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Will Trump sharpen America’s talons?

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The world always observes U.S. presidential elections with bated breath, as the changing of the guard in Washington can have ripple effects felt across the globe. This is the first in a two-part series that considers what U.S. foreign policy might look like starting in 2017, when President Obama has left the White House and one of this year’s candidates to replace him has done so. Here we will consider the future direction of U.S. foreign policy should the leading Republican candidate, Donald J Trump, become the next President. The second half will consider the future direction of U.S. foreign policy should the leading Democratic candidate, Hillary R Clinton, become the next President. Each part will consider U.S. foreign policy in terms of the candidate’s articulated vision of America’s role in the world, national security, and international economics.

From the moment he announced his campaign in June 2015, Trump’s rhetoric has been exceedingly brash, with an emphasis on taunts and bullying of rival candidates, other politicians, and journalists, all as part of a disregard for good manners cloaked in a rejection of “political correctness.” Perhaps more seriously, he has singled out various groups for harsh treatment that would be very difficult to implement and that runs counter to American tradition.  Initially, he stated that under his leadership the United States — the land of the Statue of Liberty — would deport over 11 million illegal immigrants, primarily from South and Central America, and then build a wall along the southern border. 

Following the November 2015 killings by ISIL terrorists in Paris, Trump said he would ban all Muslims from entering the United States, put U.S. mosques under surveillance, and in March 2016 added that “Islam hates us.” Religious bigotry stands in stark contrast to the principle of religious freedom on which the United States was originally founded and is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The tone of Trump’s campaign has been widely decried, but has appealed to a segment of the U.S. population animated by a thread of nativist xenophobia that is woven through U.S. history and a more recent thread of Islamophobia. 

Trump has also made numerous statements that center on the slogan “Make America Great Again,” with claims that he will make the U.S. military “so powerful that no one will mess with us,” but few details of what that would entail. Trump seems to possess a view of the United States as a global power, with a dominant military and economy (all of which the United States already has), supportive allies (although the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada, and France, among others, have criticized him), and little regard for the institutional and legal architecture of the international system that was constructed and led by the United States.

Trump’s national security ideas seem to center primarily on the notion of strength, with no appreciation for the irony of Athenian leaders during the Peloponnesian War, who after making the argument for “might makes right” in the Melian Dialogue, ultimately lost the war. Trump has called for enhanced interrogation tougher than waterboarding, killing not only ISIL fighters but their families, widespread bombing in Syria, and more. He has no military or national security experience, and his proposals are little more than slogans that could never be implemented, so it is difficult to determine what he would actually do in the national security area if elected. 

Trump’s international economic ideas seem to center on yet another campaign theme, that the American economy is in trouble for which the underlying reason is bad trade deals due to poor negotiation skills (his purported strength), rather than manufacturing and services moving to countries with the lowest marginal labor costs. As such, he has railed against trade deficits with China and free trade deals, advancing a protectionist philosophy at odds with America’s long commitment to the widely accepted economic principles that comparative advantage and free trade together lift all boats. How the United States would continue to lead an international economic order it helped create while abandoning the principles on which it was founded is difficult to ascertain.  Perhaps, as erstwhile rival Republican candidate Ben Carson said in his recent endorsement of Trump, “he didn’t really believe those [outlandish] things.” 

If Trump could reshape U.S. foreign policy in line with the statements he has made during his campaign so far, then the U.S. position in the world would be very different. The United States would be more isolationist and protectionist, although prone to using military force unpredictably and with little regard for international conventions.  Most recently, he has called into question the continued involvement of the United States in NATO, suggesting it costs too much. He almost certainly can do very little of what he has called for, however, as the American government is constitutionally structured to divide power between the three branches at the national level, as well as between the national, state, and local levels. Additionally, as former CIA Director Michael Hayden recently noted in regard to Trump possibly ordering the killing of the families of terrorists, “If he were to order that once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act,” because they “are required not to follow an unlawful order.” Thus, the reality is that Trump’s rhetoric probably has virtually no chance of becoming policy, but his unpredictability would leave the international community unsettled.  After all, the last century taught the world that demagoguery can be very dangerous.

*The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, Department of Defense, or U.S. government.

© The Mark News

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

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all as part of a disregard for good manners cloaked in a rejection of “political correctness.”

Wrong!

American tradition

Wrong again. We have no "tradition", that's the point.

Initially, he stated that under his leadership the United States — the land of the Statue of Liberty — would deport over 11 million illegal immigrants, primarily from South and Central America, and then build a wall along the southern border.

Nice try. Please note the word "illegal immigrants" unless you think illegal immigration is now a "tradition".

and little regard for the institutional and legal architecture of the international system

Yes, because NATO and globalization has done so much for the middle class.

and his proposals are little more than slogans that could never be implemented

Please make up your mind. Are they campaign "slogans" to be brushed off or are you going to take them serious as you've done above?

Trump’s international economic ideas seem to center on yet another campaign theme, that the American economy is in trouble for which the underlying reason is bad trade deals due to poor negotiation skills (his purported strength), rather than manufacturing and services moving to countries with the lowest marginal labor costs

Now you're just lying.

lead an international economic order

He's saying it's time for other countries to step up. The US does not need to be the worlds economic policeman/mercenary anymore.

The United States would be more isolationist and protectionist, although prone to using military force unpredictably and with little regard for international conventions.

Opinons are like....

Spoken like a true MIC (Military Industrial Complex) mouth piece. This guy would prefer to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely it seems. I'm guessing he's looking for a job on Hillary's team.

From his: U.S. Policy and Strategy Toward Afghanistan after 2014

The very exit strategy from Afghanistan is reminiscent of the “Vietnamization” strategy of an earlier era and dangerously flawed thereby because when the United States finally pulled out of Vietnam, there was no stomach to go back in if the South Vietnamese troops needed help; hence, that strategy quickly failed.

https://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1233

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Excellent points. Can't argue much there.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

NOT excellent points here. Can argue against them all.

4 ( +5 / -2 )

Trump is fake, nobody with a bit of brain is taking him seriously. I am more afraid about what is hidden behind this weird show. What kind of propaganda and agenda has the US, when Clinton will win easy against this guy?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Well thought out article.

Here is an article from Germany....

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/opinion-trump-and-the-decline-of-american-political-culture-a-1085798.html#ref=nl-international

IMO, although the USA is the world leader today, the rise of China is inevitable, although it may take a few more decades. Given that the Chinese leadership is not constrained by a division of power, as in the Western Democracies, I fear that when China is the world's strongest power, it will likely act even more recklessly than what we have seen from the USA.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

*The views expressed in this article do not NECESSARILY reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, Department of Defense, or U.S. government.

So does it, or doesn't it? This certainly suggests that it can, although it shouldn't (at least not in a news site like this).

Although I do agree with everything written, in that Trump cannot be taken seriously, I look forward to see an objective view of Clinton as well.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Mr. Goodsman sounds like the establishment. Trump didn`t create the problems that exist today. Perhaps it is the establishment that has it all wrong.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Dr. Larry P. Goodson holds the General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security at the U.S. Army War College and presents the four main points that condemn Donald J. Trump to the ash bin of history's bigots and billionaires who are best left to paying their taxes and serving prison terms.

The four points are clearly the most concise and comprehensive in their condemnation of Trump's charlatan campaign to make America hate again.

1) "Trump’s rhetoric has been exceedingly brash, with an emphasis on taunts and bullying of rival candidates, other politicians, and journalists, all as part of a disregard for good manners cloaked in a rejection of “political correctness.”

The most dispicable because Trump urges his thugs to beat people to prove Trump is all powerful.

2) "Trump said he would ban all Muslims from entering the United States, put U.S. mosques under surveillance, and in March 2016 added that “Islam hates us.”

Trump displays pure religious prejudice without a second thought and again prompts his bigots to beatings.

3) "Trump has also made numerous statements that center on the slogan “Make America Great Again,” with claims that he will make the U.S. military “so powerful that no one will mess with us,” but few details of what that would entail."

Trump has no details, at leaste no details he will be able to articulate except in blackmail and misogyny.

4) "Trump has called for enhanced interrogation tougher than waterboarding, killing not only ISIL fighters but their families, widespread bombing in Syria, and more. He has no military or national security experience, and his proposals are little more than slogans"

Trump demands torture. Few more miserable resumes have been submitted for the Office of President.

As always, what Trump's resume shows is the moral failure and ignoranxce of his followers.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It isn't sharpening talons that the US needs, it's opening their eyes and taking a good, honest look at the mess they have made. Instead of "bombing them back into the 7th Century," the US should start to clean up their own house and make up the damage they have wreaked on the rest of the planet.

Then people might have a little respect for them.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"It isn't sharpening talons that the US needs" - comments

well said this . . .

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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