Michael McFaul

In the past year, President Trump has ordered airstrikes against four countries in the Middle East, two countries in Africa, and he's ousted the leader of Venezuela.

Now he's talking about further action against Iran and possibly claiming Greenland.

Michael McFaul is a former U.S.

ambassador to Russia.

Are these military interventions...

enhancing our security and our prosperity and our values.

And in my estimation, they are not.

So far, Trump has relied on airstrikes that can be launched and halted on short notice.

He remains reluctant to send ground troops on open-ended missions.

But these frequent operations are putting both U.S.

friends and foes on edge.

Greg Myhre, NPR News, Washington.

Glad to be here, Rachel.

Glad to be here, Rachel.

Tragically, I see it that way. And you just presented a lot of evidence to support that hypothesis before the commercial break. And I just, this is such a sad day for me personally, as somebody who cares about democracy and vice autocracies. And I know American history, we haven't been perfect.

Tragically, I see it that way. And you just presented a lot of evidence to support that hypothesis before the commercial break. And I just, this is such a sad day for me personally, as somebody who cares about democracy and vice autocracies. And I know American history, we haven't been perfect.

We haven't always been on the side of the Democrats, but we have a long standing tradition of standing up to autocrats. Think about it. All of our enemies throughout all of our history have been dictatorships. Our most enduring allies, our strongest allies have always been democracies. And today, our president, wants to switch sides in the struggle between autocrats and Democrats.

We haven't always been on the side of the Democrats, but we have a long standing tradition of standing up to autocrats. Think about it. All of our enemies throughout all of our history have been dictatorships. Our most enduring allies, our strongest allies have always been democracies. And today, our president, wants to switch sides in the struggle between autocrats and Democrats.

He doesn't want to be the leader of the free world. He wants to join the autocratic club. And I just think it's sad on a kind of ethical and moral level. But I also think this does not serve American national security interests. If he goes down this path, we will be isolated from our allies in Europe, from our allies in Asia. The rest of the world will hedge their bets and we will be alone.

He doesn't want to be the leader of the free world. He wants to join the autocratic club. And I just think it's sad on a kind of ethical and moral level. But I also think this does not serve American national security interests. If he goes down this path, we will be isolated from our allies in Europe, from our allies in Asia. The rest of the world will hedge their bets and we will be alone.