Trump’s biggest foreign policy mistake

The United States is often criticized for orienting itself toward the short term, for being too quick to change course. In fact, on important issues Washington has been remarkably consistent in its foreign policy. Consider the strategic outreach to India that began during the Clinton administration and was expanded in a bipartisan manner over 25 years — until now. President Donald Trump’s sudden, inexplicable hostility toward India reverses policies pursued under five administrations, including his own previous one. If this new attitude holds, it might be the biggest strategic mistake of his presidency so far.

After the Cold War, the United States began a sustained outreach approach toward India. President Bill Clinton’s successful visit in 2000 opened the possibility of a warm new relationship. The pivotal shift, though, happened under President George W. Bush. His administration recognized that a rising China was transforming the international system and that the single most important counterweight to China could be India, then the world’s second-most populous country, which was beginning to reform its economy and integrate with the world. A close relationship between Washington and New Delhi would be the key to preventing Chinese domination of Asia and securing American interests in the region.

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