Like a monkey with a grenade

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump's yo-yoing foreign policy continues to cause unprecedented ructions in international relations, with his sudden adoption of a hard stance against Russia the latest example of the dreaded unpredictability in diplomacy.

- ABBEY MAKOE

One expert has likened President Trump's cantankerous approach to foreign relations to a “monkey playing with a hand grenade”.

In a typical flip-flop move the US leader gave Russia 50 days to make a deal on ending the war with Ukraine or face 100% tariffs. In addition, Trump announced that he was immediately undertaking a programme to supply weapons to Nato for use in Ukraine at a cost of up to a trillion dollars. “America will manufacture and supply, and Nato will pay,” he said.

Leading Nato member-states — the UK, France and Germany, under the new Chancellor Friedrich Merz - have been leading the charge to arm Ukraine to the teeth, and have enthusiastically flirted with the idea of direct involvement in the conflict to defeat Russia. However, the apprehension to go to war with Russia without US backing has delayed the urge to confront Russia more directly.

Instead, the three nations have led a public relations ramp-up of rhetoric against Russia, vowing to do everything in their power to ensure the attainment of a Ukrainian victory. On the information warfare front, the West started off by successfully cutting off the impactful Russian international TV station, Russia Today (RT) from its prewar global reach. This was part of the strategy to win outright the Foucauldian battle over the framing of discourse, thereby influencing public opinion against Russia.

Lately, Nato has been particularly desperate to keep the Trump administration in the closest proximity, particularly in the wake of glaring indicators that Trump may no longer subscribe to Nato’s Article 5, which refers to “an attack on one is an attack on all”.