Trump reveals unorthodox foreign policy views

n Monday evening Donald Trump gave what was billed as a major foreign policy address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). Scripted and read from a teleprompter, it was decidedly different in style from his standard, off-the-cuff campaign speeches.

Donald Trump told the Aipac gathering he wanted to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal

Aside from the now obligatory reference to Mr Trump's turn as grand marshal of a 2004 Salute to Israel parade in New York and a closing mention of his daughter's conversion to Judaism, however, it was a speech that could have been delivered by any of the Republican presidential candidates this year not named Rand Paul.

Mr Trump told Aipac he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

More revealing of Mr Trump's often conflicting, sometimes unorthodox and still somewhat inchoate worldview were events earlier in the day, when the Republican front-runner gave an on-the-record interview with the Washington Post editorial board.

He was pressed on his views on foreign affairs and revealed, after more than a month of delays and promises, the names of some of his foreign policy advisers (not named Donald Trump).
Here are a few of the things we learned.

Trump's team

"I hadn't thought of doing it, but if you want I can give you some of the names." The men (and they're all men) who have Mr Trump's ear on foreign policy matters are a motley collection that includes an energy industry executive, a ex-adviser to Ben Carson only seven years removed from college, a retired general, an academic with ties to Lebanese Christian militants and a former defence department official who later worked for a military contractor.

"The list of five men includes no heavyweights from any of the main schools of foreign policy thought," writes Sara Jerde in Talking Points Memo.

According to Ben Chang, a National Security Council veteran of both the Bush and Obama administrations, the list is too little, too late and amounts to nothing more than a confusing "hodgepodge".

"You can tell a person by the friends they keep, and you can tell a person's foreign policy by the advisers he or she gathers," Chang said. "I'm not sure what to make of it. It doesn't seem to be comprehensive by geography or issue.

What is lacking is some semblance of a comprehensive worldview." He said his Bush administration colleagues are firmly against Mr Trump's candidacy, which could explain a collection of names that many of veteran foreign policy hands had to Google.

Even if Mr Trump didn't want to turn to traditional "establishment" international experts, Chang added, he still had plenty of options. "There are other folks around who are outside the Washington Beltway but have the experiences and perspectives that would give more confidence," Chang said.

"The folks I've talked to who have supported a wide range of candidates in the field so far have no desire to join the Trump team because they see his rhetoric and tone as damaging.
Bottom line: If this is Mr Trump's big-splash announcement, it landed with a thud.

European security and international alliances

"Nato is costing us a fortune, and yes, we're protecting Europe, but we're spending a lot of money."
Perhaps the single biggest headline from Mr Trump's remarks at the Washington Post on Monday came from his views on European security and the role of US alliances.

He said Americans are shouldering too much of a burden among Nato nations - particularly when it comes to Ukraine. "Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in Nato, and yet we are doing all of the lifting, they're not doing anything," he said. "And I say, why is it that Germany is not dealing with Nato on Ukraine?"