Now, let’s bring all that we have learned together about why the new world order was created and how effective it has been.
Reviving imperialism.
It was the 28th American president, Woodrow Wilson who recognized that imperialism was the mother of all wars and must be banished. He proposed a League of Nations that would agree not to recognize any change of a nation’s borders as the result of military force. Through the efforts of US presidents FDR and Truman, the UN was created. In time, 193 of the 194 nations on the planet (Vatican being the exception) would sign the UN Charter pledging this: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State…” Essentially, the 17 US presidents since Wilson, except one, have understood that military force of one nation cannot be allowed to take territory from another nation. Since WWII, the main guarantor of this pledge has been the USA. GHW Bush exemplified this by assembling the militaries of 38 nations to prevent Iraq from conquering Kuwait in the Gulf War. It was a war that was authorized by the United Nations.
And then there is the one exception, Donald Trump, who has no understanding of history, or perhaps has different motives than any of his predecessors. He has said to Russia, go conquer those US allies who don’t contribute enough to mutual defense. But even worse, much worse, he has transformed America into an imperialist nation by threatening to use military force to take the Panama Canal, Greenland, Gaza, and Canada. Within the first few months of his presidency, Donald Trump has totally undone what wise world leaders have done for the past century to prevent future world wars. I predict this will be the single greatest travesty of his presidency.
Abandoning the most effective military alliance in history at its most pivotal time.
NATO, led by the US, was created to prevent the Russian led expansion of the USSR in what became known as the Cold War. Four decades later, NATO, with 16 member nations, won with the total dissolution of the Soviet Union. Normally, military alliances dissolve when they have achieved their objective. NATO grew with 9 of the USSR’s former states or allies joining it. They all feared that Russia would one day want to conquer its neighboring nations. And they were right. Russia has used military force to effectively conquer Georgia and has taken parts of Ukraine. Understandably, nearly all members of the UN have condemned Russia for violation Article 2-4.
Russia’s aggression is exactly what NATO was designed to prevent. Two of Russia’s most formidable neighbors, the Western European nations of Sweden and Norway have joined NATO bringing its total membership to 32.
In Donald Trump’s first term, he pushed to have more NATO nations meet the threshold of 2% of GDP defense budgets. In 2017, only 4 other NATO nations did so. Today it is 22. President Trump deserves great credit for this and should take a victory lap for it. We all know that peace comes through strength. Never has NATO been stronger.
Some of the most valuable lands on the planet to Russia are the three Baltic states that control its access to the Baltic Sea. If Putin can conquer neighbors like Ukraine and Georgia, why not tiny Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia? The difference is that they are NATO members. Were Putin to invade them, it would trigger Article 5 of the NATO charter which would mean that he would be in a direct war with Superpower United States. So heretofore, it has been inconceivable that Russia would attack a NATO member.
But Donald Trump has undermined all of this. He has indicated that the US might not respond to an attack on a NATO ally. In so doing, he has single handedly undone the most effective military alliance in modern history.
Conclusion and Why?
So, in Donald Trump’s first three months in office, he has undone what over a dozen former presidents have created and built on to provide for world peace and promote freedom and democracy around the world. He has made the world much more dangerous. He has returned it to the former ages when “might makes right”. Without a doubt, thanks to Donald Trump, China can conquer Taiwan with the blessing the president of the United States.
My question is, why is he doing this? Is he just a complete fool? I have never thought of Trump as being a fool. Or, does he have some reason for wanting to totally undermine the world order that has worked so well for the United States and our allies for nearly a century? No doubt, EVERYTHING he is doing is of great benefit to Vladimir Putin, the leader of the nation that has been our arch enemy for my whole lifetime. Why is he abandoning our allies and allying with Putin? Perhaps some of his supporters can enlighten us.