USADaily -
Donald Trump has achieved in four months what the Soviets and Russians couldn’t accomplish in 68 years: Destroying the American-European alliance.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel today said that after spending the last few days with other world leaders at the G7 summit, it’s clear that Europe is now on its own.
“The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I’ve experienced that in the last few days,” Merkel told a crowd at an election rally in Munich, southern Germany.
“We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands,” she added.
While Germany and Europe would strive to remain on good terms with America and Britain, “we have to fight for our own destiny”, Merkel went on.
Among other things troubling Merkel. Trump refused to publicly endorse Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all. This is in line with Trump’s comments during the campaign, in which he said he wouldn’t necessarily come to the aid of a NATO ally should the Russians invade. Such comments are unheard of from an American president. They are, however, welcome in Moscow.
It’s interesting that Trump’s successful effort to achieve a key Russian foreign policy goal comes at the same time that we have news of a possible espionage investigation against Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner. According to US intelligence intercepts, the Russians claim Kushner asked them to set up a covert channel of communications between Team Trump and the Kremlin, in order to ensure that the CIA and other US intelligence agencies didn’t hear what Kushner was saying. The Kushner proposal was to allegedly have Trump advisers visit Russian diplomatic facilities, where they could talk to Moscow secure from US eavesdropping. Yes, Trump was more comfortable with the KGB listening in than the CIA.
What’s also amazing with this trip is the contrast between how Trump treated a despotic regime in Saudi Arabia, that is responsible for financing much of the world’s terrorism, versus how he treated America’s strongest and oldest allies in Europe. Trump told the Saudis that he didn’t come to judge, but boy did he judge in Europe, including berating Germany for a nonexistent trade deal. And the result is that US relations are now stronger with Saudi Arabia and weaker with Europe.
Trump is playing a dangerous game. At some point, America will need our European allies, like we did on 9/11 (and during our various Middle Eastern wars) and they won’t be there for us. But there’s also the risk that Vladimir Putin was watching this weekend’s meeting, and learned a valuable lesson: That Europe is on its own, and that America under Donald Trump will not come to Europe’s defense. That sends a signal to Putin that should he try to destabilize NATO countries on his border, like the Baltic states, America will turn a blind eye. Which only provides Putin more incentive to do just that.
While I worry deeply about what Donald Trump’s childishness, narcissism, insecurity, and 4th grade education will do to issues I care about at home, like health care, I’m even more worried about the danger he poses to the world. While I could die if Trump messes with my health care, I will die if Trump starts a world war with the Russians or North Korea.
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