Here is a thought to chill the blood of President Donald Trump. He would be in a far better place today if he had followed the foreign-policy advice of the predecessor he loathes, Barack Obama. According to the Obama doctrine, as explained years ago to Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist, an American president’s first duty in world affairs is: „Don’t do stupid shit.”
As doctrines go, it is not very sophisticated. Moreover, cerebral Mr Obama left a mixed foreign-policy record: he was slow to grasp the full scope of the China threat, for instance. Still, if Mr Trump had heeded him, he might not have joined Israel in launching war on Iran on February 28th without a plan for victory. Mr Trump might not have boasted that the killing of Iran’s top leaders, followed by punishing air strikes, would soon trigger regime change. Given Iran’s complexity and its rulers’ ruthlessness, that was as daft as predicting that the Mafia could be bombed out of Sicily from the air. Now, Mr Trump’s war may consume his presidency.
De redactie van NRC selecteert de beste artikelen uit The Economist voor een breder perspectief op internationale politiek en economie.
The president’s Middle East record includes real successes, notably the recognition of Israel by four Arab states in the Abraham accords. Mr Trump deserves credit for (belatedly) strong-arming Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, into a ceasefire last year with Hamas, though conditions in Gaza remain grim. His decision to join Israel in bombarding Iran’s nuclear sites last summer was risky, but not stupid. The operation came with costs, including the loss of access to Iran’s highly enriched uranium for international inspectors. Still, inflicting severe damage on Iran’s underground nuclear programme followed a coherent logic. Iran’s muted response in retaliation was a further vindication.
