Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
During his just concluded surprise visit to the Middle East, President Donald Trump has very rightly declared the end to America’s role as the global “policeman.” President Trump sought to defend his “America First” policy of pulling back from multinational alliances, including what many Americans seem like the endless wars in the Middle East.
He said, “It’s not fair when the burden is all on us,” he said. “We don’t want to be taken advantage of any more by countries that use us and use our incredible military to protect them. They don’t pay for it and they’re going to have to.”
“We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven’t even heard about. Frankly, it’s ridiculous,” President Trump added.
Trump told reporters he had overruled generals asking to extend the Syria deployment, where about 2,000 US forces, joined by other foreign troops, assist local fighters battling the Islamic State jihadist group (ISIS).
In my personal opinion, what President Trump has said is in the interest of the American people. It is truly meaningless for the US is maintaining thousands of troops in the foreign lands at the cost of the taxes of the American people. While fighting ISIS is essential, but, the outcome of offensives of this radical Islamic militancy groups, particularly in Iraq and Syria seems to be an unending process. Moreover, thousands of ISIS jihadists have already fled Iraq and Syria – mostly via Turkey – and got melted with other jihadist outfits in the world. A large portion of ISIS jihadists even have already melted into societies in various nations including the West. Particularly in Canada, an unknown number of ISIS men have entered during the past few months thus posing a grave threat to the society. When leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are almost openly extending patronization to radical Islam, why the US should spend billions of dollars towards protecting other nations, most of which even consider America as their enemy?
We need to remember a point, most or the Middle Eastern nations – if not all – consider American as their much-sought-after cop in protecting from inter-nation rivalry and the threats posed by radical Islamic militancy groups like ISIS. On the other hand, many of the Middle Eastern nations even are accused of secretly funding Al Qaeda and ISIS, possibly with the goal of creating a ground for American troops to stay in their soils. We have even seen, in the very recent past, those nations had voted against the relation introduced by the United States in the UN condemning Hamas. Most of these nations patronize, adore and fund Arab terrorists in the Palestine. Under such circumstances, why United States should grant protection to some nations that actually betrays with America in every possible ways?
President Donald Trump and his administration may now even refrain from intervening into affairs in other non-Arab nations, even if there are accusations of gross human rights violations or rise of autocracy. But of course, by saving cash America may actually take the risk of losing its influence in the world. It may even surrender its status of being world’s number one power.
Being the world’s only super-power, it actually is responsibility of the United States of America to ensure its presence in many nations – physically or otherwise – even at the cost of a fraction of the budget accrued from the American tax payers. Leaders in Washington need to realize, every mighty nation may sometime even play the role of “world’s cop” for the sake of maintaining its influence. If America will lose its influence in the global politics, it would definitely harm the US in multiple ways. Isolating from the world is certainly not the option for a mighty country like the United States. In the past, Barack Obama has committed this blunder and we are seeing the repetition of it now.
There is no alternative to defeating ISIS and radical Islamic militancy. It is not only essential for global peace, but it also is very much essential for the peace and safety of the people of the US. Certainly President Donald Trump can reshuffle the strategy of combating ISIS and radical Islamic militancy. He may even find newer allies and partners in this noble effort. But, he should not retreat from doing this.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is the editor of Blitz