This is not a prediction but rather a question to the Dems that will be running for the nomination.
Will the candidates run on any foreign policy chops?
After two years in office, President Trump finally made his first trip to visit U.S. forces in the field in Iraq. Having announced the withdrawal of American troops from Syria and a drawdown in Afghanistan, going to Iraq—where he is likely to maintain a U.S. military presence—probably made political sense. But, by visiting troops, what he plans to bring home is also a politically astute move, a fact that likely will not be lost on Trump’s challengers in 2020.
Indeed, the future of the United States’ role in Afghanistan—now America’s longest war at 17 years and still counting—will likely be a major issue in the 2020 Presidential campaign. By now dragging on 10 years longer than our second longest war in Vietnam, it appears to have come to a similarly inconclusive stalemate: Our adversaries (the Taliban) cannot win while American troops are on the ground, but our efforts to Afghanize the war and rebuild the Afghan government and nation have also come to naught.
So far the only candidate that has shown any interest in foreign policy is Tulsi Gabbard…..
My guess is that the only policies will be ‘Anti-Trump’ ones. He has left himself open to so many potential personal attacks, it often seems that real policies have now taken a back seat.
Best wishes, Pete.
I do not think negativity will play well….chuq
Good post. I don’t see a lot of news about the Middle East now. That makes me think it may be more stable than it was two or three years ago. Hard to tell.
Not so much…..just the media likes elections more than the ME…..chuq
One issue is that the voters care much more about domestic policy than foreign policy.
True that ….because there is NO shared experience…..things would be different if there were…..chuq