Donald Trump Is Not Forgetting America’s Old Alliances – His Goal Is to Destroy Them

THE GUARDIAN — OPINION: European leaders who know their continent’s history must now see that the US president is siding with the forces of tyranny

In January 2018, when Donald Trump was in the second year of his first term as US president, Angela Merkel, in her 13th year as German chancellor, gave a gloomy speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. She opened her remarks with a warning from Europe’s past. Politicians had “sleep-walked” into the first world war. As the number of surviving eyewitnesses to the second world war dwindled, she added, subsequent generations would have to prove they understood the fragility of peace. “We need to ask ourselves if we have really learned from history or not.”

Fast forward eight years. Vladimir Putin’s territorial aggression harries Europe’s eastern flank. To the west, Trump, now in his second term and guest of honour at Davos, threatens to annex Greenland. This is not a world that has internalised the lessons of the 20th century.

Merkel’s reputation has not improved since leaving office. She is criticised – often harshly, sometimes fairly – for presiding over stagnation and calling it stability. Hindsight condemns her for failing to prepare Germany’s economy, defence and energy infrastructure for the coming age of turbulence. But she had the measure of Trump from the start.

On the morning after his first election victory in 2016, Merkel’s congratulations contained a chilly caveat. Her statement noted that Germany and the US had built a relationship based on shared respect for democracy, the rule of law, political pluralism, non-discrimination on the basis of race, creed and sexual orientation. Ongoing cooperation was offered “on the basis of these values”. » | Rafael Behr | Wednesday, January 21, 2026

George Galloway Discusses Trump's Lunatic Threats To Sanction The USA's Allies

George Galloway Discusses Trump's Lunatic Threats To Sanction The USA's Allies.

Trump is clearly setting the wheels in motion not only for the possible economic destruction a global trade wa-r with the US would be for the US economy, but also putting into place the conditions to go into total conflict with Iran at the behest of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The US Allies Trump Has Offended Since Taking Office

Read the Washington Post article here

Obama Left Increasingly Isolated as Anger Builds among Key US Allies

THE GUARDIAN: Merkel the latest to rebuke Washington over NSA spying while US relationships in the Middle East are also unravelling

International anger over US government surveillance has combined with a backlash against its current Middle East policy to leave President Obama increasingly isolated from many of his key foreign allies, according to diplomats in Washington.

The furious call that German chancellor Angela Merkel made to the White House on Wednesday to ask if her phone had been tapped was the latest in a string of diplomatic rebukes by allies including France, Brazil and Mexico, all of which have distanced themselves from the US following revelations of spying by the National Security Agency.

But the collapse in trust of the US among its European and South American partners has been matched by an equally rapid deterioration in its relationships with key allies in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia this week joined Israel, Jordan and United Arab Emirates in signalling a shift in its relations with the US over its unhappiness at a perceived policy of rapprochement toward Iran and Syria.

Though the issues are largely unrelated, they have led to a flurry of diplomatic activity from Washington, which is anxious to avoid a more permanent rift in the network of alliances that has been central to its foreign policy since the second world war.

Secretary of state John Kerry has been meeting with Saudi and Israeli leaders in an effort to keep them involved in Middle East peace talks about Palestine and Syria, Obama met Wednesday with Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif to reassure him over separate anxiety over US drone attacks, and the White House has been privately trying to mend fences with world leaders on the surveillance issue.

"The [NSA] revelations have clearly caused tension in our relationships with some countries and we are dealing with that through diplomatic channels," said White House spokesman Jay Carney on Thursday.

"These are very important relations both economically and for our security, and we will work to maintain the closest possible ties."

But the Guardian has spoken with several diplomats and foreign government officials – all of whom agreed to talk only on the condition of anonymity – who say the White House is still underestimating the anger felt over recent disclosures. » | Dan Roberts and Paul Lewis in Washington | Thursday, October 24, 2013