Mr. President, I Voted for You. I Expected Results.

Mr. President,

I voted for you. I am a Republican. I am over fifty. I teach at a college in New York. I read the American and foreign press every day and I follow what is happening to our country.

More and more often I find myself asking one question: what is happening to American power?

The United States has an enormous military, an enormous economy, intelligence services, diplomacy, allies, a financial system and technology. The President of the United States has more power and resources at his disposal than almost any other elected leader in the world.

But look at the results.

The Houthis are once again threatening one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Iran has already shown how vulnerable global energy routes can be. Russia continues its war against Ukraine.

You say you want to end wars. I believe you. But I do not see the results.

And that makes me angry precisely because I voted for you. I did not vote for someone who would explain to me why everything is complicated. I voted for someone who said he knew how to solve complicated problems.

Yes, you have imposed new sanctions on Russia. Fine. But sanctions are a tool. They are not a result. The result is when the war ends.

And there is another question I keep asking:

Who is advising you?

From the outside, it increasingly looks as if there are too many people around you who know how to agree with the President and too few who are capable of telling him: “Mr. President, this is a bad idea.” “This will not work.” “Here are the facts.” “Here is another option.”

I have spent many years teaching young people one simple thing: no one can be an expert in everything.

A smart leader does not have to know everything. But he does have to surround himself with people who know more than he does in their own fields.

The best diplomat. The best military expert. The best economist. The best Russia expert. The best Iran expert. The best Middle East expert.

And then let those people disagree with him.

I do not know whether every person in your administration is the best person for the job. But I can see the results. And the results do not reassure me.

So what should you do now?

I do not think the answer begins with another loud threat.

Stop. Bring the best professionals America can find into one room. Not the most loyal. Not the most agreeable. Not the people who will tell you what you want to hear.

The best.

Republicans. Democrats. Independents. Military officers. Diplomats. Economists. Intelligence professionals. Experts on Russia, Iran and the Middle East.

Put a few simple questions in front of them.

What exactly does America want to achieve? With what means? What is the cost of each option? What happens in a month? What happens in a year? What do we do if the other side refuses to back down? And at what point should military pressure give way to negotiations?

Then choose a strategy. One strategy. And carry it through to a result.

You still have time. You still have enormous resources. You still have enormous power.

That is why I find it difficult to accept the explanation that America simply cannot do anything.

It can.

The question is how well America is using what it has.

I voted for you because I expected results. I still want to see them.

And above all, I want to see fewer wars, not more.

An American. A Republican.
College professor, New York.