Is an overall basic and coherent U.S. Foreign Policy possible?
Big Al says: “Our President definitely “shoots from the hip on many issues. In the case of an overall, cohesive foreign policy Mr. Ullman and co-author Arnaud de Borchgrave, bring out the importance of an overall foreign policy, but, rightfully ask the questions with Trump’s temperament and the convoluted world that we live in “is that even possible?” I believe that it a perfect world the answer would be “yes” but in our world, the answer is no.”
Desperately needed: an American foreign policy
The United States has a national security strategy and a national defense strategy. Both were written by professionals. Both are largely viewed as credible. But what is America’s foreign policy?
Is it “America first” and what does that mean? Is it a policy of bilateral rather than multilateral diplomacy in which agreements such as the Paris Climate Change Accord and the TransPacific Partnership are impediments? Or is it a policy of lessened U.S. international engagement and involvement?
The answer is none of the above. American foreign policy today is what President Donald Trump decides it is, often on the spur of the moment. Moreover, it is a policy frequently announced by tweet in less than 280 characters that can come day or night and usually without warning. And it is a policy regularly uninformed by fact and truth and by presidential instinct and experience gained in a lifetime of real estate dealings.
On May 12, the president must decide on continuing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that prevents Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both have tried to persuade the president to stay the course. But Macron has said publicly that he believes the president will not heed his advice.
In about month’s time, the president may meet with North Korea‘s leader Kim Jung Un to negotiate “denuclearization” of the peninsula and perhaps a peace treaty to replace the truce that halted the Korean conflict in 1953. How the president deals with the JCPOA could have serious if not profound consequences for the meeting with Kim. If the president chooses to leave that agreement, how might Kim react? Similarly, if he allows the agreement to continue, what responses might that provoke?
Withdrawal will obviously force Kim to question why the president would honor any agreement with his country. That doubt could induce Kim to impose certain guarantees to assure American compliance. One might be a formal treaty. But that treaty would require a two-thirds vote in the U.S. Senate. And, as with the Anti-Ballistic Treaty signed in 1972 and abrogated 30 years later, the same could happen with the North.
Similarly, what if the president took no action vis a vis the JCPOA? The likely answer is the same. At a later date, the president could change his mind. So make no mistake: Kim will have thought through both prospects, applying his natural suspicion and cunning in forming his responses.
The fundamental conceptual and practical flaws in using single issues such as the JCPOA or Korean meeting as surrogates for a coherent foreign policy are self-evident. What is America trying to achieve and how does the single issue conform with a broader policy? Denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula by itself is a noble aim. However, the chances that Kim will disarm are virtually zero for the foreseeable future.
More to the point, the logical conclusion of this negotiation could ultimately lead to some form of unification of the two Koreas. While that in itself may seem a viable outcome, that may not be favorably viewed in the region. Japan is the obvious case. However, China may not be entirely happy with unification, especially if the peninsula combined the south’s economic viability with the nuclear programs of the north. And what is Plan B if there is no negotiation or negotiations fail?
It is unknown how deeply the president has weighed into thinking through this negotiation and considering first, second, third and other order consequences. His national security team in the White House is brand new. And while his just confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had the benefit of more than a year as director of the CIA, that perspective was far different from the view from Foggy Bottom.
Above all, an effective foreign policy for the 21st century must appreciate that 20th century concepts such as the notion of a largely bipolar strategic world no longer applies. Today’s politics are too interconnected to be dealt with on a separate or isolated, one-off opportunity. The Korean dilemma as well as Syria involves many players all with different agendas. With Korea, the South, Japan, China and Russia have separate and often conflicting interests. Where is the overall foreign policy that takes each into account?
What now passes for “foreign policy” does not meet that criterion. The risk is that without a broader foreign policy construct, even a “successful” negotiation still could have many unfavorable downsides.
Harlan Ullman is the principal author of “shock and awe” and Distinguished Senior Fellow and Visiting Professor at the U.S. Naval War College. His latest book is “Anatomy of Failure — Why America Loses Every War It Starts. Follow him @harlankullman.
And that Mr. Irish is why I made my comment.
AL…Go & read the lists that b posted, thats America’s foreign policy.
As it was in the past, so it shall be in the future.
Faiir enough, Mr. Irish
Have to agree with your thoughts on this question, Al. Not knowing the President and how his mind works, I’d have to guess after watching him for 15 months that he may look at a written policy as something created by those ignorant policy wonks in Washington and meant to constrain a real leader like himself, who needs the freedom to act as he chooses and in his mind was elected to do. Possibly something on the same order as Kim Jong Un ……….JMO
Silverdollar…I think it should be clear to everyone by now, the President does not make foreign policy…Thats made by the people who CONTROL AMERICA.
Exactly. And for THEM it is perfectly coherent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KMVhb57RqI
Pretty simple–as long as we’re betraying ourselves and our sovereignty to serve Israel, of course we can’t have a coherent policy, whether foreign or domestic.
I am not particularly convinced that our mandate is to serve Israel.
I really hope that you are incorrect, Mr. Irish. Unfortunately, I am starting to think along your lines.
Interesting thought Silver and you could very well be correct.
Guys:
Trump’s foreign policy is set by Sheldon Adelson. He bought the presidency for $30 million. Trump has been lying about his wealth for years. He needed Adelson to fund his campaign and in exchange Adelson owns him and tells him what to do.
ROFLMAO….😂
Where do you come up with this stuff..?
Things you can do with tin foil.
chapter 7 hats.
Gotta tell you b, I learned that a long time ago! That is why I asked Bob Moriarty to provide documented proof from a reputable site.
I believe Bob, I was makin a joke.
A bit of an interesting thing about tin foil hat conspiracy type people, they never did believe in magic bullets.
Bob what is this conclusion based on. Is it simply your opinion or is it a provable fact. If you feel it is based on a provable fact, please provide a link to a source instead of just calling anyone who disagrees with you, “stupid”.
Thank you
Al:
You need to learn to think for yourself. You act as if you need to see it in black and white in the bible before you are allowed to believe something.
Life means sometimes having to come to conclusions for yourself. Do you think Sheldon Adelson keeps a diary of what he tells Trump to do and I need to find that diary and link to it? Why not just follow what Adelson says he wants and see if Trump, follows? And that’s really easy to do
I went through Army intelligence school. I was an intelligence officer in combat. You are taught to ignore everything you are told because everyone has an agenda and pay attention to what you can see and learn to think for yourself. I only call people stupid when they are stupid.
It’s stupid of you to ask me to link to a source when I have asked you repeatedly to link to a source backing up the Turd’s lies about others when he said, “Futures market manipulation and spoofing??
I thought Weiner/Christian/Armstrong/Moriarty/Norcini/Casey/Gilbert all assured us the markets were sacrosanct, free and fair!”
Nobody said that ever, Turd is a liar and it’s two faced of you to ask me for a link and not ask him for a link.
I don’t remember you asking me about Fergeson. Sorry, I do know how to appologize.
McKinney also was an army intelligence offices in combat He was also decorated by various countries. I have seen his service record.
I don’t need to see everything in black and white in the Bible and I don’t know where you got that idea.
I know that you are very opinionated and I appreciate that. I also remember a conversation that we had at Passport Potash a few years ago.
Dealing with people in a business that I was a part of for 40 years has taught me the importance of verification from everyone friend or foe.
Hope that you understand.
Al:
Many times you cannot get verification and have to make decisions based on incomplete information. Some things cannot be verified at all and you are forced to think for yourself.
Take the latest gas false flag operation. Assad was winning and the terrorists were about to toss in the towel, why would Assad attack civilians with gas when that would be the dumbest thing he could possibly do.
The board has changed a lot and a lot of people are coming to the realization that we are lied to a lot and you must think for yourself. 20 years ago the Deep State controlled the narrative. They no longer do and people are realizing that most of what you are told is a flat out lie.
You really do need to work on thinking for yourself. It’s a weak point and I really doubt that I am the only one to believe that.
I will do a Daily Editorial on your comment a bit later today.
Nitty U……..needs to keep his nose out of everyone’s business…..
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-30/watch-live-netanyahu-addresses-israel-dramatic-news-about-iran
Sorry Jerry , i did not see your post….SNAP
No problem……..I am glad we both saw it………Great minds think alike……. Hope your day is going well, or better…….. Great……
Your posted link OOTB would not work for me.
try Irish post below……same article at zerohedge….
Watch out, Satans right hand man has spoken.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-30/watch-live-netanyahu-addresses-israel-dramatic-news-about-iran
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Revelations 1
oops…….Revelation 2
I have certainly been introduced to that particular passage.
OOTB, I have come to the point where I put most secular Jews in that category. I feel that way after reading a lot of the Bible which includes both the Old and the New Testament.
You have to read both, Old and New ….just to get a handle on ,where we are, where we have been, and where we are headed……..
This link also does not work for me Mr. Irish
Fear and anxiety are baked in our DNA. Deep within the American psyche is the pathological impulse to exaggerate dangers. Those that pull the strings are well aware of this.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed. This is an empirical reality.
A Dangerous World. Threat Perception And U.S. National Security.-Cato Institute-
Chapter 1 How Dangerous? History and Nuclear Alarmism.
Anything is possible. It starts with you.
I don’t agree that it is anything particular to the American psyche. For both WW1 and WW2, the American people were solidly against war. Any people can be manipulated with fear, as per the classic Hermann Goering quote:
“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on
a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of
it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people
don’t want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in
Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the
country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to
drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist
dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no
voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the
country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
The problem is that Americans have ceded their mass media, and thus their culture, to Pharisaic ‘Jews’ who view gentiles as cattle.
‘Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up & blow away!’ Benjamin Netanyahu
Here is what I found on that; “Netanyahu: “Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away.”
It is in many places on the web but this appears to be the earliest reference:
The demise of global communications security / http://www.onlinejournal.org/Special_Reports/092105Madsen/092105madsen.html
U.S. intelligence sources report that the one Israeli who is considered an extreme threat to U.S. national security is former prime minister and current prime minister hopeful Binyamin Netanyahu. Not only has Netanyahu visited convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in his North Carolina prison cell and advocated strenuously for his release, but he was once overheard by an ex-CIA agent as saying to a group of his supporters, “Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away.”
© 2005 WayneMadsenReport.com
Wayne Madsen – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (crackpot?)
“On June 9, 2008 he reported that unnamed “GOP dirty tricks operatives” had found a Kenyan birth certificate registering the birth of Barack Obama, Jr. on August 4, 1961. “However, the registration is a common practice in African countries whose citizens abroad have families with foreign nationals.”[50] This birth certificate was a cornerstone of the “Kenyan Born” subset of the birther conspiracy theories, and Madsen’s article was cited in a Washington state petition challenging Obama’s eligibility to serve.[51]”
I posted this birth certificate last week, ….From the “Q” site, ….
One thing is for sure…….you can not be born in two different hospital,
and the one, Obama claimed as USA born in Hawaii…Was proven FAKE…according To Sheriff JOE…..
https://media.8ch.net/file_store/9883a70ba569ee45941a4b79290a7a1453977a86955244666c26810f3363514f.jpg
I STILL want to see his COLLEGE RECORDS>>>>>>>>
This BIRTH CERTIFICATE issue is not going away………
Matter of Fact , the Hawaii official who said the birth certificate was real., IS DEAD.
Updated……..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81PhCfUxUVA
Something’s fishy about Obama.
https://www.theblaze.com/contributions/barack-obama-the-ghost-of-columbia-university
If you became president, would it be hard to find people who could talk about your past? I don’t think it would be for any normal person.
Exactly………Obama is a FAKE…….planted Marxist………
GH
A comparison could be the U.S and Canada.The Canadians could have Nukes if they would have made that decision.
Obama reinforces the narrative on April 11,2010 with “the atomic terrorist” “the single biggest threat to U.S security”
Lets regress for a moment and think about how many people in the world know how to make nuclear bombs? Do you really believe that any Country would give a terrorist a nuclear bomb?
The 900 lb elephant in the room is of course the Multi National Banks.
Nobody does anything these days without a banker.
Which is also interesting because the Muslim religion has strict rules about “USURY”
I am coming to the conclusion that the Muslims you are referring to fall into the mislead or secular category.
OPEC money ended up in money center banks in New York and London, which intern ended up as loans to African and Latin American Countries. Do you know how the rest of the story goes?
GH, I assume that you are referring to secular Jews. Am I correct?
No, more sects that are heavily into the Kabbalah and Talmud. The supremacist quotes I have been posting from rabbis and the Talmud.
I think there are a great many secular, assimilated Jews who have little or no more idea about these matters than the average American. And there are groups of Jews that oppose Zionism and, I believe, Talmudism.
In the end, it is a question of values. The values of the Talmud and values of Christianity are polar opposites.
I don’t know enough to categorize, I suppose. I guess there’s a question of leadership versus their minions of all factions. The leadership’s influence reaches in many directions, via their control of financing, information (education, mass media), organizations (NGOs, think tanks, etc.). So many of their pawns don’t even know their role. E.g. all the liberal protesters in the streets when Trump was elected. In a sense, we’re all their minions, to the extent we’ve been hornswoggled into actively or passively supporting them in their machinations for a global government.
It seems they operate by pushing peoples’ psychological buttons, setting up factions and nations in conflict, each believing in their position. They take advantage of the resulting chaos to reshape the world to their design.
Of course it is dangerous to the “you” your are referring to here.
The comment was directed to GH. With that being said do you have any idea how much a nuclear bomb weighs? Terrorists can buy weapons but no one is selling nukes. Nuclear forensics can determine where the bomb came from after it exploded. What do you think would happen to them? How many wars are happening right now in Countries with Nuclear weapons as we speak?
Nuclear weapons are a high price for International prestige .Plus they seem to be a deterrent against other countries bombing you.
PNAC- Project For A New American Bombing Campaign. If we can’t do it by god we’ll sell bombs to somebody who can.
And it’s OK if they want to sell their 12 year old daughter to a pedophile.
By the way Al I know you claim to want to hear both sides.With that being said you are far from being unbiased with your comments.
Remember last year when you said “As a practicing Jew” ? I don’t question one’s convictions but the atrocities have been going on for a long time.It’s not like this just started yesterday. Isn’t it about time we started concentrating on the problems here in the U S for a while?
The letter denounced Israel’s newly-founded Herut party and its young leader, Menachem Begin.
Herut was carved out of the Irgun terrorist gang, famous for its many massacres against Palestinian Arab communities leading up to the Nakba, the catastrophic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from their historic homeland in 1947-48.
On April 19, Israel celebrated its independence. “The Nazi and Fascist” mentality that defined Herut in 1948 now defines the most powerful ruling class in Israel. Israel’s leaders speak openly of genocide and murder, yet they celebrate and promote Israel as if an icon of civilization, democracy, and human rights.
OOTB:
The motto of the Mossad is “By way of deception” why would anyone not understand that they believe the way to conduce business and foreign policy is to lie about everything? It’s not me saying they lie about everything, it’s the Mossad. Does anyone not understand that Netanyahu is lying through his teeth about Iranian nuclear files.
He always lies. He wants to start WW III so the US and Russia destroy each other.
Ditto Bob,………no problem here……I under stand the FAKE JEWs have been running the show since 1947 .
and before that……
Unfortunately, some of the pew warmers, have not done their homework…….
Please define the term “pew warmer”. Thank you 00TB.
so called christian, which go to church on sunday, and never read or comprehend scripture. lukewarm…I have meet a lot of self proclaimed christian, which are still on babies milk.
2 Timothy 2:15 King James Version (KJV)
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
baby’s milk…….they need to get to the meat of the subject……
Check out Martin Luther’s words on the topic. He could be speaking today.
GH please give me a source.
Even the name of the source is ‘anti-semitic’, Al…fire and brimstone, I guess. It’s quite extreme. But, in the interest of hearing all sides:
I had decided not to write anymore,
neither of the Jews, nor against the Jews.
Because I have learned, however that those
miserable, wicked people do not cease trying
to win over to themselves us, that is, the
Christians also, I have permitted this booklet
to go forth that I might be found among
those who have resisted such poisonous undertaking
of the Jews, and have warned the
Christians to be on their guard against them.
I would not have thought that a Christian
would permit himself to be fooled by the
Jews to share their exile and misery. But the
Devil is the God of the world, and where
God’s word is not, he has easy sailing, not
only among the weak, but also among the
strong. God help us. Amen.
MARTIN LUTHER
From the book……….
CHARITABLE WITH OUR WEALTH
I hear it said that the Jews give large sums of
money and thereby are helpful to the government.
Yes, from what do they give it? Not of their own,
but from the property of the rulers and subjects,
whom they deprive of their possessions through usury !
And thus the rulers take from the subjects what the
Jews have taken, that is: subjects must give money
and suffer themselves to be fleeced for the Jews so
they can remain in the land freely to lie, slander,
curse and steal. Should not the despairing Jews have
a good laugh over the way we suffer ourselves to be
fooled and be led around by the nose to give our money
in order that they may stay in the land to practice
all manner of wickedness? On top of all that they
even become rich on our sweat and blood, but we become
poor and are sucked dry by them?
3 “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy astone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be bseverely 1injured. And all the cnations of the earth will be gathered against it.
Zechariah 12:3
cant come soon enough.
You better hope you are not here,…….
The Book of Revelation states: “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and with righteousness he judges and makes war.” [Rev 19:11] We now see Christ, not as a lamb, but as a warrior, ready to make war against the forces of evil. There is a passage in Zechariah which is identified with this event: “I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped… Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations…
So far in this day and age Zachariah could be completely correct.
OOTB if by “fake Jew” you mean secular Jew, I would agree with you.
Tactics straight out of the Talmud
Another opinion, Bob. Need some back-up.
Al:
You want documentation, go to the FBI reports on the “Dancing Israelis” where they said this.
Give us 20 years and we will take over your media and destroy your country. Israeli employee of Urban Moving Systems September 2001 (From FBI Report of 9/11/01)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62392807/Dancing-Israelis-FBI-document-Section-1-1138796-001-303A-NK-105536-Section-1-944861
They are on track. Is an FBI report good enough for you?
Al:
Netanyahu has the public documents referring to the pre-2003 nuclear weapons program of Iran that they stopped all work on. The IAEA has those documents, the US has those documents and they refer to a program that stopped in 2003 and all 17 US intelligence agencies, the Mossad and the IAEA all agree Iran has no nuclear weapons program and the documents do not refer to any current operations and plans.
In short, Netanyahu lied again as he always does and you failed to think for yourself again.
There is no Iranian nuclear weapons program any more than there were Iraqi WMD. The same people who lied us into Iraq and Libya want to lie us into war with Russia, China and Iran.
That would be ultra stupid of us to do. So we will. Our masters demand it.
This isn’t good IMO if it’s true…………..https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-30/hes-idiot-john-kelly-reportedly-insults-trump-front-aides-plans-may-departure
From the article: “Kelly has at times made remarks that have rattled female staffers. Kelly has told aides multiple times that women are more emotional than men”
Rattled? Is that because they’re more emotional? LOL couldn’t help myself.
The new party line, toe it or else: there is no difference between men and women.
I would bet that Donald T. does not feel that way.
I’m pretty sure you’re right!
KELLY Tweets………THAT IS BS>>>>>>>>>>see zerohedge again…….
MORE FAKE NEWS>>>>>>>
Iran drops the dollar. Others tried and were bombed. ‘It’s all about the banking,’ says Lee Camp @RT
Netanyahu shows slides, shelves of docs claiming Iran has nuclear weapons program @RT
Jay Taylor interviews William Engdahl on his new book:
Manifest Destiny, Democracy as Cognitive Dissonance (19 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZuEWBAdh1w&feature=youtu.be
Abby Martin & Joe Rogan on Israel’s Massacre at Gaza Border
I guess there is a t shirt of a pregnant woman targeted with a scope, it says, “1 shot 2 kills”
These Israelis are scum, How on earth can anyone say they follow Jesus and support Israel?
Forget the christians, how can anyone with an once of decency support Israel?
Joe Rogan is so full of crap. He thinks he’s smarter than he actually is. I was waiting for Abby to pick up on it.
Joe Rogan” Whites are vitamin D deficient Blacks.” AYFKM
Rogan might be full of crap but its Abby Martin with the important information.
I’m with you on that one b.I think you posted her before.The other video you posted on Abby is a must watch also.That one shot, two kills is insane.
thank-you
Nobody ever aid that Israel follows Jesus. That is a huge contradiction.
I sure did not say that Al.
I asked “How on earth can anyone say they follow Jesus and support Israel?”
As to the border crossing folks, what’s in THEIR wallet?
In answer to the question..IMO…no.