Countries that do what Trump wants get lucrative business deals; those that don’t get higher tariffs.
Trump is pursuing his own version of “dollar diplomacy,” a term coined during the Wm Howard Taft administration. The problem is there’s little evidence that “dollar diplomacy” works. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

Putin hopes to dangle development deals in front of Kushner and Witkoff to lift U.S. sanctions. He made some progress when Trump announced that the US would be importing diesel fuel from Russia. But most sanctions remain in effect, and Congress passed legislation to strengthen them. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

While Witkoff and Kushner say they would not benefit from the Lukoil sale, the deal reeks of conflicts of interest at best and outright corruption at worst. It is emblematic of the de facto Trump Doctrine — mixing private and public interests to an unprecedented degree. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

Putin hopes to dangle development deals in front of Kushner and Witkoff to lift U.S. sanctions. He made some progress when Trump announced that the US would be importing diesel fuel from Russia. But most sanctions remain in effect, and Congress passed legislation to strengthen them. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

Countries that do what Trump wants get lucrative business deals; those that don’t get higher tariffs.
Trump is pursuing his own version of “dollar diplomacy,” a term coined during the Wm Howard Taft administration. The problem is there’s little evidence that “dollar diplomacy” works. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

When the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia, Trump refused to come to their aid because he is reluctant to be trapped in another endless war. Even with Trump, who is turning the presidency into a multibillion-dollar profit center, there are sharp limits to what money can buy. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

The Saudis and Emiratis have invested so much in business projects associated with the Trump clan in large part because they are hoping to buy influence. But while they got access to AI chips (UAE) and civilian nuke tech (Saudis), they also got dragged into a costly war with Iran. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

While Witkoff and Kushner say they would not benefit from the Lukoil sale, the deal reeks of conflicts of interest at best and outright corruption at worst. It is emblematic of the de facto Trump Doctrine — mixing private and public interests to an unprecedented degree. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

You would think Trump et al. would have figured out by now that dictators are not primarily interested in economic development. While Trump & Co. have devoted their lives to making money, the leaders of N Korea, Hamas, Iran & Russia have devoted their lives to accumulating power. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

In his first term, Trump hoped to lure Kim Jong Un into giving up his nukes in return for Western investment. The pitch didn’t work. Undeterred by the failure of his North Korea diplomacy, Trump offered a similar deal to Hamas in 2025: disarm in return for beachfront condos. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

As Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they are also working with the Kremlin to sell $20 billion in international assets owned by the Russian oil company Lukoil to a group of investors that includes their own business partners. wapo.st/47gE6Rf

Over at my Substack--"The Long View"--I have some thoughts about how the Trump-Zelensky relationship is again in crisis mode because of Trump's incorrigible pro-Putin bias. bit.ly/4s0v9VI

Talking on CNN International about the Trump administration's "performative cruelty," as manifested in the plan to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood killer. The spectacle is a revolting one. video.snapstream.net/Play/3TmGkhK...

The lack of self-awareness is something else. As if the Trump administration has any credibility lecturing any other country about its international obligations. One of the first things Trump did was pull out of the WHO.
www.wsj.com/world/russia...

Without a deal, Iran is more likely to lash out than to surrender; it retains plenty of missiles and drones it could use to target oil facilities and ships across the region. Indeed, in recent days, Iran has stepped up attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. bit.ly/4j5qcbI

The failure of the Iraq War has made me into a chastened hawk acutely conscious of the limits of American power. I hope our leaders have learned the same lessons, but as I read news that Trump is sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, I fear that they have not. wapo.st/4ziR9xC

Without a deal, Iran is more likely to lash out than to surrender; it retains plenty of missiles and drones it could use to target oil facilities and ships across the region. Indeed, in recent days, Iran has stepped up attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. bit.ly/4j5qcbI

Most of the increase in exports is coming not from the Strait of Hormuz but from alternative, bypass routes that are longer and more expensive: The cost of moving a tanker of oil from the Middle East to China has skyrocketed from $7 a barrel before the war to $35 a barrel today. bit.ly/4j5qcbI

Trump claims he's winning the war. But if oil is flowing so freely, why was the Brent crude oil price on Friday still over $100 a barrel—i.e., roughly 40 percent higher than the day before the war began? The price of diesel fuel in the US has risen even faster: by almost 75 percent. bit.ly/4j5qcbI

I recall getting briefings from officers who told me that the previous unit in their “AO” had screwed up, but they had all the trend lines going in a positive direction. A few years later, I would visit the same base and get the same briefing from a new unit that had just rotated in. wapo.st/4ziR9xC