President Trump could not resist the temptation of going to war in Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu had been working to get Trump to do it and finally was successful when Israel began a bombing campaign in Iran and the U.S. President appeared to not want to be left out.
The ironical difference from the past is that, instead of building and leading a coalition of the willing, our Commander in Chief was relegated to following in Israel’s footsteps. Being a follower and not a leader is a measure of how much American stature in the world has fallen.
The outcome of the bombing was predictable as Iran’s nuclear capability remains in tack. What was not predicted was the fact that our President has also fallen from being an admirer of President Putin of Russia who does have some world status to a partnership with a criminally indicted Israeli Prime Minister who is finding that making war is a good way to stay out of jail.
9/11 focused the country on Osama Bin Laden as the author of terror on American soil to the point of justifying an invasion and regime change in Iraq and a 20-year war in Afghanistan. All of this was going on while China was rising to the top of world presence.
I distinctly remember a conversation about China and Asia with my son on my visit to Okinawa to see him take command of the 33rd Combat Air Rescue Squadron at Kadena Air Base. Despite his previous five deployments to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and with activity still going on there, he was quite adamant about the Asia-Pacific as the place America needed to concentrate its economic and military power.
China had already been predicted to evolve into the number one economy in the world and was quickly building its military infrastructure designed to rival and perhaps, surpass that of the United States. Since then, China has become the center of an emerging economic order while our country cannot make up its mind about staying in global competition or withdrawing into isolation.
When Trump fantasized about a Gaza Riviera empty of Palestinians but full of tourists and hotels managed by the Trump family, Netanyahu was listening and saw his chance to come out from under the arms of the Israeli judicial system. Netanyahu, in the name of the survival of Israel, is conducting an attrition campaign to brutally reduce the Gaza community enough so that what is left of its residence will want to leave.
But the big prize in this regard is a long-term war with Iran that will not only keep him in power, but also, keep the United States engaged and focused on that area of the world. By following Netanyahu into an armed conflict with Iran, President Trump not only has violated the America First political agenda he sold to his constituency, but of more serious importance, is taking economic and military resources off the Asia-Pacific challenge that will determine America’s continued predominance in the world.
The convoluted chaos that is American foreign policy is causing old friends to leave the trust represented by our alliances. For example, Japan and South Korea did not bother to attend the NATO meetings and both NATO and G7 nations appear to be on a path away from the United States. American foreign policy seems to come from distorted national priorities as well as private business interest held by some of our political leaders. This means China wins again.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
