A quick-fix president

Every US president is his country’s commander-in-chief as well as diplomat-in-chief. If defence and diplomacy can be compared to two sides of the same coin, diplomacy is often described as the first line of a country’s defence.

Donald Trump hopefully takes both these jobs seriously. Sadly, his early forays into the realm of diplomacy have left the impression that he takes it more as a celebrity reality show than a way of building rapports with other leaders.

Among early casualties are relations with Mexico and Canada and old ally Australia.

Diplomacy in the Trump era could turn out to be war through other means. The US president believes that the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) facilitates free but not fair (to the US) trade and has to be renegotiated. Secondly, Mexico should bear the cost of a wall to prevent illegal immigration. This has led to the Mexican president calling off his visit to Washington.

The Australian premier – who has a redoubtable surname – Turnbull was at the receiving end of Trump’s ‘diplomatic’ fury. Not quite satisfied with their uneasy telephone conversation which Trump brought to an abrupt end, the US president turned to his favourite means of communication and tweeted that he was going to look into the “dumb deal” to accept refugees from a facility run by Australia; the deal had been accepted by the Obama administration.

It was a risky venture to begin the diplomat-in-chief’s role with a series of phone calls to world leaders. Trump obviously does not realise that in diplomacy, a first call is more about getting to know the interlocutor rather than trying to transact business. He is obviously used to a businessman’s way of doing things – which follows the policy that time is money and any negotiation is primarily aimed at striking a deal. Some commentators quickly gave him the title of a transactional president. He may learn one day that in public service and governance, time is not money.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has spent a lifetime on maximising corporate profits, may suit the president’s transactional style. However, it would be rather challenging for him to deal with matters where mega deals are not the outcome of a typical meeting. Having the former CEO of Exxon Mobil as America’s top diplomat would, no doubt, be helpful in dealing with trade and investment. But he will have to rely on experts to tackle hot geopolitical issues involving China, Europe, Syria and Iran.

If Trump disdains foreign policy experts, he seems to relish appointing old generals like Mattis and Flynn as defence secretary and national security adviser, respectively. Flynn lost no time in putting Iran ‘on notice’ after a missile test. He must have Trump’s backing in doing that as the president is viscerally opposed to the Iran nuclear deal reached under Obama and vehemently criticised by Trump with the help of alternative facts.

Over a short period of time, Trump has managed to muddy international waters by provoking Mexico and China, imposing a travel ban on seven Muslim countries, criticising Chancellor Merkel and annoying the Australian premier. This is surely some way of making America great again.

Trump’s critics have taken note of extraordinary steps like the creation of a new policy initiatives office in the White House that is led by Steve Bannon, who is a proponent of the ‘Islamic enemy’ – an idea which appears to have been lifted straight out of the Clash of Civilisations. The Trump team has raised the terror alert in a way that is highly disproportionate to realities, overtaking Bush Junior’s ploy of keeping America safe.

Trump is already talking about his eight years in the White House. This implies maintaining a level of fear and hate against the ‘Islamic’ terrorists for years to come. The second plank of that fear-mongering will be directed at China. Trump probably believes that Russia, in contrast, can be a partner in Washington’s grand design against China and Islam. This is a hard sell in Europe, which perceives Russia as a perennial threat.

When Tillerson arrived at the US State Department on Thursday, he was conscious of the bad blood created by Trump in completely ignoring the department in his hurriedly decreed travel ban on seven countries. In his address in the department’s lobby, the new secretary tried to assuage the US diplomats of his sincerity of purpose, using the corporate style of joking and cajoling. It is not clear what would happen to around a thousand state department employees who had tendered their resignation against Trump’s policies.

While Trump settles down in his job as the leader of the premier power, he must learn that patience and tolerance are the keys to success. He lacks the first as demonstrated by his sudden termination of telephone conversation with an ally like the prime minister of Australia. He needs to exercise tolerance not merely as a statesman but as a ruler. He has divided the country sufficiently to prompt hostile demonstrations at home and abroad.

In his meetings with US corporate heads, he urged them to bring back manufacturing jobs to America to fulfil his election promises. Trump also shows impatience in getting his commands carried out. This is a new style of statecraft that can bring grief to Trump and his domestic as well as foreign interlocutors.

Trump may have little knowledge of Pakistan but he could soon turn his attention to this region, offering some quick-fix solutions that require deft handling. Our civil and military leaders have done well by agreeing on preventive action against a whole bunch of the illuminated lot, who can provide easy pretexts to the hawks in Washington who are already itching to tighten the screw on Pakistan.

Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com