This policy of applying economic pressure has of course further aggravated tensions with other countries and degraded the United States’ reputation abroad. This is not new. Ever since Vietnam, and really since World War II, the United States has been condemned for a host of policies. But it’s not clear that global public opinion has any lasting effect.
So relax. Europeans need America so much that they get nervous when we do things and get nervous when we don't do things. It's a constant factor. And voices of concern are easy to hear no matter what course we take. What a shock:
The European furor over Donald Trump is not, as alleged, because he and the nation that elected him are crude, but that he and his country are needed more than ever by a continent that has lost its way.
And read the rest which discusses the Trump attempt to use diplomacy and economic power to avoid military conflict across a wide range of theaters with a military too small to deal with all of them.
Not that I advocate a military large enough to deal with all of the potential problems at once. We would break our economy and budget--which is bad enough.
But it would be nice to have a bigger margin of error--and allies prepared to pull their weight to help hold the line after enjoying the peace dividend so enthusiastically since 1991.
Remember, the
