OPINION

About that speech ...

When Donald Trump ran for president, he criticized the interventionist policies of his Republican and Democratic predecessors, sparking fears that he would usher in a new era of American isolationism. But at the UN this week Trump laid out a clear conservative vision for vigorous American global leadership based on the principle of state sovereignty.

Judging from their hysterical reaction, critics on the left now seem to fear he's the second coming of George W. Bush. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called his address "bombastic." Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said it represented an "abdication of values." And Hillary Clinton said it was "very dark" and "dangerous." This is all the standard liberal critique of conservative internationalism. The left said much the same about Ronald Reagan.

In New York, Trump called on responsible nation-states to join the United States in taking on what he called the "scourge" of "a small group of rogue regimes that . . . respect neither their own citizens nor the sovereign rights of their countries." This mission can be accomplished, Trump said, only if we recognize that "the nation-state remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition."

He is right. Communism and fascism were not defeated by the United Nations, and global institutions did not fuel the dramatic expansion of human freedom and prosperity in the past quarter-century since the collapse of the Soviet Union. What has inspired and enabled the spread of peace, democracy and individual liberty was the principled projection of power by the world's democratic countries, led by the United States.

Trump then used this theme of sovereignty to challenge the United States' two greatest geopolitical adversaries, China and Russia, insisting that "we must reject threats to sovereignty from the Ukraine to the South China Sea."

The president also had a blunt message for North Korea. He dismissed its leader, Kim Jong Un, as "Rocket Man" and said Kim "is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime." He made clear that "the United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea." This message rattled some, and that was its intent. During the Cold War, Soviet leaders truly believed that Reagan was preparing for war and might actually launch a first strike. This belief is one of the reasons that a cataclysmic war never took place.

If we hope to avoid war with North Korea today, the regime in Pyongyang must be made to believe and understand that Trump is in fact, as he said at the UN, "ready, willing and able" to take military action.

And his best moment came when he turned to what he called the "socialist dictatorship" of Nicolas Maduro, declaring that "the problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented." Trump promised to help the Venezuelan people "regain their freedom, recover their country and restore their democracy."

This is classic conservative internationalism: a vigorous defense of freedom, a bold challenge to dangerous dictators and a commitment to the principle of peace through strength. No wonder Trump's critics on the left are so upset.

Editorial on 09/21/2017

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