Trump’s Latest Surprise
President Trump is emerging from his first overseas crisis looking calm and competent, with his foreign-policy and national-security teams hitting on all cylinders. Surprise!
His airstrike against Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria won the support of 78 US senators, including 30 Democrats — albeit with some qualifications.
The fact that Trump executed what came off as a rapid turnaround on his Syria policy in the wake of a war crime indicates he’s not locked into preconceived notions or policies: He’s adjusting to reality as it develops.
Yes, Trump lacks the kind of grand foreignpolicy doctrine pushed by the last two presidents — but that’s not such a bad thing. In a world full of unknown and unpredictable factors, he’s prepared to act on the basis of actual realities, unbeholden to an agenda of aggressive nation-building or appeasement.
Which is why the White House is taking pains to stress that the Syria strike is not a preliminary to an anti-Assad military campaign, or a policy of active regime change.
Yet, at the same time, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster are also making it clear that the United States “cannot stand idly by” if Assad continues to use chemical weapons.
That’s a tough but cautious line, awaiting developments and keeping all US options open.
It’s also putting the lie to fears that the president would be a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Indeed, the opposite has proved true: Relations between Moscow and Washington are seriously strained, especially now that the administration says it’s convinced Putin knew in advance about Assad’s gas attack.
And the criticism from Tillerson, now in Russia (where Putin is refusing to meet with him), and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has been tough and unremitting.
Trump’s critics predicted that as president he’d either ignore crises or flail about helplessly. What we’ve seen thus far is a president who, though still learning the ropes, is letting himself be guided by reality, not naïve or wishful thinking.