Who Are America's Allies Now?
A Saturday Prompt
Yesterday Donald Trump continued his attacks on America’s allies in NATO, whining about their refusal to participate in the deadly mission to open the Strait of Hormuz. These are traditional allies who were neither consulted nor advised about Trump’s ill-informed and badly planned decision to launch a war against Iran.
“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump posted, falsely calling the opening of the Strait through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply flows “a simple military maneuver” and involving “so little risk.” He was not done insulting these sovereign nations: “COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”
In a sane world, a U.S. president would have consulted and advised allies before launching a major assault on Tehran. Failing to do so, he would understand the need to acknowledge his mistakes and reach out to allies with dignity and respect. Any angry confrontations would be private, not bellowed on social media.
But this White House occupant—a very stupid bully indeed—cannot grasp that abusing people and countries only makes things worse. He is discovering that all of America’s military might and his angry insults cannot force sovereign nations and their leaders to forsake their principles to do his bidding.
Falsely declaring that “the fight is militarily WON” does not change their reluctance nor the continuing dangers that he has unleashed. As Reuters soberly summarized yesterday, “The conflict has roiled global markets, killed thousands and displaced millions since U.S.-Israel strikes began on Feb. 28.” Trump may claim the affordability issue is “a hoax,” but don’t doubt his desperation is growing as oil prices have already soared over $100 a barrel, U.S. gas prices have risen nearly a dollar a gallon and consumers are already facing rising costs from his war of choice.
So while Trump lashes out against NATO allies—who, by the way, have agreed to defend other NATO members, not to help them launch attacks—we might assume that Israel remains a steadfast partner in this reckless military adventure. Yet Trump has even been busy lying about Israel: After Israel’s bombing of one of Iran’s major offshore gas fields, South Pars, Trump insisted he knew nothing about it and did not participate.
Three Israeli officials contradicted this. They said the U.S. was informed, underscoring the consistent problem of trusting Trump. As The New York Times’ David Sanger cooly put it in an article that describes the U.S. and Israel’s “divergent strategies”: “In a war that is about to complete its third week with no end in sight, the attack and the furious counterstrikes on the energy facilities of Persian Gulf states revealed that the two allies were clearly not coordinated in their approach.”
Add to this mess: Trump may have counted on Arab nations, flush with petrodollars, as his preferred allies. That includes Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. But the more Iran’s attacks on their nations continue, harming their oil and gas businesses and the tourism industry they’ve aggressively worked to build, the more fractured those relationships become.
All expense paid trip to Dubai, anyone? Anyone? Tourism is at a standstill—hundreds of ballistic missiles and over a thousand drones have been detected over the UAE, as well as a drone strike at the Dubai airport—and urbanologist Richard Florida has penned a Times essay asking, “Could This Be the End of Dubai?” Nice work, Donald.
And then there’s Russia, Trump’s preferred partner, led by a murderous dictator about whom Trump never has a cross word. We have learned that Russia has been supplying intel to Iran to target U.S. forces, while Trump is now rewarding Vladimir Putin by removing sanctions on Russia’s oil. This, as the movie title goes, is a mad, mad world.
This is why it’s important to elect leaders who believe in collaboration and partnership, who understand the value of soft power and diplomacy, who are not narcissistic bullies who imagine they can bend the will of people and historically supportive allies through fear, intimidation and the threat of violence. There’s a reason why democratic countries work together: They take seriously their shared values and purpose; they would not ruin their historic bonds based on ego and whim.
It’s no wonder that America—defined by and broken by Trump’s derangement and utter lack of principle—has never been so friendless. Now we are learning what it means to be a pariah.
So what do you think? Who are America’s allies now? Will this change after the Iran war ends? Has Trump succeeded in permanently breaking our country’s NATO alliances? Do you believe that, once Trump is gone, once a Democratic president takes over, our traditional allies will return to the fold, albeit chastened? Is it helpful to remember that many countries once counted on America to be a beacon of democracy and an important and reliable partner?
As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for the America, America community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.
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Good analysis. We have been alienating our allies and cozying up to dictators since Trump got elected,. This will have long-term detrimental effects to both our foreign and domestic policies.
Thank you, Mr. Beschloss. I don’t know how our former allies can have made a judgment about America as an ally in the future when sane heads in America are spinning at the realignment djt and company are engineering. I would hope that our former allies would watch and await developments in America.