Our Nation's 47th Commander in Chief Is Striving to Do What No One Has Done Previously: Trying to Eliminate War
"War! What is it good for?
"It ain’t nothing but a heart-breaker,
"War! Friend only to the undertaker,
"Oh, War, it’s an enemy to all mankind,
"The thought of war blows my mind."
This 1970 anti-Vietnam War song written by Edwin Starr and made popular by The Temptations, has aged well.
Today this song could be considered U.S. President Donald Trump's anthem.
Our nation's 47th commander in chief has embarked on a journey to do what no person has ever done before; indeed, what no person has ever attempted before: eliminate war.
Unimaginable.
The first step in Trump's anti-war journey was to identify all the active wars. Here is his list:
—Israel-Hamas
—Israel-Iran
—Pakistan-India
—Rwanda-Congo
—Thailand-Cambodia
—Armenia-Azerbaijan
—Egypt-Ethiopia
—Serbia-Kosovo
(We’ll get to Russia-Ukraine later).
Who knew?
If you’re like me, you had very little awareness of some of these wars.
Sure, Israel, Hamas and Iran are often front-page news, even when nobody is dying. But, Egypt-Ethiopia and others, not so much.
Yet, this is President Trump's self-imposed mandate.
After identifying those active engagements, the president and his team had to learn the issues and identify the pulse points.; places where each side was vulnerable, the soft underbellies; not just militarily but economically, as well.
Then came "The Art of the Deal."
One by one Trump figured out what each party needed from the United States, and how to leverage those needs.
It won't shock you to learn that the all-important tariffs became a major weapon.
By threatening the raising of their United States trade tariffs, or by offering the lowering of our trade tariffs, deals could be made.
Then add in oil and arms.
Keep in mind, India and Pakistan have engaged in intermittent hostilities for over 70 years.
Between them they have over one-fifth of the world's population and some number of nuclear bombs.
These peace deals matter.
So, what do the Democrats say about these peace initiatives?
They're openly and uniformly unimpressed.
They find excuses for each conflict: the war was winding down, the war hasn't heated up, it would have happened without Trump, etc. They, the Democrats, never answer the question, "If bringing peace was so easy, why didn’t Joe 'Sharp as a Tack' Biden or Barack 'Globalist' Obama do it?"
Which leads us to the very important question of, "What’s in it for President Trump and the Republican Party?"
The answer:
Nothing. No votes. No money. No legislation. No fabulous media headlines. No Nobel Peace Prize. It’s even worse than that. War can never be permanently abolished.
The world had Pax Romana because the Romans conquered and annexed everyone.
This is not that.
Arguments may well be made that today's absence of war will be short-lived, and that Israel, Hamas, and Iran won't remain gun-shy for long.
Then why did Trump do it?
One, because Mr. Trump sees the world differently than you and I.
Two, because it's the right thing. Three, because fewer wars are better than more wars. Four, because Trump has a weapon that's new to the world, 21st century American tariffs.
The truth is, everyone wants and needs to trade with us.
Trump knows and uses this, fearlessly.
And, that brings us to today's ultimate war: Russia-Ukraine, a war without end.
Our 47th commander in chief has used all the arrows in his quiver, to no avail.
Putin refuses to stop killing. Period.
The Trump-Putin clash is not just about superpowers angling for an edge. It's global; almost biblical. It's Trump's unlimited confidence in the righteousness of his efforts versus Putin's unlimited indifference to humanity.
There can be no conclusion to an essay on war. Let's just hope the world learns something from President Trump's "Peace Through Strength" strategy.
What is war good for? . . . Absolutely nothing.
(A related article may be found here.)
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County, Florida Republican Party. Read more Sid Dinerstein Insider articles — Click Here Now.
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