I have come to respect War On the Rocks, a site with generally informative items about world affairs. So, when I saw this headline, I had to stop to read the piece.
I no longer feel certain about the fairness of the site. This is the secondary headline:
In the unlikely event Donald Trump were elected, his foreign policy would be a disaster.
Yet, as I read the article, I personally find everything said to be on the plus side. Something most Americans agree to and want. Here's a taste:
At the core of Trump’s foreign policy is his demand that U.S. allies shoulder a greater share of the burden for their defense. He has said the European countries need to take the lead in dealing with Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and criticized the terms of the U.S.–Japan alliance as being too favorable to Japan. Trump has reserved his harshest criticisms for South Korea. In 2011, Trump complained in a television interview that South Korea was making “hundreds of billions†in profit from the U.S. presence there and paying nothing in exchange. In 2013, Trump complained, “How long will we go on defending South Korea from North Korea without payment? … When will they pay us?†Trump has reaffirmed during his campaign this year that he thinks South Korea needs to pay the United States more money to defend it.
Trump thinks of America’s alliances with Japan and South Korea, and its membership in NATO, as acts of charity. It seems that Trump has never considered the idea that it might be in America’s interest to maintain security alliances with other countries that help the United States defend the liberal order. Our allies provide basing rights for U.S. forces, and many of them provide substantial military forces that work with U.S. forces in hot spots around the world. Nor does Trump seem to have considered that these countries have other options aside from an alliance with the United States. South Korea’s trade with China is now double its trade with the United States and there is a risk that over time, the gravitational pull of China’s economy will draw South Korea into China’s orbit. Similarly, much of Europe depends on Russia for energy supplies, making it difficult for them to oppose Russia’s actions in Ukraine. A policy of making more demands of U.S. allies might push America’s allies into the arms of rival powers and it may not be possible for Trump’s successor to put these alliances back together.
Each of the underlined pieces is a link to the source.
But, what the hell's wrong with what he's saying. After 70 years, why is the USA still paying for Europe's defense while they're spending so much on socialist programs? Why in the hell are we still involved in the North/South Korea mess? Everything I read in this article should be a huge plus for The Donald.
Then it goes on to whine about “upending global trade markets.â€
And this is who the author is: John Ford is a captain in the United States Army’s JAG Corps. The views expressed are his own and are not the official view of the U.S. Army. He has written previously in these pages on the Middle East. You can follow him on twitter @johndouglasford.
(I do not understand how an active duty military officer can get away with posting a political piece like this and using his military rank and branch)
Read the full story with lots and lots of links @
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/the-trump-doctrine/
