A Failed U.S. Foreign Policy

Since taking office, the current U.S. administration has made many crucial mistakes that are affecting global security and governance.

One of its first actions was to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a major alliance of Asian and Pacific countries that could well have challenged Chinese economic and military power and influence in the region and demonstrated American leadership in a crucial part of the world.

Instead, the administration decided to go it alone – leaving the Chinese an open door in Asia and American allies in the region bereft of U.S. leadership.

Since then, the administration has catered to Russian and Iranian interests in the Middle East, withdrawing from Syria and reducing its footprint in Iraq and Afghanistan – thus giving Iran significant influence in these two countries in addition to Syria.

By withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the United States has given Iran reasons to ramp up its nuclear program. Other co-signatories have not withdrawn from the deal, arguing that Iran had fulfilled its obligations.

In addition, the administration’s concerted attacks on the European Union and NATO have degraded a once unbeatable alliance between the United States, Canada, and Europe – an alliance that triumphed in the Cold War and brought economic prosperity and unity of purpose to a Europe historically at odds with itself.

In this, the administration has served Russian and Chinese interests as well. Russia has sought to divide these Western Alliances since the Cold War, and the Trump administration has succeeded where Russia had failed.

Chinese interests are also well served as its Belt and Road Initiative is making inroads into the former Eastern European countries and Italy, not to mention Africa and Latin America, displacing American capital and political influence in those countries.  

Russia and China strongly support authoritarian regimes and are creating a counterbalance to Brussel’s insistence on Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia’s continued insistence that these governments respect democratic institutions and adhere to democratic norms.

Probably the worst mishandling of global relationships has been the management of the COVID-19 pandemic currently creating widespread health concerns and economic disruption.

Ignoring the pandemic at its inception (in the belief that it would affect its re-election in November) led to countless, avoidable deaths in the United States. The administration has refused to exert global leadership and bring the world community together to fight the pandemic and address the economic and social consequences of this outbreak together as the Obama administration did during the EBOLA epidemic and the 2008 economic meltdown. It decided instead to waste its time advocating dangerous drugs and unproven and illogical treatments.  

A U.S. led global approach to resolve the medical challenges of COVID-19 would likely have been more productive. Exerting a leadership role in such mechanisms as the G-20, the United Nations Security Council, and other global agencies could have rallied a unified global scientific and social response to the pandemic rather than the fragmented efforts that we have seen to date.  

Instead, the administration’s incompetence in providing global leadership at such a critical time both nationally and internationally is reason enough for Republicans to lose the presidency and both Houses of Congress in November given the high negative costs to U.S. prestige abroad.

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Edición: Ana Ordaz