Posted on 08/12/2017 5:21:02 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
Incendiary rhetoric is better than incendiary weapons, and to date President Trump's strong words on North Korea, as with his limited strikes on Syria, have suggested a desire for peace through strength rather than a hunger for war.
Not since Lyndon Johnson have we had a president who so obviously saw politics as being like a dog park or a nature film, in which the alpha male seeks deference by intimidation. This often gets Trump into trouble, but in foreign policy, especially when buttressed by the counsel of prudent men such Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, it can work well.
The alpha male doesn't actually fight much. A bark, a snap, a pounding of the chest does the trick because it makes clear to potential rivals that he is ready to fight, and will win swiftly and overwhelmingly. This was how Trump's limited missile strike in Syria should be seen, and it is also the way to interpret his talk of a military that is "locked and loaded" to inflict "fire and fury" on North Korea.
*snip*
In Syria, former President Barack Obama foolishly drew a red line which he was not prepared to defend. So, when dictator Bashar Assad crossed it, our president looked like a chump, and our nation looked weak. Trump's language on North Korea was aggressive, but he didn't draw a red line. And it is already clear that both Pyongyang and Beijing take the new rhetoric seriously, believing it articulates a new readiness to use force. That's why the language from Kim Jong Un's regime is increasingly hysterical, and it's why China joined the rest of the U.N. Security Council in voting for sanctions against the rogue state.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
It used to be, “Speak softly but carry a big stick.” Now that Obama has gutted our big stick, Trump is trying to replace it with big talk.
Obama did gut the stick as said, but not completely. What I have heard so far is Trump describing the stick that he is carrying and willing to use.
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