The so-called President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, now starts to face his first real foreign crises. Unfortunately, however, Donald Trump has exposed himself to the world as a buffoon, an imbecile, ignorant, insecure...

The world is watching him, his every move; it is weighing his silly outbursts and statements on Twitter. He is aware that there are some dangerous men in this world scheming and planning to put spokes in the wheels (Putin, Erdogan, butcher Assad, Kim Jong-un) and who see killing as a means of maintaining and exerting power. They see in Donald Trump a novice who knows absolutely nothing, and they will surely test his resolve.

In his ignorance, Trump depends on China to exert influence on North Korea that it might be reluctant, or not have the capacity, to do. In a recent interview with the influential New York Times, Trump was quoted as saying: "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will do whatever it takes to bring Kim Jong-un down!"

The Syrian and North Korean problems are too complex to handle and cannot be solved without a coherent plan, or by giving inappropriate statements of bluster, bungling and bosh. Such ignorance in these serious situations could haphazardly plunge the United States of America - and indeed the world - into an armed conflict which we can do without!

Jos Edmond Zarb

Birkirkara