Reference News Network, March 17 report: AFP published an article titled "Trump Faces 'Unwilling Alliance' on Iran issue" on March 17. The following is a compilation of the article:

President Trump has been belittling America's allies in his first year back in power, yet now he is asking these allies to assist the United States in a war against Iran, but the allies show no enthusiasm.

From imposing tariffs, insulting, to threatening to invade Greenland, Trump has not missed any opportunity to criticize American partners in recent months. However, he now says that he expects the same allies to help reopen oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz. When they refused this request, he reacted angrily.

Philip Gordon, former National Security Advisor to Vice President Harris and current scholar at the Brookings Institution, said: "It's probably too much to ask people to risk their lives to carry out tasks, and all for a president who over the past 15 months has done nothing but insult and scold you."

Trump had warned that if allies did not step forward to help clear the strategic waterway, the entire NATO alliance would face risks. Although he insisted on the 16th that the United States "doesn't need anyone" to restore passage through the strait, he also sternly criticized: Allies from Europe to Asia owe Washington, because the United States has been providing security protection for decades.

In the capitals of various countries, people are deeply doubtful about getting involved in a war that Trump launched without consulting his allies. Trump's series of harsh remarks since returning to the White House have further increased the resistance of his allies.

Trump not only imposed tariffs on allies, but also criticized NATO members over defense spending and support for Ukraine. He belittled the contributions of allied countries, whose soldiers fought alongside the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan and made sacrifices. He even claimed that the United States won World War II alone.

Just a few weeks ago, Trump threatened to invade Greenland, prompting NATO allies to show unprecedented unity in supporting Denmark. Owen Ragenback of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University said that the United States "can't start a war without consulting its allies and then expect them to clean up the mess, that approach doesn't work."

He also said that NATO is unlikely to have the capability to launch any major military operation in the Strait of Hormuz and it is difficult to reach internal consensus on this.

Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, former President George W. Bush spent months building a so-called "voluntary coalition" of more than 40 countries to support the US action. However, Trump, the leader of the "America First" policy, failed to build any similar ally network for the war he believed would be a quick victory.

Liana Fix, from the Council on Foreign Relations, said that European countries are currently preoccupied with the situation in Ukraine and their own economic difficulties, so they have very realistic concerns about getting involved in Iranian affairs at this time.

Although the US allies still worry about angering Trump over the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, they may also choose this opportunity to take a stand: they will no longer be manipulated.

Gordon said: "If they continue to obey him, he will conclude that bullying and extortion work. What he gained in his first term was exactly this experience. Now, the consequences are finally beginning to show." (Translation by Feng Kang)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7618219012878582315/

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