American Colossus, Get Thee to Rehab: Learn to Exercise Power Wisely

With the recent one-two punch — the betrayal of the Kurds, our allies in fighting ISIS, and now the assassination of Iran’s top general, Qassim Suleimani — president Donald Trump has unequivocally established America as an international bully.

Bully, noun: one who seeks to harm, intimidate, or coerce those perceived as vulnerable; one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker or smaller (my emphases). Additionally, bullies don’t give a fig what others, allies included, think of their bullying. Taken together, this definition now fits the U.S. We are in a pantheon of bad actors we don’t really want to be in.

This is not to say Suleimani was not a bad actor himself, and a very bad one (and Republicans who call Democrats “terrorist-loving” should be ashamed). Iran is a leading sponsor of state terror and Suleimani was its chief architect, with the blood of Americans and Iran’s neighbors, including Iraq, on his hands. But to eliminate him while he was on Iraqi soil, and not consulting the Iraqis beforehand — no wonder Iraq now orders U.S. troops out. Iraq is furious at Trump for putting an ally (themselves) in the crossfire.

And earlier, the Kurds certainly deserved consulting, not the insult of betrayal. But bullies don’t care about betrayal.

Of course, Trump’s bullying was on view before this: His notorious phone call with Ukraine’s president last July, in which he asked “a favor” — dirt…