Mike Weinberger: President Trump, Bring the Boys Home and Get Re-Elected
If I could have a chat with President Trump I would say this: Mr. President, the past few months have not been great for you or the country, but there is still time to turn things around and get re-elected.
You can do it by following your instincts and bringing “the boys” — our soldiers — home. And I don’t mean just from Afghanistan or Germany. Bring them home in general. Not from everywhere and not all at once, but please start the process.
The nation will unite behind you on this. We may be badly divided on race, socialism and police conduct, but the overwhelming majority of Americans want to end our involvement in foreign wars and are tired of being the world’s policeman.
I know that many swamp dwellers will scream that this is “irresponsible” and that we cannot “abandon our allies,” but they are living in a fantasy world. And let’s not forget that many of them earn their daily bread off of this fantasy.
Why do I call it a fantasy? Because when Tom and Dick wander onto a dangerous street and they get attacked by hooligans, but only Dick spills his blood and fights off the attackers while Tom watches, they are not allies.
When is the last time large numbers of German, Italian or French soldiers spilled their own blood fighting alongside boys from Pennsylvania and Idaho to protect Western interests?
I know it wasn’t in February of this year, when two Americans were killed and six wounded in an attack in Afghanistan. I didn’t read about any German, Italian or French casualties in that attack.
That’s because, with the possible exception of Britain, our Western “allies” are more like charity cases than comrades in arms.
They do not fight alongside us in numbers proportionate to their populations and they don’t contribute funds to our efforts, either — at least not in proportion to their wealth.
Instead, they depend on our charity. While this may have been justified right after World War II, when the United States produced almost half of all the industrial goods in the entire world, we no longer enjoy that kind of dominance.
The rest of the world has caught up to us. We now produce only about 18 percent of the world’s manufactured goods, and a lot of what we make depends on parts and sub-assemblies that come from other countries.
So our economy does not dominate the globe the way it did in 1950, when we sent American boys to fight and die halfway around the world in Korea, and we can’t afford to do that today. Instead, it’s high time for Koreans, Germans and others to start defending themselves instead of merely “assisting” us in their defense.
And here’s another point: In the long run, over the scope of history, it is foolish to think that American soldiers — even if their morale could remain high as their own country is falling apart — will be able to determine what happens in places like Syria, Taiwan and others.
Eventually, the local population in these places will determine their own fate. We can’t impose our will on them any more than Hessian soldiers were able to tell us how to live during the Revolutionary War. Eventually, the locals decide for themselves.
So it is time to follow your instincts and announce the Trump Doctrine. Just as the Monroe Doctrine posited that European meddling was unwelcome in the Western Hemisphere, you can announce that American boys will no longer meddle in the affairs of our so-called “allies.”
The country will unite behind you on this and your re-election chances will soar. Put the George Floyd riots and the lockdowns behind us and focus on a new narrative. Let’s put America first again.
We need to get our own house in order, and bringing the boys home is a great way to start.
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