[resource_waste]

>IMO the US should have never been trusted

I propose, they had never been trusted. Nations do not believe in trust. At the International Relations level, IR Realism is basically the only generally accepted policy. You may have a few Constructivists, but the smartest ones still put trust and norms below power calculations.

Its really that the average person has essentially no understanding of IR and history.

I assure you that verification methods have been happening. The amount of trust was less than the amount of verification.