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A Virtuous Trump Doctrine

A Virtuous Trump DoctrineA Virtuous Trump Doctrine

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American presidents customarily desire to have their foreign policy initiatives labeled as “doctrines.” These categorizations for all occupants of the White House, however, have not always been historically relevant. In the 20th century, the two most seminal U.S. international relations strategies were the Truman Doctrine and the Reagan Doctrine. They both challenged Communism. The former was strategically limited to containing the spread of global Marxism-Leninism. The latter ventured further. It set out to roll back the communist menace.      

The Reagan Doctrine was bold, farsighted, and served accurately to topple Soviet communism. It rejected the notion that a free West could peacefully coexist with this atheistic political religion. Marxism’s innate disposition for dictatorial control prevented any such chimera. That is why failed overtures such as détente only served to bolden and expand the evils of socialism. In one form or another, every U.S. president from John F. Kennedy to Jimmy Carter adopted varying applications of it.

Donald J. Trump takes charge of an American republic that has been facing serious threats from the mutations of the communist system that stemmed from the Soviet Union’s fall. At home and in other democracies, cultural Marxism has been the modern communist’s weapon of choice. It has permeated pivotal American public and private institutions, customs, norms, and consequently, its culture. The 47th president has already committed himself to carrying out the will of the people and begin reversing the hegemonic control Neo-Marxism has gained. 

 

For this task, Trump will need to tear down the administrative state. The censorship apparatus with its “hate speech,” “disinformation,” and “safe spaces” mantras must be obliterated. Degrees of civil, political, and religious liberties should not be a question of whether you live in a conservative red state or a left-wing blue one. Federal and intelligence police agencies, as well as the judicial system, will be made to cease the political persecution they have practiced. This systemic pattern of undermining Western civilization has not been exclusive to the U.S., as Europe lends testament to. Globalized socialism with its instruments of preference of climate alarmism (eco-socialism), mass migration, Marxist Critical Theory dogma (some prefer to call it “wokism”), lawlessness, paganism, and scientism (pseudoscience) have been uniformly applied throughout the West. The U.S. is now poised to lead the world on this crusade.

To triumphantly achieve this, the incoming administration will need to address numerous international hurdles. The Trump Doctrine will count on Marco Rubio as its key architect. After World War II and as an integral part of communist global containment in Europe, the Truman Doctrine had its Marshall Plan (also known as the European Recovery Program) named after then Secretary of State George C. Marshall. Trump has issued signs that he will mimic the offensive nature of Reagan’s vision. This is most welcome. It would be the Rubio Plan of the Trump Doctrine.  

Communist China is an enemy, not an adversary, or much less a competitor. American tariffs are not just economic factors. In this case, they are moral, strategic, and fundamental. Tariffs against the Beijing regime are part of a comprehensive industrial policy shift that seeks to relocate vital pillars of production to American soil. The U.S. and the free world, under no circumstances, can continue to allow China to be the globe’s factory. The amiability of an international division of labor rationale and the “capitalism always produces democracies” mindset have been falsified. The Tiananmen Square massacre, five months before the Berlin Wall came down, cemented one of the varying models of post-Soviet communism: the “China model” and its Leninist state with a hybrid politically controlled economy.   

China’s asymmetric war against the West has rendered enormous dividends for the Asian dictatorship. The U.S. must establish a state policy of diminishing Beijing’s leverage in the world. This feat will take time, but the work must begin. Japan, South Korea, India, and most of China’s neighbors, including, of course, Taiwan, have been seeking this for years. Trump appears poised to take that step.

Islamism is a major threat to Western civilization. Recognizing the incompatibility of Islam with Christianity and Judaism, it is important to follow a coherent policy that deals with this fact. Not all Muslim countries abide by jihadist principles as a matter of practice. Those that do not should be drawn closer and respectful, tolerant relationships fostered. This was the basis for the Abraham Accords. Iran, and a broad spectrum of movements that are intertwined with the Ayatollah regime, has as its core purpose jihad against the West. The political climate is right for the U.S., with the help of Israel and other allies (including possibly moderate Muslim countries), to consider a proactive framework for regime change options.

In the Western Hemisphere, among the closest neighbors America has, the biggest threat remains being communist Cuba. Since 1959, Castro-Communism has been the continent's nerve center for hemispheric subversive activities. The Marxist regime has gained this notorious status by establishing partnerships with evil international actors. It is a fathom mistake to see the communist dictatorship as a long-wolf entity. The former USSR and the current post-Soviet Putin regime, China, North Korea, Iran, and other Islamist movements (both Sunni and Shiite), and every relevant communist and Islamist organization and state have bonded with the Cuban regime. Communist Cuba has amplified its influence since the fall of the USSR by directly becoming Marxism’s overt command center on the continent. The Cuban dictatorship has substituted the Soviet subsidy with Venezuelan oil revenues, neo-slave labor international ventures, information trafficking, remittances from an ever-increasing population transfer, and drug trafficking.    

The U.S. should not be spending its resources dealing with the symptoms of Castro-Communism. It must go to the source itself. Today’s Cuba remains a national security threat to the U.S.  While its involvement in the drug trade goes back to the late 1960s, currently it has become one of its principal sources of livelihood. By networking with the Mexican cartels, the neocolonial satellites in Venezuela and Bolivia, and puppet coalitions with the current Mexican and Colombian governments, the Cuban regime is indirectly profiteering with American deaths from drug use.

When considering the close relationship that Cuban communism has had and continues to maintain, with Marxist-inspired American domestic terrorist groups and their affiliated organizations, the danger is close. Targeting and consistent espionage at the highest levels of the American government by Cuban operatives is another visible point where the U.S. is susceptible to Castro-Communist involvement. The information trafficked, and the moles established in America’s intelligence capacity by Cuba, make the U.S. more unsafe. The Cuban regime does not just save the ill-gotten knowledge for itself. Intelligence data is a commodity that is offered to Russia, China, Iran, and other international rogue players, including drug cartels.    

Any Trump Doctrine strategy that excludes from implementation the concrete objective of seeking the overthrow of the sixty-five-year-old Cuban communist regime would be grossly deficient. Seeking effective paths to help liberate Cuba is not about charity to help Cubans. One could effectively argue for American and international support to help topple this evil regime based on democratic solidarity. The U.S., after all, is wholly indebted to France, for example, for its role in ending British rule. The fact that Castro-Communism undeniably poses a national security threat to the U.S. should warrant this operation. Yes, for Cubans, it will mean liberation. But for Americans, it will mean substantive security at home.

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J M Shiling autor circle red blue🖋️Author Julio M. Shiling 
Julio M. Shiling  is a political scientist, writer, columnist, lecturer, media commentator, and director of Patria de Martí and The CubanAmerican Voice. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. He is a member of The American Political Science Association, The PEN Club (Cuban Writers in Exile Chapter) and the Academy of Cuban History in Exile.

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