Incredibly wrong-headed move by Trump.
Can only be read in Moscow as a huge gift to Putin.
And a big kick in the shins to US NATO allies and other front-line states.
@glubold @mgordonwsj
Can only be read in Moscow as a huge gift to Putin.
And a big kick in the shins to US NATO allies and other front-line states.
@glubold @mgordonwsj
Trump, Steve Bannon, Richard Grenell, et al have been gunning for Angela Merkel since forever and using her as a symbol of all the anti-globalist, anti-immigrant, anti-EU hokum they can dream up. 2/X
These baseless and downright kooky attacks on Germany/Merkel, unquestionably America's most powerful and important European ally, have done immeasurable damage to the transatlantic alliance that was put in place after WW2. 3/X
Russia's antics since Jan 2017 in UK, Ukraine, etc. should have dissuaded them that this gambit was on its face injurious to US nat'l security. It mattered not a whit. The same goes for COVID where the US has beaten up on Europe instead of seeing it as a crucial partner. 4/X
The main saving grace amid all this horribleness has been the feebleness of Trump and his team's ability to push their wacky agenda on to the rest of our national security establishment. 5/X
The sheer incoherence of Trump's approach meant institutional bonds betw the US&Germany via NATO, extensive US military infrastructure inside Germany, as well as Obama/Trump-era spending to strengthen NATO deterrence of a resurgent Russia were ALL beefed up on Trump's watch. 6/X
The fact these efforts were basically left alone was very reassuring to US military/civilian/diplomatic personnel who believe at the very core of their beings in the singular importance of US alliances and the foundation they create for US leadership. Ditto for our allies. 7/X
With one fell swoop, Trump is showing once again that our alliances are nothing more than a political plaything. He can and will demolish them to punish principled people like Angela Merkel who don't want to play by Trump's rules or serve as props in his photo ops. END
Addendum 1: this Trump/Grenell gambit was an even more gratuitous and politically inspired move than originally reported by WSJ @karendeyoung1
