But it’s becoming clear that, whatever Trump’s bluster, his “maximum pressure” efforts aren’t producing the results he says he wants — and, in some instances, are actually backfiring and complicating matters for the United States and its exasperated allies. The Trump administration sent 1,000 additional troops to the region, while some hawks in Washington called for retaliatory strikes against the Iranian navy. The situation showed “that Trump’s assumptions about maximum pressure are wrong,” tweeted Vali Nasr, an expert on U.S. foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University. Maximum pressure tactics against the Palestinians — including the closing of certain diplomatic channels and cutting of aid — has only doomed any chance of their cooperation with a Trump-led peace initiative. The “maximum pressure” campaign against Pyongyang has eased, with Kim hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Source: Washington Post June 21, 2019 04:52 UTC