Crisis In the Gulf: End Of America as Leading Power

The U.S. president does not know what he is doing, says Thilo Kössler. He thinks that Donald Trump’s foreign and security policies not only lack a rationale but also lack values and morality. In this way, such a lack of knowledge and ignorance can lead to war, Kössler says.

Trump could hardly have documented the deficit in strategy (or better yet, how headless the American foreign and security policies are) more forcefully and visibly for all the world. The highly dangerous crisis in the Gulf could suddenly lead to a veritable war. But instead of showing any sense of proportion, confident judgment or leadership skill, Donald Trump came up with misjudgment, dangerous speculation and a dilettante’s understanding of leadership. The world, astonished and shocked, is learning that the substance of American foreign and security policies under Trump consists of hearsay, gut feelings and remarkable ignorance.

Trump Has No Plan

Here are just two examples. Calling Iran the mastermind of the attacks on Saudi oil facilities without being able to present even the slightest evidence is, at the least, frivolous. To threaten Iran with military intervention and at the same time not take any initiative for offering a constructive solution to this highly dangerous conflict is, at the least, concept-less. This president simply does not know how to deal with crises.

In addition, the more Trump is on his own, the more disoriented he seems to be. The consequences of his staffing policy, which is aimed at loyalty rather than competence, are now clearly visible. The elaborate system of the National Security Council has been suspended. Expert advice from agencies and authorities is no longer requested, and communication with experts from specialized departments and intelligence agencies, which is so important, no longer works.

What makes the situation even more dramatic is the fact that Trump not only wields the ax among tried and tested structures and mechanisms of the American political system, but the U.S. president is also increasingly undermining the value and rule-based world order. This world order is based on institutions Trump rejects. And on contracts Trump cancels. And on alliances that annoy him.

Trump Leaves Foreign Policy to Others

That way, the president of the American superpower shuffles himself out of the way of responsibility in world politics. He withdraws from world crisis regions, and, hence, leaves behind dangerous geopolitical voids. In the specific case of the Iran crisis, this means that Trump leaves the analysis of a situation, and in turn the decision on how to respond to the attacks on Saudi oil assets to the Saudi royal family. Security experts in the U.S. capital are already talking about a questionable outsourcing of the American foreign policy.

The fact that Trump relies blindly on the Saudi Crown Prince speaks volumes: Mohamed bin Salman bombed the Yemeni civilian population. He had the Lebanese prime minister kidnapped, and murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi .

In short, Trump’s foreign and security policies not only lack any rational assessment or conclusive strategy, but have no values or morality.

Thilo Kössler is a German public radio correspondent.