President Trump and the wars

Trump's promise to end all wars may not materialise. But at least the ongoing wars could show some signs of conclusion.

- AJAY SINGH

When Donald Trump stormed into the White House for the second time, as the 47th President of the USA, among his many claims was that, "I am not going to start a war. I am going to stop wars." In his first stint as President, the USA did not get actively involved in any new war, though it continued bombing inconvenient nations.

He also initiated a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, which could have been well avoided. But there were no major wars, and the legacy he inherits now is marked with raging conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, and a potential one with China. It remains to be seen whether Trump's volatile personality will terminate or intensify them.

Trump's inward looking policies make it clear that the USA will not get involved in external conflicts but focus purely on "America First".

To give him his due, he must be credited with some shrewd strategic judgements in his first term. He identified and pointed out China as the main strategic threat of the century, though his model of countering China was by diminishing its economic clout through trade wars and sanctions.

He also correctly identified the need to wean over Russia to the western side, rather than antagonising it and forcing it towards the Chinese embrace. One of the greatest strategic blunders of the Biden administration was the manner in which they forced Russia into isolation and virtually provoked the needless war with Ukraine in a bid to weaken Russia.

Trump's return will strongly impact the Ukraine war. His personal equations with the leaders will determine his stance. In Putin, he sees a strong man image of himself, and called him, "A great guy we can do business with," in his earlier tenure.