There are still those who argue that President Trump’s aggressive, impulsive and inconsistent foreign policy is radical and disruptive, and because of this delivers results. The jury remains out on that. But there is one aspect of international affairs in which Trump is at a marked disadvantage.

This is an expression of anger, not a policy

This is an expression of anger, not a policy

The President is often governed by impulse, satisfying his instinct of the moment. That has been underlined by a leaked email from the Department of Defense, setting out a list of potential punishments for countries which so far have failed to support Trump’s military action against Iran, Operation Epic Fury.

The lack of cooperation has enraged the President, who bears grudges and is sensitive to perceived slights. Because he thinks he has been let down, he wants to exact punishment. The United Kingdom is one of the more prominent malefactors identified: the President is particularly furious that Sir Keir Starmer initially refused a request to use facilities at Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

The former has been a lynchpin of American operations in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean; the latter, home to the 501st Combat Support Wing........

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