Iran, China, Canada? A Defense of Trump’s Grand Strategy

Is President Trump’s grand strategy unraveling? The United States is at war with Iran, China is ascendant, Russia and Ukraine are stalemated and American allies are openly questioning our commitment to them.

Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, joins me to discuss the state of America’s foreign policy and he makes the case that Trump’s approach to our allies and adversaries is making us stronger.

• 0:00 - Intro 
• 1:24 - What Is Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy?
• 5:00 - Is China Still America’s Main Rival? 
• 7:08 - Colby’s Strategy of Denial in the Pacific
• 9:58 - How to Avoid a War with China & Taiwan
• 12:18 - Can U.S. Aircraft Carriers & Bases Survive a Pacific Conflict?
• 16:43 - Is the Iran War Draining Our Weapons and Resources?
• 17:49 - The U.S. Military Strategy in Iran War
• 19:44 - Does the Middle East Conflict Help or Hurt China?
• 22:04 - Trying and Failing to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz
• 28:13 - The Parallels of Iran to the Vietnam and Iraq Wars
• 33:17 - Trump’s Strategy With Russia & Ukraine
• 40:49 - "NATO 3.0" & Returning to the Cold War
• 43:21 - Did the Pentagon Try to Cut Support for Ukraine?
• 46:28 - How "Middle Powers" Fail 
• 49:30 - Greenland, Canada, and the Monroe Doctrine
• 52:22 - Canada: Neighbor or 51st State?
• 54:23 - What We Expect From Allies

(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)

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