Daniel Larison — Trump’s First Big Foreign Policy Failure

Far from being frustrated, many of Trump’s critics across the political spectrum have been vindicated. We have said that his foreign policy views were incoherent, and he has shown that to be true beyond all expectations. He went from supposedly being a firm opponent of intervention against the Syrian government to ordering an attack on the same government within the space of a week. He has been charged with being a militarist and predisposed to respond to problems with nothing more than military options, and he has confirmed that charge beyond doubt. He has demonstrated his recklessness and his readiness to use force even though no U.S. interests were at stake. His critics believed that he was ill-prepared to conduct foreign policy and that he would be incompetent in a crisis, and he has regrettably proved us right.

Trump ordered an illegal attack on a government that posed no threat to the U.S. If we judge his action based on its effectiveness and its success in advancing U.S. interests, Trump has to be judged a clear failure. He “passes” only if we judge him on the absurd basis of simply “doing something”–no matter how useless or irrational–in response to a foreign conflict.... 

The American Conservative
Trump’s First Big Foreign Policy Failure
Daniel Larison