Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, said that if elected, he might halt purchases of oil from Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies unless they commit ground troops to the fight against the Islamic State or “substantially reimburse” the United States for combating the militant group, which threatens their stability. “If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of American protection,” Mr. Trump said during a 100-minute interview on foreign policy, spread over two phone calls on Friday, “I don’t think it would be around.” ... NY TimesThe Republican Party rejection of Donald Trump may go beyond his talking about the size of his penis.
Mr. Trump’s views, as he explained them, fit nowhere into the recent history of the Republican Party: He is not in the internationalist camp of President George Bush, nor does he favor President George W. Bush’s call to make it the United States’ mission to spread democracy around the world. He agreed with a suggestion that his ideas might be summed up as “America First.”Trump is echoing the Charles Lindberg line for keeping us out of the war against Hitler. That experience laid the basis of American foreign interventionist policy through the cold war. The amount of American money going abroad to often prop up tyrannical governments is astounding.
Bernie is (sort of) heading in the same direction
"Saudi Arabia, turns out, has the third-largest defense budget in the world," Sanders said on Nov. 19. "Yet instead of fighting ISIS they have focused more on a campaign to oust Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen."Funny how people keep saying that Bernie has pulled Hillary left but are there hints that she has pulled Bernie right on foreign policy?
"Saudi Arabia really should be doing more to militarily combat the twin scourges of ISIS and al-Qaida," Weinberg said. "Bernie Sanders is right that we should expect more from our Saudi allies in the fight against terror in Syria as well as beyond."... http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/nov/24/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-right-saudi-arabia-more-focused-con/
Bernie also called on Saudi Arabia to invade Syria for us.
Bernie’s ISIS Strategy Is A Disaster - Daily Beast
Now we know that for decades both political parties have played cozy with the authoritarian Saudi government, which - and here's something that's shocking - makes Cuba look like a paragon of democracy. That Republicans can attack Obama for going to Cuba while acting like the Saudis are somehow OK with a straight face should earn the Academy Awards.
I find it interesting that both Bernie and Trump attack Saudi Arabia not for the lack of democracy but because they are not willing to make war on ISIS.
Both Trump and Bernie are touching on reversals of that policy which makes them both a threat to 75 years of both parties being committed to similar foreign policies.
Trump and Bernie also challenge the free trade agreements as undermining American jobs. Both parties have pushed free trade which certainly benefits their corporate backers.
Hillary and most of the Democratic Party establishment are fairly in line with the Republican establishment - including the neocons. It is all a matter of degree.
Both Bernie and Trump threaten to overturn that apple cart.
So much interesting stuff to munch on in this election cycle.
Are you suggesting that 75 years of foreign policy have been beneficial for the American public? How do the Afghanistan and Iraq military interventions advance the interests of ordinary Americans? Has the development of ISIS been fueled by the power vacuum created by the United States? It is amazing how there is no lack of money for policies that result in great profits to the military industrial complex, yet there is a critical lack of funding for arts education, school libraries and school nurses in poor urban communities. Perhaps a change in 75 years of American military adventurism would be a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteAbigail Shure
No I am not suggesting that. But what would you say if this were 1939 and anti-semite Lindbergh was pushing his America first policies to let Hitler win?
ReplyDeleteNothing is ever black and white.
American isolationism has also had its problems.
The reaction against that in the 1940s and the Soviet threat killed isolationism until now.
If we stopped spending on foreign stuff would the money go to us?
Republicans cut like crazy but not this stuff.
Trump even talks about using the money to rebuild infrastructure. So does Bernie. Not much for cutting foreign stuff and spendign it here from other candidates Dems and Rep.
The United States policies during World War Two included denying entry to Jews seeking to flee countries controlled by Hitler and dropping atom bombs on Japan. I would suggest that Iraq, Syria, Libya and other countries have been devastated by American foreign policies. What has the death toll been to date for their citizens? You are correct that the money would most likely not be funneled into rebuilding infrastructure.
DeleteAbigail Shure