Trump tweeting off 2018

It hasn't taken Trump long to start 2018 with a series of robust tweets, putting Pakistan and Iran on notice that he is watching them, and showing mild interest in Kim Jong-un's offer of talks with South Korea. In the good old diplomatic days, if the president of the United States was unhappy about something occurring somewhere in the world, he would get the Secretary of State to mutter suitable irritation or tell the US ambassador to the UN to stir up trouble in the Security Council. But Trump has relied on tweets for his foreign policy proclamations since he came into office. I have to say, with due respect to Barack Obama who warned against the overdose of social media communications during his interview with Prince Harry on BBC Radio last week, the Trump tweeting phenomenon has completely taken over the diplomacy game. One tweet about Pakistan, decrying their lack of cooperation in tackling militants on their territory, and Islamabad calls an emergency cabinet meeting. Just one tweet from Trump. Then another one about the poor people of Iran starving in the streets. Well, that was a bit over the top. Perhaps Trump was thinking about North Korea at the time. But the message was clear. The protests in the streets across Iran have got Trump's juices working overtime, and you can be sure that the mullahs in Tehran read the tweet. It's all instant stuff. It's dangerous but brilliant. It's what life is like now. Instant instant instant. Trump wanted a revolution in Washington and he's got it. No more of this namby-pamby diplomatic stuff, just say it how it is, or, rather, how Trump thinks it is. As I said, dangerous but brilliant.