Changes

Trump has been busy during his first full week in office signing executive orders covering economic and foreign relations matters.

Right now, it seems like a mixed bag.

The negative side of these executive actions is that they may resurrect the Keystone XL pipeline, shale oil, and fracking projects. This doesn’t bode well for the environment at all considering all the spills and problems these projects entail.

Trump has also signed executive orders on drawing up of plans to deal with ISIS in Syria, and stopping the flow of Syrian migrants, and visitors from certain Muslim countries into the US.

Trump has also stated that he wants to create safe zones in Syria. It’s too early to see what he means by that, but one thing is certain. If he decides to resurrect his rotten predecessor’s regime change project and arming of rebels, then he has already failed.

US failures in Syria weren’t a result of flawed military strategy or lack of toughness. They had to do with the fact that US policy to overthrow the Syrian government by using fanatical proxies was wrong in the first place.

But if Trump’s definition of safe zones means something else, like cooperation with Russia, Syria, Turkey and other regional countries to counter ISIS, to protect Syrian civilians from ISIS, giving them aid, and seeking an all-inclusive negotiated agreement to end the chaos there, then he will most likely succeed.

Trump’s effort to find common ground with Russia with his telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin is a welcome sign of sanity from the US government. This was long overdue. Relations with Russia must be restored. This is in everyone’s best interest.

US and Russia are both nuclear-armed world powers. Neither one can attack the other because it will mean the total destruction of both.

If there is a quarrel between the two, other countries will end up suffering. Remember, when two elephants fight, everything under them gets trampled.

While it’s too early to see what will happen, there are signs that certain segments favored by the previous US regime are nervous.

The Ukrainian Maidanists have dug themselves in a deep hole; they type-cast themselves as a bunch of pro-EU/NATO fanatics that staked the future of the entire Ukraine, and their careers, on what EU/US/NATO want, and burned a lot of bridges with Russia in the process.

Now that things are about to change, these Banderite losers have nowhere else to turn to. If they withdraw into private life, they will very likely be squashed by the people who take over and by angry, disillusioned nationalists. The only thing protecting them from this inevitable end are their official government positions, and they will try to hold onto them by hook, crook and murder-or false flag- if need be.

Other signs of desperation abound.

The government of Kosovo has lately stirred up nonsense that Russia is trying to meddle in their elections.

Kosovo is a NATO/EU colony. No surprise they'd stir up fake news like this. It is done for mainly financial and political reasons. Being anti-Russian is seen by incompetent European politicians and their failing governments as a way to enrich themselves with US/EU hand-outs.

Spreading false accusations like these is a desperate attempt by these stale elites of ingratiating themselves with their western backers, and staying relevant.

Other European countries also seem to be worried about possible new changes. Listening to UK’s Teresa May or Germany’s Angela Merkel among others, sounds like veiled entreaties for the US to keep them in the pro-Atlanticist cage; like these countries are begging US not to let them go free, and keep them on as vassals.

These subservient European countries are locked inside their own prison of the mind.

Hopefully, Trump will realize, or has already realized that the US is not invincible, that it has serious problems, and cannot afford to dominate the world and have everything its own way. Those days are over.

The world is entering a new era where cooperation will have to take precedence over competition. In this era, no one country will get everything it wants, but will get something-without wars, regime changes and mayhem.

Trump has two choices to make: economic recovery or wars and regime change.

He can’t do both, as has been amply proven by his last two predecessors.

If Trump succumbs to the neo-con/neo-liberal interventionist script and initiates more wars and chaos, then he will drain the US economy further, and all his plans to improve the economic livelihood of US residents will become still-born.

If Trump disavows the foreign policy of plunder-for-profit, then he stands a good chance of having some of his economic plans succeed, and he will stay on for a 2nd term. But if he gets arrogant, deluded and aggressive, and miscalculates US abilities, then he will cause more pain for everyone. 

What the US needs to do at this point in history is cut its losses, hold on to what it still has, and give it value by rebuilding itself by pursuing smart policies that take future consequences into consideration. In the long-run, it will save the US a lot of money and problems.

Trump needs to be business-like, diplomatic, courteous and firm. Threats and insults won’t work anymore. They didn’t for Obummer.