POL200 What will be the philosophy of Donald Trump's foreign policy?

Query

What will be the philosophy of Donald Trump's foreign policy?

Essay

“Our country is right now perceived as weak ... as being spit on by the rest of the world ... Weakness always causes problems ... If this country gets any kinder or gentler, it’s literally going to cease to exist.” ~ Donald Trump, 1990 Playboy interview

Define Doctrine

The word is of importance to understand. The policy is not just a suggestion or wish, but an absolute. When used by the Executive Branch, (traditionally) becomes a long standing policy. Doctrine, according to the Dictionary, is a “position or policy taught or advocated”

Doctrines by Term

5th US President James Monroe (term 1817-1825 ) established his doctrine: that The Americas would not have involvement in European affairs and conversely there would be European involvement in The Americas.  26^th President Theodore Roosevelt (term 1901-1909) established a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: The US will not interfere with friendly countries; it will react to continuing misconduct. 33^rd President Harry Truman (term 1945-1953) attested that the US will send money and arms to countries that resisting communism. 39^th POTUS Jimmy Carter (term 1977-1981) established an interest in protecting the US oil interests in the Persian Gulf. 40^th President Reagan (1981-1989) provided actual ongoing military and financial support for a specific cause; the Contras in Nicaragua. Our last example is Bush, (43^rd POTUS, 2001-2009) whose beliefs that those who aid and abet our enemies are our enemies.  [Kelly]

Establishing previous POTUS Foreign Policy Doctrines, we see they have escalated. From basic exclusion to hostile intent breeds hostile intent. To aiding and abetting factions that hold similar belief against factions that are disagreeable. To attaining a foothold to resources for purely economic gain, to citing a reasonable excuse to go to war with persons whom we previously had no reason to.

It seems to warrant then, that, as in most of the government’s leaning, policies will not ease up, rather they will tighten. Foremost, Mr. Trump is a businessperson, with a public record for falsifying, failing and racially discriminating. [Graham] Given the historical actions of the man, his foreign policy will bolster no civic burdens, nor will it be worldly good from a moral standpoint. Indeed, the fifth executive order down the Presidential Pipeline (just 7 days in office) was the Muslim Ban which “banned foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from visiting the country for 90 days, suspended entry to the country of all Syrian refugees indefinitely, and prohibited any other refugees from coming into the country for 120 days.” [ACLU]

Prognosticate POTUS Policy

We seek here to posit what is our current POTUS plan; his philosophy.. However his foreign policy was well formed. It started on the campaign trail. Professor Paul K. MacDonald, relates that Trump’s Foreign Policy is an “America First” mentality, that Trump’s policies indicate America “needs to get better deals from other countries” and, on the whole “Trump laid out a foreign policy vision profoundly at odds with American traditions.”

Germany’s Goethe University Professor Reinhard Wolf gives us a transcontinental view on the US POTUS’s foreign policy. Wolf reminds us that, since 1987, Trump changed his party registration “at least five times”. According to Trumps words, deeds and actions he “lacks any clear sense of direction concerning the substantive goals of American foreign policy” and that overall, “Instead, the key to understanding Trump’s foreign-policy outlook lies in his extreme attention to symbolism. Questions of substance are eclipsed by an obsession with status and respect. His well-known fixation with personal prestige also shapes his view of America’s place in the world. His life-long desire to look like a ‘winner’ who enjoys the respect of his peers always figured prominently in Trump’s take on American external relations.”

W.H. Foreign Policy Memorandums

To appreciate the seriousness to which the current white house takes its Foreign Policy, let’s visit White House official Foreign Policy statements. Current assertions that China “allowed the deadly virus to spread across the world” berating news media source Voice of America for abusing “American Tax Dollars” (grossly misleading; VOA is funded by citizens, who are presumably taxpayers. Also of note, VOA has“not failed a fact check[Media Bias]) At a statement of this magnitude made on April 10^th, a 4+ months after much of the nation; including both our rural coastal directors and populous; teeming with distress since January. It seems manically finger-pointing that Mr. Trump would take this late opportunity to comment under the White House public Foreign Policy.  

In closing

The aforementioned reflection concludes that it will not be hard to determine what the Trump Doctrine, when all boiled down and passed to the history books, will taste like, overall. I opine that it will be a bitter and petty dish, stuffed with boloney, garnished heavily with diatribe.

Bibliography

ACLU. Timeline of the Muslim Ban. n.d. 17 Apr 2020. <https://aclu-wa.org/pages/timeline-muslim-ban >.

Dictionary. Doctrine, defined. n.d. 17 Apr 2020. <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/doctrine>.

Graham, David A. The Many Scandals of Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet, The Atlantic. 23 Jan 2017. 17 Apr 2020. <https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/donald-trump-scandals/474726/>.

Kelly, Martin. Top 6 Key U.S. Presidential Foreign Policy Doctrines, Thought Co. 09 May 2019. 17 Apr 2020. <https://www.thoughtco.com/top-six-foreign-policy-doctrines-105473>.

Macdonald, Paul K. "America First? Explaining Continuity and Change in Trump’s Foreign Policy." Political Science Quarterly vol. 133 no. 3 (Fall 2018). <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=4a61c7cb-0606-45e9-8aab-c3a742fe02a3%40sdc-v-sessmgr03>.

Media Bias / Fact Check. Voice of America. n.d. 17 Apr 2020. <https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/voice-of-america/>.

The White House; Foreign Policy. Amid a Pandemic, Voice of America Spends Your Money to Promote Foreign Propaganda. 10 Apr 2020. 17 Apr 2020. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/amid-a-pandemic-voice-of-america-spends-your-money-to-promote-foreign-propaganda/>.

Wolf, Reinhard. "Donald Trump’s Status-Driven Foreign Policy." Survival (00396338) vol. 59, no. 5 (Oct 2017): pp 99-116. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=4a61c7cb-0606-45e9-8aab-c3a742fe02a3%40sdc-v-sessmgr03>.

744 words not including restatement of query or opening quote.

POL200 Mendocino College Spring 2020 Prof. Liljeblad

POL200 With respect to interests of the victim and the alleged criminal, does the Exclusionary Rule serve the interests of justice?

Query

With respect to interests of the victim and the alleged criminal, does the Exclusionary Rule serve the interests of justice?

Essay

"It was one thing to condone an occasional constable's blunder, to accept his illegally obtained evidence so that the guilty would not go free.
It was quite another to condone a steady course of illegal police procedures that deliberately and flagrantly violated the Constitution of the United States, as well as the state constitution"
~ Roger Traynor Chief Justice in California 1962

What is the exclusionary rule

In 1914 the Exclusionary Rule was “devised to deter police from violating people’s rights.” [Patterson] In the 1960’s the rules were condemned to be pampering criminals. Decades later, 1980’s and 1990’s, under a more conservative court, three exceptions were made to the Exclusionary Rule.

Brief history

The landmark Mapp vs. Ohio case of 1961 brought illegal searches to the Supreme Court. Officers used questionable tactics in order to gain access to the home of one Dollree Mapp. The officers were searching for a suspected hiding criminal. The suspect was after all determined not to be in the house - and was later cleared of wrongdoing. However during the search officers found material that was illegal under Ohio law: a pencil sketch of a nude and four books then considered obscene. The officers charged Ms. Mapp for the materials. It was later determined that the Officers had never obtained a warrant to to enter the house. The piece of paper that they refused to allow Ms. Mapp to read, was not a search warrant at all. Ms. Mapp would recount in later interviews that she suspected it was a blank piece of paper.

The case was groundbreaking. At that time, many states allowed evidence to be used, even evidence that had been obtained using illegal methods; like the Mapp evidence.

Pros and Cons

The benefits of exclusionary rule are many. It requires a commitment to the rule of the law; no conviction can be made by evidence that was attained before the alleged criminal was convicted of anything. In the United States, probable cause means there must be must be a rational of doubt; is  criminal conduct occurring? – prior to a warrant being issued to collect evidence. It is the primary behind the adage “innocent until proven guilty.” A chain of evidence must be documented and therefore the exclusionary rule helps prevent creating false evidence. It protects against unnecessary search and seizure.

The risks involved in the exclusionary rule are equal. Officials and law enforcement conduct are scrutinized and emphasis is placed on their conduct instead of on the actual crime. There are more regulations to be followed therefore some may feel there are higher costs to taxpayers to follow the laborious protections allowed by the exclusionary rule. If law enforcement make some mistake in evidence collection, the evidence may be rejected from being submitted; an otherwise guilty person could then go free.

Less than 1%

Thomas Y. Davies studied the effects of the “costs” of the Exclusionary Rule: the percentage of otherwise guilty criminals that go free due to faulty evidence collection methods. Davies writes that there is an exaggeration of the impact. In actuality, less than 1% (0.8%) of felony arrests in drug related cases are rejected due to illegal searches. Moreover, that statistic is even lower for violent crimes, which itself is less than 0.3%

Even so, Harvard Law Review Richard Re opines that the “The exclusionary rule has entered a new period of crisis”.. some courts see “the exclusionary rule was a product of a bygone era, when police were unprofessional and egregious Fourth Amendment violations were routine.”

This writer is not certain that the families of Tamir Rice, Cameron Tillman, Laquan McDonald or the other eleven teenagers killed by police officers or any of the families of the 1,004 persons shot and killed by police in 2019 [Post] would agree that our current criminal justice system is not still a “bygone era”, rather entirely akin to the justice metered out in the streets during the American Frontier era.

Closing

If what the esteemed scholar Davies says is true, less than 1% of cases are thrown out under the Exclusionary Rule, then this country’s judicial system is doing its true service, which is that the majority of criminals are convicted in lieu of violating the fourth amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizures. It is believed that Thomas Clark, Supreme Court Justice of the Mapp verdict, was a proponent of the Exclusionary Rule his entire judicial life as well as his retired life. It is a safeguard for citizens from overzealous and flagrant conduct of law enforcement.

Bibliography

Davies, Thomas Y. "A Hard Look at What We Know (and Still Need to Learn) About the “Costs” of the Exclusionary Rule: The NIJ Study and Other Studies of “Lost” Arrests." American Bar Foundation Research Journal volume 8 issue 3 (1983). 16 Apr 2020. <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-bar-foundation-research-journal/article/hard-look-at-what-we-know-and-still-need-to-learn-about-the-costs-of-the-exclusionary-rule-the-nij-study-and-other-studies-of-lost-arrests/088350BBA1CFA84689FF0714FD9>.

Patterson, Thomas. We The People. 13th. New York: McGraw, 2019. page 122-123.

Re, Richard M. "“The Due Process Exclusionary Rule.”." Harvard Law Review vol. 127, no. 7, (May 2014): pp. 1887–1966. 16 Apr 2020. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&sid=6f3c1d31-342b-4e0e-b5f5-300055d5ea25%40sessionmgr4008>.

Washington Post. "Fatal Force." (n.d.). 16 Apr 2020. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/police-shootings-2019/>.

 695 words, not including biblio, opening quote and restatement of query.
POL200 Mendocino College Liljeblad Spring 2020

POL200 Do you consider Snowden's actions an act of political speech protected by the 1st Amendment under the US Constitution, or do you consider his actions as treason?

Query

Do you consider Snowden's actions an act of political speech protected by the 1st Amendment under the US Constitution, or do you consider his actions as treason?

Essay

“Because of “the crisis”, because of “the dangers that we face in the world”, some new and unpredicted threat <the government will say it> need(s) more authority.. need(s) more power there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it, and it will be turn key tyranny.”
- Edward Snowden

Who is Snowden?

Edward Snowden became a world-known figure when he leaked documents to Glenn Greenwald, then a journalist for for the Guardian. Snowden was a former NSA contractor. A secret organization collecting information on millions of Americans. By most accounts an illegal operation. The documents that Snowden revealed gave evidence of secret programs that are used to collect and store personal data on innocent people; “warrantless mass surveillance of citizens domestically and abroad.”

What is the NSA?

The NSA is a secret government information agency. It only became public in 2013 when Snowden came forward about the program. [Patterson] Smithsonian’s David Wise sums it up for us: The NSA “collects signals intelligence across the globe from listening platforms under the sea, in outer space, in foreign countries, on ships and on aircraft. “

Edward Snowden’s exposure of government documents revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was wiretapping millions of United States Citizens. Wiretapping without awareness and consent is illegal without a warrant. That millions of innocent Americans were/are being spied on is a violation of civil liberties.

Whistleblower Protection Act

The “Whistleblower Protection Act” according to the CRS Report for Congress, protects "any disclosure" that a employee believes signals "any violation of any law, rule, or regulation," or "gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, and abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety."

Traitor or hero?

Whether Snowden is a Traitor to the Nation or a Hero is a hotly debated topic. Mary-Rose Papandrea in the Boston University Law Review explains why an informant, such as Snowden, is not protected under the First Amendment.

“The government and commentators have made several arguments why the unauthorized disclosure of national security information falls outside of the First Amendment: (1) unauthorized disclosures of national security information are not speech; (2) government insiders have been entrusted with the information and have obligations not to reveal it; (3) relatedly, government insiders have contractually waived any First Amendment rights they may have possessed; and (4) Garcetti v. Cebellos eliminated First Amendment protection for the disclosure of any information obtained on the job.

Why so few?

Mark Friedman in the Journal of Legal Studies explains that our law does not provide legal protections for government contractors in the NSA, such as Edward Snowden, who report the governments illegal misconduct. Snowden wasn’t working for the government, but a private contractor. Even government employees have “inadequate protection” Government employees have a small range of upper level management, such as Inspector Generals or Congress. “Apart from the bureaucratic hurdles that employees would have to overcome, they may also find themselves in the uncomfortable position of reporting to the very people responsible for approving or shielding the questionable activity.”

Former NSA analyst Russell Tice, in December 2005 accused the NSA of exceeding limits of its permissible surveillance directive. Tice said of Snowden: "This guy has more courage than anyone I know…I encourage everyone to read the constitution, especially about Probable Cause and the fourth amendment, and to do the right thing," Tice said in an interview with Friedman.

Amnesty International and ACLU

“Edward Snowden … revealed the shocking extent of global mass surveillances.” [Amnesty Int.] Amnesty International and the ACLU each lobbying to pardon Edward Snowden and drop his charges? That those world wide organizations are both backing Snowden, makes me consider that he is a hero of the people.

ACLU advises us that “laws that are being used against Snowden do not distinguish between patriotic whistleblowers and foreign agents. It would be a true miscarriage of justice if the government succeeded in imprisoning for life a person who revealed unconstitutional government conduct. “

Changes

The largest tech companies in the world, including many that had the NSA blindly data mining their back-end’s – Microsoft, Apple, Google, Snap, Verizon, – have launched a campaign called Reform Government Surveillance

According to its website: “RGS therefore strongly believes that current surveillance laws and practices must be reformed. Government surveillance must be consistent with established global norms of privacy, free expression, security, and the rule of law. Government law enforcement and intelligence efforts should be rule-bound, narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to strong oversight.”

Closing

That the moral few are willing to risk their lives to protect society continually pouring personal data into Facebook at an alarming rate, and remain unacknowledged for their sacrifice is another topic. Yes, Snowden is a hero. However it seems the people are more fond of comfort and complacency, knowing well the ramifications of their actions. Being a hero in real life is often a thankless task. Yet that’s what heroes do. They stand up because it’s the right thing to do. Not because they gain glory or comfort from it.

Bibliography

ACLU. Edward Snowden. n.d. 9 Arp 2020. <https://www.aclu.org/blog/edward-snowden-patriot >.

Amesty International . n.d. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/03/edward-snowden-privacy-is-for-the-powerless/ >.

FRIEDMAN, MARK. "Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor? Considering the Implications for Canadian National Security and Whistleblower Law." Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies vol. 24 (2015): 1-23. 9 Apr 2020. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=d8c28fa8-6e54-46c4-8bd5-853b159fb2cb%40sessionmgr4007 >.

Johnson, Luke. Obama Defends NSA Programs, Says Congress Knew About Surveillance. 7 Jun 2013. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-nsa_n_3403389>.

Kasperowicz, Pete. Lawmaker:. 'Traitor' Snowden deserves death penalty. 11 Feb 2016. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lawmaker-traitor-snowden-deserves-death-penalty>.

PAPANDREA, MARY-ROSE. "Leaker Traitor Whistleblower Spy: National Security Leaks and the First Amendment." Boston University Law Review vol. 94 (2014): 449-544. 9 Apr 2020. <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=6536e17f-5ac0-45b9-a5a7-222a7046406b%40pdc-v-sessmgr01>.

PATTERSON, THOMAS. We The People. 13th. New York: McGraw, 2019. page 128.

Snowden, Edward. Who is Edward Snowden and what did he do? n.d. 9 Apr 2020. <https://edwardsnowden.com/frequently-asked-questions/>.

Surveillance, Reform Government. n.d. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/ >.

Whitaker, Paige L. ""Whistleblower Protection Act, an Overview."." 2007. 9 Apr 2020. <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33918.pdf>.

Wise, David. Smithsonian Magazine. Aug 2011. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leaks-and-the-law-the-story-of-thomas-drake-14796786/ >.

Requirement 600-800 words. Word Count 789 words not inc opening query, quote and biblio
POL200 Spring 2020 Mendocino College Prof. Liljeblad