In February 2017, North Korean dissident Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in a Malaysian airport. Because of the sophistication of the nerve agent used to kill Kim, it is widely believed that his half brother, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, is responsible for ordering the murder.

In March, Russian dissident Sergei Skripal, his daughter and a responding police officer were poisoned in a public park in Great Britain. All three victims barely survived. Because of the sophistication of the chemical weapon used to poison the victims, it is widely believed that Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin ordered the hit.

Earlier this month, in Turkey, a prominent Saudi Arabian dissident who had written critiques of that kingdom’s tyrant walks into the Saudi consulate and is never seen again. It is assumed that Saudi security forces murdered the dissident journalist and have hidden his body.

For eight years we listened to the nonstop drone of criticism directed at President Obama about him “leading from behind.”

Dare I ask, where is President Trump as these dictators bump off enemies in public, in American allied countries, with seeming impunity? Are they hearing the nice things President Trump has to say about them and taking that as a green light to drag the world into the dark ages?

Or are they just taking advantage of an Oval Office occupied by a dangerously underqualified game show host who is more interested in being flattered and making “deals” than preserving America’s leadership role in the world?

Jeremy Smith

Old Orchard Beach