I kind of lump 1-4 in the same boat. IF under Trump we decide to commit "boots on the groumd" to resolving ANY of these situations we will be the losers. After so many years we should now understand that the sectarian violence is something the actors of the region have to work out. We can assist in the process but cannot be the factor that makes it happen. Hope we have learned our lesson but not quite sure if we still have some of the old thinking in regards to that area. Similarly as Commander in Chief I KNOW Trump really has not demonstrated any credible plan for the area. 

N Korea is primarily bluster which by itself is not a threat directly to us but pretty much only to S Korea. That said other actor states in the area (ie China and Russia) should ultimately care about this rogue regime as well. My big concern is two bully type leaders throwing verbal punches and it getting out of hand. Even with their increasing capabilities, I believe our technology pretty much has the capability to effectively deter anything they throw at the US. 

China is troubling not only because of their military might but their economic might (although it is on shaky ground in terms of total debt). With Trump very much disregarding the combined weight of those two factors and his loose lip this could be very troublesome and perhaps not so much militarily but more on the economic side. 

Russia is the worry of the "Trojan Horse" in how Trump openly embraces a regieme that is trying to regain its footing power wise in the world. People in the past have thought they have looked into Putin soul only to find they were wrong. I see Trump making the same mistake. 

Central America will likely be ignored by the Trump administration and that will be a HUGE mistake. We think instability in Mexico is bad, well these areas are much worse and the consequences to our nation from them is more than people imagine. 

 

Last edited by tennyson (12/26/2016 11:35 am)