By all means, build a wall on the border, but don't make
It was a great -- and by great I mean effective, not noble or heroic-- applause line from then-candidate Trump on the campaign trail. Audiences loved it, particularly the call-and-response. Trump: "Who's going to pay for it?" The crowd: "
But the campaign is over and so is fun time. If the wall is worth having, it's worth paying for.
On Thursday morning, Mexican President
Nieto was willing to go ahead with the meeting, despite the fact Trump had signed an executive order commencing work on a wall. But then in an interview Trump said that if Nieto wasn't willing to commit
The Greek historian Thucydides argued that countries go to war for three reasons: honor, fear and interest. He put honor first, and yet that is probably the least appreciated aspect of foreign policy today. Historian
"On countless occasions," he continues, "states have acted to defend or foster a collection of beliefs and feelings that ran counter to their practical interests and have placed their security at risk, persisting in their course even when the costs were high and the danger was evident."
Americans instinctively understand this when our own honor is at stake. The rallying cry during the Barbary Wars, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," has almost become part of the national creed. I am no fan of
Both the first and second world wars cannot be properly understood without taking the role national honor plays in foreign affairs. Similarly, Vladimir Putin's constant testing of the West only makes sense when you take into account the despot's core conviction that the fall of the
Now, I don't think a war with
Across
No wonder virtually every sector of Mexican society sees the demand as an "announcement of a humiliation," in the words of Mexican political analyst
President Trump insists that he wants a good relationship with
That's the case Trump wanted to make at his presidential meeting. And, again, he might be right. But nations don't just act on their interests; they act on their honor. And shouting "You'll pay!" is a surefire way of guaranteeing no one will hear anything else.
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Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and editor-at-large of National Review Online.