Most People Do NOT Like How Trump Is Treating U.S. Allies

The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between March 20th and 23rd of a nationwide sample of 1,665 adults (including 1,502 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.2 points for adults and 3.0 points for registered voters.

 

Seizing Greenland Would Be Trump's Stupidest Move

Donald Trump has done a lot of stupid things since starting his second term, but they would all pale in comparison to seizing Greenland - the territory of a NATO ally.

I can't understand what he thinks would be accomplished by doing that. Does he believe we need more bases or troops in Greenland to enhance U.S. security? We don't have to seize Greenland to do that. The 1951 accord between Denmark and the United States would already allow us to do that.

Does he want to mine Greenland's minerals (especially rare earth minerals? Both Greenland and Denmark have already said they are open to allowing that to happen.

Does he really think Russia or China would try to take Greenland? If they did, they would face the militaries of all of the NATO nations - which would be more formidable than the United States alone.

The truth is that seizing Greenland would be of no benefit to the United States (except to feed the ego of the narcissist currently living in the White House) - but it would have a huge negative effect.

It would amount to an attack on a NATO ally, and that very likely would destroy NATO. The NATO nations have backed the United States when it needed them (like in Afghanistan). But they would no longer be able to trust the United States if it attacked a fellow member. And an alliance without mutual trust is not an alliance at all.

Trump thinks taking Greenland would demonstrate American strength. But it would actually make the United States weaker, because it would then be alone without any allies to help it. And it wouldn't just be our European allies - how could our Asian and African allies trust that we would have their backs after seeing us attack an ally?

The United States is the strongest economic and military force of any nation, but alone it is much weaker. 

 

Denmark Is A Good Ally - Why Is Trump Treating Them Like An Enemy?

The following is part of an editorial by Ida Auken (a member of the David Parliament) in The New York Times:

There are moments in history that are difficult to forget, which change the course of events. Danes have experienced several such moments in the last few months, but to me, the most defining one occurred a few weeks ago, when Vice President JD Vance said Denmark is “not being a good ally” to the United States.

Danes were stunned and stung. Our country has been nothing less than a stalwart ally of America. Many of us felt as if we were losing a longtime friend — almost as if a brother were abandoning us: The United States has been Denmark’s closest ally for 80 years. We have followed American presidents into wars that many Danes felt were not ours to fight.

Since the end of World War II, the United States and Denmark have had a strong partnership — both countries are founding members of NATO. Since 1949, NATO’s Article 5 principle of collective defense has been at the heart of this partnership, creating a safer world for us all. The only time Article 5 has ever been invoked was on Sept. 12, 2001. Less than 24 hours after the terrorist attack on the United States, its European and Canadian allies stood up to assist Americans.

Thousands of Danish troops went on to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan after Sept. 11. More than 50 of them died. That is not a small number, especially in a country of only six million people. Denmark lost roughly as many service members per capita in Afghanistan as the United States did.

In 2011, Danish pilots flew missions in Libya alongside U.S. and other NATO forces. When America has called, Denmark has stepped up.

Anger and grief prevail when we think about what to say now to the Danish parents who lost their children in these wars. How are those who have sacrificed what is most dear to them supposed to interpret the notion that Denmark is not a good ally?

It hasn’t always been easy to explain to the Danish people why they should be involved in American-led wars, but overall, we understand the importance of alliances and cherish our partnership with the United States.

I understand that changes in American political leadership bring changes in policy — that is the right of any administration. If President Trump has concerns about security in the Arctic, of course, our countries should work together to address them. But that is not the same as suggesting that Denmark is failing to uphold its commitments in Greenland or anywhere else. And it is not a pretext for America acquiring Greenland, as the president has suggested. . . .

Danes hope that our partnership with Americans can continue. We want to maintain this friendship, but we will stand firm on our principles. I will leave the final word to our prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who made a powerful statement during her visit to Greenland on April 3: “The U.S. is a big country, and Denmark is a small one. We have looked up to you, and you have inspired us.”

But, she added: “When you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory — when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally — what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years? The country that, if any, has stood up for others’ freedom. You know us, you know what we stand for, and you know that we don’t give in.” 

Public Disagrees With Trump About Who Is Friend Of U.S.

The charts above reflect the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between October 13th and 15th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a 2.7 point margin of error.

The countries that Donald Trump are the friendliest with are Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- all ruled by a strong dictator (or king). He actually seems to think these countries are our friends and allies.

The American public does not agree. A clear majority (66%) does not think Russia is a friend, and a plurality says Saudi Arabia (40%) and Turkey (43%) are not our friends. Americans do think the Syrian Kurds are our friends though (a plurality of 46%) -- but sadly, these are the people Trump has betrayed.

Admiral McRaven Says It's Time To Replace Trump

Donald Trump is bragging about what a great deal he "negotiated" with Turkey. The truth is that it was a terrible deal. The deal gave Turkey everything it wanted, while betraying our best allies in the region -- the Kurds.

Those who know the military realities in that area (and the world), are shocked at Trump's betrayal -- and that includes some of our best military minds.

The following is an op-ed in The New York Times by former Admiral William H. McRaven (who was in command of the Seal Team that killed Osama bin Laden). He writes:

Last week I attended two memorable events that reminded me why we care so very much about this nation and also why our future may be in peril. 

The first was a change of command ceremony for a storied Army unit in which one general officer passed authority to another. The second event was an annual gala for the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) Society that recognizes past and present members of the intelligence and Special Operations community for their heroism and sacrifice to the nation. What struck me was the stark contrast between the words and deeds heralded at those events — and the words and deeds emanating from the White House.

On the parade field at Fort Bragg, N.C., where tens of thousands of soldiers have marched either preparing to go to war or returning from it, the two generals, highly decorated, impeccably dressed, cleareyed and strong of character, were humbled by the moment. 

They understood the awesome responsibility that the nation had placed on their shoulders. They understood that they had an obligation to serve their soldiers and their soldiers’ families. They believed in the American values for which they had been fighting for the past three decades. They had faith that these values were worth sacrificing everything for — including, if necessary, their lives.

Having served with both officers for the past 20 years, I know that they personified all that is good and decent and honorable about the American military with genuineness of their humility, their uncompromising integrity, their willingness to sacrifice all for a worthy cause, and the pride they had in their soldiers.

Later that week, at the O.S.S. Society dinner, there were films and testimonials to the valor of the men and women who had fought in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. We also celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-Day, recognizing those brave Americans and allies who sacrificed so much to fight Nazism and fascism. We were reminded that the Greatest Generation went to war because it believed that we were the good guys — that wherever there was oppression, tyranny or despotism, America would be there. We would be there because freedom mattered. We would be there because the world needed us and if not us, then who?

Also that evening we recognized the incredible sacrifice of a new generation of Americans: an Army Special Forces warrant officer who had been wounded three times, the most recent injury costing him his left leg above the knee. He was still in uniform and still serving. There was an intelligence officer, who embodied the remarkable traits of those men and women who had served in the O.S.S. And a retired Marine general, whose 40 years of service demonstrated all that was honorable about the Corps and public service. 

But the most poignant recognition that evening was for a young female sailor who had been killed in Syria serving alongside our allies in the fight against ISIS. Her husband, a former Army Green Beret, accepted the award on her behalf. Like so many that came before her, she had answered the nation’s call and willingly put her life in harm’s way.

For everyone who ever served in uniform, or in the intelligence community, for those diplomats who voice the nation’s principles, for the first responders, for the tellers of truth and the millions of American citizens who were raised believing in American values — you would have seen your reflection in the faces of those we honored last week.

But, beneath the outward sense of hope and duty that I witnessed at these two events, there was an underlying current of frustration, humiliation, anger and fear that echoed across the sidelines. The America that they believed in was under attack, not from without, but from within. 

These men and women, of all political persuasions, have seen the assaults on our institutions: on the intelligence and law enforcement community, the State Department and the press. They have seen our leaders stand beside despots and strongmen, preferring their government narrative to our own. They have seen us abandon our allies and have heard the shouts of betrayal from the battlefield. As I stood on the parade field at Fort Bragg, one retired four-star general, grabbed my arm, shook me and shouted, “I don’t like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic!”

Those words echoed with me throughout the week. It is easy to destroy an organization if you have no appreciation for what makes that organization great. We are not the most powerful nation in the world because of our aircraft carriers, our economy, or our seat at the United Nations Security Council. We are the most powerful nation in the world because we try to be the good guys. We are the most powerful nation in the world because our ideals of universal freedom and equality have been backed up by our belief that we were champions of justice, the protectors of the less fortunate.

But, if we don’t care about our values, if we don’t care about duty and honor, if we don’t help the weak and stand up against oppression and injustice — what will happen to the Kurds, the Iraqis, the Afghans, the Syrians, the Rohingyas, the South Sudanese and the millions of people under the boot of tyranny or left abandoned by their failing states? 

If our promises are meaningless, how will our allies ever trust us? If we can’t have faith in our nation’s principles, why would the men and women of this nation join the military? And if they don’t join, who will protect us? If we are not the champions of the good and the right, then who will follow us? And if no one follows us — where will the world end up?

President Trump seems to believe that these qualities are unimportant or show weakness. He is wrong. These are the virtues that have sustained this nation for the past 243 years. If we hope to continue to lead the world and inspire a new generation of young men and women to our cause, then we must embrace these values now more than ever. 

And if this president doesn’t understand their importance, if this president doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office — Republican, Democrat or independent — the sooner, the better. The fate of our Republic depends upon it.

A U.S. Military Wife's Letter To The Kurdish People

(This photo of a Syrian Kurd funeral, from The New York Times, is by Delil Souleiman / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images.)

The following is an open letter to the Kurdish people from the wife of an American soldier:

Dear Kurdish soldiers,

You don't know me, but I have known of you for most of my adult life. When my military husband and I quickly married, knowing he was deploying to the Middle East to be part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, I feared what he and his Special Operations unit would face when they arrived. 

How bad would the fighting be? How long would they be gone? Would he survive? 

Months later, he returned and recounted to me what he could about his experience. I asked how he had made it through. He replied, "We had help. We had the Kurds."

He told me stories of how the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq supported the troops, advised them, stood by them, fought shoulder to shoulder with them in combat, and became allies and friends. And I became grateful -- immensely, unwaveringly, and forever grateful for you. 

Since then, the word "Kurds" in my home has meant something. It has meant "ally" and "friendship." 

There are pictures of Iraqi Kurds alongside my husband and fellow soldiers in our home. I have a coffee mug with depictions of female Syrian Kurdish soldiers on it that I proudly use to remind me of you. My children play soccer in their Kurdistan jerseys. 

The Kurdish people are not nameless, faceless people across the world. You hold a place of honor and respect in our home. It's important to me that all of you know that. I owe you so much. My husband is home safe today after years of fighting and I know you helped make that happen. 

But now, I watch the news in horror. I see promises broken, progress destroyed, years of hard work and unimaginable sacrifice gone in a tweet. I see allies betrayed, their faces in my picture frame. While watching the news, my children turn to me and ask if those are our friends and I say yes. They have looks of confusion on their faces.

I can't imagine what your families are going through. I can't imagine their fear. I can't imagine these things because for the last 17 years you have fought to help us keep an attack off our soil, and I know that has now compromised your safety. It breaks my heart. 

Where I come from, a person's word means something. Our honor and integrity are everything, as I know yours are to you. To read in international newspapers that the United States, my country, has abandoned the Kurds is absolutely heartbreaking. 

Hasty decisions like this have not only put your people in terrible danger, they make the situation for our soldiers there on the Syrian-Turkish border much more difficult. My husband was with you on that border not long ago and I can't imagine what our soldiers' families are feeling right now. 

And it's not just safety. It's hard to imagine how difficult it is for American soldiers to hear a partner and ally's calls for help and not be allowed to answer them. It's also hard to imagine you having to turn to Putin or the Assad regime for support because you could no longer count on Americans to keep their promise.

I worry for the safety of you and your families. I worry about the instability of the region and what that could mean for the future. I worry about the thousands of ISIS fighters we worked so hard to put in prisons, and who you must walk away from as you defend yourselves. I can't imagine the threat that now poses for us all. I see the look on my husband's face when he watches the news at the end of the day. The only phrase that comes to mind is "I'm sorry." 

I write you today, on behalf of my family, to say thank you for everything you have done for us. Thank you for your friendship, for keeping your word and fighting alongside us, for staying the course year after year. Thank you for keeping my husband safe so he could come back home to me and my children. You have my sincerest prayers today that you too may safely return to yours. Thank you to your families that sacrificed without you, so you could make this partnership happen. 

I pray we return to your side, that we stand by you, and that this has not all been in vain.

Forever yours, 

A Grateful Wife

Trump's Betrayal Of An Ally Destroys Trust In The U.S.

(This caricature of Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump has been a terrible president, and sadly, that's an understatement. He has done a series of horrendous things (withdrawing from the Paris Accords, violating the Iran Agreement, refusing to defend a journalist working for an American paper, caging children at our Southern border, abolishing rules that protect our environment, obstructing justice, obstructing Congress, etc.).

But as bad as those things are (and they are very bad), his latest action may be the worst thing he's ever done.

After bragging about destroying the ISIS Caliphate, he has now betrayed the fighters who did the most to accomplish that -- the Kurdish fighters. The Kurds were our best allies in Syria, and they lost over 10,000 soldiers fighting and defeating ISIS. By taking the brunt of the fight against ISIS on themselves, they saved the lives of many thousands of American soldiers. The United States owes them an enormous debt of gratitude.

Trump repaid that debt by betraying them. After a phone call with the authoritarian leader of Turkey, Trump withdrew the American troops in Northern Syria. Those troops were the only obstacle to Turkey invading land now held by our Kurdish allies. Turkey hates the Kurds, and now has begun bombing the Kurds. That is just the first step to an invasion which will likely result in an "ethnic cleansing" -- the genocide of our Kurdish allies. A bloodbath will ensue, and it will be Donald Trump's fault.

And the world is watching. All of our allies are watching (as are our enemies). And Trump's betrayal of the Kurds sends a loud message to them. If they didn't know it before, our allies now must know that the United States cannot be trusted. The United States, under Donald Trump, will sell them out in a heartbeat -- either because Trump would gain financially, or because he is a foolish incompetent that cannot grasp the intricacies of foreign policy. And our enemies now know that Trump can be conned into betraying our allies.

I would like to think that if Trump is impeached (which he should be) or defeated in the next election (which he must be), that a new president can re-establish our allies trust in the U.S. -- and show our enemies that we will support our friends and stand up to those who attack them. Unfortunately, it will not be that easy. They will know there is always a chance that another Trump-like person could be elected.

It will be very difficult and take a long time to re-establish any trust in U.S. leadership. With this single action, Trump has made the world a much more dangerous place for everyone.

Trump Abandons The Kurds For Personal Financial Gain

Our most faithful and effective allies in the fight against ISIS in Syria has been the Kurdish fighters. (known as the Syrian Democratic Forces). We owe them a huge debt of gratitude, but Donald Trump has decided to throw them under the bus instead. He has announced that he is pulling U.S. troops back from the part of Syria near the Turkish border, and has given Turkish strongman Recep Erdogan his blessing to move into that part of Syria.

This area is the homeland of the Kurds, who have wanted to create their own country there (and in a small part of Turkey bordering Syria). It looks like, thanks to Trump, that Kurdish dream of freedom and their own country will now die. The Turkish president regards the Kurdish fighters as terrorist, and undoubtably will be attacking them.

Why is Trump doing this? Is it because he has a hotel (and other investments) in Istanbul? Is Trump abandoning the Kurds to an awful fate so he can make more money in Turkey? What financial inducements has Erdogan promised Trump? It looks like our foreign policy is being influenced by Trump's own financial gain. This is why U.S. presidents should divest themselves of their businesses before taking office (which other presidents have done, but which Trump refused to do).

It was to prevent actions like this that our Founding Fathers put an Emoluments Clause in our Constitution -- to prevent foreign policy from being dictated by a president's personal financial gain. Trump has repeatedly violated that clause of the Constitution. It is just one more reason why he must be IMPEACHED!

Dangerous Rift Between U.S. And It's Allies Is Growing

(Cartoon image is by Nikola Listes at cagle.com.)

Donald Trump has made the world a much more dangerous place. He did it by ignoring our intelligence community, embracing Putin and other dictators, and by attacking our best allies -- allies we have depended on in the past, and who depend on us. At first, those allies tried to be patient, and bent over backwards to get along with Trump.

Unfortunately, that didn't work -- our allies now know they can no longer trust or depend on the U.S. (at least not as long as Trump is president). The rift is growing, and that makes the world a much more dangerous place for everyone.

Here is part of an excellent article by Steven Erlanger and Katrin Bennhold on the rift in The New York Times:

European leaders have long been alarmed that President Trump’s words and Twitter messages could undo a trans-Atlantic alliance that had grown stronger over seven decades. They had clung to the hope that those ties would bear up under the strain.

But in the last few days of a prestigious annual security conference in Munich, the rift between Europe and the Trump administration became open, angry and concrete, diplomats and analysts say.

A senior German official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on such matters, shrugged his shoulders and said: “No one any longer believes that Trump cares about the views or interests of the allies. It’s broken.”

The most immediate danger, diplomats and intelligence officials warned, is that the trans-Atlantic fissures now risk being exploited by Russia and China.

Even the normally gloomy Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, happily noted the strains, remarking that the Euro-Atlantic relationship had become increasingly “tense.”

“We see new cracks forming, and old cracks deepening,” Mr. Lavrov said.

The Europeans no longer believe that Washington will change, not when Mr. Trump sees traditional allies as economic rivals and leadership as diktat. His distaste for multilateralism and international cooperation is a challenge to the very heart of what Europe is and needs to be in order to have an impact in the world.

But beyond the Trump administration, an increasing number of Europeans say they believe that relations with the United States will never be the same again.

Karl Kaiser, a longtime analyst of German-American relations, said, “Two years of Mr. Trump, and a majority of French and Germans now trust Russia and China more than the United States.”

U.S. Public Doesn't See Saudi Arabia The Way Trump Does

It has become pretty obvious that Donald Trump loves the authoritarian monarchy of Saudi Arabia. He considers them both a great ally of the United States and a valued customer for his businesses. It's why he is very hesitant to punish the Saudi kingdom for the outrageous murder of a Washington Post journalist.

But the American public doesn't see Saudi Arabia the same way they think Donald Trump does. While 41% say Trump considers Saudi Arabia to be a friend or ally, only 27% of the public thinks that -- a gap of 14 points. And while only 27% says Trump considers Saudi Arabia as unfriendly or an enemy, about 42% of the public thinks that way -- a 15 point gap. And every demographic group disagrees with Trump.

This is going to make it a lot harder for Trump to get away with trying to cover for the Saudi government, or failing to punish them for the murder.

The chart above is from the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between October 14th and 16th of a national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,273 registered voters). The margin of error for adults is 3.1 points, and for registered voters is 2.8 points.

Putin And The American Far Right Are Natural Allies

This chart reflects the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between July 22nd and 24th of a nationwide sample of 1,500 adults, with a 2.8 point margin of error.

It shows that Republicans, conservatives, and Trump voters (aka, the far right in the U.S.) actually approves of Trump's embracing of Vladimir Putin and treating him like a friend (ally) instead of the enemy that most Americans consider him to be.

This may surprise some of you. After all, these same people were the most rabid opponents of the Soviet Union and communism. One might expect them to understand that Russia is continuing it's aggressive policies. But they don't. Their opposition was ideological -- not realistic. Russia today is closer to a fascist society with a strongman leader that opposes democratic values -- and that is something the far right would love to see in this country. They also oppose democratic values, and that makes them natural allies for Putin.

Here is just a small part of an article on this subject by E.J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington Post:

The links among Vladimir Putin, President Trump, and segments of both the Republican Party and the American conservative movement seem bizarre. How can this be, given the Russian president’s KGB pedigree and a Cold War history during which antipathy toward the Soviet Union held the right together?

In truth, there is nothing illogical about the ideological collusion that is shaking our political system. If the old Soviet Union was the linchpin of the Communist International, Putin’s Russia is creating a new Reactionary International built around nationalism, a critique of modernity and a disdain for liberal democracy. Its central mission includes wrecking the Western alliance and the European Union by undermining a shared commitment to democratic values.

Putin is, first and foremost, an opportunist, so he is also happy to lend support to forces on the left when doing so advances his purposes in specific circumstances. But the dominant thrust of Putinism is toward the far right, because a nationalism rooted in Russian traditionalism cements his hold on power.

And the right in both Europe and the United States has responded. Long before Russia’s efforts to elect Trump in the 2016 election became a major public issue, Putin was currying favor with the American gun lobby, Christian conservatives and Republican politicians. . . .

Evangelical Christians  . . .  found common ground with Putin, a strong foe of LGBTQ rights, on the basis of “Moscow’s nationalist and ultraconservative push — led by the Russian Orthodox Church — to make the post-Soviet nation a bulwark of Christianity amid the increasing secularization of the West.”. . .

It’s important to recognize that something more is going on here than merely a generalized effort to disrupt American and European politics. Putin is pushing in a very particular direction, a lesson that should be absorbed across our philosophical divides.

The deepening ties between the Russian government and elements of the right should give pause to all conservatives whose first commitment is to democratic life. The willingness of traditionalists and gun fanatics to cultivate ties with a Russian dictator speaks of a profound alienation among many on the right from core Western values — the very values that most conservatives extol.

It should bother members of the GOP that progressive writer Brian Beutler was onto something when he observed recently that “in many ways Moscow understood Republicans better than Republicans understand themselves.” Putin saw that what he and parts of the right share is a hatred of liberalism.

And Republicans should bear in mind that disrupting Robert S. Mueller III’s probe serves Putin’s interests, not just Trump’s. . . .

It’s odd that self-styled opponents of globalization who shout slogans about putting their own countries “first” are actually putting their ideology first as they seek to globalize the far right. Friends of democracy everywhere need to stand in solidarity and resist this backward-looking drift to autocracy.

One Example Of What NATO Has Done For The U.S.

Donald Trump again blasted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a speech this week. He said we are the "schmucks" paying for NATO, and questioned whether the United States gets any "protection" by participating in NATO. It was an outrageous statement, and I'm not surprised that it troubles our allies -- especially since Trump will be attending a meeting of NATO countries on his way to meet with Putin in Russia. Is he going to embarrass the United States at that meeting by again attacking our allies?

Trump needs a little reminder of some recent history. I don't know if he's ignorant of this history, doesn't listen to his own military and intelligence, is incapable of using Google, or is just incredibly stupid -- maybe all of the above -- but the chart above should be enough to shut him up.

After the United States was attacked on 9/11, President George Bush went to NATO (and some other allies) and asked for help in the war in Afghanistan. NATO responded by helping the U.S. -- and 22 NATO nations lost soldiers in that war. They lost citizens fighting for us! (see above chart)

It is outrageous that Trump questions whether NATO would spring to our defense. They have already done so. And it is disrespectful to the families of those who died defending us from those NATO nations.

Trump is whining about money -- which seems to be all he ever thinks about. But there's something more important than money, and one of those things is having allies who will fight beside when necessary. We have that in NATO. Let's hope Trump doesn't destroy that.

Trump Treating G-6 Members As Enemies Strengthens Them

Donald Trump seems to have declared war on our best allies. While embracing dictators such as Vladimir Putin, Recep Erdogan, and Kim Jong-Un, he has tried to bully and threaten allies like France, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Italy. He has put a tariff on their steel and aluminum, and threatened to apply other tariffs if they retaliate. And his bullying tactics at the recent G-7 meeting has just driven them further away -- and made them question whether the U.S. can be trusted with Trump as president.

The chart above shows what the people of those six nations thought of U.S. leadership before the G-7 meeting. Note that all of those nations had a very high opinion of Barack Obama as president. But their opinion of Trump is very low. The percentage saying they have at least some confidence in U.S. leadership under Trump is only 25% or lower in all six countries -- France (14%), Canada (22%), United Kingdom (22%), Germany (11%), Japan (24%), and Italy (25%).

Those are terrible numbers, and Trump's atrocious performance at the G-7 meeting is not going to improve them. I expect it will have the opposite effect -- making these leaders (who stood up to Trump) stronger among their own citizens, and giving them the support they need to fight Trump's ridiculous trade war.

The G-7 meeting just proved once again that Trump's foreign policy moves have been a disaster -- and have seriously damaged the reputation of the United States.

The chart above is from the Pew Research Center.

Why Is Trump Giving Putin Everything He Wants ?

(Cartoon image is by Mike Thompson in the Detroit Free Press.)

Donald Trump is doing just the opposite of what every other president since World War II has done. He is igniting actions to damage our best allies, while making Valdimir Putin's fondest dreams come true. It is an incredibly alarming reversal of U.S. policy.

I'm not the only one who sees this. The following is most of an op-ed by Nancy LeTourneau in The Washington Monthly:

Robert Mueller’s job as special counsel is to investigate how Russia attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election and whether or not the Trump campaign conspired with them to do so. On the latter, he’s looking for evidence of whether some kind of agreement was struck either before or during the election.

There is another way that we, as citizens, can approach the question. That has more to do with assessing the evidence after-the-fact. Are there signs that the Trump administration is doing things that would be considered payback to Putin for helping him get elected? To answer that question, let’s take a look at what Putin wanted out of the relationship, as was reported in the Steele dossier.

[The Trump operation’s] aim was to sow discord and disunity within the U.S. itself, but more especially within the Transatlantic alliance which was viewed as inimical to Russia’s interests. Source C, a senior Russian financial official, said the Trump operation should be seen in terms of Putin’s desire to return to Nineteenth Century “Great Power” politics anchored upon country’s interests rather than the ideals-based international order established after World War II.

It would probably take an entire book to document all the ways that the Trump presidency has sown “discord and disunity within the U.S.” But we have to look no further than the upcoming G7 meeting in Canada to assess how well Trump has performed when it comes to Russia’s interests in global affairs.

First of all, note how the meeting is being referred to differently.

This year’s conclave, opening on Friday, is being referred to as the G6 plus one, or the G7 minus one. It promises to be a showdown between the US president and everyone else.

Trump has isolated the United States from our traditional allies by pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the Paris Climate accord and the Iran nuclear agreement. Talks have completely stalled on his attempt to renegotiate NAFTA. Finally, his announcement about imposing tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union for so-called “security reasons” seemed to be the last straw.

I doubt that Putin is actually concerned about the specifics of these foreign policy shifts. But the outcome he is after was perhaps best captured by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that “economic nationalism leads to war. This is exactly what happened in the 1930s.” He articulated the kind of 19th century “Great Power” politics Putin desires. . . .

It is obvious that Putin is getting exactly what he wanted from a Trump presidency. Is that because he chose well in recruiting Trump way back before 2011 and knew this is what he would get for his efforts? Or is it because Trump owes him and this is the payback? The latter seems much more plausible to me. Beyond the fact that Trump was busy with “The Apprentice” and beauty pageants at the time he was being recruited, Putin doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who leaves much to chance. I suspect that he’s a control freak. As former KGB, he would make sure that he had leverage on an effort as big as destabilizing the international order.

That isn’t the kind of evidence of a conspiracy that would hold up in a court of law. But it should be persuasive to the American people.

Trump Is Attacking Our Allies And Helping Our Enemies

(Cartoon image is by Bob Englehart at cagle.com.)

France, Canada, and Great Britain are the oldest allies the United States had. And following World War II, Germany, Japan, and Italy joined the other three in being reliable and important allies of the United States. These six countries, along with the United States, make up the members of the G-7 economic group, and in the past, their unified goals have helped to stabilize the world economy and help all countries to flourish.

But then Donald Trump was elected. He seems to have no respect for our six best allies. They have all tried to reason with Trump, and failing that, they have tried to flatter him in an attempt to maintain their alliance. Trump has snubbed all their efforts. Against their wishes, he has pulled out of the Paris Accords (endangering the climate of the whole world), denigrated NATO (even suggesting the U.S. might pull out), and violated the Iran Agreement and re-instated sections against that country (sanctions that would seriously affect our allies). Now he has gone further. He has placed tariffs on Canada and the European Union, and threatened tariffs against Japan (cars).

Trump seems not to value having allies. He thinks the United States can go it alone in the world -- and threaten all other nations to fallen line with U.S. wishes through our military and economic power. He is wrong, and he's fixing to find that out. The other 6 nations of the G-7 are tired of Trump's behavior and attacks on their economies, and they are ready to fight back. They are ready to impose their own tariffs on U.S. products -- tariffs that will hurt American farmers, industries, and consumers. And they will have the support of their people in this retaliation against Trump (who is very unpopular around the world).

I worry about what is going to happen in the future -- when we need those allies and find they are no longer willing to come to our aid.

But it's worse than just attacking our allies. Trump seems determined to help our enemies. He will be leaving the G-7 summit early to fly to Singapore to meet with North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un. Trump is bragging about the meeting like it was some kind of accomplishment. It isn't!

Any past U.S. president (Clinton, Bush, Obama) could have easily had such a meeting. They didn't because they knew it would accomplish nothing except a public relations victory for the North Korean dictator -- making it seem like they were on an equal footing with the United States (one of the world's most powerful nations). Sadly, Trump has given them that PR victory without receiving anything in return.

Trump thinks he can talk Kim Jong-Un into giving up his nuclear weapons, even though he did no preparation before the meeting with North Korea. Trump is a fool, and he's being played by North Korea. They are NOT going to give up their nuclear weapons. Trump has threatened "massive sanctions" if they don't give up those weapons.

He think they only have two choices -- give up the nuclear weapons or starve. That is not true. They have a third option if they get desperate enough -- attack South Korea to get what they need. China and Russia are not going to let that happen. They don't want a war threatening their part of the world, and they will see that North Korea gets just enough to stave off that kind of desperation.

Trump will return from Singapore either empty-handed, or with a really bad deal (that doesn't involve North Korean denuclearization).

North Korea is not the only enemy Trump wants to help. He has done his best to help Russia. Shortly after being sworn in, Trump tried to remove sanctions against Russia, and was stopped by Congress. When Congress passed new sanctions against Russia, Trump refused to impose them. Trump also supported the Russian annexation of the Crimea, and has basically allowed Russia to take control in Syria. Just yesterday, he announced that Russia should be re-admitted to the G-7 (which used to be the G-8 until Russia was kicked out for invading the Ukraine and annexing the Crimea). What has he gotten from Russia for all this help? NOTHING!

Russia is also the nation that benefits from Trump's attacks on our traditional allies. Putin has to be thrilled that the Western nations are no longer a solid bloc.

Why is Trump attacking our allies and helping our enemies? Is it just stupidity and incompetence, or is it something more nefarious? Is it payback for Russia helping him win the 2016 election? Do the Russians have some nasty secret on Trump they are using to control him?

"America Alone Is Not America First"

(This image of Donald Trump is from CNN Money.)

The following is an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News. It was written by Robert Hutchings -- professor of national security at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas (Austin). He writes:

President Donald Trump's tweets and foreign policy moves have made him a laughingstock, but the damage they have done to our standing in the world and to our own interests is no laughing matter.

Trump is not the first American leader to lecture the Europeans about military spending, just the least informed. It is a fundamentally flawed position. Europeans don't spend for defense the way we do, but not because they lack seriousness or political will, or because they are free riders who refuse to shoulder their share of the defense burden. They spend less on defense because they do not agree with the over-militarized approach to foreign policy that they see from the United States, whose military spending is already larger than that of the next eight highest-spending countries combined.

We would do well to study rather than condemn the European approach to foreign policy. And the American public needs to understand that more spending for defense does not mean more security. As the Afghanistan and Iraq misadventures have demonstrated, the exercise of military power can make us less secure. I made this point more than a decade ago when I was chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, warning (all too accurately) that Iraq under U.S. occupation would prove to be the breeding ground for the next generation of terrorists.

I take Trump's crude remarks on Germany personally. In 1989-92, I was part of the diplomatic team under President George H.W. Bush that helped negotiate German unification and the collapse of the Soviet empire. We and the Germans forged the closest possible partnership, and our successful management of the end of the Cold War enabled the U.S. to draw down its huge military presence in Europe, leaving it to our allies, led by Germany, to take the lead in Europe.

The Germans stepped up to the task, even while maintaining the historic partnership with the U.S. that Trump is throwing this away. He seems to think there is another "deal" out there and that this one can be discarded. No, President Trump: There is only one NATO, only one trans-Atlantic partnership, the work of more than a dozen U.S. administrations before you. If you throw these achievements away, we are left with nothing.What is needed is not America-first bluster or infantile tweets but a sustained effort to reinvigorate and modernize the alliance. Here's a start: We should restore and then increase the budgets for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, and we should signal our readiness to re-enter the Paris agreement. In return the Europeans should step up their timetable for meeting the agreed commitment to increased defense spending.

The trans-Atlantic alliance, the strongest and most enduring in history, is much more than a defense pact. It has endured despite periodic disputes because it is built on the solid foundation of shared values and common interests. Alliances, like marriages, prosper when both sides respect that their partners have different priorities and when they understand that compromise and adjustment are keys to a successful relationship.

The alliance is also more than an arena for economic competition. The global trading system, with the U.S.-European trade relations its driving force, has been an enormous benefit to America's prosperity and well-being. Of course, we, like Germany, will defend our own economic interests and protect our citizens, and we have ample means of doing so — most of them domestic measures that have little to do with trade imbalances. Instead, Trump is focusing on things he can do with the stroke of a pen — like backing out of the Paris agreement and the Pacific trade pact — with disregard for the consequences. This is not leadership. This is not strength.

We are at a turning point in our nation's history. There are few signs that Trump will change, so we must place our hope in America's institutions and look to the enablers — his foreign policy team, which has gone along with too much already, and Republicans in Congress — to show some political courage by putting America first.