No Images? Click here 18 SEPTEMBERScott Morrison goes to WashingtonUS President Donald Trump is preparing to host Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for a prestigious state visit this week, with the rare honour of a formal state dinner at the White House. It's being seen as a signature foreign policy moment for Morrison’s prime ministership. The United States Studies Centre's CEO Simon Jackman notes in The Australian Financial Review this week that the Australian government has won favour in the White House. This is due, he says, to its support for the Iran situation, amends for allowing a close ally to have no ambassador for almost two years, and a "pat on the back" for leaning forward on China, lifting defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP, and for running a trade deficit with the United States. Morrison will be in the United States until September 27. He is expected to visit the United Nations, NASA headquarters, and Australian and tech entrepreneurs working in the Midwest. ![]() NEWS WRAPWill Trump and Morrison talk trade war?
![]() I didn’t think the president asked me to do anything illegal. Donald Trump's former campaign boss Corey Lewandowski ![]() ANALYSISUS foreign policy and the 2020 electionDougal Robinson Absent a new war or international crisis, foreign policy is unlikely to be a key issue in the 2020 election. However, it will play a role, and President Trump will see it as an electoral strength: he will argue that he has been successful where Obama was not. This narrative might be surprising to foreign policy professionals in Canberra, but it enjoys support from a majority of the American electorate. The progressive National Security Action group released a survey late last month that found voters had a net positive view of Trump on national security: 55 per cent approval compared to 45 per cent disapproval, far higher than President Trump’s historically low overall approval rating. During his re-campaign to ‘Keep America Great’, President Trump will argue that he has reasserted America’s military strength, forced allies to spend more on defence, that North Korea is no longer a threat, Iran is under pressure, he has been the most pro-Israel president in recent memory, withdrawn from Afghanistan and “100 per cent” defeated ISIS. Trade will also play a prominent role in his pitch for another four years: he will ask voters to give him more time to reach major trade deals with China and renegotiate other agreements to benefit American workers. Moreover, with a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives until the 2020 election, President Trump is unlikely to achieve domestic successes before the election. Many of his most notable actions in the two years leading up to November 2020 will likely be in foreign policy. The China hardening in the Democratic Party is now – and will likely continue to – embolden President Trump in his approach to Beijing up to the 2020 election and perhaps beyond. Moreover, the contours of China policy in a potential Democratic administration are becoming clear. Regardless of who wins the election, Canberra will need to prepare to be called on by the United States for a tougher approach to China. On defence spending, Democrats’ positions presage a plateau or cut to top-line spending. If nothing else, Australia must build sufficiently deep connections to the Democratic campaigns so that, if a Democrat wins, the Australian prime minister will not be relying on golfer Greg Norman to tee up a congratulatory phone call with the president-elect. Read Dougal Robinson's full report, The Frontrunners: Foreign Policy and the Democratic Party in 2020, here. DIARYThe week ahead
![]() EVENTLessons from America's longest war: The past, present and future of AfghanistanEighteen years into America's war in Afghanistan, it is important to remember that America’s goals were lofty to begin with: destroy al Qaeda, remove the Taliban from power, remake the country into a democracy. While the United States succeeded in ousting the Taliban and driving al Qaeda from the country, its efforts to fashion a self-standing Afghan political order and to prevent the resurgence of militancy and terrorism never reached a satisfying outcome. How, why, and in what ways did the Western project in Afghanistan fail? Is a durable solution to the war within reach? If so, what does the US approach to disengagement from Afghanistan imply for American strategy and force posture in the emerging great power competitions outside the region? If not, what are the options for addressing the West’s core interests in Afghanistan and the region? To better understand what these implications might be, and to discuss what the evolving policy process inside the Trump administration has been, please join us for a special conversation with Dr Colin Jackson, Chairman of the Strategic and Operational Research Department at the US Naval War College, and until recently the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia in the US Department of Defense. United States Studies Centre Senior Fellow Dr Charles Edel will moderate the discussion. DATE & TIME LOCATION COST VIDEOBiden and Castro spar over healthcare policy in the third Democratic debateManage your email preferences | Forward this email to a friend United States Studies Centre |