Trump has been calling for “stable international presence”, as Brzezinski stated at the beginning of his interview. And this should calm down people who think that the US is going to be pushed towards isolation. Moreover, as Brzezinski noted, Trump seems to be deeply involved and stable, when it comes to his opinions on the enhancement of the defensive capabilities. The expert said that this is another indicator of the way in which the US foreign policy is going to be shaped.
As it was stated by Ian Brzezinski, Donald Trump is willing to increase the defence budget, expand the Army and the US Navy. This, the expert suggests, would not be possible, should Trump be an isolationist. Brzezinski also referred to the US cooperation with Russia and the Trump’s willingness to fight against terrorism hand in hand with Putin. The expert asked not to judge the elect prematurely, when it comes to the foreign policy.
Brzezinski noted, that in order to accurately understand the US policy and relations with Europe, one should wait for some decisions or events, e.g. related to the forward presence of the US Army, the units of which are expected to be stationed, among other locations, also in Poland. Furthermore, Trump’s attitude towards arming the Ukrainian Army and economic sanctions is on an equal level of importance. Brzezinski added that some of the campaign slogans did not reflect and present the full understanding of the NATO’s form of operation.
As Brzezinski emphasized, it is quite interesting that when Trump was referring to the Polish-American community, he created a positive image of NATO and Polish contribution made to NATO. Moreover, the Atlantic Council expert also emphasized the fact that President Obama, following his conversation with President-Elect Trump, confirmed the NATO-related commitments.
The Atlantic Council representative also stressed the fact that the foreign and security policy implemented by Trump shall be seen as an evolving process, and that time is needed to assess its development and results. The people who will become the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence or national security advisers, and their beliefs and perspectives related to NATO, will also have an impact on the aforesaid areas of the Trump’s politics.
The interview took place during the “NATO Towards the Challenges of a Contemporary World – After the Warsaw 2016 Summit” conference in Łódź