SECURITY SYSTEMS AND COMPETITION: GLOBAL POLITICS

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Thank you very much. Thank you for the opportunity, and hello toVan Krikorian, I don’t see you but I assume you’re there.It is a pleasure to see you all. I was asked to speak about Americanforeign policy in general, but specifically about Russia and then Armenia.That is a more difficult task because the foreign policy of President Trumprequires explanation, especially to audiences that find it new or difficult tounderstand. Candidate Trump and then President Trump ran the foreignpolicy part of his campaign under the slogan “America First.” That sloganis both innocuous on one level. All put their country first on some level.The President of Armenia puts Armenia first, as well he should, andAmerican presidents put America first, as well they should.The question is how do we define our respective national interests?America First is a loaded phrase, of course, because it was used byAmerica’s isolationists in the late 1930s as they argued against Americaninvolvement in Europe. Under the influence of the isolationists, who usedthe slogan “America First,” my country was absent from Europe during the1930s, a period in which Hitler and Stalin created grave and lasting damageto us all. So “America First” it is a loaded phrase.