American Foreign Policy
Elki
get busyModerator, ClubPA Mod Emeritus
get busyModerator, ClubPA Mod Emeritus
Another another thread to talk about foreign policy.
Jeet Heer had a piece in New Republic echoing a lot of commentary floating around, but it contained something I haven't noticed.
https://newrepublic.com/article/142938/trumps-european-trip-watershed-moment
The most effective and lasting foreign policy positions are those that are built on a broad political consensus. And in Europe, the criticism leveled at Trump by leaders in power is echoed and reinforced by the opposition.
Official prevention of cross contamination post.
The Russian investigation, and related issues: Russian Investigation Thread
Trump admin/family corruption and grift not related to Russia: Corruption/Grift/Ethics Violations in the Trump Administration
General Middle East goings on: The Middle East Thread
Trump admin/government's treatment of the press: Freedom of the Press Thread
Trump immigration policy, Muslim ban and beyond: Immigration Policy Thread
Jeet Heer had a piece in New Republic echoing a lot of commentary floating around, but it contained something I haven't noticed.
https://newrepublic.com/article/142938/trumps-european-trip-watershed-moment
This marked a clear divergence of interests, frustrating European leaders of all kinds. Merkel was not speaking for herself alone, but rather conveying a wider transformation in European attitudes toward a relationship that has long cast Europe as a junior partner in an alliance with the United States. Merkel’s political rivals inside Germany didn’t dispute her calls for a new direction, but rather made her oblique critique of Trump more explicit. Martin Schulz, head of the Social Democrats and the chief rival to Merkel in an upcoming election, condemned Trump, saying, “The chancellor represents all of us at summits like these, and I reject with outrage the way this man takes it upon himself to treat the head of our country’s government.”
The most effective and lasting foreign policy positions are those that are built on a broad political consensus. And in Europe, the criticism leveled at Trump by leaders in power is echoed and reinforced by the opposition.
Official prevention of cross contamination post.
The Russian investigation, and related issues: Russian Investigation Thread
Trump admin/family corruption and grift not related to Russia: Corruption/Grift/Ethics Violations in the Trump Administration
General Middle East goings on: The Middle East Thread
Trump admin/government's treatment of the press: Freedom of the Press Thread
Trump immigration policy, Muslim ban and beyond: Immigration Policy Thread
Elki on
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Who cares is everyone who wants the government to be pursuing a sane foreign policy. Beside it being a massive security risk, the president is a stupid person that is often prevented from doing stupid things in foreign policy by the few knowledgeable people who happen to be around him when he's interacting with foreign officials. They're not always around, and they're not always successful, but they are something of a buffer.
Unfettered access through his cellphone means a completely unrestrained and ignorant Trump making policy by speaking directly with foreign officials at his whim. It's a recipe for disasters and a schizophrenic and unpredictable foreign policy.
Communication protocols are there for a reason.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
The only man who became unbroke by 2016.
Remember when Trump took a call from Taiwan, and suddenly nobody was sure whether the One China Policy stood any more?
(To be fair, that wasn't a direct call, and somehow the entire Trump transition team screwed the pooch on that one. But just an example of what happens when foreign policy isn't developed through an actual process.)
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Tillerson is on vacation, it's not like the State Department is relevant to this admin - that's what Kushner's people are for.
Like, a whole lot.
Also wow, talk about a headline and lede that could be taken both ways.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
PSN: jrrl_absent
Well, that sucks. And again, not a pure a Trump phenomenon but an ideology reinforced and abetted by the entire party, at the grassroot and elite levels.
Scoop: Trump is pulling U.S. out of Paris climate deal
While speaking to the press and world leaders he was mealy mouthed, not saying one way or another but everyone knew what was coming. He is such a coward.
A host of big businesses tried to tell them "Don't do this, we want to stay in, lots of new investment opportunities. Money! Money to be made!"
That works as his motivation, too.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
The entire thought process is "liberals want this therefore bad"
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
Trump's an old man, he has nothing to fear. His sons* and daughters, though...
* including the lion riding Barron
I'm so sorry, children of the future.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Apparently it's just not cool to let the laws of thermodynamics play the long game, we've got to divest this giant, floating turdball of all carbon based life ASAP, before entropy brings on the heat death of the universe.
Anything less, would be uncivilized.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Honestly, I'd expect the rest of the world to put massive sanctions in place on the US. So, the US may be "competitive" in the sense that not adhering to the accords allows it to produce some things cheaper than signatories, but it will have no external markets to sell to. Otherwise, signatories are putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
I also suspect that regardless of how the treaty says that America can withdraw, America will simply not honor its treaty obligations, effective as soon as Trump and Pruitt know what the obligations are so that they can piss on them.
When the history books ask "Why did the American economy collapse between 2017 and 2020?" the answer will be "America got tired of winning."
It's the corollary to the proposed international flight laptop ban. Completely against the interests of any business with locations in America.
Fuck you, Grover Norquist.
Fuck. You.
Given the timbre of most foreign leaders' reaction to his "awesome" trip last week, I see most of them doubling down on green infrastructure and business initiatives out of sheer spite, just to drive home how much of a short-sighted and petty political operator he is.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Right so.....about 65% of the country.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
Sure as hell visiting whoever my MP will be next week to voice my encouragement that they keep it up.
With the US backing out, we join an illustrious club with Syria and Honduras, who combine for 0.24% of the world's CO2 emissions.
The US has 17.89%.
The treaty remains in force as long as 55% of the global CO2 production is in, so it should survive as long as China, India, and the EU don't pull out.
Between this and reports that the Trump administration is imminently about to roll back ACA mandates for coverage of birth control im rolling forward the doomsday clock to Gilead time
I don't want to be a nihilist but the environment is the quintessential global collective action problem and even with the light touch and reasonableness of Paris, republicans can't help but shoot us all in the foot. I am sad.
NNID: Hakkekage
Not formally, foreign affairs is reserved for DC, but I could see some of them passing legislation to voluntarily try and adhere to the standards. I have no idea how effective that would be.
I knew a large part of the conservative push back against combating climate change was rooted in a spiteful "fuck the hippies" menaltality, but to see it written out so blatantly is just, wow.
This is just petty childish nonsense. You're going to exacerbate an extremely serious problem because people don't like you? So, so glad our president has the emotional maturity of a toddler
Individual US states cannot make treaties with foreign states. That wouldn't prevent California from enacting similar state level legislation to force emissions reductions in California.
I want her middle school history books to constantly lambast Trump for dialing back global progress by a century and drill into their minds what this sort of nepotism and egomania results in.