THE INTERCEPT
On war policy, Trump has proven less murderous than George W. Bush and more of a war criminal than Jimmy Carter. So far.
On matters of war, Donald Trump has consistently spoken and acted in contradictory and unorthodox ways. He campaigned in 2016 with a mixed message of attacking the legacy of the Iraq War and U.S. military adventurism, while simultaneously pledging to commit war crimes and promote imperialism as a matter of policy. On part four of “American Mythology,” we take an in-depth look at Trump’s war and national security policies. He escalated drone strikes in Somalia and Afghanistan, authorized troop surges and massive bombings in Iraq, launched cruise missile strikes in Syria, and threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.” On the other hand, he signed a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. forces, attempted to end the Korean War, and claims to have fired John Bolton to avoid being in “World War 6.” In assessing Trump’s war policies, we seek to navigate past the rhetoric from Trump and his critics and examine his place in the history of U.S. presidents. In many ways, Trump has represented a continuity of U.S. policy with largely tactical differences from his predecessors. Overall, Trump built on some of the worst excesses of the Bush/Cheney administration and took advantage of the weak guardrails left behind by the Obama administration.
Jeremy Scahill: This is Intercepted.
I’m Jeremy Scahill coming to you from New York City and this is part four of an Intercepted special, American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump.
Donald Trump: But we’re fighting a very politically correct war. The other thing is with the terrorists, you have to take out their families. When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. They say they don’t care about their lives. You have to take out their families.
JS: Donald Trump campaigned in 2016 with a mixed message of attacking the legacy of the Iraq war and U.S. military adventurism, while simultaneously pledging to commit war crimes and promote imperialism as a matter of policy.
DJT: When we went over there, I said “Hey! I assume we’re taking the oil. Are we taking the oil?” You know in the old days you had a war — you ever hear the expression, “to the victor belongs the spoils?” I said, “If we’d leave, take the oil! At least pay us back.” And I come out, front-page news, “Oh, Trump is a horrible human being. He wants to take the oil from a sovereign country.” Sovereign, give me a break. You see the people ripping off — sovereign. Ay.
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