PRESIDENT TRUMP: WIN MAY PUT
Women thrown back in the dark
DONALD Trump’s election victory has sent shockwaves through the international community, which is braced for a more “dangerous and volatile” world.
Experts yesterday warned it has increased the chance of war, left Nato in doubt, and threatens to fracture Western alliances and disrupt global trade deals.
And there are fears the nuclear trigger is now in the hands of a maverick who claims his strongest negotiating hand is his “unpredictability” and who has happily boasted about “nuking ISIS”.
Only one world leader was toasting Trump’s success: Vladimir Putin, who tweeted his congratulations.
When the result was announced, there were cheers in the Russian parliament.
Dr Brian Klaas, of the London School of Economics, said yesterday: “I think we woke up in a much more dangerous world than the one we went to bed in.”
At stake is the united front by Europe and the US against Putin’s aggression in Ukraine and Syria. President-elect Trump has heaped praise on Putin, and sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of Crimea are now in doubt.
As is the strategy for dealing with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, the deal with Iran to limit its nuclear programme and containment of North Korea. French President Francois Hollande said Trump’s victory “opens a period of uncertainty”.
He added: “The US is a vital partner for France and what’s at stake is peace, the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, economic relations and the preservation of the planet.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “Germany and America are connected by values: democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for the dignity of human beings independently of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views.
“On the basis of these values, I am offering the future president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, close co-operation.” But alarm bells are ringing after Trump dismissed Nato as “obsolete” and warned the US would no longer bankroll the alliance. Dr Klaas fears the Trump presidency will embolden Putin. He said: “The US pulling out of Nato would be the most dangerous development in decades, since the end of the Cold War. Baltic states are waking up to horror. He has become an apologist for Vladimir Putin, and the Ukraine and Georgia will be extremely nervous. “The world is already even more unstable and volatile than it was only 24 hours ago.” His fears were echoed by General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander for Europe between 2011 and 2014, in a recent magazine interview. Sir Richard said: “Nato depends totally on American leadership and American willingness to come to the aid of allies unconditionally. Therefore, to have a president in the White House who is not necessarily prepared to do that weakens the alliance immeasurably.” Also, as