and immigrate jihadically.
is it really all just to deprive Russia of the european energy market?
much of it all comes down to control and need. the more rational a faction or individual, the more difficult they are to control outright and any actions they take are often muted in comparison to those that are irrational or fanatical. generally an irrational faction or individual can have all their buttons counted and the corresponding reactions noted (extremists) even though on the surface it seems like chaos… those that are rational (though rational also needs more specific definitions) tend to make choices and have reactions that are more thought out and planned and will not necessarily be the outcome desired by the controllers. some of this falls into behavioral game theory.
It’s to deprive Russia of the European energy market and because Israel is fearful of Persians but not Arabs, the former being smarter. Also, for the time being, the Arabs adjacent to Israel – Jordan and Egypt/Gaza aren’t actively organizing against Israel. Even Saudi Arabia – while full of haters of Jews – is not yet seriously plotting against Israel. Israel is wrong to think that permanent.
I would hardly call it a battle to get control of Trump. Pat lists the Saudi royal family, Trump had his sons over there making a deal with the Saudis in the first two weeks in office to build a TRUMP hotel in SA. Nutteryahoo was one of the first visitors to the WH in the first week and came out all smiles.
Trump handed the government over to the MIC in the first month very willingly, so I think battle is a stretch here Pat.
great article! V. good comments; I will add mine.
Regardless the power struggles over pipelines and borders,
(Crimea) consider the horizon. “The New Silk Road” and China’s
plans for trade routes. Is China in control there in the ME, or are
they just expanding their business prospects?
I contend that the future power of Iran, and the power of Israel,
(US as enforcer) are the issues at odds. Iran and Israel are vying
for hegemony status/control over the future of the ME.
Chinese island development and NORK’s saber rattling are cover stories
to fill the news blocks of propaganda.
http://stormcloudsgathering.com/how-to-stop-ww3/
Pat sees clearly enough that Trump is in bed with the neocons. Now, if he’ll just wake up to the obvious fact that Trump had this same course in mind all along, he might even someday snap to the fact that the GOP is and always has been a den of vipers.
The silly “neverTrump” feint that the GOP put on display was a ruse to get millions of people who were disgusted with the GOP to get all excited about their new maverick. Trump had this laid on from the very beginning.
Good publicity or bad , if Trump wasn’t one of “them” he would not have been on TV 24/7( ala Ron Paul). IT’S THAT FUCKING SIMPLE!
My but you are are singing a different tune these days Daddy-O. Glad you have regained your sight.
That is exactly what I was saying over a year ago.
Well its not good to make an enemy of the military.
Especially, when your number one enemy is the marxists who have come out in the open inside your own borders.
Let the leftist Veneuzulize this country by reversing Trumps agenda of tax and regulatory reform, not to mention letting in the Visogoths , and we will need a Pinochet at the helm.
In 1979 and 80 Sunni mohammedans were referred to by the media as moderate mohammedans. It was the evil shit mohammedans that were radical. All of it was just a narrative used to manipulate the civilized world (the west). The fact is all mohammedans are a cancer in humanity.
Possible Israeli Airstrike Starts Large Fire Near Damascus
http://www.blacklistednews.com/BREAKING%3A_Possible_Israeli_airstrike_starts_large_fire_near_Damascus_airport/58131/0/38/38/Y/M.html
((WHOOOOO)) are you? ((WHO)) ((WHO)) ((WHO))?
I really want to know.
((WHOOOOO)) are you? ((WHO)) ((WHO)) ((WHO))?
Here is what I can’t figure out. Candidate Obama and Candidate Trump both talked convincingly about the need for us to stay out of foreign wars. Yet, once they reached the Oval Office, they became war hawks and started bombing the shit out of 3rd world countries.
How does this happen? As part of Presidential orientation on the first day, are they given “the talk” where they are told to promote more wars or an open-air limousine ride thought Dallas will be scheduled for them. Or does the Deep State recruit the best snake-oil salesmen to run for President, knowing these candidates will convince the public of anything and then do what they are told after reaching office.
Either way, we are f__ked.
Trapped- I’ll take “Or does the Deep State recruit the best snake-oil salesman to run for President” for $500. 🙂
Trapped,
This happens because ((they)) know people want peace. That is why the peace candidate usually wins the election. The candidate promises “hope and change” or “make America great again” to appeal to the “goodness” of people. The best candidate wins the “race.” Politics is show business for ugly people. The illusion of choice and “voting them in” or “voting them out” allows them to divide and conquer the people of nation. Once the winner is in, it’s business as usual.
The ((owners)) primarily are interested in expanding their power and wealth. They care not about the goyim (Gentiles). We are their cattle to be used for work and slaughtered when necessary.
In the 20th century, there have been a few who have stood up to ((them)). All of them have been have been removed from office, slandered, or under attack (e.g. Ron Paul, JFK, RFK, JFK Jr., Hitler, Mussolini, Larry Mcdonald, Cynthia McKinney, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, General Patton, Barry Goldwater, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, Huey Long aka “The Kingfish”, Joseph McCarthy, pre-Vatican II popes, etc)
Are you getting the ((picture))?
Can’t believe that snake bit me after I helped him.
If there is a bright side of it for me it will be living long enough to hear the loud squeals and howls of indignation when Trump tells the SJW’s and other useless eaters that they were always intended to be the first ones into the FEMA camps. Then come the louder howls when they find out the trailers are not for them. Those are for the guards and Organ Harvesting Staff. Then its our turn.
. You make me think please go away it painful
Why would you surround yourself with old fucks who haven’t accomplished anything usefull since WW11. He’d be better off listening to privates , just like he’d be better off listening to the people who voted for him instead of the rich fucks and career douchebags he ‘s surrounded himself with. None of these whores give a fuck about the average working American. They’ll fuck things up royally, then hand us the bill.
Note to Pat Buchanan: who do want running the national security apparatus, community organizers or retired generals? Clueless men who have NEVER had skin in the game and draw fake red lines, the organizers, or men of caution who have seen the horrors of war, the generals, who understand fully the geopolitical impacts of any belligerency. Take your pick, Pat, and get back to me at your earliest convenience.