Wall Street Journal (October 8)
Trump is deserting the Kurds who helped defeat ISIS. “On Sunday, the White House announced that American forces will cede the area to Turkish troops. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now free to wage war on Syria’s Kurds, who were America’s most important allies against ISIS.” The retreat from Syria “will also signal to U.S. allies that the White House can’t be trusted.”
New York Times (August 5)
“North Korea had launched its third barrage of short-range missiles in just over a week, parading its growing ability to strike its neighbors with devastating firepower. But instead of banding together against a common adversary last week, the two American allies in the path of the missiles—Japan and South Korea—were locked in their own bitter battle, whose roots stretch back over 100 years.”
Tags: Adversary, Allies, Devastating, Firepower, Japan, Launch, Missiles, North Korea, Short range, South Korea, U.S.
Washington Post (May 9)
“It’s anyone guess what will come of the current meetings” to resolve the U.S./China trade dispute. “What should not be in doubt, however, is that throughout the entire bargaining process with Beijing, the administration has undercut its position by attempting to wage simultaneous tariff battles with other countries.” In addition to China, Mr. Trump’s tariffs now cover…7.3 percent of imports from Canada, 2.5 percent of imports from the European Union, 9.6 percent of imports from South Korea and 3.8 percent of imports from Japan,” undercutting support from natural allies in his dispute with China.
Tags: Allies, Canada, China, EU, Imports, Japan, South Korea, Tariffs, Trade dispute, Trump, U.S., Undercut
Reuters (March 14)
“Boeing’s belatedly grounded jets” serve as “an apt symbol of the erosion of U.S. soft power. After saying there was no problem in the wake of two crashes,” the FAA followed the lead of other governments and banned the 737 MAX.” These days, “even allies are increasingly skeptical of Washington’s leadership.” It is challenging to measure “the influence a country wields though its cultural, technological and economic strength,” but the U.S. fell “to fourth in the Soft Power 30 ranking last summer, from top of the list just two years earlier.”
Tags: 737 MAX, Allies, Belated, Boeing, Crashes, FAA, Grounded, Influence, Leadership, Skeptical, Soft power, U.S.
Time (September 26)
“President Trump’s efforts to isolate Iran at the U.N. backfired.” “The fiery speeches against Iran,” instead, revealed the “divisions… between the U.S. and its closest allies.” Most “foreign nations have opted to defend the agreement” with Iran, “rather than join America’s outbursts against it.” In fact, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France agreed “to set up legal entity to circumvent U.S. sanctions.”
Tags: Allies, Backfired, Britain, China, Circumvent, France, Germany, Iran, Outburst, Russia, Sanctions, Trump, U.N., U.S.
Wall Street Journal (September 19)
“If Mr. Trump wants to change Chinese behavior, he should first finish a new Nafta, drop his blunderbuss steel tariffs on allies, forget new auto tariffs, negotiate a zero tariff deal with Europe, and re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Then he could “lead a coalition to confront Xi Jinping from a position of strength with targeted trade enforcement rather than scattershot tariffs. The real worry is that Mr. Trump supports tariffs for their own sake, and he may not want a China deal. With Donald Trump and trade, you never know.”
New York Times (July 12)
“Sorry, NATO. Trump doesn’t believe in allies. Europe has to understand that in the American president’s twisted worldview, there are only fans and enemies.” European are “doomed if they think the issue now is how to salvage their alliance with the United States. The time for that has passed…. The challenge now for the leaders of Europe is learn to live in a world where America has no allies.”
Newsweek (June 13)
Kim was the “undisputed winner” and rather “sadly, this isn’t really up for debate.” Kim successfully “appealed to Trump’s vanity…. On its own, putting the suspension of our defensive joint military exercises on the table in exchange for nothing concrete is a jaw-dropping concession from both a diplomatic and a military readiness perspective. In addition, it seems the Defense Department was not consulted, nor were our South Korean allies.”
Tags: Allies, Concession, Defense Dept., Diplomatic, Jaw-dropping, Joint military exercises, Kim, Military, Nothing concrete, Readiness, South Korea, Trump, Undisputed, Vanity, Winner
Bloomberg (May 27)
“The great deal maker has yet to make even a decent deal as president; he hasn’t negotiated anything on health care, immigration or infrastructure, and the trade negotiations with China may be a bust.” In Korea, Donald Trump’s “gut instincts” have resulted in a blunder that’s “worse than it looks: Kim Jong Un appears shrewd. China is stronger. And U.S. allies know not to trust Washington.”
Tags: Allies, Blunder, China, Deal maker, Health care, Immigration, Infrastructure, Kim Jong Un, Korea, Trade negotiations, Trump, Trust
Harvard Gazette (January 18)
“What’s new in the current phase of the ongoing North Korean nuclear crisis is the Kim regime’s early stage capability to put the continental U.S. at risk…. North Korea is no longer viewed mainly as a threat to U.S. allies and interests in Northeast Asia. If diplomatic efforts collapse, we’re likely to see a dramatic increase in U.S. military pressure on North Korea, with the goal of compelling the regime to rapidly denuclearize.”
Tags: Allies, Capability, Continental U.S., Denuclearize, Diplomatic efforts, Kim, Military pressure, North Korea, Northeast Asia, Nuclear crisis, Regime, Risk, Threat
