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Damage from Trump unilateralism is 'criminal', says former US adviser
Source: The Guardian
Damage from Trump unilateralism is 'criminal', says former US adviser
Transatlantic relationships in jeopardy and president playing on citizens’ fears, warns ex-diplomat
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Wed 3 Apr 2019 16.44 BST Last modified on Thu 4 Apr 2019 13.49 BST
A former US state department adviser to five previous American presidents says Donald Trump’s narcissistic unilateralism is doing Vladimir Putin’s work for him by widening the fissure between the US and Europe over climate change, Iran, Brexit and Nato.
The former adviser, William Burns, said on Wednesday that the corrosive damage to the transatlantic relationships might never be repaired, and described Trump being uninterested in those alliances at a time when China was “rising’” and Russia “resurging”, as criminal.
He also predicted a post-Brexit Anglo-American relationship would be less special since part of Britain’s relationship with America was “built on its relationship with the continent”. The UK should not think a US trade deal would be anything but complicated, he said, adding: “Any trade deal requires some very difficult choices for the UK especially when you do not have the leverage of the European Union.”
Burns, a former ambassador to Russia as well as state department adviser to both Bush presidencies and to Barack Obama, is widely seen as the most respected American career diplomat of the last 30 years.
He said the “uncertainty and lack of faith in America’s leadership comes at a moment of profound transformation on the international landscape”.
-snip-
Transatlantic relationships in jeopardy and president playing on citizens’ fears, warns ex-diplomat
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Wed 3 Apr 2019 16.44 BST Last modified on Thu 4 Apr 2019 13.49 BST
A former US state department adviser to five previous American presidents says Donald Trump’s narcissistic unilateralism is doing Vladimir Putin’s work for him by widening the fissure between the US and Europe over climate change, Iran, Brexit and Nato.
The former adviser, William Burns, said on Wednesday that the corrosive damage to the transatlantic relationships might never be repaired, and described Trump being uninterested in those alliances at a time when China was “rising’” and Russia “resurging”, as criminal.
He also predicted a post-Brexit Anglo-American relationship would be less special since part of Britain’s relationship with America was “built on its relationship with the continent”. The UK should not think a US trade deal would be anything but complicated, he said, adding: “Any trade deal requires some very difficult choices for the UK especially when you do not have the leverage of the European Union.”
Burns, a former ambassador to Russia as well as state department adviser to both Bush presidencies and to Barack Obama, is widely seen as the most respected American career diplomat of the last 30 years.
He said the “uncertainty and lack of faith in America’s leadership comes at a moment of profound transformation on the international landscape”.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/03/corrosive-damage-from-trump-unilateralism-is-criminal-us-adviser
