Column: Trump’s foreign policy is incoherent. But it could be worse

After a full month of President Trump’s leadership, we can see his foreign policy more clearly now: It’s clearly incoherent. Trump said he might lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine; pay no attention, Pence said last week: “The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable.” Trump has dismissed the NATO alliance as “obsolete” and suggested it’s no longer worth fighting for. Not really, Pence assured the allies: “The United States is expressing strong support for NATO.” About Iraq, Trump said last month: “We should have kept the oil — but OK, maybe we’ll have another chance.” Belay that, said Defense Secretary James N. Mattis: “We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil.” And on China, Trump announced that he wasn’t wedded to the “One China” policy that effectively recognizes Beijing’s ownership of Taiwan. Last week, Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the wise men of American statecraft, urged Trump to end the chaos by giving a speech laying out “a Trump doctrine — any doctrine.” What the world needs, Brzezinski wrote, is “a bold statement of vision, including his determination to provide America’s leadership” and “a sense of historical direction.” I disagree. That would be sound advice for a conventional president — but not Trump, who shouldn’t really be encouraged to make more “bold statements.” If you ask Trump to codify a doctrine, he’s likely to fall back on his speechwriting team from the campaign — that’s Bannon and Miller — and reissue talking points from 2016.