Many hate US President Donald J. Trump for his foul-mouth and Islamophobic and misogynist remarks, but his policy statements and overtures, although not carried by mainstream media, may turn him into a better president than Obama.
Much ado about ‘NYET’ thing. Media is still bombarding Trump for his alleged shady links with Russia, almost reviving the McCarthyist postwar Red scare of the 1950s, which appear unfounded or a case of having “Much Ado About Nothing” to quote Shakespeare. On trumped-up charges Russia interfered in the US elections favoring Trump, Russians are wont to say “NYET”, which means “No”, or not true.
True or not, Trump’s National Security Adviser, retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn, was forced to resign for lying and denying meeting with Russian spy Sergey Kislyak. But what’s wrong with having ties with Russia, as even Obama and his men met 22 times with Kislyak from 2009 and 2016 at the White House.
While Trump is building peaceful ties with Russia and China, Obama sent 4,000 troops to Poland along the Russian border in an act of provocation about two weeks before Trump took his oath as president. This smacks of disrespect, as Obama should have stepped back for a smoother transition.
Rebuilding US means reversing Obama? Trump may not realize the consequences, but his actions are unnerving the neoliberal Establishment, Wall Street, the financial oligarchy and Obama.
Obama built the Trans-Pacific Partnership, without China, but Trump scrapped it and prefers joining China’s New Silk Road, now called Belt and Road Initiative. He is meeting Xi Jinping on April 7 in Florida.
Obama cut down the space-research budget, including the space shuttle, from a peak of 4.4 percent of federal budget, or $200 billion in 2015, down to 1 percent, or $7 billion, said a recent 2016 book by Brett King, entitled Augmented: Life in the Smart Lane, a gift from my cousin book dealer Wency Makabenta.
It is said that for every $1 invested in space research, about $12 to $14 are generated in returns in downstream technologies, like solar tech, microwave ovens, etc. Trump wants to resume space research on the moon and beyond, and catch up with China’s plan to land on the far-side of the moon, not seen ever by humans before, and mine it of Helium 3, a light, safer, nonradioactive isotope used in nuclear fusion, MRI scanners and sensors.
Obama’s war stops as Trump makes friends. It is ironic that while Trump is more combative against the cooler Obama, he wants peace and do business with China and Russia, as opposed to Obama, who fueled wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and heated up tension in the South China Sea following his pivot to Asia, resulting locally in Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, but reinforcing China’s resolve to encroach into our waters. This has triggered the feared “Thucydides Trap” , referring to 27-year Peloponnesian war that led to the fall of the Greek civilization only because of pride and hubris.
Trump is aware that the wars involving the US have cost over $6 trillion the past 15 years, hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of refugees. He knows the world’s problems can only be solved if the US, Russia and China cooperate. He considers the North Atlantic Treaty Organization an obsolete idea from the Cold War that may have to be scrapped.
He will likely join the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 14 and 15 to be attended by 65 countries and over 20 heads of states. It consolidates what Xi calls a “win-win” development agenda, a digression from the neoliberal free market, resulting in winners and losers in a dog-eat-dog zero sum game in the global market.
Indeed, Obama has been linked to wars and regime changes, and backed by George Soros, allegedly partly behind the “color revolutions”; Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004; Rose Revolution in Georgia; the failed White Revolution in Russia; the Yellow Revolution with yellow umbrellas in Hong Kong; the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa; and now the destabilization plot against Trump.
In contrast, Trump promised $1 trillion in infrastructure alone over 10 years. Actually, $5 trillion to $8 trilllion is needed to include all, but needs the support of China and others. Jack Ma of Alibaba offered a platform for another $1 trillion for Chinese investors in the US. Even Japan offered to help, but invited Trump to participate in China’s initiative, which evolved from the BRICS coalition of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Trump’s carpe diem end game. Why certain groups want Trump down is his support to revive the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act of Franklin Roosevelt, separating commercial and investment banking, but got the ire of Wall Street and the financial oligarchs of this world who consider it a “Casus Belli”, or justification for war.
Wall Street opposes regulation and wants to keep the free market in the financial sector, which, however, led to the ballooning of derivatives and fictitious debts to over $708 trillion in 2016, way above the US GDP of $15 trillion a year, and bigger than global GDP of $70 trillion a year. This is fueling another financial bubble, while the real economy collapses. Ironically, while big banks were bailed out, many small banks lending to small businesses that create real physical wealth were forced into bankruptcy. From 2007 to 2012, scores of small American banks closed shop. Either move, Trump can’t save the banks. So for his endgame, he better seize his defining moment by saving the economy and be on the side of history with the people, which is ironically making peace with former enemies Russia and China.
E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com
2 comments
Just like Pres. Duterte. Hated and dislike for his foul mouth, his drug war, his shift to China and Russia and other controversial moves and announcements, but he could turn out the best President the country can and will ever have. A no nonsense game changer with the political will to do what is unpopular but necessary. He is our best agent for change now. Mistakes will be made, but who has not done any or worst.