Trump’s Mindset- American Empire

Instead of Trump convincing Vladmir Putin to stop thinking like a 19th century imperialist trying to extend the Russian empire, it appears that Putin has transformed Trump’s mindset. It is Trump who is now thinking like an imperialist, wanting America to obtain new territories. Some of Trump’s pronouncements are truly bizarre. He has spoken of America needing to take over Greenland for its own and America’s protection. Greenland is a self-governing, autonomous territory of Denmark, considered part of North America. It is the world’s largest island covered mainly by glaciers, tundra and permafrost with a population of under 60,000. The Greenland ice sheet covers more than four/fifths of the territory. The ice sheet is about one to two miles in thickness, with climate change causing a good deal of melting. Greenland is known to be rich in many minerals including rare earths, but the ice sheet makes mining difficult. During World War II when the Germans occupied Denmark, the U.S. took over Greenland, then returned it to Denmark after the war. An air base was built at Thule in Greenland in the 1950s and 60s with early warning systems for missiles which have been upgraded continuously. Trump has suggested that Denmark sell Greenland to America which the Danes have rejected. The Greenland population has shown no interest in becoming part of the U.S.

Trump has also suggested that the U.S. take back the Panama Canal from the government of Panama. In the early part of the 20th century, the United States paid the government of Panama $10 million for permission to build the canal which took about 10 years. It opened in 2014 connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and cutting travel time for ships to get from Europe to America’s West Coast and the islands in the Pacific. It is one of the most strategic waterways in the world. In 1977, Jimmy Carter arranged for the canal to be gradually transferred back to the government of Panama. This was finalized in 1999. Expansion of the canal for larger ships was started in 2007 and completed in 2016. Trump is concerned that the Chinese will negotiate with the Panamanians to take over the canal the way they have taken over ports all over the Third World when loans could not be paid back. Having the Chinese in control of the canal would be a threat to our national security. However, arrangements could be made with Panama’s government to keep the Chinese out without our taking control of the canal which would outrage the world and especially Latin America.

The third land grab Trump is speaking about is making Canada part of the United States. In fact, he has been calling Canada the 51st state. Neither the Canadian government nor the population of Canada want to be part of the U.S. Surveys taken of Canadians have a bit more than 10 percent wanting to join the United States. Obviously, Trump could not accomplish this by military means and it’s not even clear whether he might be joking about the idea.

Trump has said that he wants to keep America out of foreign wars but said nothing about foreign debacles. How did Trump get this imperialistic mindset?

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Posted at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: American empire, Canada, Donald Trump, Greenland, imperialist, Panama Canal

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