At the face of it the statement in the title seems quite extreme, but don’t give up on me just yet. Just consider Trump’s profile/temperament coupled with the fact that though he’s NOT driven by political ideology but rather someone who views policy as “transactional” deals he has surrounded himself by some of extremist ultra-right advisors of any previous administration, then you begin to understand the effects of such an toxic political environment when it comes to security policy-both national/international. Whether you consider the relationship Trump wants to have-and suspect already has privately-with Russia despite reports of Russian hacking in US elections, well it really makes perfect sense; no ideology that places premium on values of patriotism particularly on clear matters of national security and more about him cutting deals that work for his brand, then you begin to get the picture. More importantly we also need to consider that weaknesses on the security front are far reaching/long lasting-then you really begin to grasp the potential threat level.
A couple of the profound outcomes resulting from this toxic policy environment are;
- Focus/resources are diverted from areas of real threat
- More premium put on quick successes rather than true/lasting resolution-successes which can also result in compounding the problem
What I would very much like to see is that this matter is NOT considered as red vs. blue issue but one that needs to be assessed by the security experts/establishment with bi-partisan support. That said I am not going to hold my breath on that one considering how the Republican party has turned a blind eye to many of Trump’s political absurdities which in a sense demonstrates that they have applied the Trump Policy Model; less focus on political ideology/traditional long-held policy and more on transactional deals that further their brand even to the extent of pushing their country under a bus in the process. And the irony here is that this a model is one that by-design degrades values of ultra-right in terms of nationalism/protectionism.
Update-01: I just watched MSNBC program where host Mika Brzezinski was bewildered why US President Trump would undermine United States when equating its actions to Russia; Mika, the reason is not because he likes the guy but rather its all about the transactional mindset ; a) Putin helped support Trump campaign and b) Trumps is seeking to cut deals with Russia to help develop his political (and possibly business) brand. He views anything else whether security related or issues of national pride (or any other for that matter) as irrelevant. Now what do you expect when placing someone representing the worst/most corrupt of business leaders on top of government?