On tour abroad, Trump does what Obama should have
By Timothy Stanley
Updated 10:18 PM ET, Tue May 23, 2017
Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between LA and DC Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
(CNN)Today, I admire Donald Trump. His remarks made in the aftermath of the terror attack in Manchester captured the mood in Britain perfectly. Terrorists are not soldiers, not even murderers -- they are "losers." And this tragic event validates Trump's initiative of uniting the world against terrorism. Suddenly, he feels like a serious international leader.
There has to be a change in tone. Barack Obama began his presidency with an erudite speech in Cairo declaring that America would be humbler from now on. Trump, by contrast, landed in Saudi Arabia looking like an emperor meeting a king. Trump's provincialism is an act. He might not understand the etiquette of Capitol Hill, but international business is in his bones.
Timothy Stanley
He brings with him, abroad, a new sense of strategic vision. Obama's critics should give him a break for having to govern in a time of anarchy and limited choices. But he compounded regional crises by laying down red lines, for instance on the use of chemical weapons, that he then allowed dictators to cross. He hung back from action in Syria, yet aided the revolt against Gadhafi in Libya.
And his centerpiece deal with Iran came at a heavy price: the slow expansion of Tehran's influence throughout the region. No wonder Gulf states desire greater US involvement, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, praised the US Tomahawk strike on a Syrian airstrip.
This is what Trump is doing that Obama was reluctant to do: He's picking sides. The choices are not ideal. Who would want to ally with Saudi Arabia, a fossilized monarchy that won't even let women drive, which has long been accused of itself exporting extremism? On the other hand, when Saudi Arabia is in a proxy war with Iran in Yemen, it is at least coherent and rational to sell arms to the Saudis.
Trump to Meet the Pope at Vatican06:40
The Saudis are not good guys but, say the realists, they aren't bad guys, either, in the sense of wanting to hurt the West. The Iranians, by contrast, are accused of breaking the terms of Obama's nuclear agreement with missile tests. Two of these missiles were reported to carryslogans calling for the downfall of Israel.
Continued at http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/23/opini...oes-what-obama-should-have-stanley/index.html
By Timothy Stanley
Updated 10:18 PM ET, Tue May 23, 2017
[paste:font size="5"]
Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between LA and DC Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
(CNN)Today, I admire Donald Trump. His remarks made in the aftermath of the terror attack in Manchester captured the mood in Britain perfectly. Terrorists are not soldiers, not even murderers -- they are "losers." And this tragic event validates Trump's initiative of uniting the world against terrorism. Suddenly, he feels like a serious international leader.
There has to be a change in tone. Barack Obama began his presidency with an erudite speech in Cairo declaring that America would be humbler from now on. Trump, by contrast, landed in Saudi Arabia looking like an emperor meeting a king. Trump's provincialism is an act. He might not understand the etiquette of Capitol Hill, but international business is in his bones.
Timothy Stanley
He brings with him, abroad, a new sense of strategic vision. Obama's critics should give him a break for having to govern in a time of anarchy and limited choices. But he compounded regional crises by laying down red lines, for instance on the use of chemical weapons, that he then allowed dictators to cross. He hung back from action in Syria, yet aided the revolt against Gadhafi in Libya.
And his centerpiece deal with Iran came at a heavy price: the slow expansion of Tehran's influence throughout the region. No wonder Gulf states desire greater US involvement, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, praised the US Tomahawk strike on a Syrian airstrip.
This is what Trump is doing that Obama was reluctant to do: He's picking sides. The choices are not ideal. Who would want to ally with Saudi Arabia, a fossilized monarchy that won't even let women drive, which has long been accused of itself exporting extremism? On the other hand, when Saudi Arabia is in a proxy war with Iran in Yemen, it is at least coherent and rational to sell arms to the Saudis.
Trump to Meet the Pope at Vatican06:40
The Saudis are not good guys but, say the realists, they aren't bad guys, either, in the sense of wanting to hurt the West. The Iranians, by contrast, are accused of breaking the terms of Obama's nuclear agreement with missile tests. Two of these missiles were reported to carryslogans calling for the downfall of Israel.
Continued at http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/23/opini...oes-what-obama-should-have-stanley/index.html
