Until this morning, I was not aware of not-my-president Trump's comments to the CIA on Saturday morning (1/21/17), the day after he was sworn in as U.S. president. In these comments, which are public record, he said offhandedly that "we" -- the United States -- should have "taken the oil" when we left Iraq in 2011. Had we done so, he claims, then ISIS, which took over oil fields in Syria and Iraq, could not fund itself by selling oil. Why is Trump not demanding to know who is buying oil from ISIS and putting pressure on those entities to stop? Why does he suggest that stealing Iraq's major natural resource would be in any way possible, desirable, or legitimate? Such a thing could never be accomplished without starting another war, for certainly Iraq would not sit idly watching U.S. businesses -- or U.S. government? -- or U.S. military? -- pump oil for free out its oil fields. Trump enjoys spouting vague, broad-brush notions that accomplish nothing except to worry everyone around him, because implementing his ideas would cause long-term harm for the United States and for the world. In a word, Trump's ideas are stupid.But somehow enough people decided, not to realistically assess him as a presidential candidate, but to put their faith in him, and now he is president. In the past, he could be dismissed when he espoused concepts that did not fit reality. Now he can do awesome damage unless enough people say, "No." Here are some links regarding Trump's take-the-oil remarks. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-leader-not-clear-on-trump-intentions-for-iraqi-oil-reserves/ http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/trudy_rubin/20170127_Worldview__Trump_s_lust_for_Iraq_s_oil_endangers_American_soldiers.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/trump-oil-isis-iraq/index.html http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/iraq-on-edge-at-trump-keep-the-oil-talk-862957123806 |