Daily Times

A famous Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary”. President of the United States (POTUS) Donald Trump is often criticized for being ‘blunt’ and ‘arrogant’ in media appearances. Mr. President’s ultranationalist approach towards rational decision making is often debated in different aspects of domestic and foreign policy decisions.

During his Annual State of the Union address on 5 Feb 2019, President Trump reflected on political, economic and military commitments at domestic and international level and signaled some important international trends and US approach towards some regions.

This year’s address was more focused on elaborating President Trump’s progress over domestic rhetoric commitments. As compared to the last years’ address, less aggressive language was used against China and Russia. Perhaps, the Administration was focused on echoing the Republican party’s political agenda for paving the path for their future national policy documents including the Nuclear Posture Review and Missile Defense Review etc. Moreover, the political context in case of North Korea was more hostile in early 2018 whereby, President Trump used more aggressive language against North Korea.

The main section of the 2019 Union Address focused on highlighting the progress towards fulfillment of the domestic commitments towards jobs protection, revitalizing infrastructure, healthcare policies, immigration system and committed to pursue foreign policy that flags U.S. interests first. The other part cited the significance of imposing 250 billion dollars trade tariffs on Chinese goods.

In the backdrop of major geopolitical developments, this annual address has mainstreamed and reiterated the US’ role in different regions; while showing its vague commitment towards nuclear arms control measures

Furthermore, President Trump debated the issues that remained integral for protecting American national security around the world. In this regard, President Trump credited his Administration with the withdrawal from the ‘disastrous Iran nuclear deal’ and remained committed to impose the toughest sanctions on Iran in the future. On the contrary, many states including the US’ allies are unappreciative of this political move.

The other debate on protecting American national security included, development of a state-of-the-art Missile Defense System; securing a 100 billion dollars increase in defense spending from NATO allies; withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and hinting towards possible negotiations on a different agreement which especially includes China.

Most significantly, the US’ withdrawal from INF treaty was a major blow for the nuclearnon-proliferation regime.US’ intentions of only pursuing those arms control measures that would include China and others – hints at the inclusion of the rest of the nuclear armed states. This is the time where, arms control regime is fading due to vanishing precedents like the INF Treaty towards strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The prospects of India being willing to participate in such an arrangement – especially when said arrangements run contrary to the Indian military interest of modernizing its nuclear forces and achieving the delusional status of regional hegemon in South Asia – is worth exploring.

Moreover, President Trump appreciated his Administration’s pursuit of a ‘new bold diplomacy’ for a peaceful Korean Peninsula while mentioning his meeting with Kim Jong Un on 26-27 Feb 2018. However, the US’ peaceful behavior towards North Korea’s counterpart in forthcoming meetings may not last forever, until or unless, these political dialogues achieve some concrete initiative or agreements with regards to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

On the issue of Afghanistan, President Trump seemed to reiterate his position of no long-term stay of the US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. POTUS asserted that, “As we make progress in these negotiations, we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counter-terrorism. We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement — but we do know that after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace.”

His appreciation for current political dialogues for the Afghan Peace Process is a positive step towards building a peaceful future in Afghanistan. This policy is in-line with Pakistan’s official position on supporting the Afghan Peace Talks for contributing towards Afghans political settlement.

Therefore, in the backdrop of major geopolitical developments, this annual address has mainstreamed and reiterated the US’ role in different regions; while showing its vague commitment towards nuclear arms control measures.

Published in Daily Times, February 14^th 2019.