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  • Perhaps it was the Russian deaths in Syria from U.S. bombing, but U.S. impunity seems to be coming to an end, writes Dr Arshad M Khan.

    Perhaps it was the Russian deaths in Syria from U.S. bombing, but U.S. impunity seems to be coming to an end, writes Dr Arshad M Khan. | Photo: Reuters

Published 3 March 2018
Opinion
Perhaps it was the Russian deaths in Syria from U.S. bombing, but U.S. impunity seems to be coming to an end, writes Dr Arshad M Khan.

Why does U.S. President Donald Trump lay himself open to mockery? His behavior is not only unbecoming for a dignified president, but his policy tweets are also quite outrageous. From his "My nuclear button is bigger than yours" comments directed at Kim Jong-un to arming teachers in order to defend schools against mass shooters, he is quite off the wall.

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Mass Shootings and Profit: Chaos Ideology in the US

Two weeks after the Florida shooting which made Trump want to arm teachers, a teacher in Georgia has behaved precisely the way this column warned. Jesse Randall Davidson, a social science teacher at Dalton High School, barricaded the class door after locking his students out in the hallway. When the headmaster tried to enter with a pass key, Davidson responded with gunfire.

Dalton is a suburb 90 miles northwest of Atlanta. Davidson, employed at the school for almost 14 years, is also the announcer for the school football team, making him in all likelihood a popular figure. Fortunately, no one was hurt and Davidson, who the principal said was making "nonsensical noises" during the exchange, is now in custody.

Any leader relies on close confidantes: aides they can trust and who can tell them how things really are without fear of being fired. For Trump, such a person was Hope Hicks. She was part of his presidential odyssey right from the beginning and will be missed, even by Chief of Staff John Kelly, who used her to tell the president he was wrong without risking a retributive tweet. 

Hicks has now resigned, the day after a marathon eight hours of questioning by the House Intelligence Committee. Was it something she said, or something she thinks could happen? We will have to wait and see. With her departure, five people have completed six stints as communications director during Trump's 400-day tenure. Hicks lasted the longest: about seven months.

Meanwhile, Jared Kushner's interim top-secret security clearance has been downgraded while the investigation for his full clearance continues. The major problem is his business and other interests susceptible to leverage by foreign governments. Not to be too flippant, he looks like an Ensign Crusher on Star Trek with similar political maturity. Will he be able to do such a high-level job without top-security clearance? It really isn't even a question.

The number of staffers coming and going at the White House is unprecedented and symptomatic of chaotic leadership. Run by a self-proclaimed "stable genius," who this week spelled 'dying' as 'dieing' before he was corrected in a tweet rant against actor Alec Baldwin, the White House is about as stable as said genius. His latest proclamation, slapping punitive import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, could start a trade war

On top of all this, Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid down the gauntlet. Addressing an audience of Russian lawmakers, regional governors and leading figures, Putin introduced new nuclear weapons, including a cruise missile powered by a small nuclear engine. Highly maneuverable, low-flying (thus difficult to detect) and with unlimited range, it promises to make the U.S. missile defense shield obsolete: an umbrella full of holes. Why Seoul and Tokyo "would now buy such an umbrella" makes little sense, said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Putin's speech also carried a blunt warning to Washington against the use of tactical battlefield nuclear weapons. A nuclear attack on any of Moscow's allies would result in an immediate response, Putin said. Observers thought he was referring to Syria, although Tehran might now be tempted into closer ties.  

Much to chew on in Washington and certainly gristle in the Trump cheeseburger. Most probably the intelligence agencies were already aware of these weapons, but Putin has now drawn a line in no uncertain terms. Perhaps it was the Russian deaths in Syria from U.S. bombing, but U.S. impunity seems to be coming to an end.

Dr Arshad M Khan is a former professor whose work has appeared online and in print.

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