12-03-2016, 04:31 AM
(12-03-2016, 03:59 AM)Dill Wrote: Yes, I've expressed this worry in other threads. Trump is least knowledgeable about foreign policy, and that is where presidential power--including the power to launch military strikes and direct covert actions--is least constrained.
George W. Bush gives us some idea of how much damage one president's foreign policy can do. But in retrospect he seems much more stable and informed than Trump.
It's not only his lack of experience that are worrisome now, but also who has his ear on foreign policy. If the Taiwan call was a simple blunder, every world leader, friend and foe, will take note. This is a president who will be unusually dependent upon others advice, if he takes foreign affairs seriously at all.
If it was intended to rile China, then goal is not clear. But it is clear that some 40 years of diplomatic achievement are suddenly at risk. The calls to Sharif and Duterte seem equally reckless, if less consequential.
And all this going forward while Obama is still in office and only finding out about these contacts as we do--from Trump's tweets and CNN.
It really is a bit unnerving. I'm not really that concerned about his domestic agenda. It really unnerves me that he is going to set the agenda for our foreign relations. Why is he so cozy with Putin, but anti-Cuba and anti-Mexico. Trying to buddy up to Durante, and pissing off the Chinese, makes no sense to me.
