Donald Trump has portrayed himself as a skilled foreign policy maker who, as president, weakened our adversaries and increased America’s respect around the world — and he vows to do so again if elected in November.
In fact, President Trump’s record is the exact opposite of what he claims, and his return to the White House could seriously undermine America’s standing and security in the world.
President Trump has made devastating decisions that undermine the security of America and our allies and strengthen authoritarian regimes.praiseRussian President Vladimir Putin’s comments surprised foreign policy and intelligence experts at home and abroad.EmbraceThe comments from North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, have emboldened the reckless dictator and his campaign for a deployable nuclear arsenal.
Perhaps Trump’s biggest mistake was with regard to Iran, one of America’s most ardent and dangerous enemies. He has led the U.S.OutsideIn 2015, they signed a multilateral agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for better economic treatment from the West. International experts say the plan works because Iran is focusing its nuclear program primarily on energy, not war, but President Trump quickly halted it.
He argued that imposing new economic sanctions on Iran would cripple the Iranian regime and force it to beg for better, The New York Times recently reported.report“Trump was wrong on both counts. … Iran is closer than ever to the ability to produce multiple nuclear weapons and has dramatically increased the rate of its nuclear fuel production in recent weeks.”
This is exactly what military and diplomatic experts predicted when President Trump boldly withdrew the United States from the treaty known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).I have writtenFive years ago: “Not surprisingly, President Trump’s reckless ‘maximum pressure’ campaign to reimpose sanctions that were lifted when Iran met key requirements of the JCPOA has done nothing to force changes in Iran’s regional behavior that threaten U.S. allies.”
“What is most tragic about this deepening crisis is that President Trump’s decision to violate U.S. commitments under the JCPOA appears to be based on a series of lies and misconceptions repeatedly asserted by President Trump and his senior officials,” the Arms Control Association said. Specifically, the “nonsense” that the Obama/Biden administration would have given Iran “unfettered access to nuclear weapons.”
Five years later, on April 13, 2024, we can see how alarming Iran has become as a nuclear threat.
Iran has unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel, which continues to attack Iranian-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Arms Control Association report The next day, Iran said it had closed its nuclear facilities to international inspectors, and a senior military official said that if Israel retaliated by attacking Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Iran could reconsider its ban on developing nuclear weapons.
Another geopolitical watchdog group, Responsible Statecraft, recently released a report on the Middle East.analysisThe article, titled “Abandoning the Iran Nuclear Deal is One of President Trump’s Biggest Mistakes,” said the decision brought Tehran “closer to a nuclear weapon than ever before.”
Whereas President Trump was reckless and reckless in his response to Iran, the Biden-Harris administration has maintained a firm and pragmatic stance. After Iran attacked Israel with missiles and drones in April, President BidenSaidThe US and its G7 allies will “act jointly to increase economic pressure on Iran” and take steps to limit Iran’s destabilizing military programs.
As Trump seeks to return to the White House, his foreign policy ideas remain as reckless and flawed as ever.I sworeThis is to encourage Russia to do “whatever it wants” with NATO member states that do not meet military spending guidelines.
Domestic and economic issues have always been at the heart of US presidential elections, but voters must not overlook the risk of once again putting Trump, with his little understanding or interest in geopolitical policy and interests, in a position to do great harm.
Charles Babington covered Washington, including Congress and the White House, for 20 years for The Washington Post, The Associated Press and The News & Observer in Raleigh.
