Asharq Al-Awsat, London, March 7
There’s something suspicious behind the White Home’s latest demand to annex Canada and Greenland.
Canada, the nation geographically and politically closest to the USA, now has Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accusing President Donald Trump of trying to destroy his nation’s financial system as a way to take it over. In the meantime, Denmark has rejected Trump’s curiosity in buying Greenland, saying it is not going to give in.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the meantime, finds himself caught within the Oval Workplace, negotiating what Ukraine should sacrifice or retain in its ongoing battle with Russia.
Easy explanations counsel that Trump is a showman, hungry for consideration, or searching for to distract Individuals with international points whereas he dismantles the federal authorities from inside. However this clarification doesn’t maintain up.
A more in-depth examination of Trump’s actions suggests he could also be pursuing a grand undertaking that displays his marketing campaign promise to “Make America Nice Once more.” This slogan, emblazoned on partitions, T-shirts, and banners throughout his election, is greater than only a catchy phrase.
I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories, which I imagine are merely a lazy means of explaining what folks fail to grasp in regards to the world. It appears to me that Trump has a far-reaching plan, one which aligns along with his ambition to grow to be the best president in American historical past—akin to George Washington, throughout whose presidency the USA was based, the South was annexed to it, and it grew to become the nice nation we all know at this time.
Trump has made no secret of his need to annex or unite with Canada and Greenland. However what would that imply, had been it to occur?
Take a look at the map. Canada is barely bigger than the USA, measuring round 10 million sq. kilometers, whereas Greenland, the world’s largest island, spans greater than 2 million sq. kilometers. Combining the territories of each would double the scale of the USA, rising its whole space to about 22 million sq. kilometers, making it bigger than Russia and twice the scale of China.
However this isn’t merely about bragging rights. Merging these three intently related nations would give the US a major geopolitical benefit and enhance its financial energy.
In fact, it’s unlikely Trump would try to seize Canada or Greenland by drive, for a lot of causes, not the least of which is that within the American system, it’s Congress—not the president—that declares battle.
Trump has by no means acknowledged, neither is he prone to state, an intention to make use of army drive, although he has proven a eager sense of Machiavellian technique. He has repeatedly prompt he could be keen to purchase Greenland and even try to persuade its inhabitants to vote for independence from Denmark.
Canada, nevertheless, stays the final word prize. Trump has already made overtures to Trudeau, even addressing the Canadian folks on to name for unity, however to no avail.
Now, Trudeau accuses Trump of elevating tariffs on Canadian imports as a deliberate try to weaken the Canadian financial system in preparation for a future annexation. This will likely maintain some fact, nevertheless it may be a authorized annexation, following a constitutional referendum.
Let’s not neglect that Canada depends closely on its neighbor’s market: about 75% of its exports go to the US, and practically 1 / 4 of its nationwide revenue comes from it.
What about Trump’s European allies, whom he has alienated with unprecedented tariffs, pushing their economies towards recession and sparking inner political unrest? Trump argues that his tariffs deal with them the identical as different buying and selling companions. And whereas many could oppose his expansionist initiatives and his nearer ties with Russia, there may be additionally a component of commerce negotiation at play right here.
The ultimate impediment lies in opposition from Russia and China. Any thought of growth or unification by mutual consent could be seen as a direct menace by each nations.
Even when an settlement had been reached for the annexation of Canada and Greenland, it wouldn’t be sufficient to pacify Russia and China, particularly given the continuing needs of Jap European nations like Ukraine, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to hitch NATO and the European Union—nations which have but to be admitted to keep away from angering Russia.
Due to this fact, pleasant growth would require geopolitical compromises to stop these powers from making aggressive strikes of their very own, probably igniting large-scale battle.
This, nevertheless, is merely a speculation. I imagine Trump, or his advisers, could also be working on a method they’ve dubbed “pleasant geographic growth,” which might require a collection of worldwide geopolitical agreements.
A possible understanding with Russia, which borders Greenland, might assist justify Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and probably result in an settlement on the roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory that Russia has seized.
Such an answer might finish the battle in Ukraine, scale back losses, and appease Moscow, thereby paving the best way for the subsequent steps in America’s pleasant growth.
Some will little question oppose this plan, because it mirrors the expansionist concepts of colonial powers, a notion that might revive fears of imperialism.
Traditionally, the US was itself a colony, and it was the one to oppose colonialism on this planet.
President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Factors, which referred to as for the top of colonialism, had been largely realized after World Battle II, with Washington making use of strain on its allies, equivalent to Britain and France, to relinquish their colonies, together with within the Arab world.
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)