To paraphrase Winston Churchill a little, talking to your enemies is always better than walking away from them. It avoids a path to potential war, war.
In this respect, though it is painful to admit it, Donald J. Trump was right to meet Kim Jong-un. Whilst previous North Korean regimes have used talks to buy time amid empty promises, today a face to face meeting may breed a little understanding under the scrutiny of a penetrating 24 hour media. What must be particularly appealing to the North Koreans in an atmosphere of at least temporary mutual respect is access to the economic regeneration available from a globalised economy. The prospect of those condos on a North Korean beach might just appeal…
But inconsistency reigns. Trump’s warmth to Kim Jong-un, ultimately a murderous, psychopathic dictator who is apparently ‘very talented’ (at torture?), was in sharp contrast to his treatment of his democratically elected G7 allies. A trade war founded on false statistics is no way to conduct foreign policy. Trump’s show of disrespect to Trudeau as he walked, walked away from the Quebec G7 summit early was appalling.
Likewise Trump has taken a different tack on Iran. Walking away from the Iran nuclear deal wrong-footed his allies. He was deaf to their entreaties. The excuse given for the contrasting approach of praising Kim Jong-un whilst demonising Iran was that Iran can be deterred from building nuclear weapons by threats whilst North Korea needs to be coaxed away from ones they already have by baubles. But there is no discernible benefit to the US in this analysis. The Middle East is a much more complex region with far more to be gained from a civilised Iran. To have a chance of Middle East peace succeeding, the West needs to talk to Iran and in a coordinated fashion. The Iran nuclear deal was a really logical start.
Trump is basking in record Republican levels of satisfaction. At the same time, with his wild foreign policy inconsistencies, he is ultimately Making America Small Again on the world stage.
What a shame then, in pursuing this theme, the UK is walking away from the EU. For all its faults and disagreements the EU allowed a common purpose to develop amongst formerly warring nations. It has introduced common values across the continent and tackled many major issues requiring cross-border solutions. Where it has failed, it provides a forum for future resolution. The UK would have been a huge contributor.
The same analysis can be applied to the UN. All countries stay and talk despite its manifest flaws. In respect to the EU, however, the UK has walked, walked not talked, talked. As a consequence, we will be a much diminished country.
Inside Right Politics 