Mr. Trump’s Foreign Policy Confusions

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD AUG. 16, 2016



Donald Trump’s speech on Monday was advertised as an attempt to redirect his campaign from a series of blunders to a more serious discussion of foreign policy, starting with combating global terrorism. As such, it marked another test of his readiness to lead. It did not go well.

Far from coherent analysis of the threat of Islamic extremism and a plausible blueprint for action, the speech was a collection of confused and random thoughts that showed little understanding of the rise of the Islamic State and often conflicted with the historical record.

Meanwhile, with terrorism as his central focus, Mr. Trump doubled down on the anti-refugee themes that have dominated his campaign, dressing them up as a national security issue. He proposed a new “extreme vetting” approach to immigration that would impose an ideological test on newcomers and undermine the very American values of tolerance and equal treatment that he said he wanted to encourage. He also called for the creation of a commission that would “expose the networks in our society that support radicalization,” which struck many listeners as an uncomfortable echo of McCarthyism.

There are, of course, reasons to criticize President Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee and Mr. Obama’s former secretary of state, for their handling of the Middle East. They dropped the ball in Libya after Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was ousted, and their ill-defined strategy in Syria has generated many legitimate questions.

But Mr. Trump’s attempt to blame them for unleashing the Islamic State and destabilizing the Middle East shows either misunderstanding or ignorance. America can no longer just dictate international events, no matter who is president. The people and leaders of the Middle East are the ones who brought about the Arab Spring and its aftermath, first raising hopes for more democratic societies and then leaving the region in turmoil.


Mr. Trump further mischaracterized Iran, suggesting that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton had helped make it the region’s dominant power. It is not. Israel remains a formidable military and economic rival, as do the Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia that regard Iran as an adversary.

Iran is indeed a threat in the region, given its support for Hezbollah, Hamas, President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and its involvement in Yemen. But lumping Iran, which is a Shiite nation, with the Sunni militants of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda makes no sense. In fact, Iran and the Sunni groups are enemies.

Mr. Trump seems also to be suffering from amnesia, as if all recent history began with Mr. Obama and conveniently avoiding the fact that many of the policies he denounced derive from George W. Bush. Among these policies were regime change and nation-building, which Mr. Bush pursued in Afghanistan and Iraq, and which Mr. Obama has largely abandoned.

Having listened to Mr. Trump’s complaints about overreach, it was startling to hear him argue that the United States should have seized Iraq’s oil assets after the 2003 invasion and deployed American troops, presumably indefinitely, to protect them. It is hard to imagine that Iraq would be more stable today, or the United States would be any more welcome, if Washington had seized what Mr. Trump called the “spoils” of war for itself.

After previously drawing sharp criticism for denigrating NATO, Mr. Trump reversed course and said he would work closely with the alliance on counterterrorism. He also pledged to form a new partnership against terrorism with Israel, Egypt and Jordan. He expressed confidence he could work with Russia as well, a reminder of his questionable affinity for President Vladimir Putin and his campaign manager’s close ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

He ended with an upbeat flourish. “We want to build bridges and erase divisions,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “We will reject bigotry and hatred and oppression in all of its many ugly forms.” Nice words, but nothing about Mr. Trump’s campaign is likely to persuade people that that is what he really believes.

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Last edited by Goose (8/16/2016 5:20 am)