Trump’s ‘Foreign Policy’: Incoherent and Shallow

Source: National Review | April 27, 2016 | Andrew C. McCarthy

Donald Trump complained today that the United States has “lacked a coherent foreign policy” since the end of the Cold War. His vow that a Trump administration would impose coherence is about as credible as his vow to make Mexico pay for his fantasy wall. Indeed, the foreign-policy speech was itself incoherent . . . quite apart from the fact that, just the blink of an eye ago, Trump was enthusiastically supporting — with his tongue and his wallet — the very policies he now bemoans.

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In today’s speech, Trump wailed that one day we were bombing Libya and getting rid of a dictator in order to protect “civilians” there, but seemingly the next day we were watching those same “civilians” suffer while their country fell apart. No, Mr. Trump. The country fell apart because, just like you, the bipartisan Beltway ruling class — whose pockets you’ve been lining for decades — is willfully blind to the difference between “civilians” and Islamists, including the violent jihadists they inevitably breed. The country fell apart because Obama did what you demanded: He bombed Libya to get rid of its dictator — aggression that was neither authorized by Congress (which the “oust Qaddafi” crowd refused to consult) nor endorsed by a U.N. mandate (which approved only the protection of civilians, not toppling of the regime).

Without a trace of irony, Trump went on in his speech to decry the killing of our ambassador to Libya and three other American officials in Benghazi, with no effort made to save them. He’s right . . . but why did Clinton and Obama resort to their “blame the video” fraud? Because they were desperate to divert attention from the real cause: the very policy that Trump had championed, which empowered jihadists in eastern Libya.

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What is incoherent, though, is populism — Trump’s brand. It is knee-jerk demagoguery: Say whatever will get a rise out of the masses; don’t fret over whether it is at odds with whatever bromide you’ve previously spouted; and, when called on the inconsistencies attack the messenger.

Today’s speech conveyed no comprehension of what caused ISIS to rise — of where it came from (al-Qaeda), of what drives it ideologically (sharia supremacism), or of the fact that it is just a subset of a much bigger challenge. Trump merely continued to do what populists do: He told you the people you love to hate are incoherent and incompetent. He never mentions that he was with them all the way, and never offers a reason to think he is any more coherent and competent — just more shallow.

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