The Trap is Set

For months the now president-elect has been cozy with dictators and has displayed the temperament of an adolescent. It may not seem obvious at first, but these two points are directly connected.

The external forces that supported Trump are nation’s hostile towards the United States, and all too eager to exploit the the combination of Trump’s inability to control his emotions and the fact that he has already made vague but assertive promises to use force against the nation’s enemies. The trap has been set, now it must be sprung.

Of course there must be some provocation to elicit the out-sized and poorly-planned response America’s enemies desire. The nation is already embroiled in seemingly inescapable conflict in the Middle East, a quagmire into which Americans are simultaneously terrified of falling into, yet convinced decisive action is needed to combat the Islamic State.

Euphoria for President Trump will be highest in the wake of his inauguration, the time during which all presidents begin the crucial first 100 days of their administration to lay the foundation for delivering on campaign promises. This euphoria can easily be turned into rage if ignited by the right spark. An attack on American interests, or worse, an attack on American soil, would virtually guarantee a military response. The pressure would be too great, the promise too many, for the president not to act. Imagining, among other examples, a Russian-backed terror attack to draw America into an aimless war is not a stretch of the imagination.

Another protracted struggle without achievable goals is the last thing a jarred and disjointed country needs. The social wounds of a long and toxic political campaign will not heal quickly, and will only be exacerbated by a new conflict that exposes American soldiers to enemy bullets and American citizens to each other’s vastly different opinions on how to respond to the threat of terrorism. Such a conflict would further weaken the nation economically, militarily, and socially, exactly what America’s enemies hope to do.

In the days and weeks after the inauguration, Americans, especially those in large populations centers should be extra cautious. They may be the bait that springs the trap.