Tuesday, December 13, 2016

The Trifecta

There are three people of great foreign policy importance and power in Trump's presidency who are kissing Putin and he is kissing them back: Trump the president who knows nothing about foreign policy -- Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State (who must be confirmed and probably after bruising questioning will be) and knows nothing about foreign policy and Michael Flynn - National Security Advisor (who does NOT have to be confirmed) and knows nothing about foreign policy. He is, as I have read, a mentally unstable wingnut to boot.

Foreign policy BIG BIG BLUNDER right out of the gate. Before this nincompoop president-elect even took the oath of office he accepted the allegedly congratulatory phone call from Taiwan chilling ... no freezing ... our relationship with one state China who refuses to consider Taiwan a separate nation state and made that as a condition we accept their one state definition of China if the US wants a relationship with mainland China. I suspect we do want a relationship with the second largest economy in the world.

I postulate, as one expert did, what if North Korea rears its ugly head and presents Trump with his first major potentially violent crisis? China is the ONLY state that has diplomatic relations and leverage (other than nuclear) to deal with N. Korea and to whom N. Korea listens if it wants to survive. We have NOTHING to deal with N. Korea, a nuclear armed nation, except with our own nuclear weapons. In ordinary times we might use back door diplomacy with China to talk sense into the often senseless Kim Jong-Un but this is no ordinary time. What would new President Trump who considers himself a genius do now that he has thrown a monkey wrench into the Chinese/US relationship?

And oh yes, another question, why do these three important people have a three way love affair with Putin anyway? Who said follow the money in the Nixon years -- doesn't matter -- follow the money. No, follow the BIG money. Can you say oil, bank loans and arctic drilling?

Democratic Presidential Convention--On to November

  I watched the Democratic convention last evening until my body's demand for sleep overtook me around midnight.  Having followed thin...