Haycraft: Praise of Trump disputed by facts

Overall, the Opinion’s praise of (Donald) Trump’s military and foreign policy glosses over the complexities and mixed outcomes of his actions.”

Jeff Haycraft is a resident of Camden.

To refute the Opinion by George Roof, we can use factual evidence to challenge his claims about Donald Trump’s military and foreign policy record (“Trump’s record with military speaks volumes” ):

1. Claim: “The United States was not in a single new aggressive military action.” While Trump did not start a new large-scale war, his administration authorized several significant military actions. For example, he ordered the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, which brought the U.S. to the brink of war with Iran. Additionally, he continued U.S. military involvement in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen. The U.S. military also conducted airstrikes and special operations in these regions.
2. Claim: “When Syria violated it, it was squashed immediately.” Trump did order missile strikes on Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons in 2017 and 2018. However, these strikes did not fundamentally change the Syrian regime’s behavior. Chemical attacks continued, and Syrian President Bashar Assad remains in power. Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from parts of northern Syria in 2019 also allowed Turkish forces to invade the region, displacing Kurdish allies who had been crucial in the fight against ISIS.
3. Claim: Donald Trump “actually moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jerusalem.” While Trump did move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, a move that fulfilled a campaign promise, it was highly controversial and rejected by the international community. It did not lead to widespread recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and many argue that it complicated peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. We can see some of those effects playing out today.
4. Claim: “Did he forget the Abraham Accords?” The Abraham Accords were significant diplomatic achievements, normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab countries. However, critics argue that these agreements were more about formalizing existing unofficial relationships and did not address the core Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Additionally, these deals were largely facilitated by Gulf Arab nations’ strategic interests, rather than purely Trump’s diplomacy.
5. Claim: “Donald Trump was the first U.S. president ever to set foot into North Korea.” Trump did meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and became the first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea, but these high-profile meetings did not lead to any substantive denuclearization agreements. In fact, North Korea continues to expand its nuclear arsenal, and no significant progress was made in curbing the country’s nuclear ambitions during Trump’s tenure.
6. Claim: “Every despot in our world cowered to the words of Donald J. Trump.” This claim is debatable. While Trump projected a tough stance on some foreign leaders, his relationships with authoritarian figures like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised concerns about his coziness with dictators. Far from making them “cower,” Trump was often criticized for legitimizing or flattering these leaders without securing major concessions.

Overall, the Opinion’s praise of Trump’s military and foreign policy glosses over the complexities and mixed outcomes of his actions. While Trump did avoid starting a large-scale war, many of his military and foreign policy moves had unintended consequences, did not achieve long-term goals or created new challenges. These facts demonstrate that it is not universally “nonsensical” for veterans or military personnel to question Trump’s record as commander in chief. Further, I am someone who has a father and grandfather who both proudly served their country in the military, but Trump was a known draft dodger and has insulted the memory of service members by referring to them as “suckers.”

Donald Trump does not understand the sacrifices that current and former American military personnel have made on the behalf of this country because he himself would never sacrifice anything that would benefit someone else. Therefore, I find it confusing that someone so proud of their military service, like Mr. Roof, would support him with such devotion. In conclusion, I agree with Mr. Roof’s title. Trump’s record with the military does indeed speak volumes — about how he is a coward who does not respect the veterans and brave men and women who have built and defended this country for generations.

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