The problem isn’t just that we’re losing friends, it’s that we’re creating potential enemies.
Sure, President Trump’s erratic foreign policy has alienated allies, shredded the U.S.-led rules-based global order, nudged Canada closer to China and turned NATO into something resembling your uncle’s Facebook page after someone brings up politics.
Other than that? Everything’s terrific.
Just kidding. It might be even worse than we think.
The problem isn’t just that we’re losing friends, it’s that we’re creating potential enemies. And not just the kind who boo the national anthem at sporting events, but the kind who someday might decide that America is the villain in their personal origin story, right before the montage where ominous music starts playing.
If this sounds abstract or alarmist, it’s worth noting that it has already happened.
Osama bin Laden — who was once, awkwardly, sort of an informal ally against the Soviets — was radicalized largely by the Gulf War and the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia.
This is notable because the Gulf War — unlike the subsequent Iraq War — had international approval, a clear mission and an exit strategy. By war standards, it was practically a model U.N. bake sale. And yet it still produced consequences that reshaped America’s future, resulting in 9/11 and a couple of not-so-tidy wars.
There’s another uncomfortable part people tend to forget: the timing. The Gulf War ended in 1991. Sept. 11, 2001, happened 10 years later. The shoe did not drop immediately. It sat there. Quietly. Waiting.
The lesson is not just that military interventions can cause backlash, but that even the ones we conduct “by the book” can still leave people angry years later.
