Foreign
policy does not determine American elections. Indeed, of all Western countries,
we are the least interested in the subject. The reason is simple: We haven’t
had to be. Our instinctive isolationism derives from our geographic
exceptionalism. As Bismarck once explained (it is said), the United States is
the most fortunate of all Great Powers, bordered on two sides by weak neighbors
and on the other two by fish.
Two world wars,
nuclear missiles and international terrorism have disabused us of the illusion
of safety-by-isolation. You wouldn’t know it, though, from the Democratic
presidential race where foreign policy has been treated as a nuisance, a
distraction from such fundamental questions as whether $12 or $15 is
the proper minimum wage.
On the Republican
side, however, foreign policy has been the subject of furious debate. To which
Donald Trump has contributed significantly, much of it off-the-cuff,
contradictory and confused. Hence his foreign policy speech on
Wednesday. It was meant to make him appear consistent, serious and
presidential.
He did check off the
required box — delivering a “major address” to a serious foreign policy outfit,
the Center for the National Interest (once known as the Nixon Center). As such,
it fulfilled a political need.
As did its major
theme, announced right at the top: America First. Classically populist and
invariably popular, it is nonetheless quite fraught. On the one hand, it can be
meaningless — isn’t every president trying to advance American interests?
Surely Truman didn’t enter the Korean War for the sake of Koreans, but from the
conviction that intervention was essential for American security.
On the other hand,
America First does have a history. In 1940, when Britain was fighting for its
life and Churchill was begging for U.S. help, it was the name of the group most
virulently opposed to U.S. intervention. It disbanded — totally discredited —
four days after Pearl Harbor.
The irony is that
while President Obama would never use the term, it is the underlying theme of
his foreign policy — which Trump constantly denounces as a series of disasters.
Obama, like Trump, is animated by the view that we are overextended and
overinvested abroad. “The nation that I’m most interested in building is our
own,” declared Obamain his December 2009 West Point
address on Afghanistan.
This is also the
theme of Bernie Sanders. No great surprise. Left and right isolationism have
found common cause since the 1930s. Socialist Party leader Norman Thomas often
shared the platform with Charles Lindbergh at America First rallies.
Both
the left and right have a long history of advocating American retreat and
retrenchment. The difference is that liberals want to come home because they
think we are not good enough for the world. Conservatives want to wash their
hands of the world because they think the world is not good enough for us.
For Obama, we are
morally unworthy to act as world hegemon. Our hands are not clean. He’s gone abroad confessing our
various sins — everything from the Iranian coup of 1953 to our unkind treatment
of Castro’s Cuba to the ultimate blot, Hiroshima, a penitential visit to which
Obama is currently considering.
Trump
would be rightly appalled by such a self-indicting trip. His foreign policy
stems from a proud nationalism that believes that these recalcitrant tribes and
nations are unworthy of American expenditures of blood and treasure.
This has been the
underlying view of conservative isolationism from Lindbergh through Pat
Buchanan through Rand Paul. It is not without its attractions. Trump’s version,
however, is inconsistent and often contradictory. After all, he pledged to bring stability to the Middle East. How do you
do that without presence, risk and expenditures (financial and military)? He
attacked Obama for letting Iran become a “great power.” But doesn’t resisting
that automatically imply engagement?
More incoherent still
is Trump’s insistence on being unpredictable. An asset perhaps in real estate
deals, but in a Hobbesian world American allies rely on American consistency,
often as a matter of life or death. Yet Trump excoriated the Obama-Clinton
foreign policy for losing the trust of our allies precisely because of its
capriciousness. The tilt toward Iran. The red line in Syria. Canceling the
Eastern European missile defense. Abandoning Hosni Mubarak.
Trump’s scripted,
telepromptered speech was intended to finally clarify his foreign policy. It
produced instead a jumble. The basic principle seems to be this: Continue the
inexorable Obama-Clinton retreat, though for reasons of national self-interest,
rather than of national self-doubt. And except when, with studied
inconsistency, he decides otherwise.
Trump
Full Speech: This Could Be Most Peaceful and Prosperous Century The World Has
Ever Known
TRUMP: Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you, and
thank you to the Center for the National Interest for honoring me with this
invitation.
I would like to talk today about how to develop a new
foreign policy direction for our country – one that replaces randomness with
purpose, ideology with strategy, and chaos with peace.
It is time to shake the rust off of America’s foreign
policy. It's time to invite new voices and new visions into the fold.
The direction I will outline today will also return us to
a timeless principle. My foreign policy will always put the interests of the
American people, and American security, above all else. That will be the
foundation of every decision that I will make.
America First will be the major and overriding theme of
my administration.
But to chart our path forward, we must first briefly look
back.
We have a lot to be proud of. In the 1940s we saved the
world. The Greatest Generation beat back the Nazis and the Japanese
Imperialists.
Then we saved the world again, this time from
totalitarian Communism. The Cold War lasted for decades, but we won.
Democrats and Republicans working together got Mr.
Gorbachev to heed the words of President Reagan when he said: “tear down this
wall.”
History will not forget what we did.
Unfortunately, after the Cold War, our foreign policy
veered badly off course. We failed to develop a new vision for a new time. In
fact, as time went on, our foreign policy began to make less and less sense.
Logic was replaced with foolishness and arrogance, and
this led to one foreign policy disaster after another.
We went from mistakes in Iraq to Egypt to Libya, to
President Obama’s line in the sand in Syria. Each of these actions have helped
to throw the region into chaos, and gave ISIS the space it needs to grow and
prosper.
It all began with the dangerous idea that we could make
Western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interest in
becoming a Western Democracy.
We tore up what institutions they had and then were
surprised at what we unleashed. Civil war, religious fanaticism; thousands of
American lives, and many trillions of dollars, were lost as a result. The
vacuum was created that ISIS would fill. Iran, too, would rush in and fill the
void, much to their unjust enrichment.
Our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster.
No vision, no purpose, no direction, no strategy.
Today, I want to identify five main weaknesses in our
foreign policy.
First, Our Resources Are Overextended
President Obama has weakened our military by weakening
our economy. He’s crippled us with wasteful spending, massive debt, low growth,
a huge trade deficit and open borders.
Our manufacturing trade deficit with the world is now approaching
$1 trillion a year. We’re rebuilding other countries while weakening our own.
Ending the theft of American jobs will give us the
resources we need to rebuild our military and regain our financial independence
and strength.
I am the only person running for the Presidency who
understands this problem and knows how to fix it.
Secondly, our allies are not paying their fair share.
Our allies must contribute toward the financial,
political and human costs of our tremendous security burden. But many of them
are simply not doing so. They look at the United States as weak and forgiving
and feel no obligation to honor their agreements with us.
In NATO, for instance, only 4 of 28 other member
countries, besides America, are spending the minimum required 2% of GDP on
defense.
We have spent trillions of dollars over time – on planes,
missiles, ships, equipment – building up our military to provide a strong
defense for Europe and Asia. The countries we are defending must pay for the
cost of this defense – and, if not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these
countries defend themselves.
The whole world will be safer if our allies do their part
to support our common defense and security.
A Trump Administration will lead a free world that is
properly armed and funded.
Thirdly, our friends are beginning to think they can’t
depend on us.
We’ve had a president who dislikes our friends and bows
to our enemies.
He negotiated a disastrous deal with Iran, and then we
watched them ignore its terms, even before the ink was dry.
Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and,
under a Trump Administration, will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
All of this without even mentioning the humiliation of
the United States with Iran’s treatment of our ten captured sailors.
In negotiation, you must be willing to walk. The Iran
deal, like so many of our worst agreements, is the result of not being willing
to leave the table. When the other side knows you’re not going to walk, it
becomes absolutely impossible to win.
At the same time, your friends need to know that you will
stick by the agreements that you have with them.
President Obama gutted our missile defense program, then
abandoned our missile defense plans with Poland and the Czech Republic.
He supported the ouster of a friendly regime in Egypt
that had a longstanding peace treaty with Israel – and then helped bring the
Muslim Brotherhood to power in its place.
Israel, our great friend and the one true Democracy in
the Middle East, has been snubbed and criticized by an Administration that
lacks moral clarity. Just a few days ago, Vice President Biden again criticized
Israel – a force for justice and peace – for acting as an impediment to peace
in the region.
President Obama has not been a friend to Israel. He has
treated Iran with tender love and care and made it a great power in the Middle
East – all at the expense of Israel, our other allies in the region and,
critically, the United States.
We’ve picked fights with our oldest friends, and now
they’re starting to look elsewhere for help.
Fourth, our rivals no longer respect us.
In fact, they are just as confused as our allies, but an
even bigger problem is that they don’t take us seriously any more.
When President Obama landed in Cuba on Air Force One, no
leader was there to meet or greet him – perhaps an incident without precedent
in the long and prestigious history of Air Force One.
Then, amazingly, the same thing happened in Saudi Arabia
-- it's called no respect.
Do you remember when the President made a long and
expensive trip to Copenhagen, Denmark to get the Olympics for our country, and,
after this unprecedented effort, it was announced that the United States came
in fourth place?
He should have known the result before making such an
embarrassing commitment.
The list of humiliations goes on and on.
President Obama watches helplessly as North Korea
increases its aggression and expands even further with its nuclear reach.
Our president has allowed China to continue its economic
assault on American jobs and wealth, refusing to enforce trade rules – or apply
the leverage on China necessary to rein in North Korea.
He has even allowed China to steal government secrets
with cyber attacks and engage in industrial espionage against the United States
and its companies.
We’ve let our rivals and challengers think they can get
away with anything.
If President Obama’s goal had been to weaken America, he
could not have done a better job.
Finally, America no longer has a clear understanding of
our foreign policy goals.
Since the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the
Soviet Union, we’ve lacked a coherent foreign policy.
One day we’re bombing Libya and getting rid of a dictator
to foster democracy for civilians, the next day we are watching the same
civilians suffer while that country falls apart.
We're a humanitarian nation. But the legacy of the
Obama-Clinton interventions will be weakness, confusion, and disarray.
We have made the Middle East more unstable and chaotic
than ever before.
We left Christians subject to intense persecution and
even genocide.
Our actions in Iraq, Libya and Syria have helped unleash
ISIS.
And we’re in a war against radical Islam, but President
Obama won’t even name the enemy!
Hillary Clinton also refuses to say the words “radical
Islam,” even as she pushes for a massive increase in refugees.
After Secretary Clinton’s failed intervention in Libya,
Islamic terrorists in Benghazi took down our consulate and killed our
ambassador and three brave Americans. Then, instead of taking charge that
night, Hillary Clinton decided to go home and sleep! Incredible.
Clinton blames it all on a video, an excuse that was a
total lie. Our Ambassador was murdered and our Secretary of State misled the
nation – and by the way, she was not awake to take that call at 3 o'clock in
the morning.
And now ISIS is making millions of dollars a week selling
Libyan oil.
This will change when I am president.
To all our friends and allies, I say America is going to
be strong again. America is going to be a reliable friend and ally again.
We’re going to finally have a coherent foreign policy
based upon American interests, and the shared interests of our allies.
We are getting out of the nation-building business, and
instead focusing on creating stability in the world.
Our moments of greatest strength came when politics ended
at the water’s edge.
We need a new, rational American foreign policy, informed
by the best minds and supported by both parties, as well as by our close
allies.
This is how we won the Cold War, and it’s how we will win
our new and future struggles.
First, we need a long-term plan to halt the spread and
reach of radical Islam.
Containing the spread of radical Islam must be a major
foreign policy goal of the United States.
Events may require the use of military force. But it’s
also a philosophical struggle, like our long struggle in the Cold War.
In this we’re going to be working very closely with our
allies in the Muslim world, all of which are at risk from radical Islamic
violence.
We should work together with any nation in the region
that is threatened by the rise of radical Islam. But this has to be a two-way
street – they must also be good to us and remember us and all we are doing for
them.
The struggle against radical Islam also takes place in
our homeland. There are scores of recent migrants inside our borders charged
with terrorism. For every case known to the public, there are dozens more.
We must stop importing extremism through senseless
immigration policies.
A pause for reassessment will help us to prevent the next
San Bernardino or worse -- all you have to do is look at the World Trade Center
and September 11th.
And then there’s ISIS. I have a simple message for them.
Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We
must as, a nation, be more unpredictable. But they’re going to be gone. And
soon.
Secondly, we have to rebuild our military and our
economy.
The Russians and Chinese have rapidly expanded their
military capability, but look what’s happened to us!
Our nuclear weapons arsenal – our ultimate deterrent –
has been allowed to atrophy and is desperately in need of modernization and
renewal.
Our active duty armed forces have shrunk from 2 million
in 1991 to about 1.3 million today.
The Navy has shrunk from over 500 ships to 272 ships
during that time.
The Air Force is about 1/3 smaller than 1991. Pilots are
flying B-52s in combat missions today which are older than most people in this
room.
And what are we doing about this? President Obama has
proposed a 2017 defense budget that, in real dollars, cuts nearly 25% from what
we were spending in 2011.
Our military is depleted, and we’re asking our generals
and military leaders to worry about global warming.
We will spend what we need to rebuild our military. It is
the cheapest investment we can make. We will develop, build and purchase the
best equipment known to mankind. Our military dominance must be unquestioned.
But we will look for savings and spend our money wisely.
In this time of mounting debt, not one dollar can be wasted.
We are also going to have to change our trade,
immigration and economic policies to make our economy strong again – and to put
Americans first again. This will ensure that our own workers, right here in
America, get the jobs and higher pay that will grow our tax revenue and
increase our economic might as a nation.
We need to think smarter about areas where our
technological superiority gives us an edge. This includes 3-D printing,
artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare.
A great country also takes care of its warriors. Our
commitment to them is absolute. A Trump Administration will give our service
men and women the best equipment and support in the world when they serve, and
the best care in the world when they return as veterans to civilian life.
Finally, we must develop a foreign policy based on
American interests.
Businesses do not succeed when they lose sight of their
core interests and neither do countries.
Look at what happened in the 1990s. Our embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania were attacked and seventeen brave sailors were killed on the
USS Cole. And what did we do? It seemed we put more effort into adding China to
the World Trade Organization – which has been a disaster for the United States
– than into stopping Al Qaeda.
We even had an opportunity to take out Osama Bin Laden,
and didn’t do it. And then, we got hit at the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, the worst attack on our country in its history.
Our foreign policy goals must be based on America’s core
national security interests, and the following will be my priorities.
In the Middle East, our goals must be to defeat
terrorists and promote regional stability, not radical change. We need to be
clear-sighted about the groups that will never be anything other than enemies.
And we must only be generous to those that prove they are
our friends.
We desire to live peacefully and in friendship with
Russia and China. We have serious differences with these two nations, and must
regard them with open eyes. But we are not bound to be adversaries. We should
seek common ground based on shared interests. Russia, for instance, has also
seen the horror of Islamic terrorism.
I believe an easing of tensions and improved relations
with Russia – from a position of strength – is possible. Common sense says this
cycle of hostility must end. Some say the Russians won’t be reasonable. I
intend to find out. If we can’t make a good deal for America, then we will
quickly walk from the table.
Fixing our relations with China is another important step
towards a prosperous century. China respects strength, and by letting them take
advantage of us economically, we have lost all of their respect. We have a
massive trade deficit with China, a deficit we must find a way, quickly, to
balance.
A strong and smart America is an America that will find a
better friend in China. We can both benefit or we can both go our separate
ways.
After I am elected President, I will also call for a
summit with our NATO allies, and a separate summit with our Asian allies. In
these summits, we will not only discuss a rebalancing of financial commitments,
but take a fresh look at how we can adopt new strategies for tackling our
common challenges.
For instance, we will discuss how we can upgrade NATO’s
outdated mission and structure – grown out of the Cold War – to confront our shared
challenges, including migration and Islamic terrorism.
I will not hesitate to deploy military force when there
is no alternative. But if America fights, it must fight to win. I will never
send our finest into battle unless necessary – and will only do so if we have a
plan for victory.
Our goal is peace and prosperity, not war and
destruction.
The best way to achieve those goals is through a
disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy.
With President Obama and Secretary Clinton we’ve had the
exact opposite: a reckless, rudderless and aimless foreign policy – one that
has blazed a path of destruction in its wake.
After losing thousands of lives and spending trillions of
dollars, we are in far worse shape now in the Middle East than ever before.
I challenge anyone to explain the strategic foreign
policy vision of Obama-Clinton – it has been a complete and total disaster.
I will also be prepared to deploy America’s economic
resources. Financial leverage and sanctions can be very persuasive – but we
need to use them selectively and with determination. Our power will be used if
others do not play by the rules.
Our friends and enemies must know that if I draw a line
in the sand, I will enforce it.
However, unlike other candidates for the presidency, war
and aggression will not be my first instinct. You cannot have a foreign policy
without diplomacy. A superpower understands that caution and restraint are
signs of strength.
Although not in government service, I was totally against
the War in Iraq, saying for many years that it would destabilize the Middle
East. Sadly, I was correct, and the biggest beneficiary was Iran, who is
systematically taking over Iraq and gaining access to their rich oil reserves –
something it has wanted to do for decades. And now, to top it all off, we have
ISIS.
My goal is to establish a foreign policy that will endure
for several generations.
That is why I will also look for talented experts with
new approaches, and practical ideas, rather than surrounding myself with those
who have perfect resumes but very little to brag about except responsibility
for a long history of failed policies and continued losses at war.
Finally, I will work with our allies to reinvigorate
Western values and institutions. Instead of trying to spread “universal values”
that not everyone shares, we should understand that strengthening and promoting
Western civilization and its accomplishments will do more to inspire positive
reforms around the world than military interventions.
These are my goals, as president.
I will seek a foreign policy that all Americans, whatever
their party, can support, and which our friends and allies will respect and
welcome.
The world must know that we do not go abroad in search of
enemies, that we are always happy when old enemies become friends, and when old
friends become allies.
To achieve these goals, Americans must have confidence in
their country and its leadership again.
Many Americans must wonder why our politicians seem more
interested in defending the borders of foreign countries than their own.
Americans must know that we are putting the American
people first again. On trade, on immigration, on foreign policy – the jobs,
incomes and security of the American worker will always be my first priority.
No country has ever prospered that failed to put its own
interests first. Both our friends and enemies put their countries above ours
and we, while being fair to them, must do the same.
We will no longer surrender this country, or its people,
to the false song of globalism.
The nation-state remains the true foundation for
happiness and harmony. I am skeptical of international unions that tie us up
and bring America down, and will never enter America into any agreement that
reduces our ability to control our own affairs.
NAFTA, as an example, has been a total disaster for the
U.S. and has emptied our states of our manufacturing and our jobs. Never again.
Only the reverse will happen. We will keep our jobs and bring in new ones.
Their will be consequences for companies that leave the U.S. only to exploit it
later.
Under a Trump Administration, no American citizen will
ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of foreign
countries.
I will view the world through the clear lens of American
interests.
I will be America’s greatest defender and most loyal
champion. We will not apologize for becoming successful again, but will instead
embrace the unique heritage that makes us who we are.
The world is most peaceful, and most prosperous, when
America is strongest.
America will continually play the role of peacemaker.
We will always help to save lives and, indeed, humanity
itself. But to play that role, we must make America strong again.
We must make America respected again. And we must make
America great again.
If we do that, perhaps this century can be the most
peaceful and prosperous the world has ever known. Thank you.
