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4 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
1. It's worth taking this tweet from 2014 both seriously and literally as a statement of policy: Trump thinks foreign policy should be a protection racket, with client states (a.k.a. allies) shaken down for $$ in exchange for USA maintaining the peace as the big boss.
2. Foreign policy as protection racket is, incidentally, not an inherently absurd idea. The international relationship eggheads prefer more genteel language ("hegemony") but what is the point of imperial dominance if not plunder?
3. Trump's statement about why Saudi Arabia is a great ally ("Saudi Arabia pays cash") is at least candid, moreso than the Council of Foreign Relations blather about the liberal international order and security of trade. 
4. Given Trump's own words, it's worth asking how much money is driving the USA-Saudi relationship and the current push for war. I have more thoughts here: thenation.com/article/trump-…
