US Allies Continue To Look Elsewhere For Leadership

I have already written about Australia’s recalling their ambassadors in order to reset their entire foreign policy based on the Trump administration’s abdication as leader of free world and the emergence and expansion of China’s power and influence in the Asia-Pacific region. It was really the first indication that America’s traditional allies no longer consider the United States a reliable partner.

Now today, there is an article in the New York Times that details the ongoing discussions in Europe to create its own “Eurodeterrent” by repurposing France’s existing nuclear arsenal and bringing it under the European umbrella as part of the common European defense. There will be enormous hurdles to getting this done. The French have shown no inclination to go along with this idea. There will be an enormous fight over who will have ultimate control over these weapons. Public opinion is totally against the idea. Getting other countries other than Germany to house those weapons will also be a nearly impossible hurdle. A larger problem is that moving seriously on this idea in any way actually makes it easier for Trump to withdraw the US arsenal from Europe, while at the same time antagonizing Russia. But the fact that there are even discussion about this idea shows you how much the Europeans also are focused on the fact that the US can no long be relied on.

Steve Bannon probably thinks the Eurodeterrent is a wonderful idea. And Trump can say that he is making NATO members to “pay their fair share”.  But the rationale behind making NATO pay their fair share would be that the military budget would therefore decrease and there would more money to spend domestically. But Trump is promising to “rebuild” the military and increase its budget by over $50 billion. It seems to be a contradiction to be rebuilding our military while withdrawing our nuclear arsenal from Europe.

Meanwhile, North Korea launched four ballistic missiles over the weekend as part of its continuing provocations. So far, there has been no official comment on the launch from the Trump administration. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was part of the group that announced the Muslim ban 2.0 yesterday but refused to take questions. Tillerson also had a photo-op at the State Department today and again refused to answer questions. In normal administrations, the State Department has daily briefings. Since the Trump inauguration, the State Department has had not a single briefing.

However, a spokesperson for the US forces in South Korea announced that the first of five components of a US missile defense shield to be deployed in South Korea arrived in the country on Monday. The US and South Korea agreed on deployment of this system under the Obama administration last summer but it appears that its deployment schedule may be moved up in response to North Korean provocations. In addition to domestic objections to the shield inside South Korea, China has strongly objected to the deployment of this system, seeing it as a threat to their own security, especially in light of Trump’s threat to allow Japan and South Korea to become nuclear powers.

More importantly, the silence from the administration regarding the North Korean launch is frightening. Foreign media in South Korea and Japan reported their leaders’ calls with Trump denouncing the missile launches, but there was no official announcement from the US. It truly raises the question who, if anyone, is actually in charge in this administration and where their focus really is. Was it just coincidence the first shipment of the previously agreed upon defense shield arrived on Monday or was it part of a conscious decision by the administration? If it was a conscious decision, was it made by Mattis and/or Tillerson or did Trump have to sign off on it? If it was a coincidence, will there be any other US response? What is the reason for no official comment on the issue from the US?

US allies are already worried and looking elsewhere for security solutions. The bizarre (lack of) an official US response to these North Korean provocations is bound to increase our allies anxiety and belief that the US is no longer a reliable partner.