Reagan's Diplomacy Returns
President Donald Trump's Middle East trip represents a fundamental break with the 'liberal internationalism' of his recent predecessors and returns the U.S. to the pragmatic foreign policy practiced by Ronald Reagan ('The Trump Doctrine of the Deal,' Review & Outlook, May 17). While the president may not use Reagan's idealistic language, his approach is similar to that outlined by Reagan's first U.N. ambassador, Jeane Kirkpatrick, who advocated cooperation with regimes that shared Washington's core interests regardless of their internal governance. Mr. Trump, a firm believer in peace through strength, is marrying restored deterrence, realistic strategic objectives and a commitment to commercial diplomacy to restore America's global standing after 25 years of overstretch and strategic missteps. His speech in Riyadh is a fitting antidote to President George W. Bush's 2005 inaugural address, which promised to 'end tyranny in our world' and diverted American attention from the rising threat of China and the return of great-power competition.
Alexander B. Gray
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