Well, that was a relief. It took less than a hundred days for Donald Trump to put the generals in the driving seat. Stephen Bannon, the grand architect of the impending clash of civilisations, has already been sidelined. America’s allies in Europe are audibly exhaling. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is no longer Mr Trump’s best friend. Democratic and Republican hawks alike are still showering Mr Trump with praise. Another salvo of Tomahawk missiles should cement the deal. All is now forgiven. Goodbye Mr Bannon. Welcome to Trump 2.0.
Alas, there is a flaw in this near-universal view. Mr Bannon is still around. Indeed, the White House chief strategist is the only person in the Trump administration who comes close to having a strategic brain. Jared Kushner, like his father-in-law, is a Manhattan realtor with a talent for connections. But he has no worldview. James Mattis, secretary of defence, has a shrewd military brain. But battlefield nous should not be confused with strategy. Ditto for HR McMaster, national security adviser, who joined forces with Mr Kushner to sideline Mr Bannon. Rex Tillerson, secretary of state, remains an unknown quantity. He is also bound to a see-saw. After last week’s strikes on Syria, Mr Tillerson said the Trump administration’s goal was to remove Bashar al-Assad. The week before, he said precisely the opposite. It is hard to keep up with Mr Trump.
Like him or loathe him, Mr Bannon’s perspective is consistent. It also comes closest to Mr Trump’s. Moreover, Mr Trump still needs him. The Bannon worldview is clear. The US has spent too long following the strictures of the Washington foreign policy establishment, which rarely hears of a missile strike it does not like. Mr Bannon was reportedly opposed to last week’s attack. He had his reasons. The first is that the US cannot afford to be sucked into another Middle Eastern quagmire.