George W. Bush is said to have tried to establish PAX Americana, which means "American Peace" in Latin, but is often interpreted as world peace established by America, or to put it another way, American domination of the world. There were other American presidents in the past who are said to have tried to establish PAX Americana, Theodore Roosevelt being one that is often mentioned in this regard. But whether George W. Bush tried to establish American dominance or not, it seems that he did not have the right "players" to carry out his plan, did not have the right chess pieces, if indeed there was such a plan at all. Some of George W's people, like Donald Rumsfeld, did more damage than good towards that goal by their abrasive, insensitive remarks that were downright insulting at times and did nothing to bring others to America's fold. George W's relations with Putin were never good and it was quite obvious that his administration not only mistrusted, but deeply disliked Putin and his government.
Obama's administration put America on hold for eight years. Actually, in some regards, it set back America a few years in some areas. There were many "missed" opportunities to establish peace or come up with an agreement for peace during this time. There were a lot of concessions being made by the United States, Iran Nuclear Deal was one perfect example. Obama's Secretary of State John Kerry's incompetence in deal making, incompetence at historical proportions, was amply demonstrated during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Our UN Ambassador was a known liberal with leftist leanings who openly sided with the Palestinians over Israel. So, the eight years with Obama were the "lost" eight years at best, but more like eight years that cost America dearly in many ways, politically and otherwise. Be that as it may, it seems that we have entered a new era that is completely opposite of what we have faced for the last eight years.
The critics of Trump administration are very quick to jump on everything that they see as a mistake or a misstep by the new administration. The news media does not let up. I guess they still can't get over how they misjudged the election and how "their" candidate did not win. Whatever the case may be, the news media is not about to give credit to Trump for anything positive. Political cartoons continue to proliferate with insulting caricatures of Trump and his policies. Jokes and insulting remarks are constantly being made about Trump's selection of cabinet members and other officials who are forced to resign from their new posts. But, through it all, it seems that Trump is continuing to march forward with his "plan," his goals, such as they are! When one of his selections, appointees, is found to have screwed-up and has to resign, Trump simply finds another body and plugs it in. He seems unfazed by these missteps and continues on.
Trump's first major foreign policy move was the launching of the cruise missile strike against Syria's Assad regime. In doing so, he attacked Russia's ally, risked even injuring or killing some Russians who were on the ground with their Syrian allies. Russia, after a brief silence, has condemned the U.S. "aggression" and continues to make noise at the UN and other international organizational gatherings. Interestingly, there is very little support for Russia's condemnation of U.S. attack other than from Syria and other Russian allies! I think the reaction of world communities, lack of support for Russia's stand, is somewhat of a surprise to Putin and company!
The cruise missile attack against Syria was a calculated move, not an impromptu reaction of anger or a poorly hatched plan. Much of what Trump says and tweets to the public is seen as bravado and just a bunch of loud talk. It may indeed be that Trump says a lot things that he really does not intend to carry out. But it seems that within the loud talk and noise that Trump releases through his tweets and statements, there is definitely underlying purpose. The attack against Syria was followed by a statement that he was going to talk to the Chinese leader about various subjects, including the need for China to help control North Korea. Then Trump stated that regardless of what China did or did not do about North Korea, that he would not just sit by and do nothing. That if needed, the United States would take action against North Korea unilaterally! Interestingly, at the same time national polls were released showing that the majority of Americans, close to 75%, would not object to military action against North Korea. Now this is a scary thought, as I said before. It would definitely start Korean War II or more correctly, resume the Korean War which has only been in a holding pattern thus far!
Kim Jong Un's and North Korea's reaction to Trump's remarks and his dispatching of our warships to Korean waters elicited predictable comments. But it was quite apparent that they are very nervous and have realized that they are dealing with a different person and a different set of players. Whether good or bad, things have changed dramatically just with the release of few comments! At least the South Koreans seem to be convinced that Trump is for real, that he is not just playing games. If Kim Jong Un does not start behaving, there will be a price to pay this time. Trump has even reigned-in Russia into the North Korean mess by stating that Russia should involve itself in trying to control North Korea's nuclear ambitions! At the same time, despite all the negative comments coming out of Kremlin over our missile strike in Syria, Trump sends his Secretary of State to Moscow. Unlike his predecessor John Kerry who did not know how to "talk" to anybody, Tillerson is an accomplished negotiator and has years of experience negotiating with Russians. Despite concerns that Russia might snub him, Tillerson met with Putin and all of the key players in Moscow and seems to have opened a dialogue. It will be interesting to see what will come out of that meeting.
Say what you will about Donald Trump. He may come off as a loud mouth, bumbling, neophyte in politics, but he is a very shrewd individual despite his demeanor and understands how to negotiate. Whether he will succeed in his goals or not, it is too soon to tell. It is too soon to heap criticism and condemn his policies and actions as some have been doing. Who knows he may very well succeed in accomplishing things that several past administrations have failed to do, going back to Ronald Reagan, another president who is said to have tried to establish PAX Americana.
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