Trump Foreign Policy
September 10, 2019 — Scott Johnson
This morning came word that President Trump has fired National Security Advisor John Bolton. Did he jump or was he pushed? Bolton states that he offered his resignation last night. Bloomberg has a good account here. I celebrated Bolton’s arrival on the job and am sorry to see him go. He is an exemplary public official and a great patriot. I wish President Trump had gelled with him, but I
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September 8, 2019 — John Hinderaker
The New York Times may say that America is the land of “land grabs, enslavement, rape and genocide,” but oppressed people around the world know better. Earlier today in Hong Kong, demonstrators marched to the American embassy, waving American flags and calling on President Trump to support them in their fight for the freedoms that were promised when China reclaimed possession of the territory: Sunday’s crowd waved US flags and
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September 7, 2019 — John Hinderaker
For the last three years, Democrats have obsessed over Russia’s relatively trivial participation in the 2016 election. But if they have any concern about China’s reported interest in 2020, they haven’t shown it. Why? Because China’s leaders want to get rid of Donald Trump and replace him with a Democrat who will be more compliant. Bill Gertz’s piece in the Free Beacon is titled “China Trying to Stop Trump Reelection,
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September 6, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The Trump administration is on the verge of agreeing to pull out of Afghanistan. In defense of this decision, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States has “delivered” on its mission to oust al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and to deter terrorist attacks plotted there and in Pakistan. Pompeo’s statement is mostly true, and has been for many years. And, although this was not really part of our mission and
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September 1, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump’s tough approach to China has drawn criticism from his opponents. They complain that he has ignored diplomatic conventions and upended a tense but workable economic relationship. Trump’s approach also makes some of his supporters nervous because they fear that a trade war with China might well throw our economy into a tailspin and perhaps cost Trump the 2020 election. I confess to being nervous on these grounds. There
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September 1, 2019 — Scott Johnson
President Trump’s detachment of the United States from the wagon of the Iranian regime was a mighty deed. What can be said about the Obama administration’s funding of the regime and blessing of its nuclear program? Perhaps that it made the Munich Agreement look good by comparison. At least Neville Chamberlain didn’t agree to fund Hitler’s regime. The abject humiliation of the United States by the terms of the the
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August 31, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post reports that John Bolton, President Trump’s national security adviser, has been excluded from discussions about an Afghanistan “peace deal” between the U.S. and the Taliban. Bolton apparently doesn’t favor such a deal. This is a president who rages against Fox News because people who appear on that network occasionally say things he doesn’t like hearing. So we shouldn’t be surprised that Trump doesn’t want to hear from
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August 30, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Hezbollah has stated that it intends to produce missiles capable of striking Israel with pinpoint accuracy. Iran is assisting Hezbollah in this enterprise. It is helping Hezbollah construct and develop facilities at which precision missiles are manufactured. Israel has responded by attacking targets in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Attacks in the latter two countries are a recent development, prompted by stepped up Iranian efforts to assist Hezbollah’s missile development. The
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August 26, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote about what I called “Macron’s stunt” — the high-level meeting between French and Iranian officials that occurred while France was hosting the G-7 conference. I viewed the meeting as an affront to President Trump. Not because Trump doesn’t want France and Iran to talk, but because holding talks in the midst of the summit, and without Trump’s prior approval, seemed like grandstanding and an attempt to show
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August 26, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump has come in for considerable ridicule for saying that the U.S. should purchase Greenland from Denmark. But Sen. Tom Cotton, writing in the New York Times, makes a strong case for buying Greenland. He reasons: The acquisition of Greenland would secure vital strategic interests for the United States, economically benefit both us and Greenlanders, and would be in keeping with American — and Danish — diplomatic traditions. Tom
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August 26, 2019 — Scott Johnson
There is nothing funny about the Iranian regime’s threat to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and other Americans, but the regime’s impending imposition of sanctions on Trump administration figures and other opponents such as Senator Cruz injects an element of comic relief. The Trump administration’s sanctions on Iran must be taking a serious toll. Now Iran is about to retaliate. At the Washington Free Beacon, Adam Kredo picks
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August 20, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The New York Times reports that ISIS is gathering new strength and conducting guerrilla attacks across Iraq and Syria. Observers are confident that ISIS won’t reclaim anything like its former physical territory, a “caliphate” that was the size of Britain and controlled the lives of up to 12 million people. However, if it continues to gain strength, ISIS may soon become a force to be reckoned with and could control
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August 17, 2019 — Steven Hayward
It is amusing to watch the reaction to Trump floating the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland. It’s not like we have never done such a thing before (i.e., Louisiana, Alaska), and while there were arguably constitutional defects with those acquisitions (especially Louisiana), just watch as Trump-hating liberals who ordinarily say our Constitution should be as “flexible” as Gumby and as “alive” as a mold suddenly become strict constructionists again.
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August 15, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib want to enter Israel, a nation they despise and would like to see destroyed as a Jewish state. Israel initially agreed to their visit. Today, however, the government changed its mind. The two Israel-haters will not be allowed in. Prime Minister Netanyahu released a statement that explained his decision this way: As a vibrant and free democracy, Israel is open to any visitor and
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August 15, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Reportedly, there is a division within the White House over how to proceed with China on trade. One camp, which includes Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, is optimistic that the administration can reach a trade deal with Beijing as things stand now. But Peter Navarro, the senior trade adviser, believes stronger tactics are required to change China’s approach. President Trump is said to agree with Navarro. But what if both
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August 13, 2019 — Steven Hayward
The current unrest in Hong Kong may be the most important geopolitical story of this decade, depending how it plays out. Concerning which, a few observations: • We know enough from recent decades to declare how dictatorships end: they end only when the rulers lose their nerve to kill their own people in large numbers. Forget all the fancy models and theories of our idiot schools of international relations. This
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August 5, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The U.S. government has determined that China is manipulating its currency. It will engage with the International Monetary Fund to try to eliminate this unfair form of competition. If there is no progress within a year, China could face sanctions including its firms being prohibited from competition for U.S. government contracts. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the announcement today. Stock prices fell dramatically, with the Dow Jones average shedding more
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