Incoherence as a Weapon

The only coherence in Trump’s policy toward Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea is that it is meant to obtain a diplomatic victory before November 2020 and propel Trump toward winning a second term.

If proof were needed about the defeat of diplomacy in this era of digital brutality, it has been provided by Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador in Washington who has since resigned, and the revelation of his messages about Donald Trump, messages that were unbearable for the narcissist in chief installed in the White House. In the current climate of international politics, diplomatic secrecy can hardly be guaranteed, and there is a free-for-all attitude by leaders such as Trump. One can see that in the way Trump uses social media either when communicating with other leaders, or when spreading lies and insults about those who criticize him.

Among the numerous inappropriate remarks which led to the resignation of the first ambassador in Washington from the Foreign Office was his opinion about the Trumpist policy toward Iran, which the ambassador described as “incoherent and chaotic” and difficult to put right in the immediate future. Darroch described the hours following the destruction of a United States drone by Iran as ones of “disorder and confusion,” especially when Trump called off an order to attack Iranian facilities. According to Darroch’s account, the president has an “aversion to military adventures” and is more interested in in the results of the 2020 election, though we should not rule out a new turn of events that could trigger a war.

Nothing reflects the incoherence of U.S. foreign policy better than the contradiction between Trump’s personal negotiations with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader he has met on three occasions (the last meeting taking place on June 30), and his repeated intransigence regarding Iran. North Korea has all of the elements it needs to manufacture, and even launch, a nuclear bomb with trans-Atlantic-range missiles. Tehran, on the other hand, has only resumed its civilian uranium enrichment program above forbidden levels in reaction to Washington’s unilateral rupture of the nuclear agreement and the imposition of new sanctions, which have been accompanied by a blockade on the sale of oil. Incoherence, in the case of Trump, is a policy. The president accuses the Iranians of being terrorists while negotiating in Qatar with one of the largest terrorist groups, the Taliban – still active in their attacks – with the aim of removing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan after 18 years of U.S. occupation.

The animosity toward Iran is not due to its terrorist activity or nuclear proliferation, but to the interests of its allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, who are strategic rivals in the region, as well as the destruction of Barack Obama’s international legacy, work which specifically contributed to the nuclear agreement and the incorporation of Tehran into the international community.

The only coherence in Trump’s policy toward Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea is that it is meant to obtain a diplomatic victory before November 2020 and propel Trump toward winning a second term.