Gordon L. Weil
Make America Great Again assumes that the country had a
golden past.
President Trump wants to recover it.
The world’s major powers once dominated regions and other
countries that fell within their so-called “sphere of influence.” In
those areas, the major power, its influence usually determined by the size of
its economy and its military, called the shots.
That was their golden age.
Now, Trump seems to accept the world being divided among
three great powers, each with its sphere of influence. China, Russia and the U.S. would
dominate. The American sphere would
encompass the entire Western Hemisphere, from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to
Greenland and from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
The U.S. area would be run under the newly created “Donroe
Doctrine.” President James Monroe
warned of the use of American power to prevent further European colonization of
Latin America. Trump would extend his
doctrine to allow U.S. power to be deployed throughout the hemisphere in the
pursuit of economic and military advantage.
By understanding this policy, Trump’s moves on Venezuela,
Greenland and Canada are explained. The
policy is unconstrained to the point that he can aspire to have his northern
neighbors be absorbed by the U.S. His
minions imply that the country has the power to take what it wants.
In the case of Venezuela, America soldiers were deployed into
the country, seized people and transported them to an American courtroom. In the wake of this incursion, Trump made
clear his intention to control Venezuela policy, and particularly its oil
industry.
In fact, it worked so well that President Trump believes he
has the “option” of using military force to seize Greenland, a sparsely
populated Danish territory, and make it part of the U.S. That might violate the law, but that wouldn’t
matter.
Who would enforce the law and either stop Trump or punish
him and the U.S.? Neither Venezuela nor
Denmark has the power to block him. What
about the UN or Congress?
The UN Security Council met urgently to discuss the
Venezuela situation, but no vote was taken on the American action. If there
had been a vote, the UN Charter might have provided a way to deny the U.S. its
Council vote and hence, its veto.
It took no action because China and Russia, whose
representatives spoke harshly about the U.S., don’t want an open conflict that
could flare into real war. Other Council
members are either intimidated by the U.S. or dependent on it or both.
Trump used his status as commander-in-chief of the military
to move into Venezuela. He considers his
military command gives him virtually unlimited authority to act. With Congress having ceded many of its powers
to the president, it does not employ the power of the purse. It does not claim its right to declare
war. Impeachment alone would not deter
him.
The Supreme Court has usually endorsed his expansive view of
the presidency. It would normally leave
a judgment up to Congress. And some
issues, like the kidnapping of the self-anointed president and his wife and
their special status might fall outside of the scope of the case.
Trump’s asserts national security concerns, but he lacks
evidence. In Venezuela, he repeatedly has shown that his
prime interest is oil. In Greenland, he
wants access for military bases and to minerals.
Trump’s actions are consistent with traditional American
policy. While people may find notions of
democracy and neutrality in the country’s founding documents, the U.S. has long
practiced “gunboat diplomacy” – the pursuit by force of American foreign policy
objectives relating to smaller nations, especially in this hemisphere.
His sphere of influence policy encounters opposition in
Europe, but countries there still decline to make the economic sacrifices
needed to build their own defense, and he pays little attention to them. To him, the EU is a threat to the U.S.
If there are downsides, they could come from the long-term
consequences of his actions. Trump looks
for short-term results that would ensure he gets the credit. Whatever his successes, animosity and even
enmity has grown in neighboring countries in the hemisphere. They could turn toward America’s rivals.
More desirable but less likely would be the recovery of Congress
and the restoration of institutional checks on the president. The legislative branch has abdicated its
responsibilities, putting the institution itself in jeopardy. Its integrity is threatened by members pushing
partisanship ahead of preserving Congress.
The UN’s leading members have given up on it. The UN Charter is a treaty under international
law, but is routinely ignored. It might still
be made to work instead allowing it to recede further as an irrelevant
anachronism.
But everybody keeps their heads down. That leaves Trump, violating laws and
treaties, to remake the world as he wishes.
