by Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- With U.S. President Donald Trump's recent sacking of several key administration officials, experts are asking whether this will result in a more hawkish U.S. foreign policy.
"We are likely to see an unfiltered Trump going forward," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.
"The risk of this approach is his policy likely will become more hawkish and confrontational," West said. "There likely will be an increase in global conflict and fewer calm voices sitting around the table."
Trump has recently sacked a number of top officials, including former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Experts said Trump aims to create an administration where everyone is on the same page.
And with Trump's confrontational stance on issues such as the Korean Peninsula and Iran, analysts say this will lift the shackles off Trump and allow him to behave more "Trump-like."
West said several of the individuals who have been let go tried to keep Trump from being himself and wanted to restrain his deeper impulses. Trump chafed under that approach and is bringing in people who agree with his hardline and confrontational manner. The new staff is not likely to restrain Trump, but rather enable him.
Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua that "from the campaign and his first year in the White House, we know Trump at least likes to talk about using military force. If all of his advisers on foreign policy think the same way, or start talking the same way to stay in Trump's good graces, then, yes, that likely means a hawkish turn for U.S. foreign policy."
Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that the recent decisions to fire top officials come from two factors: first, Trump is feeling more comfortable in managing his own presidency, and second, he wants to pursue policies that are more hardline to satisfy both his own policy priorities and energize the Trump base heading into election season.
This means a greater outlet for hawkish voices on Iran, the DPRK, trade issues, immigration, and other key policy areas, Mahaffee argued.
"On foreign policy specifically, I see a greater emphasis on the Iran deal -- either significant changes or the U.S. walking away from the deal," he said of the controversial Iran nuclear deal.
Other analysts argued that Trump is not particularly well-versed in foreign policy issues.
"Trump is not someone who came to office with a lot of background in foreign affairs and foreign policy except to the extent that it related to his business ventures," Galdieri said. "That means he doesn't have a lot of independent knowledge to use when it comes time to evaluating different options or proposals about international relations."
It's quite possible that Trump's decisions will reflect those of whomever spoke to him most recently on any given issue," Galdieri added.
