USE OF FORCE DOCTRINE
ADEKEYE ADEBAJO: Trump’s belligerence is nothing new for US presidents
These martial musings are deeply ingrained in the DNA of an America that has been in a perpetual search for enemies
US President Donald Trump’s speech at the UN has been widely condemned as a belligerent perversion of an institution established in 1945 to promote global peace. Breathing fire and brimstone, Trump spoke in biblical terms, warning that "if the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph". He noted that Washington would have "no choice but to destroy North Korea" if it added to its recent nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches. He threatened to annihilate not just a regime but an entire country. As he crudely put it, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un: "Rocket man is on a suicide mission." Trump described North Korea, Iran and Venezuela as "rogue regimes", before hypocritically criticising threats to Ukraine and the South China Sea by Russia and China. He conveniently forgot his own launch in April of 59 Tomahawk missiles — without any investigation or a UN mandate — against the Syrian regime for allegedly using chemical weapons.As abhorrent ...
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