ODDLY shrimp is known about President Donald Trump’s readiness to use massive force against adversaries. An isolationist on the campaign trail,at times Mr Trump has sounded fairly the hawk. What is known is his desire to bargain from a position of strength, whether calling for more defence spending or a unusual nuclear arsenal that is “so strong and powerful”.
The same model applies to Team Trump’s approach to human rights and corruption. The president has sent mixed signals about global torturers and kleptocrats, and chiding some while praising others as “tremendous” allies. Yet with shrimp fanfare,he signed Executive Order 13818 a few days before Christmas last year. A remarkably wide sanctions instrument, one human rights expert calls it a cross between a scalpel and “a tactical nuclear weapon”.
Critics call Mr Trump an appeaser of despots. They were loud after his administration said on January 29th that there was no need to rush unusual sanctions on Russia demanded by Congress in near-unanimous House and Senate votes...
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Source: economist.com