Moon of Alabama — Trump Dumps Pretension Of Altruism From U.S. Foreign Policy

For decades the U.S. foreign policy elite and its presidents played the farce of an altruistic United States that acts for the global good and in the interest of humanity.
That was always a lie. Wherever one takes a deeper look the U.S. acted solely in its (perceived) self interests. But the rhetoric helped to drag others along. Tributary governments could pretend they worked for the "universal good" when they in fact just followed orders from Washington DC. U.S. pressure was applied behind the curtain - through bribes, threats of revealing private secrets or, if necessary, via well managed "democratic" coups.

Those times are over. Thanks to the honesty of the Trump administration the foremost positions of hard U.S interests and deadly threats are now openly declared fundamentals of U.S. foreign policy.

The neo-conservative chaperone in the White House, National Security Advisor General McMaster, and the Goldman Sachs veto holder in the White House, economic advisor Gary Cohn, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that reveals the new true face of the U.S. empire:

The president embarked on his first foreign trip with a clear-eyed outlook that the world is not a “global community” but an arena where nations, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage. We bring to this forum unmatched military, political, economic, cultural and moral strength. Rather than deny this elemental nature of international affairs, we embrace it.

Translation: "Power is with the strong. We feel strong. Screw you!"

At every stop in our journey, we delivered a clear message to our friends and partners: Where our interests align, we are open to working together to solve problems and explore opportunities. We let adversaries know that we will not only take their measure, deter conflict through strength, and defend our interests and values, but also look for areas of common interest that allow us to work together. In short, those societies that share our interests will find no friend more steadfast than the United States. Those that choose to challenge our interests will encounter the firmest resolve.

From now on the U.S. will only engage in selective, temporary friendships. "Where our interests align", and only there, will the U.S. be friendly because it obviously serves U.S. interests. Wherever a country deviates from that, even partially, it will "encounter the firmest resolve." That is as clear a threat as it can be.

I would not call this a threat. Not only it is finally telling the truth instead of larding it with BS. But it is also straight up Realpolitik that could have been penned by Otto von Bismarck, or Henry Kissinger. Oh, wait. Isn't Kissinger a key Trump advisor?

The McMaster/Cohn op-ed ends with this:

America First signals the restoration of American leadership and our government’s traditional role overseas—to use the diplomatic, economic and military resources of the U.S. to enhance American security, promote American prosperity, and extend American influence around the world.

Cue: USA! USA! USA!

Moon of Alabama
Trump Dumps Pretension Of Altruism From U.S. Foreign Policy

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Katharina Pistor — The Problem With a Small Europe

Prof. Pistor points out that the fundamental issues are political rather than economic, and that Europe needs to face up to this democratically and decide on a direction.

The problem is that European electorates are not in favor of European federation, and  economic union was pushed by eurocrats to force subsequent political union where it could not achieved popularly.

Project Syndicate

The Problem With a Small Europe
Katharina Pistor | Professor of Law at Columbia Law School