In the midst of all the steady stream of news focusing on the words and actions of President Trump, we noticed that the first foreign visit by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will be to Panama, and not to key US allies as it is usually done. I wonder if he will be wearing a Panama Hat!
Rubio’s visit shouldn’t be a surprise, for President Trump has publicly stated that Panama should return the Panama Canal to the United States, and that he would not rule out using military force to reclaim it. Why? Approximately 40% of US container traffic passes through the waterway, and more than two-thirds of the ships transiting the canal are either coming or going to American ports. There is a growing fear of too much Chinese influence, for China now controls two of Panama’s five principal zone ports adjacent to the Panama Canal. In addition, control of the canal would help Trump achieve his goal of slowing the flow of migrants from South American into Central and North America.
Panama isn’t the only country that Trump has eyes upon. He wants to make Greenland a US territory, and he has refused to rule out using military force to do it. His stated goal is to bolster national security in the Artic region, where both Russia and China are making significant investments. As with Panama, there is a definite commercial interest. Greenland is rich in mineral deposits, including rare earth elements, copper, graphite, nickel and zinc.
The President’s strident rhetoric has no doubt alarmed many Americans with his threatened use of force, but people should remember that this is not a new idea. The territory of the United States has grown both through purchase (Alaska, Louisiana Purchase) and through war and conquest (Spanish American War, Mexican War and Indian Wars).
In addition, the United States has a long history of using military force to defend against both perceived and real threats from powerful enemy countries. During World War II, the United States invoked the Monroe Doctrine and occupied Greenland to prevent Hitler from using it during the war, and it made a secret offer to buy Greenland from Denmark following World War II. President Kennedy ordered a military blockade of Cuba when Russia installed offensive missiles 90 miles from our border. President Bush invaded Iraq to protect against non-existent “weapons of mass destruction.” President Obama bombed Libya and helped rebels assassinate its President, Muammar Gaddafi. (Does anyone know why he was perceived as a threat to our country?)
The United States is not the only country who has acted militarily to protect its borders from other countries. As we pointed out in our last article, The More They Stay the Same, Turkey is occupying parts of Syria to protect against the Kurds, and Israel now occupies all of Gaza and parts of Syria and Lebanon to protect its citizens from attack from Iran and its proxies. There is also serious talk both in the United States and Israel about the need for a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In another part of the world, Putin and his generals are very familiar with Russian history. They surely remember that both France and Germany invaded its country within the last two hundred years. Not all that long ago, Russia occupied most of Eastern Europe, which served as a buffer to the Russian homeland against its perceived enemy of the NATO military force. That buffer is now gone, and the military forces of the NATO countries now are perched on Russia’s border. In this context, it is not surprising that Russians were none too happy when the Russian-friendly, elected president of Ukraine was deposed and replaced by now President Zelenskyy, who wants to join NATO. If you add this perceived threat and the commercial value of Ukraine’s rich mineral deposits, it’s not too surprising that Russia invaded Ukraine.
Our larger point here is that boundaries of countries all over the world have been drawn and redrawn many times over, as invading armies have conquered large swarths of land, killing many of the people living there. The Polish people surely remember that its county disappeared when German and Russian armies invaded and carved up its territory, so it is not surprising that it is leading European countries in military spending to help defend itself against the threat of Russian invasion. China is no different than anyone else. They do not want a U.S. military backed Taiwan packed with offensive weapons 90 miles from its border any more than the United States wanted a Russian Military backed Cuba armed with missiles 90 miles from our shores.
We think President Trump’s election marks a dramatic turning point in foreign affairs for the United States. I think our new President realizes that we can no longer afford to spend “whatever it takes” all over the world, as Biden famously proclaimed for the Ukraine, because the growing fiscal debt of the United States precludes spending like we are used to doing. The President is correct in that our allies need to spend more, and in saying that they can no longer just depend upon on us to defend them against real military threats. Our defense spending will and must grow, but at the same time we must recognize that our enemies have real “spheres of influence” that they are increasingly willing to defend. We need to be realistic and be willing to talk and negotiate with our enemies to find common ground.
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