Trump's Great Service To Putin

Putin’s Floor Under Trump Is Better Than His Ceiling Under Biden

Donald Trump is one of the worst negotiators in the history of international relations. He lacks focus, does not seem to have any real strategic priorities, seems to fold remarkably easily, and can be purchased for relatively little. We have seen many of these qualities in display during his extraordinary campaign against the Houthis in Yemen—which ended this week when he basically threw in the towel after having thrown away billions of dollars and achieved nothing.

Sadly, Negotiating With Trump Is A Laughing-Matter

On the first day he took office for his second term, Trump redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist group in a grand pronouncement which was released by the White House. Trump laid out three clear policy goals; to cripple the Houthis as a military force so that they would no longer be able to threaten shipping in the Red Sea, to stop attacks on US military forces, and to stop attacks on US “partners”. Here is the heart of the proclamation laying out all three.

• Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.

In mid March Trump would start a massive air campaign, supposedly to achieve these specific policy aims.