Last December, the Trump administration published its National Security Strategy. It states the aim to be “To ensure that America remains the world’s strongest, richest, most powerful, and most successful country for decades to come.” In order to accomplish this, it sensibly claims that “our country needs a coherent, focused strategy for how we interact with the world.”
But the National Security Strategy goes in the opposite direction. It offers a broadside against Europe, fearing the “stark prospect of civilizational erasure,” claiming that the European Union “undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition.” In effect, Trump declared Europe his enemy.
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China and Russia, by contrast, are no longer considered US adversaries, but at most rivals. To manage “European relations with Russia will require significant US diplomatic engagement.” The US is not considering itself an ally of Ukraine, and it complains in no way about Russia. “It is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, in order to stabilize European economies, prevent unintended escalation or expansion of the war, and reestablish strategic stability with Russia.”
Trump has been exceedingly clear in his support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and disdain of President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine. He stopped all supplies to Ukraine on day 1 of his administration. He and Vice President JD Vance ambushed Zelensky in the White House. He has continued to praise Putin and complain about Zelensky, trying to force Ukraine, the victim, to give up more land to Russia. Twice last year the US voted with Russia and a dozen rogue states in the UN against a Western resolution condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Why is Trump so upset about Ukraine and Europe? They stand for universal human values, freedom, democracy, tolerance, and the rule of law, while Trump favors autocracy, white supremacism, censorship, kleptocracy and imperialism, just like Putin.
Given that Trump opposes all Western ideas of enlightenment, his preference for Russia, China and the Gulf states is logical. It is reflected both in his domestic and foreign policies, but at present his foreign policy folly has taken centerstage.
He started with cutting all aid to Ukraine and claimed that he could settle the conflict in 24 hours, presumably by forcing Ukraine to capitulate. Next, he called for US annexation of the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland. Alienating all Western allies. He proceeded in April by imposing unjustified and as we now know illegal tariffs of all by horrendous amounts on most allies, usually 15%, but his favorites, Russia and Belarus, faced no tariffs.
Either Trump does not understand that the main threat to the Western alliance and the US is Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, or more likely, he just appreciates Russia’s lawlessness, cruelty and aggression. A rational US president who worked for the US national interest would give Ukraine all the arms and money it would need to win that war. Biden did not choose that option, but he gave Ukraine substantial and early arms support, while Trump has given nothing and complains about Biden’s wisdom.
Trump’s foreign policy folly has emerged in all clarity in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Stunningly, Trump and his lieutenants have been unable to formulate their aim. They cannot tell us whether they want regime change, nuclear weapon control, destruction of Iran’s arms production, or simply Iran’s oil for themselves. Last summer, Trump claimed that the US had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear assets, but now he made it a cause for attack. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US was dragged into the war by Israel.
Chuck Schumer, the top Democratic Senator, stated last Wednesday: “This is madness and we don’t even know what the administration’s plan is.” He continued: “We still don’t know how long we’ll be there, we still don’t know what Donald Trump is trying to accomplish.” Trump’s hapless spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, aggravated Trump’s case by insisting that Trump had acted based on a “feeling” that Tehran was going to strike US interests first, not confirmed by any factual observations. The Trump administration does not seem to know what it wants to accomplish in Iran.
Trump’s foreign policy looks like the meandering of a drunken madman. Trump arrested Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, but he let his dysfunctional regime persist, after having seized substantial volumes of oil, sold them, and put the money in a private Qatari bank account. He has supported Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza but his “peace board” has no idea how to manage it other than let Trump decide everything and claim to build luxury hotels and wants lots of money. Trump sounds as if Cuba is next. The US now owns the chaos it has created in these countries.
While Trump does not know what he wants to achieve in Iran, he is wasting enormous volumes of expensive arms, without knowing when to stop. Trump’s mindless waste of missiles in Iran is likely to seriously weaken the US’s ability to act in serious military conflicts for years to come. This looks worse than Iraq in 2003.
The US has already used 800 patriot missiles in Iran, more than Ukraine ever received. Each cost about $4 million, that is, a total cost of some $3.2 billion. Many have been used to take down Shahed drones, costing $20,000. During his last trip to Trump, Zelensky offered cheap drone interceptors in exchange for Tomahawk missiles to take out the Russian drone factories. With his usual insults, Trump turned his proposal down. Now the Trump fools are coming to Ukraine begging for drone interceptors. Ukraine should demand a high price and tell Trump et al to stop insulting Ukraine. It is time to stand up to the US.
It is difficult to imagine a US foreign policy more harmful to the US national interest than Trump’s.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
