TRUMP THE DUPE, AND THE CONSEQUENCES FOR AMERICA
Dr. Common Good
On top of its mounting litany of illegal and authoritarian actions in the US, the Trump administration has shown itself to be a dupe on the world stage, to the peril of Americans and the well-being of our allies.
First, Trump, Vance and company have routinely shown themselves to be utter dupes, and fools, when it comes to Ukraine. What is the explanation for the Trump reversal of American support, in concert with our European allies, for the independence of Ukraine and its resistance to Russian aggression? We need not repeat the details, but on February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, not for any of the flimsy and specious justifications it has floated, but to take control over the country and return it to the Russian orbit. It was aggression, pure and simple, and a threat to Europe and NATO. The Biden administration understood this and took the right steps in galvanizing NATO and supporting Ukraine with weapons – though some would argue with too much restraint. Given the lessons of history, this would seem the obvious conclusion. But no, not for Trump, who has a history of idolizing Putin and his authoritarian ways, along with an appalling ignorance of history and venal, puerile narcissism. Trump turned on Ukraine, acting, against all evidence, as if it was at fault. He, and Vance, thus became chief spokespersons for Putin’s propaganda, and they continue, more or less, to follow this path. Complete dupes and fools.
Now, Trump and company have bombed Iran. Why? Iran posed no imminent threat to the US, a conclusion reached by our own intelligence services. Yet with no evidence, Trump dismissed those conclusions and just asserted that they were a threat anyway. Without being privy to all the possible intelligence on this matter, it very much appears that Trump, once again, is a dupe – and this time he is yanking the US into a potential war or at least a lengthy period of retaliation. This time, Trump is a dupe for Israel’s Netanyahu, who initiated the attacks on Iran several weeks ago, and very much wanted to rope in the US so that he could make use of the US “bunker buster” bombs to hit Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities. Israel does not have those weapons. So, he played on Trump’s childish need to appear tough, and Trump has willingly complied, with no plan, no forethought, and utterly without Congressional notification or consent, continuing his pattern of violating the Constitution and the democratic process. Trump is an easy mark for such manipulation. It could also be argued that Netanyahu himself is using the Iran attacks to divert attention from condemnation of his disastrous policies in Gaza and his green light to violent right-wing settlers in the West Bank, who have significantly increased their attacks and land grabs against Palestinians. Simultaneously, the attacks on Iran divert attention from the threats he faces from his own corruption trials and internal opposition. It’s an old game. Netanyahu has been itching to attack Iran for many years, and there is no apparent evidence that Iran was at a more critical threat-point now than it has been in recent years.
History thus repeats itself. The selfish motives of leaders have and will generate conflict and war, and it is the broader populations who suffer the consequences.
As a democratic country, will we allow ourselves to be duped by the pure selfishness and vanity of Trump, who could care less about the broader consequences as long as his twisted personal needs are met?