President Trump, and foreign policy

I mentioned, in a recent post, that while I have no affection for Mr. Trump, I thought the American military response, to the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria, was the right one.

While I still believe this, I am nonetheless struck by Mr. Trump's dizzying lack of consistency, and competence, and sense of understanding, when it comes to foreign affairs.

While this is not a surprise--this was all evident, during the campaign--it is still disorienting.

Mr. Trump said, after the chemical attack: “My attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much."

One would have thought he would have sufficiently understood, prior to this atrocity, what Mr. Assad is like.  But then, this is a president who said in late February, "Nobody knew health care could be so complicated." Actually, a great many people did. And a great many people already knew what Assad was capable of.