In today’s Wall Street Journal, Greg Ip wrote an excellent article in which he discussed America’s changing role from a stabilizer of the world to a disrupter.
In brief, Ip argues that solving the world’s problems gets harder if mistrust grows between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
While Ip would agree with President Trump’s thesis that our partners have not committed their fair share of resources to solve world problems, he would disagree with Trump that they have just been free riders on sharing the cost of sustaining the world economy or supporting our military efforts.
Ip provides examples of where our allies have been helpful such as supporting our war in Afghanistan, 1991 war against Iraq, and U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Ip furthermore points out that America cannot stop money laundering without allied help. Ip discussed West Germany’s willingness to take economic steps to help America in 1978 when it was not in their interest.
Ip worries that our fractured relationship with Mexico will weaken our efforts to curb illegal immigration.
Ip discussed that our trade policy could disrupt delicate supply chains that link the U.S., China and world economies.
Lastly, Ip worries that if we have a recurrence of the 2008 economic crisis we might not get the support of our allies.
Originally published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
