‘Trump’s foreign policy team squarely in Zionist camp’
The administration of US President Donald Trump and his foreign policy team are squarely in the Zionist camp, “colluding with both the Israelis and Saudis to maintain an imperialist stranglehold on the Middle East,” according to Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.
Etler, a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday while commenting on Trump’s appointment of super-hawks Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State and John Bolton as National Security Advisor.
Last week, Trump announced Gen. H.R. McMaster’s replacement, making Bolton — a former US ambassador to the United Nations — his third national security adviser, part of a shake-up that creates one of the most hawkish national security teams of any White House in recent history.
And earlier this month Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was forced to quit. CIA Director Mike Pompeo was named as Tillerson’s replacement.
Etler said Trump’s appointment of super-hawks “has placed die-hard neo-cons at the apex of power in the Washington foreign policy establishment. This is in direct contradiction to Trump’s previously stated campaign promises to avoid foreign entanglements and interventions. According to Trump’s campaign rhetoric he was committed to putting ‘America First’ and not wasting trillions of dollars throwing good money after bad in the Middle East or elsewhere.”
“Trump’s criticism of George W. Bush’s war in Iraq and the Obama/Clinton adventures in Libya and elsewhere are steeped in hypocrisy but nonetheless served as one of his worker friendly political planks. The US working class, a key component of Trump’s electoral base, does not want to see US resources wasted in one military quagmire after another. They voted for Trump in the false hope that he would live up to his word and devote his energies to revitalizing the US economy and fixing its busted infrastructure,” he added.
“Trump also made demagogic appeals to elements in the white working and middle classes who are fearful of losing whatever privileges they have as a result of shifting demographics which are projected to place them in the minority by mid-century. One of the prime movers of this demographic shift is the continued influx of immigrants from non-Western countries in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Trump’s travel ban and immigration policies are meant to stifle the inflow of non-white immigrants and stymie the inevitable shift to a more multi-cultural make-up of the US population,” he stated.
“Trump has also been adamant in his disparagement of the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) which he has dubbed the ‘worst deal ever.’ This was a major talking point of his campaign which he used to rile up his audiences. Once taking office however he has delayed taking any definitive action to dismantle it,” he noted.
‘Trump’s bark is far worse than his bite’
“When looking at Trump’s track record it can be seen that his bark is far worse than his bite. A litany of his stated objectives and what actually has occurred is illustrative. His much heralded insistence that ‘Mexico will pay’ for a border wall has come to naught and is no longer mentioned. His travel bans and threats to deport DACA recipients have been stymied by the courts, his ‘fire and fury’ threats against North Korea have been placed on the back burner and his trade war against China is now being held in abeyance. All of Trump’s bluff and bluster is nothing more than his vaunted negotiating strategy to make the ‘best deal’ possible. But, geopolitics is not the same as building a casino or a golf course and Trump has cried wolf one time too often. His threats and bullying tactics are beginning to fall on deaf ears,” Professor Etler said.
“Unfortunately, Trump and his henchmen have at their disposal an arsenal of WMDs that can inflict immense damage on the people of the world. Pompeo and Bolton have been vocal critics of the JCPA, reinforcing Trump’s animosity towards Iran. And last but certainly not least the Trump administration and his foreign policy team are squarely in the Zionist camp, colluding with both the Israelis and Saudis to maintain an imperialist stranglehold on the Middle East,” he stated.
“It is against this backdrop that Trump’s current policies must be gauged. The only way to challenge his brinkmanship is to stand firm and united in opposition. Russia, China and the EU must resist any attempts to change the provisions of the JCPA and insist that Trump cease and desist his provocations. Only a united front can thwart Trump’s march towards war,” the analyst concluded.
