Quote from: Hydrogen on August 21, 2018, 08:36:00 AM

There are many variables and they don't all align. People don't necessarily do what they say they will. We often see those in office consistently doing the opposite of their remarks and not following through on promises.

Here is the difficulty in understanding these kinds of conflicts while we are in the midst of them. What exactly does each side want? Too much confusion because we are getting mixed signals, especially coming from the US.

The problem with US foreign policy is it has many faces, depending on which level you look at. The political system is too dynamic to have one main leader. It's natural to assume the president is responsible for everything and Trump can be blamed for everything, but that just isn't the case in America anymore. There's a lot of powerful interest groups operating behind the scenes in the form of government agencies, corporations, lobby groups, etc. We can never know the motives until after the smoke clears.