“…The United States itself is the chief funder of global terror, and the chief perpetrator of global terror; from Libya to Iraq to Haiti to Honduras to Venezuela, the US has carried out illegal covert activities,” John Steppling, who resides in Norway, said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.

“Trump isn’t really unpredictable. I mean yes he is a vulgar and unpleasant and uneducated man, but it seems he is now falling in line exactly with foreign policy as Obama executed it. And this should be no surprise,” he noted.

Steppling is a well-known author, playwright and an original founding member of the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival, a two-time NEA recipient, Rockefeller Fellow in theater, and PEN-West winner for playwriting. He has produced plays in LA, NYC, SF, Louisville, and at universities across the US, as well in Warsaw, Lodz, Paris, London and Krakow. He is also a commentator for a number of media outlets around the world.

Following is the full text of the interview:

Tasnim: As you know, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that imposes a 90-day entry ban for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia, blocks refugees from Syria indefinitely, and suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days. What is your take on the move? Do you believe that the decision can be reversed? Kindly explain.

Steppling: The travel ban feels like Trump trolling the US public. It’s a performance of a sort. A stunt. And honestly, it’s a bit absurd that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia isn’t on that list. So it’s partly Trump throwing fresh meat to a certain part of his base, and second, he or his people had to know the Federal court would issue a stay. But remember Obama did this too and nobody cared. Eventually, they have to lift the ban. It’s just not enforceable, nor is it really practical. But the ban achieved one thing, it created these protests where people demanded the already draconian status quo of Obama.

Tasnim: President Trump has excluded Saudi Arabia and certain Persian Gulf states in his order. Back in July 2016, the US government released 28 pages of a congressional report on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which show the Saudi government may have had a hand in the attacks. “While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government…there is information, primarily from FBI sources, that at least two of those individuals were alleged by some to be Saudi intelligence officers,” reads part of the report. What do you think?

Steppling: First off, I can’t exactly put much stock in any congressional report, whether on terror attacks or beekeeping or shoe safety. I mean why would anyone trust any congressional report? But second, one must really remember that the United States itself is the chief funder of global terror, and the chief perpetrator of global terror. From Libya to Iraq to Haiti to Honduras to Venezuela, the US has carried out illegal covert activities and in the case of the former Yugoslavia, it simply launched a totally illegal attack on a nation as a test case for expanding the role of NATO. And it worked. Milosevic died in custody, as US enemies tend to do. Speaking of which 5 Russian diplomats have died recently. Coincidence? The US via the CIA has funded proxy terrorists and militants in Syria and throughout the Middle East. Israel both carries out slow motion genocide in Gaza as well Mossad and its various false flag operations throughout the world. So to worry about KSA becomes silly at a certain point. The US has almost 900 military bases around the world. Why? For what purpose? It is helping carry out a vicious proxy campaign in Ukraine, and went after Assad for a bunch of unproven crimes. And by the way, Milosevic was acquitted, not that it matters since he was probably acquitted because it allowed for Karadic being convicted. The Hague is mostly a US propaganda court. And this is the thing, look at the appointment of Tzipi Livni at the UN. This is almost as absurd as KSA heading up the council on human rights. So these so-called western funded and western located international organizations are nothing but extensions of US policy. Livni is an avowed racist and repugnant thuggish Likud occupier and yet the western media is silent.

Tasnim: It is no secret to anyone that President Trump is unpredictable. His stance on global trade, the Paris climate deal, and the Iran nuclear deal threaten to unpick key elements of global governance. His back-and-forth on NATO is deeply worrying for the future of European security. And his travel ban has sown chaos, undermining the international management of the refugee crisis and fanning the flames of extremism. What do you think? Do you believe that Trump is destabilizing Europe? With Trump in the White House issuing erratic executive orders, do you believe Europe will remain “whole, free and at peace”? Please explain.

Steppling: Trump isn’t really unpredictable. I mean yes he is a vulgar and unpleasant and uneducated man, but it seems he is now falling in line exactly with foreign policy as Obama executed it. And this should be no surprise. Flynn was gotten rid of so McMaster, a war-loving zealot, could take his place. Handpicked by, I have to believe, the CIA and Pentagon. Now Hillary was meant to be president. Somewhere along the line she lost support. Trump is inept as a bureaucrat but finally the same advisors that would have been there for Hillary are in place for Trump. And who knows what things are going on behind the scenes that allowed trump to be elected.

Tasnim: Some US and European officials have been trading barbs in the past months over Trump’s remarks. The recently inaugurated president has not been shy about sharing his views about the world, in general, and Europe, in particular. In numerous occasions before and after his campaign, he described NATO as “obsolete,” called the EU “basically a vehicle for Germany,” and said other countries would follow the UK's lead and leave the bloc. In a recent security conference in Munich, US officials attempted to give assurances to Europeans that their ties with them will remain unchanged. Why is the 28-member bloc worried about Trump and his policies? Kindly explain your idea.

Steppling: The rise of the far right in Europe feels to me like US psy ops. Nobody benefits more from instability in Europe than NATO and the US. It proves that NATO is needed. There is a crisis ...so they say, of immigrants .... they are storming the gates of civilization. Yet really the numbers are comparatively small, and all come from displacement by US wars. But like the travel ban, it creates this narrative. Oh the working class is all fascist. And even many on the left buy into this. Or Brexit is the rise of skin head society. And yes some voted for racial purity but most voted because they are tired of austerity and the stripping away of the social welfare net. This goes back to Thatcher, but the point is that Europe and these new far right parties are only successful because of corporate media sensationalizing certain stories. It divides and conquers. The media, from Hollywood to corporate news has been normalizing fascism in entertainment and in how the news is reported. The bourgeoisie demands action to fight Trump and his fascism ...as if fascism wasn’t being put in place back with Bill Clinton on through Bush and Obama. I mean why are liberals not protesting war_? Why are they not demanding the US stop provoking Russia and China. Why do they not fear thermonuclear war? Instead, the US protestors care about transgender bathrooms. Or women's rights, and those both matter, actually, but they won’t matter when the planet is reduced to cinder. The US continues to clamor for war with Russia. It's utter insanity and madness. Putin is, I think, extremely worried. He wants to placate where he can but the zealots in the US ...in the military and in all those various think tanks and NGOs, these people are nihilists ...or just mentally ill. But protests should all be antiwar before anything else. IF war stops then violence against women is reduced and one can start to work on specific things to gain gender equality. But the US public is so conditioned about war and so receptive to the latest villain (Putin, right now) that they actually seem to desire planetary annihilation. But to speak of NATO specifically, there is no threat to Europe. Russia is not a threat. So threats must be found. One way to do this is to keep hammering on the evil Russia theme and the second is to find a Plan B villain. Turkey might be a candidate, or maybe its further east in central Asia, or even China. North Korea is always a fall back villain for the propagandists at the state department. But the truth here is the US is twisting arms for increased defense spending and to help create the platform to war with Russia, that is if Plan A is resumed. But it’s shocking that these fascist parties are given legitimacy because of how the story is manufactured. Romania, Slovakia, Austria, Sweden, Poland, and etc. These are people who openly ask for fascism. They applaud a Breivik and the media writes the story of this in terms that really, actually, justify these parties. That somehow this is the normal reaction of white civilization to the barbarians beyond the gate. Hollywood manufactures endless films and TV shows about the goodness of cops and the heroism of American military action. ENDLESS!!!!! They even glorify obvious false flag operations like the Boston Marathon attack and Muslims are simply either terrorists, or they are compliant bootlicking servants to white civilization (sic). So, I don’t think NATO is so worried about Trump except that they don’t want to spend more money on defense, money they don’t have. But they know they will do, finally, what they are told. If not, they risk the wrath of Empire and look at Gaddafi or Saddam or a dozen others. Do as you are told or the US will drone you, bomb you, poison you and then gut your economy with sanctions. So the rise of far-right parties was the product of narratives that stigmatized Muslims, and erased any class-based analysis at the same time. The coverage of immigration is itself always racist even when it is telling you it hates racism.