GLOBAL CENTRE STAGE
The fi rst diplomatic move the US President made upon his arrival at the White House was the tearing apart of the Iran Nuclear Deal . The nuclear deal was in many ways representative of former President Barack Obama ’ s legacy .
When Donald Trump was elected into the White House in November 2016 , there was a cloud of uncertainty over the direction American foreign policy would take under his leadership . After all , the United States was getting deeply involved in the Syrian conflict and had seen its ties with Russia reach a dangerously new low , perhaps the lowest since the collapse of the Soviet Union . Today , President Trump ’ s foreign policy remains the most hotly debated aspect of his presidency , with many claiming that his unconventional methods have succeeded so far .
One of the key aspects of Trump ’ s foreign policy seems to be a certain degree of flexibility over the United States ’ stance on geopolitical issues . The first indicator of this was the decision to launch airstrikes against the Syrian government in April 2017 . The United States launched 59 tomahawk missiles aimed at government-controlled Shayrat Airbase as a response to the alleged use of chemical gas ( Sarin gas ) by Bashar al-Assad ( the Syrian President ) on civilians . This came despite Trump ’ s campaign rhetoric in the run up to the 2016 Presidential elections , wherein he attacked American interventionism and advocated an isolationist approach for the United States . Trump stated shortly thereafter , " It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons .”
Nonetheless , since then the United States seems to have come to terms with the fact that removing Assad from power would not be as easy a task as was initially planned . Assad has effectively regained control of Syria , thanks to the air cover provided by the Russian Aerospace Forces , and the Syrian Civil War is in its final stages .
The first diplomatic move the US President made upon his arrival at the White House was the tearing apart of the Iran Nuclear Deal . The nuclear deal was in many ways representative of former President Barack Obama ’ s legacy . Trump justified the move by claiming that the deal was ‘ an absolute farce ’, and that there was no way to check if Iran was living up to its end of the deal . 1 Strangely enough , his critics have cited the very same claims regarding his denuclearisation deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un .
Backers of President Trump cite the Trump-Kim meet as the biggest success of his Presidency , and rightfully so . Donald Trump did what no American President had done before him . Not only did he bring North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to the negotiation table , he did this through a bullish approach which very few predicted would succeed . The Trump-Kim meet in Singapore was the centre of the world ’ s attention and was touted to go down as a historically significant event .
Nonetheless , there were suspicions that the meeting would have little to no impact on North Korea ’ s commitment to denuclearisation . This belief was reaffirmed with the surfacing of intelligence reports claiming that North Korea had in fact “ increased its production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites .” 2 The Trump administration has since then repeatedly shot down queries regarding how it plans to verify that North Korea is living up to its end of the deal .
The brief praises in the aftermath of the Trump-Kim meeting ended when the focus returned to the United States ’ increasingly straining ties with its own traditional allies in the European Union . Trump has gone after NATO members for their lack of commitment vis-à-vis contributions to the NATO defence budget is concerned . The narrative was atypical of Trump , with him claiming that the United States was paying far more than its NATO partners , again implying that the United States was in some way being “ ripped-off ”. “ We protect Europe ( which is good ) at great fi nancial loss , and then get unfairly clobbered on trade . Change is Coming !” Trump said on Twitter in June in posts that specifically called out Germany . “ The U . S . pays close to the entire cost of NATOprotecting many of these same countries that rip us off on Trade ( they pay only a fraction of the cost – and laugh !)” He has used the same narrative to justify his trade wars against Canada and the EU , claiming the current status quo regarding tariffs was not mutually beneficial and that the United States was on the losing end of the bargain .
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 8 • August 2018 , Noida • 27