Resorting to “Deep State” conspiracy theories perfectly illustrates the fragility of the effort to defend Trump’s ineffectual leadership. Effective leaders take responsibility, they don’t evade it. Effective leaders influence events to enhance their nations’ position, they don’t retreat from tough challenges. Tying the dedicated Intelligence and law enforcement communities to baseless conspiracy theories is no way to support people who put their lives at risk so that we would all be safer. Frankly, Trump’s deep disrespect for those personnel is offensive.
Don Sutherland
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I disagree that one President's weakness means that one must automatically overlook his successor's even greater weakness, as well as the consequences of such weakness. It is no accident that China is pushing for East Asian preeminence, Russia is expanding its reach, and North Korea is acting more provocatively than it has in decades (testing its first hydrogen bomb, engaging in a record number of missile tests by far over the past year, and testing a series of intercontinental ballistic missiles). Everywhere America's foes look, they see an America in retreat.
The President pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement leaving the nation's allies scrambling and opening a window of opportunity for a Chinese alternative. The President has periodically raised questions about NATO's Article 5 collective defense guarantee all the while demanding that the nation's allies "pay more." He has displayed no policy coherence whatsoever when it comes to Syria. He pulled the proverbial rug out from Iraq's Kurds. He rashly attempted to outsource the entire North Korea issue to China, whose interests differ from America's.
President Trump may believe his "Fortress America" or "America First" approach is "strong." To the world at large, especially America's rivals and enemies, it signals retreat from the nation’s traditional post-World War II role. Because such nations don't define policies by idealism, they have concluded that the Trump Administration-engineered retreat is being pursued out of necessity on account of the nation's weakness. As such, they see an environment that is ripe for pursuing their own ambitions and interests to a degree that had not been possible since the end of World War II. They sense a moment of opportunity whereby they can "test" the United States with little or no consequence. [ NK certainly shows that. President Blowshard sputters and threatens, but does nothing. ] They are capitalizing on the opportunities they perceive. Worse, they are doing so without any coherent or rational American response to defend the nation's overseas interests. As a result, the moves being made by the nation's rivals and foes are eroding America's world position.
With a stronger American leader who understood the nation's world role and its interests, much of these negative trends could be mitigated. President Reagan's following President Carter demonstrated that a strong President could quickly begin to turn the tide of events in the nation's favor. Unfortunately, in this case one weak President was followed by a historically weak leader (yes, I believe Trump is weaker than Carter). The costs of that weakness are mounting. |
