My goodness, Alan! You've certainly changed your tune. I thought you were dead against the concept of America the Global Policeman.
You may be right. I seem to be ambivalent about it. On the one hand, I don't want to be the world's policeman. We spend too much money and bleed too much. Meanwhile, other countries who should help ignore it and go their own way worried about themselves or help just enough to say they've done something. Often, it doesn't seem to get us anywhere except more problems. But then I see that if we don't do something, no one else will and that encourages bad actors around the world. Obama's leading from behind and backing off just encouraged Russia in the Crimea and Ukraine and China on those islands in the South China Sea. Iran gained by his lack of decisiveness and fecklessness.
I really think that Trump sent a message with his unilateral attack on the Syrian airfield. I don't think his attempt was to depose Assad but did accomplish a lot of other things in one fell swoop.
1. Satisfies anti-Putin Republicans like McCain and Democrats and limits concern about collusion.
2. Will help his poll numbers. Dropping bombs are always more impressive than dropping tweets. He made his bones.
3. Encourages allies we’ll support them if needed.
4. Scares bullies into no longer thinking they can do whatever they want.
5. Shows Chairman Xi that if he doesn’t help with N. Korean nukes, America will solve the issue on its own as he said he would. That's going to push Xi.
6. No. Korea has to think that America might act on its own.
7. Tells Chairman Xi that if China uses the militarized South China Sea islands against our friends, we just might sink the islands.
8. Encourages our Pacific allies that America will be there for them. That will stop their current drift to China.
9. Encourages our Middle East friends like Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, etc that they can depend on us. Some started to look to Russia. Now they'll re-think that.
10. Tells everyone America will operate on its own if its interests are threatened. We don’t necessarily need a coalition and won’t wait for one to act. That includes the U.N. and their annoying vetoes.
11. Willing to change his mind if the situation demands it. He won’t lock himself into past statements. Willing to grow and evolve and learn. The liberal media keeps playing his old policy beliefs when he was a real estate magnate to attack him. No one else cares? The rest of the world doesn't, for sure. They only care and will act on what he'll do now.
That’s a lot of stuff for just a few missiles.
