The Summer of Summits

[Dill]

(06-11-2018, 01:21 PM)jj22 Wrote: The thinking is Trump won't stand up to Kim, as there's a move by Trump to align America with Russia and NK and against our traditional allies in Canada and Europe. We saw this play out at the G7 Trump spent pouting because Putin wasn't there. I'm not sure what to make out the potential of the summits, but I hope he goes representing America and not Russia again.

I don't think Trump is intentionally aligning the US with Russia and the NK, though he is furthering their policy goals with nothing yet to show for the US. If you are GB, Canada, Germany and Japan you have to wonder what is happening when the US leader loudly claims the G7 ought to be G8 again and disses the leaders of our most trusted allies.

Trump's actions over the last year seem to align Russia, China, and the NK, not so much with the US, but with each other, and ever more closely than before. He has cleared a lot of international space for them (by which I mean, created a power vacuum), while giving them ever more incentive to cooperate.

US foreign policy realists have to be pretty shocked and confused right now as the US president most concerned with appearing "strong" seems to undermine US power and leadership at every turn.