Thursday (22 January), President Trump was quoted saying our allies stayed back from the front lines in Afghanistan and, “We’ve never needed them… It has to be a two-way street”.

At the same time, I happened to be attending a gathering of special forces associations recognizing joint activities in Afghanistan.  The Norwegian ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt hosted the group at her embassy.  Those present included some of the most committed people from US, Norway, UK and France.  These people have all been at the very pointy end of the spear.  You could not find a group with a greater bond.  They have deployed together and trained together.  Seal team alums have crazy stories about doing some insane freezing cold training and missions with Norwegians in the far north in winter. 

The US can do many things by itself, but many things it cannot.  We need allies.  But we are making it hard for allied leaders and their countrymen to support the US.  Why should they buy American defense equipment if we denigrate their contribution to our joint interests? Yes, our NATO partners needed to spend more. Now they are, and we still insult them?  Bear in mind, the viewpoint in capitals is different from the viewpoint of those “downrange”.     

I suspect the President, did not think through what he was saying.  If so, he should correct the record.  If not, we will find operating in the world a lot more difficult. This will be true everywhere—Asia, the Gulf, Europe, etc.  Trade and security go hand in hand and both require partners.  There are multiple actors who feel they have given much to satisfy demands of Washington and are still being denigrated. 

In business, it is difficult to put a dollar value on “goodwill”, but companies know it is worth a lot.  For America, confidence in “the full faith and credit” of our country and currency is invaluable. The position of the dollar as base currency supports our extravagant debt and gives the US the extraordinary power of sanctions.  American full faith and credit to its allies provides the security that allows global US commerce and international security.  

We need to patch up our reputation. If not, we will pay a price and our opponents will reap the profits.