Tag: Iraq

International Affairs, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Politics

Trump’s foreign policy: ‘America First’ and not value-neutral

by Ying MaLeave a Comment on Trump’s foreign policy: ‘America First’ and not value-neutral

Washington Examiner, December 27, 2017

Last week, President Trump presented his national security strategy to the country, and outlined a crucial distinction from his two predecessors.

“We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone,” Trump declared, “but we will champion [American] values without apology.”

While Trump is not interested in former President George W. Bush’s interventionism in the Middle East or promises of ending tyranny in the 21st century, he also rejects former President Barack Obama’s endless apologies to foreign audiences and penchant for “leading from behind.”

To many foreign policy commentators, the president’s foreign policy outlook indicates a total lack of interest in human rights. For Trump, “America First” means “America will lead again,” and that leadership is not value-neutral.

Against conventional wisdom, the Trump administration has revealed in its first year a willingness to advocate on behalf of human dignity, even if in a different fashion from previous administrations.

[Read the entire article HERE.]

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Asia, Conservatism, International Affairs, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Politics

How the Conservative Foreign Policy Establishment Failed Americans Long Before Donald Trump

by Ying MaLeave a Comment on How the Conservative Foreign Policy Establishment Failed Americans Long Before Donald Trump

Breitbart, October 27, 2017

Former President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, Senator Bob Corker and other Republican luminaries have publicly criticized President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in recent days.

Yet, long before Trump took over the national political conversation, the conservative foreign policy establishment had systematically betrayed conservative principles and abandoned intellectual rigor for ideological rigidity in foreign policy.

Many individuals and institutions participated, but one example of how a major conservative think tank went about the task shows the insidiousness of the betrayal and offers insight into the intellectual disorderliness that led to Trump’s rise.

It was the fall of 2005, and the Iraq War was raging. I had just graduated from Stanford Law School and given up a lucrative Wall Street law firm salary to spend a year as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

A few weeks into my fellowship, AEI issued what I perceived as a very unsubtle threat against me. I was told to stop conducting research on national sovereignty and international law and instead work on democratization in Asia. AEI understood that I was exploring opportunities in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, and if I did not listen they would make sure I did not succeed.

I had been a conservative my entire adult life. Never did I imagine that this venerable institution of conservative thought would threaten me for attempting to put conservative thoughts on paper, but it did.

(Read the rest of the article HERE.)

China, Conservatism, International Affairs, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Politics

Foreign Policy Interventionists in the Trump Era

by Ying MaLeave a Comment on Foreign Policy Interventionists in the Trump Era

Washington Examiner, May 8, 2017

Haters of President Trump are not known for their capacity for self-criticism. Having waged all-out, nasty battles to defeat him last November, they have decided to blame anyone but themselves for their failure. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton blames Russian hacking and FBI Director James Comey for her electoral loss. The mainstream media, which largely dispensed with any pretense of objectivity in the last election, blames the Trump administration for its hostility toward them.

Other Trump opponents, including right-wing foreign policy professionals who declared Trump unfit for office, are now busy evaluating whether Trump is “normalizing,” or becoming more like them.

To read the entire article, please click HERE.