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Mixed Messages: Scuttling The Iran Deal, But Cozying Up To North Korea, Meanwhile Alienating Our Traditional Allies In Foreign Policy

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Donald Trump is schizophrenic in so many ways.

And in foreign policy, that is particularly dangerous.

Trump has scuttled the Iran deal, and made eventual war against that nation more likely.

At the same time, despite his cancellation of the summit with North Korea, already Donald Trump is changing his mind, and it now seems that the summit with Kim Jong Un might take place, but with unreasonable, irrational expectations.

To believe that North Korea will give up its nuclear program entirely is to believe in fantasy, as Kim Jong Un has now seen how unstable Donald Trump is. If Trump is ready to scuttle the nuclear deal with Iran and threaten them, what would make North Korea comfortable and confident enough that their regime would be left alone if they gave up their nuclear weapons?

Instead of saying can North Korea be trusted, how about whether the United States government under Donald Trump can be trusted to keep any agreement?

And in the meantime, Donald Trump has alienated our traditional allies in foreign policy, the NATO nations (and particularly Great Britain, France and Germany), and also South Korea and Japan, along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Why should South Korea feel safe with an unstable, mercurial American leader who is fighting with their government over trade policy at a time when that nation could be decimated by a nuclear or conventional war with its neighbor?

One could say that American foreign policy in 2018 is the most unstable, unpredictable policy ever seen in American history since the end of World War II, and no sign of the return of any stability anytime in the near or long term future, as long as Donald Trump is President.

Growing Danger Of Two Future Wars: North Korea And Iran

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After 16 months in office, an unhinged President is bringing America more likely to two future wars–against North Korea and Iran–which will undermine America, with the prospect of the sacrifice of thousands, if not tens of thousands of American military personnel, along with the massive loss of life of civilians in East Asia and the Middle East.

It now seems clear that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is NOT going to give up nuclear weapons completely, as he well knows what happened to Libya and Iraq, when their leaders gave up their nuclear programs.

Kim Jong Un is manipulating an unstable Donald Trump, and is a lot smarter than our President, and this reality means the likelihood of our President using nuclear weapons against North Korea has grown.

Even if not nuclear weapons, the dangers of a conventional war would be disastrous to South Korea, Americans living in South Korea along with our military forces, and possibly Japan as well.

Meanwhile, breaking the Iran agreement when it is working, and in alienating Great Britain, France and Germany, all signatories to the agreement and not willing to abandon it, only increases the chances of war with Iran, a nation much larger in territory and population than Iraq.

So we are in gloomy times, and must hope that such dangers are somehow overcome.

Donald Trump Not Only Manipulated By Russia, But Also By Other Foreign Nations, And It Undermines America

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Donald Trump is clearly not very bright, and does not understand how other nations’s leaders have figured out how to humor and flatter him to get their way, and appeal to his vanity and narcissism.

It is not just Russia and Vladimir Putin.

It is China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey. Qatar. the United Arab Emirates, Israel, the Philippines, and India.

These nations, with the exception of Israel, and India, are all authoritarian dictatorship, who stroke Trump’s ego, and show him on the surface respect and adulation, when he visits, particularly evident in China and Saudi Arabia. And they make deals that benefit their nations, without Trump realizing the United States has been taken advantage of in a major way.

Trump is more interested in business and real estate dealings than protecting the national interest and security, which explains his erratic, often contradictory behavior, and constant change of mind.

But meanwhile, he has created frustration among our allies which are democracies, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.

Presidents Without Prior Elected Occupation

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A total of 6 Presidents have been elected without any prior elected position in government.

Three of them had careers in the military:

Zachary Taylor who was a Major General in the US Army, and served in, and became famous in the Mexican War of 1846-1848, and was elected President in 1848.

Ulysses S. Grant, who was a General in the Civil War, gained the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to end the war, and was elected President in 1868.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was General of the Army during World War II, and planned the D-Day invasion on France on June 6, 1944, and was elected President in 1952.

Two other Presidents had appointed experience in the US government as Cabinet Officers before they were elected President:

William Howard Taft, who served as Secretary of War under Theodore Roosevelt, and was elected President in 1908.

Herbert Hoover, who served as Secretary of Commerce under Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, and was elected President in 1928.

And then, finally, there is Donald Trump, in a category by himself, as Chairman of the Trump Organization, his whole career in real estate, and also a reality star on television, a public figure for decades, but never holding office in any form by election or appointment, or by military service, but elected President in 2016.

Presidents Who Served As US Ambassadors To Foreign Nations

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This author and blogger has so far examined the history of Presidents serving as members of the House of Representatives and the US Senate, as State Governors, and as Cabinet Officers.

Now, let’s examine those 8 Presidents who served as US Ambassadors to foreign nations:

John Adams as Ambassador to Great Britain during the Continental Congress

Thomas Jefferson as Ambassador to France during the Continental Congress

James Monroe as Ambassador to France during the George Washington Presidency, and to Great Britain during the Thomas Jefferson Presidency

John Quincy Adams as Ambassador to the Netherlands during the George Washington and John Adams Presidencies; to Germany during the John Adams Presidency; to Russia and to Great Britain during the James Madison Presidency

Martin Van Buren as Ambassador to Great Britain during the Andrew Jackson Presidency

William Henry Harrison as Ambassador to Colombia during the John Quincy Adams Presidency

James Buchanan as Ambassador to Great Britain during the Franklin Pierce Presidency

George H. W. Bush as Ambassador to the United Nations during the Richard Nixon Presidency and as Chief of the US Liaison Office in China during the Gerald Ford Administration.

The most common Ambassadorship was to Great Britain, where five of the eight Presidents listed above served.

A Military Parade To Salute Our President Reminiscent Of Authoritarian Dictatorships, A Break From American Traditions!

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It is hard to believe that we are about to start a new tradition in a democracy, a military parade to salute our President, reminiscent of authoritarian dictatorships, such as the old Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Kim Jong Un’s North Korea.

There is absolutely no need for such a parade, as we honor veterans and the military on Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November.

It is true France does this on Bastille Day, and it is a democracy, but that is not an excuse for doing it.

It is simply to stroke Trump’s ego, which already is too inflated.

It is another sign of Trump trying to change American culture and history, and it must be prevented.

But seeing the generals around Trump–the disgraceful bigot John Kelly, and also James Mattis and H. R. Mc Master– now makes it clear that having military people in government by special dispensation was and is a horrible mistake, and must not be allowed to happen in the future.

A Year Of Donald Trump: A Horror And A Nightmare!

Ronald 3 Comments

I published on Sunday a summary article on the first year of Donald Trump at History News Network–historynewsnetwork.org. I have published regularly on Donald Trump on History News Network, and some of those articles have been picked up also by Time Magazine and Newsweek Magazine, and all of those articles are on the right side of my blog.

A day before the anniversary of the inauguration, I will summarize here the points that I made in that article:

Donald Trump has been a nightmare, and his unpredictability, and the refusal of the Republican Party to come to grips with it, has created a constitutional crisis greater than the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon 45 years ago.

Donald Trump has demonstrated clear authoritarian leanings that endanger all Americans and their basic freedoms and national security.

Donald Trump has undermined the judicial branch of government. with his attacks on an independent judiciary, and his appointments of unqualified people to lifetime positions on the federal district courts and federal circuit courts.

Donald Trump has assaulted the Bill of Rights, and is a threat to the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, women, gay and transgender Americans, and members of the news media who dare to investigate and question his white supremacist, nativist, racist, and misogynistic utterances and policies.

He has connected himself to dictators and authoritarians in nations like Russia, China, Turkey, Egypt, and the Philippines, and in the tradition of such past regimes as Nazi Germany , Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union.

Donald Trump has pursued policies that threaten and undermine the domestic reforms of Presidents from both political parties from the time of Theodore Roosevelt onward, endangering the Social Safety Network of Social Security. Medicare, and Medicaid, and government regulation of industry and big business, and oversight of key problems involving the environment, consumer safety, labor protections, health care, and science and education.

Donald Trump has given us the most corrupt and incompetent cabinet and advisers , making the shortcomings of Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Richard Nixon pale in comparison. There is no sense of ethics, commitment, scruples, or compassion on the part of Trump and his team, but only with the advancement of the top one percent, over the needs of millions of ordinary people.

Trump’s family has become in one year more controversial, and lacking in ethics and morals, than any Presidential family in history, with the aim seeming to be a family dynasty with no limit on their lust for money and power.

Donald Trump has undermined foreign policy and international relations, alienating our allies, and consorting with dictators all over the world. He has declared war on the diplomatic community, the national security apparatus, and the intelligence agencies that are out to protect American national security. He has been reckless in his dealings with North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, and with the Middle East cauldron. He has alienated our allies, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea with his weird, unpredictable behavior.

Donald Trump’s narcissism, ignorance of history and science, obnoxious behavior and incessant lying make him a terrible model for the future generation of Americans, who used to be able to look up the President of the United States as someone they could respect.

These reasons are justification for action to remove Donald Trump from the Presidency, whether by impeachment, use of the 25th Amendment, or forced resignation after indictments of family members and top advisers by Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Abandoning Iran Nuclear Deal Would Insure That North Korea Would Never Agree To Any Agreement With United States

Ronald 2 Comments

Donald Trump is extremely ignorant and clueless about foreign policy, and about how authoritarian dictators think.

He has aspirations to be an authoritarian dictator, but our Constitution, Bill of Rights, News Media, and Judicial System will prevent such an eventuallty.

Trump expects North Korea and its unstable leader, Kim Jong Un, just to give up their nuclear program because of our threats of military force.

He seems not to understand that Kim Jong Un, as crazy as he is, is smarter than Donald Trump, and knows what happened to Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, who gave up his nuclear program, but was then overthrown in the “Arab Spring” in 2011.

Kim Jong Un also sees how Trump is ready to break the Iranian Nuclear Agreement, despite it being obeyed by Iran, and the other nations in the agreement (Great Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia) still supporting the agreement.

If Trump follows through on destroying the Iranian Nuclear Agreement without just cause, what kind of message does that send to Kim Jong Un?

It shows that the United States cannot be trusted to keep any agreement, so why should North Korea give up its ultimate weapon?

This is NOT a belief that Kim Jong Un and his nation are not international pariahs, but the Trump abandonment on Iran will most certainly conbince North Korea and Iran to move ahead on their nuclear programs, knowing neither can trust the United States on any agreement.

Trump Threatens Extermination Of 25 Million People in North Korea, And Plans Confrontation With Iran And Venezuela: A President Gone Mad!

Ronald 1 Comment

Donald Trump spoke at the United Nations today, and sounded more warlike than any American President.

He seems to relish war and destruction, as he threatened the extermination of 25 million people in North Korea.

he also made clear that he intended to rip up the Iran Nuclear Agreement, which seems to be working for now, and which Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China all plan to continue to support, making Trump an international outlaw and a war criminal, if he intends to start war with that nation.

And on the sidelines, it is clear that Trump is threatening intervention in Venezuela as well.

Se Trump seems to be planning to add three potential wars or military conflicts to the problem of Afghanistan and the challenge of ISIS (ISIL) in the Middle East.

Trump is a warmonger, even though he avoided Vietnam War service due to a bone spur in his foot, a minor problem, but using his family influence to evade military service.

If Trump were to use nuclear weapons against North Korea, it would be considered a war crime, and would kill more people in North Korea, as well as the certainty of deaths in South Korea and Japan, along with American troops, families and expatriates who live in South Korea and Japan.

It is more clear than ever that the three military figures in the government–James Mattis, John Kelly, and H. R. McMaster–must go to Vice President Mike Pence, the cabinet members, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and promote immediate removal of Trump from the Presidency, as a menace to the nation and the world.

If tragedy happens, these military men, and the top leaders of the government, will have blood on their hands, and will destroy the image of America as a nation of human rights and decency.

The time for action is NOW, and the Mueller investigation needs to move at an ever more rapid pace as well, to bring this President down, and remove him from office!

Constitution Day: 230 Years And In Danger From Donald Trump In 2017, But The Constitution Will Survive!

Ronald 3 Comments

Tomorrow, September 17, is the 230th Anniversary of the signing of the Constitution by 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

The so called “Founding Fathers” brought about a document that was not perfect, but has survived through the crises of the Civil War; the Great Depression; the two World Wars; the Watergate Crisis; and now faces the challenge of the most dangerous Chief Executive in American history bar none!

By comparison to Donald Trump, Richard Nixon was a choirboy, dangerous in many ways, but also accomplished in many ways.

Nixon contributed some real positive developments in his five and a half years as President from January 20, 1969 to August 9, 1974, while Donald Trump has accomplished essentially nothing, other than the adding of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Trump has threatened constitutional norms, with his attacks on civil rights, civil liberties, the news media, the judiciary, the intelligence community, and the basic institutions of government, including the government agencies themselves, which he is trying to decimate in their effectiveness and even in their numbers, when more is needed in a growing nation with 325 million people.

Trump has threatened the security and safety of millions of Americans of minority religious and racial groups, and he has had the support of white supremacists, Neo Nazis, Neo Confederates, and the Ku Klux Klan, which he tries to equate with those opposed to these groups.

Trump has undermined our relations with our allies in Europe and Asia, and the tensions with North Korea have been increased by his reckless tweets and rhetoric, and the same goes for Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, adding to the potential for military intervention everywhere.

Our relations with our direct neighbors, Mexico and Canada, are at the worst in many decades, and our closest ally, the United Kingdom (Great Britain), is becoming more exasperated by Trump’s utterances. The same situation exists with Germany, France, South Korea, and Japan, and our major rivals, China and Russia are perplexed with Trump as well.France

There is great concern that Trump might use nuclear weapons, which no official other than the Secretary of State can even discuss with him directly under present policy, and Trump has the final say on that.

There is also concern that Trump could attempt to declare martial law if there was another September 11 type of attack by terrorists, suspending the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

And to top it off, Trump seems to many to have a form of dementia, maybe Alzheimers, or just mental instability that is often a problem with aging seniors, but having him in a position which could provoke world wide war and disaster is an alarming circumstance of massive proportions.

Trump is a danger, but we must have confidence that the Constitution will survive his threat, but we must all be vigilant, and be ready to react if any threat seems evident as imminent.

The worst thing we could all do is trust Donald Trump, and sit back and just accept whatever he does, so thank goodness for the free, independent news media!