Ethereal
04-03-2017, 01:22 PM
Trump’s Foreign Policy Incoherence (https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/03/trumps-foreign-policy-incoherence/)
Exclusive: Powerful forces are arrayed against any significant changes that President Trump may try to make in foreign policy, a dilemma made worse by his own ineptness and staffing troubles, writes Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
President Trump’s emerging foreign policy is one of contradictions and chaos, caught up in a combination of old establishment orthodoxies and some fresh recognition of reality but without any strong strategic thinker capable of separating one from the other and leading the administration in a thoughtful direction.
The examples of new thinking include abandoning President Obama’s fitful – and bloody – campaign to force “regime change” in Syria; accepting a more realistic solution to the political mess in Libya; and trying to cooperate with Russia on combating terrorism, such as the fight against Islamic State and Al Qaeda, and reducing international tensions, such as the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
But Team Trump also is hobbled by its inability to break free from many of the groupthinks that have dominated Official Washington for the past quarter century or so as the foreign policy establishment fell under the domination of the neoconservatives and their junior partners, the liberal interventionists, virtually banishing the formerly influential “realists” as well as the few peace advocates.
This enduring neocon/liberal-hawk strength – reflected in what all the “important people” know to be true – has left senior Trump officials still pandering to the Saudis and the Israelis; repeating the neocon mantra that “Iran is the principal source of terrorism” (though that is clearly not true given the support for Al Qaeda and other Sunni terror groups coming from U.S. “allies” such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar); and falling into line with the NATO’s hype of Russia as the new global villain.
[...]
In spite of Trump's fresh thinking with regards to Russia and "regime change" schemes, he is still mired down in neocon groupthink pertaining to Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. This unwillingness to reexamine such groupthink leaves him largely incapable of making real and lasting changes in the foreign policy realm. His administration bows before Israel and dutifully repeats the mantra "Iran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world" while our nominal ally, Saudi Arabia, funds and arms a multitude of Sunni terrorist groups all over the world. This overall incoherence will hobble his administration and leave them at the mercy of the very neocons and liberal interventionists he sought to push aside. It's about time that Trump and his supporters started really thinking about the neocon narratives being pushed by DC politicians. It's time to open their minds to the possibility that Iran is not the devil, Israel is not an angel, and Saudi Arabia is about the closest thing to an enemy western civilization has.
Exclusive: Powerful forces are arrayed against any significant changes that President Trump may try to make in foreign policy, a dilemma made worse by his own ineptness and staffing troubles, writes Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
President Trump’s emerging foreign policy is one of contradictions and chaos, caught up in a combination of old establishment orthodoxies and some fresh recognition of reality but without any strong strategic thinker capable of separating one from the other and leading the administration in a thoughtful direction.
The examples of new thinking include abandoning President Obama’s fitful – and bloody – campaign to force “regime change” in Syria; accepting a more realistic solution to the political mess in Libya; and trying to cooperate with Russia on combating terrorism, such as the fight against Islamic State and Al Qaeda, and reducing international tensions, such as the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
But Team Trump also is hobbled by its inability to break free from many of the groupthinks that have dominated Official Washington for the past quarter century or so as the foreign policy establishment fell under the domination of the neoconservatives and their junior partners, the liberal interventionists, virtually banishing the formerly influential “realists” as well as the few peace advocates.
This enduring neocon/liberal-hawk strength – reflected in what all the “important people” know to be true – has left senior Trump officials still pandering to the Saudis and the Israelis; repeating the neocon mantra that “Iran is the principal source of terrorism” (though that is clearly not true given the support for Al Qaeda and other Sunni terror groups coming from U.S. “allies” such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar); and falling into line with the NATO’s hype of Russia as the new global villain.
[...]
In spite of Trump's fresh thinking with regards to Russia and "regime change" schemes, he is still mired down in neocon groupthink pertaining to Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. This unwillingness to reexamine such groupthink leaves him largely incapable of making real and lasting changes in the foreign policy realm. His administration bows before Israel and dutifully repeats the mantra "Iran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world" while our nominal ally, Saudi Arabia, funds and arms a multitude of Sunni terrorist groups all over the world. This overall incoherence will hobble his administration and leave them at the mercy of the very neocons and liberal interventionists he sought to push aside. It's about time that Trump and his supporters started really thinking about the neocon narratives being pushed by DC politicians. It's time to open their minds to the possibility that Iran is not the devil, Israel is not an angel, and Saudi Arabia is about the closest thing to an enemy western civilization has.