Another war president

addressed the nation on Monday from Fort Myer military base in Arlington, Va.
― Full Transcript and Video: Trump’s Speech on Afghanistan – The New York Times

President Donald Trump anounced his new old strategy for Afghanistan last night, in a speech before active solddiers that lacked specifics but was full of the kind of bromides he has offered in the past when forced to offer a scripted speech.

The speech essentially offered a Fox News approach to military engagement — take off the gloves, let the military do what they want — but had some on the populist right a bit miffed.

Breitbart, for instance, which has been Trump’s biggest media backer, was critical, calling Trump’s plan a “flip-flop.”

There are questions coming from some Marines:

To some of the Marines, though, optimism, no matter how cautious, rings hollow after nearly 16 years of war and new approaches that sound a lot like the old ones.

“You know, it’s like everyone forgot,” said one Marine, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the issue frankly. “Like someone hit the reset button and now we’re out here again saying, ‘We can do this, we can win this thing.’”

The speech was in many ways a typical presidential address on military matters, which should explode the notion that some on the left had that Trump was set to change course militarily. He was never a peace candidate, never someone who would keep up out of military adventures. In fact, as his rhetoric on North Korea shows, he may be more reckless than even George W. Bush because he lacks the background to stand up to the generals with which he’s surrounded himself.

I’ve annotated the speech (see above).

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet