‘Playing Trump for time’: National security experts sound alarm on ‘complete destruction’ of US power

National security analysts Mark Toth and Col. (Ret.) Jonathan E. Sweet have warned that the Trump administration’s policies are hurting America’s interests.In an op-ed titled “America is losing trade wars” published in The Hill on Thursday, Toth and Sweet criticized the administration for its “self-defeating approach,” saying it will “not make America great again.””To the contrary, if left unchecked, it could result in the partial or complete destruction of U.S. global economic and military power,” they wrote.READ MORE: Analysis shows why this ‘rock-ribbed Republican’ stronghold may spell trouble for TrumpToth is a veteran national security commentator and Sweet served 30 years as an army intelligence officer. The analysts said the first war the administration is losing is “the one Russian President Vladimir Putin declared against the West when he invaded Ukraine.””The second one is metaphorical — the one President Trump himself is now waging against U.S. allies,” they wrote, referring to Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports.Commenting on the president’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they said Putin is “just playing Trump for time,” adding that he is preparing a new multi-front offensive in the Donbas.READ MORE: ‘Neofascist revolutionary project’: How MAGA is ramping up its propaganda ‘machine’On Monday, Russia announced that “one of the largest rounds of conscription to Russia’s military for several years is underway.””He made concession after concession to Russia, including partial ceasefires against energy targets in Russia and naval targets in the Black Sea — to get Putin to the negotiating table in Jeddah,” they said of Trump.”Yet Moscow declared Tuesday that it rejects Trump’s ceasefire deal ‘in its current form.'”The writers said Chinese President Xi Jinping was also “taking full advantage of Team Trump’s global missteps and the geopolitical vacuums they are creating across the region.”READ MORE: Republicans ‘are at a disadvantage’ as GOP ‘can no longer deny the toxicity of Trump’: analysts”To back its growing military power, Beijing announced in March it is increasing its defense budget by 7.2 percent in 2025,” they added.They advised the administration to reach out to key U.S. allies and “build a combined and united response,” noting that the administration was doing “just the opposite of that” by declaring April 2 as “Liberation Day.””The EU is larger as a market than the U.S. economy as a whole,” they said, adding that European allies are turning to South Korea and France to meet their weapons requirements, accounting for 6.5 percent of NATO’s European arms imports in 2024.”Alienating your allies is a bad course of action,” the experts said.READ MORE: ‘Dominate the playground’: What Trump’s ‘new world order’ reveals about his psychology

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