Of Circuses and Wars

Just read an excellent article by Phyllis Bennis in Common Dreams. The title “There is No Strategy Behind Trump’s Wars – Only Brute Force” drew my attention. Phyllis is quite right from the perspective of foreign policy. And her analysis that this is a raw demonstration of power, showing that the bully in the White House has no qualms about unleashing the horrific weapons he has at his command, is spot-on.

But is this a qualitative change in US foreign policy? Although there is a shift to more emphasis on military might and less on diplomacy, what Trump is doing is an extension of the War on Terrorism, which has been conducted by both Republican and Democratic administrations since before 2001. 

Are Trump’s targets restricted to North Korea, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc.? Or are the bombs also aimed at us, the resistance to Trump’s domestic policies. I would propose that there is a strategy, and it is to divert our attention while the Republicans retool their domestic attacks. Unfortunately, it seems to be working.

Wars and circuses are traditional ways in which the public can be “entertained” while an autocratic regime fleeces them. The problem for Trump is that his circus is so outlandish and has been on the road so long that it has lost its appeal. It’s no longer entertaining, just tawdry and disgusting.

On the other hand, wars, particularly those waged with “awesome” weapons, are the perfect diversion. Trump has already accomplished a lot with few, if any, negative consequences. He has reinvigorated his base by appearing tough in his approach to two other autocrats, Putin and Kim Jong-Un. He has put the Democratic Party establishment between a rock and a hard place, unable to criticize policies which are the extension of those they have supported in the past. He has pushed his domestic agenda off the front page, allowing Republicans to regroup (do we hear Repeal and Replace coming back) and push their policies with less visible resistance.

How should the left respond? To begin, it is necessary to expose Trump’s policies in terms of both the terrible cost in human lives (well over 1,000 civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria in March alone) and the racism inherent in United States military actions the Middle East and Africa. In addition, we need focus attention on the fact that dropping the Mother Of All Bombs or firing missiles at Syrian bases have done nothing to make the world or the US any safer. But most importantly we need to connect Trump’s foreign aggressions with his domestic agenda before the “fog of war” engulfs us all.