That he may not be “qualified” is unimportant.
That he’s never held a government or elected position is unimportant.
That on a personal level he may be a shmuck is unimportant.
What counts to me mainly at this early stage is that he – as opposed
to dear Hillary – is unlikely to start a war against Russia. His
questioning of the absolute sacredness of NATO, calling it “obsolete”,
and his meeting with Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, an
outspoken critic of US regime-change policy, specifically Syria, are
encouraging signs.
Even more so is his appointment of General Michael Flynn as National
Security Adviser. Flynn dined last year in Moscow with Vladimir Putin
at a gala celebrating RT (Russia Today), the Russian state’s
English-language, leftist-leaning TV channel. Flynn now carries the
stigma in the American media as an individual who does not see Russia or
Putin as the devil. It is truly remarkable how nonchalantly American
journalists can look upon the possibility of a war with Russia, even a
nuclear war.
(I can now expect a barrage of emails from my excessively
politically-correct readers about Flynn’s alleged anti-Islam side. But
that, even if true, is irrelevant to this discussion of avoiding a war
with Russia.)
I think American influence under Trump could also inspire a solution
to the bloody Russia-Ukraine crisis, which is the result of the US
overthrow of the democratically-elected Ukrainian government in 2014 to
further advance the US/NATO surrounding of Russia; after which he could
end the US-imposed sanctions against Russia, which hardly anyone in
Europe benefits from or wants; and then – finally! – an end to the
embargo against Cuba. What a day for celebration that will be! Too bad
that Fidel won’t be around to enjoy it.
We may have other days of celebration if Trump pardons or in some
other manner frees Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and/or Edward
Snowden. Neither Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton would do this, but I
think there’s at least a chance with the Donald. And those three heroes
may now enjoy feeling at least a modicum of hope. Picture a meeting of
them all together on some future marvelous day with you watching it on a
video.
Trump will also probably not hold back on military actions against
radical Islam because of any fear of being called anti-Islam. He’s
repulsed enough by ISIS to want to destroy them, something that can’t
always be said about Mr. Obama.
International trade deals, written by corporate lawyers for the
benefit of their bosses, with little concern about the rest of us, may
have rougher sailing in the Trump White House than is usually the case
with such deals.
The mainstream critics of Trump foreign policy should be embarrassed,
even humbled, by what they supported in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and
Syria. Instead, what bothers them about the president-elect is his lack
of desire to make the rest of the world in America’s image. He appears
rather to be more concerned with the world not making America in its image.
In the latest chapter of Alice in Trumpland he now says that he does
not plan to prosecute Hillary Clinton, that he has an “open mind” about a
climate-change accord from which he had vowed to withdraw the United
States, and that he’s no longer certain that torturing terrorism
suspects is a good idea. So whatever fears you may have about certain
of his expressed weird policies … just wait … they may fall by the
wayside just as easily; although I still think that on a personal level
he’s a [two-syllable word: first syllable is a synonym for a donkey;
second syllable means “an opening”]
Trump’s apparently deep-seated need for approval may continue to
succumb poorly to widespread criticism and protests. Poor little Donald
… so powerful … yet so vulnerable.
The Trump dilemma, as well as the whole Hillary Clinton mess, could
have probably been avoided if Bernie Sanders had been nominated. That
large historical “if” is almost on a par with the Democrats choosing
Harry Truman to replace Henry Wallace in 1944 as the ailing Roosevelt’s
vice-president. Truman brought us a charming little thing called the
Cold War, which in turn gave us McCarthyism. But Wallace, like Sanders,
was just a little too damn leftist for the refined Democratic Party
bosses.
Source: williamblum.org
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