Monday, August 22, 2011

The Trump Doctrine

From the office of the Douchebag-in-Chief, the Donald gives us what he would change the United States' foreign policy to if he were in charge:


@realDonaldTrump We should have told the so-called rebels “We will only help if you give us 50% of your oil.” http://t.co/oGMpfCm#trumpvlog


There are so many issues with this statement, I want to shake the Donald's hand. He is such a gold mine of idiocy.


For nearly two centuries, America's foreign policy, as it pertains to military intervention, has been to provide support to peoples who were being oppressed. George Washington wrote, "My best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom." Then the official policy of the United States began (in just the Western Hemisphere) with the Monroe Doctrine and spread to encompass the globe. Sure, we didn't always live up to the promise (Nicaragua, Cuba, Iran... ok, we're not perfect), but we don't hold a tyrannized people hostage until they agreed to pay us. Hell, in most cases (as the Donald correctly points out in his vlog post), the United States has invested significant resources in bringing down despots. 


Trump's notion that the United States military should only help people who are being persecuted by their government if they are willing to pay us is antithetical to the great ideals of this nation. To pretend that he is anything but an opportunist preying on our most ignoble instincts would be closing our eyes and turning our backs on our heritage.


Secondary to the moral issue is the economic issue. The only way for the Libyan rebels to give 50% of their oil to the United States would be if the rebels owned it. After winning freedom for their country, they would have to nationalize the oil industry instead of supporting a capitalist economy. Since when did the Donald become a Socialist? Apparently, it's evil-socialism for the United States government to raise taxes on the American people in order to provide health care, but it's ok for the Libyan government to promise half of what amounts to the only natural resource of their country to the United States just so they can get a taste of a tenth of the freedom we have.


Donald Trump pretends at real leadership by spouting hate and blame. We need leaders with substance, not one who is willing to sacrifice the values that made America.

1 comment:

  1. i never knew you had a blog post till now. i like your style even if i disagree with your view of the history of american foreign policy

    ReplyDelete