Posted on 07/24/2016 7:17:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
If there has been any constant in the Republican worldview over decades, it's that American strength, resolve and credibility are essential in foreign affairs, and weakness and uncertainty lead straight to disaster. The GOP legions regard Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as failures because they have been insufficiently willing to challenge our adversaries and stand with our friends.
"Our allies don't trust us, and our enemies don't fear us" is a claim made by one Republican after another. But the Cleveland convention was a study in dissonance between the bedrock convictions of just about every loyal Republican and the opinions of the presidential nominee.
People who denounce Obama for "leading from behind," appeasing Vladimir Putin, failing to go to war against Bashar Assad and criticizing America lined up in support of Donald Trump -- whose policies are subject to exactly the same criticisms. There is much to fault in the GOP's past approach, but Republicans are in a strange position: They unquestionably affirm their long-standing policies without seeming to realize their candidate doesn't.
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn proclaimed to the delegates, "There is no substitute for American leadership and exceptionalism." Trump, however, affects nonchalance on such matters.
Exceptionalism? "I don't know that we have a right to lecture (other countries)," Trump said in an interview with The New York Times. "How are we going to lecture when people are shooting our policemen in cold blood?" Imagine what Chris Christie would say if those words had come out of Obama's mouth.
How about leadership? Trump indicated it's no sure thing that we'd honor our treaty obligation to defend any NATO member attacked by, say, Russia. "If we cannot be properly reimbursed for the tremendous cost of our military protecting other countries," he said, "I would be absolutely prepared to tell those countries, 'Congratulations, you will be defending yourself.'"
Hmm. It's almost as though under President Trump our allies wouldn't be able to trust us. Asked about the value of our presence in South Korea, which has coincided with 60 years of peace, he scoffed. Without it, he speculated, "maybe you would have had a unified Korea."
Japan? "Well, what are we getting out of this?" All of these allies, he suggested, should never be completely sure of our commitments. "In a deal, you always have to be prepared to walk," he explained.
Compare Trump's comments about NATO with Ronald Reagan's in 1988: "We often say that if the bomb is dropped in Amsterdam, it is the equivalent of dropping a bomb on Chicago." Reagan would have said the same about Seoul and Tokyo. Trump apparently thinks a bomb dropped on Amsterdam is a bomb dropped on Amsterdam, nothing more.
What about making sure our enemies fear us? Christie excoriated Clinton for once expressing hope that Assad would be better than his father, who preceded him as ruler of Syria. Trump, however, is not itching to go after the regime. "I think that ISIS is a threat that's much more important for us right now than Assad," he said.
Russia? "I think Putin and I will get along very well," he said. "It would be wonderful if we had good relationships with Russia so that we don't have to go through all of the drama."
Republicans have denounced Obama for denying lethal defensive military aid to Ukraine after its invasion by Russia. But Trump blocked an endorsement of such help in the platform -- which pledges only "appropriate assistance." Do the delegates think that will make the Kremlin quake in fear?
The GOP standard-bearer manages to distract attention from these violations of Republican security orthodoxy with his ostentatiously macho talk -- about bombing the Islamic State and vowing that Iran will "never, ever be allowed to have" nuclear weapons. But behind the rhetoric are ignorance and confusion.
Never has the GOP nominated someone whose intentions are so unpredictable. The conservative principles for ensuring our security and spreading our values have been turned over to someone who doesn't seem to understand them, much less champion them. In effect, he has emasculated the party's foreign policy.
In his acceptance speech, Trump drew lusty cheers as he blamed Clinton for all the trouble in the world. The stark irony is that if anyone in the race is likely to uphold the traditional Republican strategy, it's Clinton.
The delegates, like our enemies and allies, have no real idea how President Trump would operate in a perilous world. The difference is that our enemies and allies actually give a damn.
America's foreign policy is about defending AMERICAN interests abroad. If that means disengaging from the corrupt and counter-productive UN, so be it. If that means imposing expectations on our "allies," so be it. If that means alienating our tepid sunshine supporters, so be it. If we're going to expend American lives and treasure on behalf of a culture halfway around the world, then we have the right to expect some return on that investment.
None of that is counter to the prevailing conservative canon. Nor is it an endorsement of the craven policies of this current quisling administration, whose only foreign policy seems to be lies sandwiched with cowardice.
Sound good enough for me.
Hey Kaslin your private email telling me to F off rather than just explaining why you keep posting anti trump articles (which you do a lot) was not appreciated
Screw all of these pious mealy mouth losers: So will NR. Because look at where standing athwart history has gotten us. We are living in the dystopia the Founders feared.
Any policy that removes us from the costs in blood and dollars as the world’s policeman is OK with me. We need to restore this country’s employment and infrastructure. We need to reverse the decline and grow again.
The very reason I first support Trump is I realized the disaster that GWBs forign policy had been. I voted for GWB because he promised not to go around invading countries like the Clintons. He turned out to be just as bad. GOP foreign policy should be to protect our allies that pull their weight and to but out of trying to police the world. We’re not the worlds policeman.
We DO know what Hillary will do in a crisis. Bobble her
head like a Bobble Head; that’s what she will do.
Did you notice she bobbled her head again yesterday? Not as much though as she did with Sanders the other day.
” . . . would operate in a perilous world.”
Just an observation,
I’ve been watching world events as related to prophecy for a long time, and I’ve never seen many as many mainstream references using the word ‘perilous’ as I have in just the past few months,
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; “ 2 Timothy 3:1-4
Even IF Hillary has to take to a wheelchair; she will be
touted as The Second Coming of FDR in a pantsuit with her
little First Laddie, Mr. Bill, pushing her up and down the
corridors “where FDR wheeled when he was there”.
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