Russia

70 Years Of NATO: The Best Foreign Alliance In World History, Now Endangered By Supernationalist Donald Trump

We have just passed 70 years of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the best foreign alliance in world history, which has kept the peace since World War II.

However, NATO is now endangered by super nationalist Donald Trump, who constantly is critical of the NATO allies for not paying enough for their own defense, and every time Trump goes to a NATO meeting, and in between as well, he is regularly hostile and abusive in his statements and actions toward nations that are democratic.

At the same time, he embraces authoritarian leaders and has no complaints about their denial of human rights, including the Russian Federation, North Korea, Turkey, Egypt, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, he is working in the direction of military action against Venezuela and Iran, so do not be shocked if we engaged in two more wars before the Presidential Election of 2020, just as George W. Bush managed to put America in war against Afghanistan and Iraq during his first term in the Presidency/

Donald Trump is a menace, totally ignorant in foreign policy, and dangerous to world stability.

National Security Endangered At White House And Mar A Lago By Lax Donald Trump Attitude On Danger Of Russian And Chinese Espionage

We have a President in office now who is very lax and loose about national security, with growing evidence that there are people at the White House who are gaining security clearances over the objections of security experts, all due to Donald Trump using his expansive executive authority to order it, including for his son in law Jared Kushner, and his daughter Ivanka Trump.

Additionally, security is very lax at the President’s Palm Beach County, Florida home, Mar A Lago, since people pay to be members of that resort, and the Secret Service has no latitude over who can be allowed on the property.

So it is now believed that Russian and Chinese espionage may be going on, after the arrest of a Chinese woman with connections to the Chinese security services, and wandering on the property with thumb drives and other intelligence gathering devices.

And all that Donald Trump says is that the incident is a “fluke”, which is a very troubling comment, and makes one wonder if our President is truly concerned about dangers to our nation by his flippant attitude on security.

Propaganda, Much Being Promoted By Russia And Other Enemy Rivals, Manipulating And Distorting Democrats, Both Presidential Candidates And Congressional Leaders

It is already clear that Russia and other enemy rivals, probably including North Korea, China, Iran, and conceivably Saudi Arabia, are working on manipulating and distorting the backgrounds, records, and viewpoints of all potential Democratic Presidential candidates, as well as Congressional leaders of the party opposed to Donald Trump.

Collusion in the 2016 elections is clear, and there were hints of such activities being attempted in the 2018 Midterm Elections, although not as effective.

But the big game is who will control the White House, and these nations mentioned above love that Donald Trump is President, and that they have the ability to influence him, and undermine the democratic process in a deleterious manner.

So one must take with a grain of salt all of the negative points being published and rumored about contenders, with the understanding that no candidate is perfect in every way, and that even with shortcomings, any potential Democratic nominee for President would be a vast improvement over the disastrous, corrupt President we have now in the White House.

We are not looking for perfection, but for a President who will put the interests of the American people in the forefront, and work to reverse the damage done by Donald Trump and his ilk, and move the nation forward to new horizons.

Donald Trump Defends And Believes Murderous Authoritarians Mohammed Bin Salman, Kim Jong Un, And Vladimir Putin: The Degrading Of The Moral Authority Of The Presidency

Donald Trump is the most despicable President in American history, not because he negotiates with authoritarian dictators in the hope of avoiding conflict, but because he, publicly and privately, will take their word, and believe what they say, when they deny murderous activities against Americans and against journalists.

So we have Mohammed bin Salman who was well aware and responsible for the horrific murder of American journalist and Saudi Arabian national Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.

So we have Kim Jong Un who was well aware and responsible for the mistreatment, torture and death of American student Otto Warmbier in 2017.

So we have Vladimir Putin who has arranged the death of journalists and other critics who have been murdered outside the Kremlin and in foreign nations by chemical agents, and also denies involvement in the 2016 Presidential election in the United States in favor of Trump over Hillary Clinton.

By publicly accepting these three liars and their denials, Trump adds to his reputation as a massive liar, who has no concern for human rights and common decency.

In so doing, Donald Trump degrades the moral authority of the American Presidency, and besmirches the office.

For that, he will be condemned in history, and it will cement his last place status among Presidents, below James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.

Donald Trump Engaged In War Against Federal Government Agencies And Workers, Pleasing Vladimir Putin

It is becoming clearer by the day that Donald Trump is engaged in a full scale war against federal government agencies and workers, with his refusal to end the federal government shutdown, harming hundreds of thousands of workers and innumerable agencies.

He is promoting anarchy and division unlike any time since the Civil War, and this pleases Vladimir Putin manifestly.

He has, since he took the Presidential oath, refused to fill many high government positions, and now has shown his total disrespect for federal workers, including denying them pay raises, as well as furloughing many, and others forced to work, but with no pay.

This will soon cause an economic crisis, and many workers will lose their homes or apartments, their autos, and their health, as well as cause great psychiatric stress. Many businesses that work around federal agencies are losing their business, and will disappear, and many workers will leave and go to the private sector, causing great shortages of personnel in key security, law enforcement, and other areas of the federal government.

And the closure of national historical sites, museums, and other tourist locations will harm those areas economies, and disappoint many who had planned tourist trips to these sites, in particular in Washington, DC, but also all around the country.

With so many people living paycheck to paycheck with little funding in reserve, the lives of ordinary Americans will be harmed, and now for the first time, even those whites with only a high school education are finally starting to turn against Trump, as they are now seeing the destruction and damage he has wrought.

Learning that Trump is now seen as clearly colluding with Russia, and took the translator notes from the summit in Helsinki with Putin away from the translator and any other government officials, who have no idea what happened at that summit in July, makes the constitutional crisis we face very more terrifying.

Donald Trump Taking America On Road Of Total Diplomatic, Economic, Constitutional, and Environmental Disasters By His Egotistical Child Like Behavior: Time For Action Now!

As 2018 comes to an end in a few days, it is perfectly clear that President Donald Trump is taking America on the road of total diplomatic and economic disasters by his egotistical child like behavior.

Trump is endangering our friendship and alliance with such nations as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Israel by his reckless courting of the leaders of Russia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, his worship of their authoritarian leaders.

His lack of realism in American foreign policy is emboldening North Korea to continue to develop nuclear weapons; for Russia to develop new nuclear weapons as well; for Saudi Arabia and Turkey to wield power in the Middle East that endangers Israel’s security; and for the relationship with our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to become the worst in a century.

His economic policies are leading us toward a Great Depression, and the destruction of our agricultural economy through the imposition of protectionist tariffs, which never benefit workers or consumers.

His authoritarian bent endangers the rule of law and obedience to the Constitution, and his failure to accept the environmental realities of global warming endanger the nation and the entire planet.

His lack of civility undermines what all parents should teach their children, to be respectful and tolerant toward the opposite gender, as well as people of all religions and nationalities.

The President is the worst role model imaginable, and the corruption and scandals surrounding his administration will soon be investigated in detail by the Democratic Party, and accountability will finally occur.

Trump Insisting On Border Wall, While Abandoning Commitment To Resistance To ISIS And Taliban In Middle East, The Much Greater Long Term Threat To National Security

Donald Trump is creating an economic and constitutional crisis in his stubborn insistence on a border wall, which will not insure the safety of the United States, and is a financial boondoggle.

Meanwhile, he is abandoning a commitment to resistance to two Muslim terrorist groups which are still major problems in the Middle East, ISIS and the Taliban, leaving it to other nations that have ill intent—Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the murderous regime in Syria—to resolve that issue, which, instead, will lead to the further growth of terrorism, which will spread around the globe.

This is a much greater long term threat to American national security, and one can sure that in the future, we will have some kind of major terrorist attack caused by ISIS and or the Taliban in a manner that will affect many Americans.

This, if it happens under the Trump Presidency, would be a perfect excuse for Trump to attempt to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, and accomplish his underlying goal of creating an authoritarian dictatorship on a Fascist model.

This cannot be allowed to happen, and the new 116th Congress must resist Trump at all costs, and Republicans who have any morals or ethics or concern for our historical heritage of rule by law, must join with Democrats to insure the survival of our democratic system of government, at what is clearly now the greatest crisis since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when, fortunately, we had a level headed and mentally stable President in charge.

The Temper Tantrum Of Donald Trump Must Face Democratic Discipline As A Lesson Of What Is Coming

The shutdown of the US government over the Christmas holidays is truly “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”.

Donald Trump is showing just how much of a toddler’s behavior we have to deal with in the Oval Office, and he must face Democratic Party discipline and taught a lesson of what is coming.

Trump will not get his way, will not be allowed to waste taxpayer money in such a reckless way, when a proposed Mexico Wall will have no effect on national security, as there are other ways to protect the border in a more technological manner than a wall which cannot be accomplished in many areas of the 2,000 mile boundary between the US and Mexico.

Trump’s portrayal of the danger of terrorism at the border is preposterous on its face, and instead, he should be changing his plan to leave Syria and now Afghanistan abruptly, when the true terrorist threat of ISIS and the Taliban is being encouraged by Trump’s decision to take rash action on withdrawal of troops.

Leaving both Syria and Afghanistan is a dangerous move that not only affects US national security, and encourages a future Al Qaeda type attack on the American homeland, but also on Americans and other friendly nation nationals in the Middle East over the long haul, as just occurred with two young women slaughtered in Morocco in a brutal ISIS manner.

Withdrawal also encourages Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Syria’s mass murder dictator, and endangers Israel, as it allows expansion of Iranian influence. One can be critical of Israel’s government and its policies, but still be concerned at any threat to its security and survival.

Also, leaving Syria put the courageous Kurdish minority which has fought bravely alongside the US and other allied nations in the cross hairs of the Turkish government, which plans a blood bath to slaughter them, and prevent their establishment of their own nationhood, and this should not be allowed to happen.

If Trump is permitted to win this battle, then constitutional democracy in America and worldwide is threatened.

And Democrats and loyal Americans must make Trump’s Presidency a nightmare, which forces him to resign from office, or convince sensible Republicans that he must be told his time is up, a la what happened with Richard Nixon in 1974 at the end of the Watergate Scandal.

Trump must be taught his limits or the nation is endangered long term.

Donald Trump Has Gone Bonkers By His Action To Withdraw US Forces Fighting ISIS In Syria

The absolutely worst moments of Donald Trump’s Presidency are upon us.

Trump, totally ignorant and clueless on American foreign policy, has ordered the complete, rapid withdrawal of all US forces from Syria, at a time when ISIS is still a threat, and many enemies gain by our withdrawal.

Russia, Iran, Turkey, the murderous regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and the terrorist group Hezbollah all gain.

The NATO allies–Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada and the rest–, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Kurdish allies who are anti Turkish and anti Assad, all are major losers.

Total disarray and gains for authoritarian governments is the result, and we will rue the day that we decided to leave the fight against ISIS, which is not yet totally defeated.

This is all part of a clear plan by Trump to help his friend Vladimir Putin, and Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and ironically, the major enemy of Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Our President is clearly a menace, and many Republicans, including Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Jeff Flake of Nebraska, are coming out of the woodwork to express their disgust and disdain of what the President is doing.

This is the time for James Mattis, Secretary of Defense; Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State; and John Bolton, National Security Adviser, all of whom were strong supporters of remaining in Syria, to announce their mass resignation, and call for Donald Trump to resign.

As I finish this essay, Mattis has announced his resignation, making ever more dangerous the reality that there are no real “adults'” advising Trump on military policy.

Meanwhile, the stock market has been in free fall, and it looks as if the government will be shut down over Christmas, due to the insistence of Donald Trump that there be a 2,000 mile built across our boundary with Mexico, an insane and wasteful idea that will not guarantee security.

It is time for Vice President Mike Pence to speak out against the President, and show some guts and courage to speak his mind.

Donald Trump Rejects Human Rights As A Principle Of American Foreign Policy, Even Theoretically, After Saudi Torture And Murder Of Jamal Khashoggi

President Donald Trump has just destroyed all sense of morality, ethics, and principle, by rejecting human rights as a principle of American foreign policy, even theoretically.

Certainly, other Presidents have often ignored human rights as a principle, including Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan above all, but none as openly as Donald Trump, who has just decided to ignore intelligence information that concludes that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, ordered the assassination and torture of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national living in the United States and working as a journalist for the Washington Post.

Instead, Trump is giving bin Salman a pass, refusing the concept of some kind of punishment to be meted out on Saudi Arabia for this horrendous murder and dismemberment.

No one is saying that the US should break off relations with the Saudi government, but a nation can use other strategies and tactics to indicate outrage at such a violation of human rights.

But instead, Trump, along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and National Security Adviser John Bolton, are choosing to show a lack of concern or principle about the basic decency of promoting basic human rights.

It is just another sign that Trump is cozying up to authoritarian dictators, all for his own economic betterment. It has led to bitter denunciation by many public figures in government, including many Republicans, as well as Democrats.

This author believes that the United States will one day realize the danger of what has been done, that Mohammed bin Salman will turn out as King of Saudi Arabia in the future, as the most dangerous foreign leader long term, probably more than Kim Jong of North Korea, who like bin Salman, is in his early 30s, and both will be a nightmare long term in the world, way beyond the leaders of Russia and China, who are twice their age.