Nice hair you got there, Donald. It'd be a shame if something happened to it.
Donald Trump as a mortal threat to America's national security? That's the conclusion of no fewer than a hundred, prominent Republican national security leaders. Here's how they see Trump and why he has no business seeking the American presidency:
His vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle. He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.
His advocacy for aggressively waging trade wars is a recipe for economic disaster in a globally connected world.
His embrace of the expansive use of torture is inexcusable.
His hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric undercuts the seriousness of combatting Islamic radicalism by alienating partners in the Islamic world making significant contributions to the effort. Furthermore, it endangers the safety and Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of American Muslims.
Controlling our border and preventing illegal immigration is a serious issue, but his insistence that Mexico will fund a wall on the southern border inflames unhelpful passions, and rests on an utter misreading of, and contempt for, our southern neighbor.
Similarly, his insistence that close allies such as Japan must pay vast sums for protection is the sentiment of a racketeer, not the leader of the alliances that have served us so well since World War II.
He is fundamentally dishonest. Evidence of this includes his attempts to deny positions he has unquestionably taken in the past, including on the 2003 Iraq war and the 2011 Libyan conflict. We accept that views evolve over time, but this is simply misrepresentation.
His equation of business acumen with foreign policy experience is false. Not all lethal conflicts can be resolved as a real estate deal might, and there is no recourse to bankruptcy court in international affairs.
Mr. Trump’s own statements lead us to conclude that as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world. Furthermore, his expansive view of how presidential power should be wielded against his detractors poses a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States. Therefore, as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.
Some of the initial signatories (more are being added) include Daniel Blumenthal, Max Boot, Niall Ferguson, Eliot Cohen, Robert Kagan, Peter Mansoor, and Robert Zoellik.
Confession - I have pondered whether the CIA would allow Donald Trump to be sworn into office.
Update:
The Independent has a great bit of satire imagining Trump's first 100 minutes in office. After a 9 o'clock swearing in, this ensues:
10:25 Construction begins on a wall to close the border. it’s started by Canada to stop people fleeing from the U.S.
Update:
The Independent has a great bit of satire imagining Trump's first 100 minutes in office. After a 9 o'clock swearing in, this ensues:
10:25 Construction begins on a wall to close the border. it’s started by Canada to stop people fleeing from the U.S.
7 comments:
In my darker moments, Mound, I have pondered how ironic it would be if Donald Trump were to be assassinated. No doubt such would be laid at the doorstep of 'the left,' but it is becoming increasingly apparent that his status as a loose and inconsistent cannon means that he would not be sufficiently controllable by the corporate elite currently in charge. This, of course, is anathema to those powers.
Strange times, eh?
Wow. The list of signatories is quite the collection of warmongers, torturers and wingnut welfare recipients. Hard to imagine that Trump is too extreme for some of them (Max Boot? Daniel Pipes?) but I guess they have to toe the line or be excommunicated.
Sorry, not actual torturers but definitely enthusiasts.
So the rulers of the American Empire don't want a buffoon for President. I agree with that, but I think their real worry is that he is a loose canon who they may not be able to control.I wasn't aware that Vladmir Putin was a dictator and as to Trump destroying Americas good standing in the world, that was destroyed a long time ago.Maybe their dislike of Trump simply comes down to his hair.
@ Chris. I don't think these security types have anything but contempt for Trump. Read their bill of indictment. They find nothing to admire in the orange-itan.
@ Pamela - I think they're concerned about America being steered in a direction that its traditional allies, European and Middle Eastern, won't support for plenty of very good reasons.
Trumps message say much about the American ideals and American business practices.
It is a message of totalitarianism.
The United States of Wall * mart.
is it only me or is most of that list the standard menu for republican politicians in general?
I think their only problem with trump is indeed the lack of levers of control.
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