“Bottom line, Trump can defuse NK, Iran, and Afghan situations if he follows his instincts.”
Truth - no he can’t. I like Trump, very much, but he is not Solomon and the U.S. and its allies do not need another president infected with the presidential virus of trying to secure a diplomatic legacy, for their own sake, and in their own personal interest (like Obama), no matter how bad a deal is something they will call a success.
We can wear down the dictators in North Korea, the Mullahs in Tehran and the Taliban, over the long term, or we can bomb them into the stone age. But get meaningful compromises from them that protect our interests and goals and will not empower THEIR long term success are not possible. There will always be too much distance between the former and the later.
Living up to a campaign pledge is not synonymous with doing what is right. Reality has to intrude on the politics of things.
I’m not sure how we get to stop other countries from having “long term success”? Engaging other countries is a good idea. Communism did not die because because of anything we did, rather it is such a disastrous economic system that it was and is and will always be unsustainable without outside assistance. We assisted the Soviets all along (see: Kama River truck plant), just as we funded the database (aka al Qaeda), just as we supported Saddam etc etc. Some refer to it as “the best enemies money can buy”. Maybe a new plan could be to let other countries elect their own leaders, we obey and defend our own Constitution, we lead by example, and then let private organizations and charities change hearts and minds here and elsewhere.
"I would rather take a political risk in pursuit of peace than to risk peace in pursuit of politics."—Donald J. Trump