In October of 2019, President Trump said, “I was elected on getting out of these ridiculous endless wars, where our great Military functions as a policing operation to the benefit of people who don’t even like the USA.” It doesn’t get any plainer than that. For decades, we’ve made the world safe for free and everybody hates us for it. Our middle class was gutted to finance European socialism and China’s manufacturing boom; some of our finest young men were sent halfway across the world to fight wars that weren’t in our national interest.
Well, like he said, President Trump was elected to put a stop to all of this nonsense. He’s delivering bigly. Eventually, our navy will stop defending global shipping lanes and we’ll no longer give the world unrestricted access to our market. The United States is done being the world’s policeman, because we don’t need the world and frankly, we’re fed up with their ingratitude. We have everything we need and the world doesn’t like us anyway, so let them protect themselves.
After all, the US is the world leader in consumption and production of natural gas.In fact, we’re on track to “become one of the world’s top gas exporters by 2020.” Just recently, the US became a net exporter of oil. We’re energy independent. We don’t need to protect the Persian Gulf or prop-up friendly dictators in oil-rich nations. On top of that, we don’t need to bribe countries to be our friends anymore. We’re the world’s destination market. Every country wants access to our huge consumer market. Many countries, like China, depend on it for survival.
Although President Trump has tried to be subtle, it’s pretty clear that his ultimate goal is to destroy the Chinese Communist Party by decoupling the US economy from the Chinese economy. It’s not just China. Through tariffs and certain trade deals, President Trump will force American companies to manufacture in the US by making it extremely expensive to export their products to the American market. Since the US is the world’s biggest consumer market, these companies will shift most or all of their production to the US to avoid costly tariffs. So-called developing nations, such as those in Southeast Asia, won’t be able to get rich off of American outsourcing and offshoring. The China model is dead. Thankfully, so is the European model.
Once the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, the United States will sign a free trade agreement with the British. The US will then begin restricting the EU’s access to our market. Additionally, the US is no longer providing free military protection through NATO. The combination of American tariffs and defense expenditures will mean European countries won’t be able to afford their welfare states. Their nationalized health care and generous pensions were only sustainable through a wealth transfer from America’s middle class. Our taxes aren’t going to pay for Europe’s defense anymore. Tariff-free access to our market, which hurt our exports and crushed our industries, is a thing of the past. The free ride is over.
Now, for some countries, it’ll make sense to pay for American protection. For example, Poland has offered the US significant dollars to open up a permanent American military base. Outside of Europe, Saudi Arabia is already paying for American troops. President Trump has also demanded that South Korea pay more, or else our troops will leave. It’s not a new era; it’s a return to a world without a global policeman. Like it was before the US took on that thankless chore, there’ll be wars of expansion. With uncertainty about the safety of shipping routes and restricted access to America’s market, many countries will be in danger of collapse. Africa and the Middle East, because of their tribalism, lack of nuclear weapons and abundance of natural resources, will become prime targets. Without question, Russia and the United Kingdom have a head start.
Due to sanctions, the Russians have already had to deal with restricted access to the American market. Russia is trying to make inroads in Africa, having already deployed its military to the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo. Russian mercenaries are operating in Syria and in Africa. The Russians have also signed agricultural agreements with Saudi Arabia and are looking to expand their influence in Central Asia.
Thanks to Brexit, the British are looking for new trade partners and supply chains. In 2018, the United Kingdom opened its first permanent military base in the Middle East since the 1970s, strategically located in Bahrain. The British have at least three warships in the Gulf to protect their interests. In 2016, Boris Johnson, now the prime minister, gave a speech titled, “Britain is back East of Suez.” The UK is going to protect its economic interests in the Middle East, which are particularly important post-Brexit.
While wars are going to become more frequent, other countries will expand influence through investment. Over the past few years, Japan has invested heavily in resource-rich Southeast Asia. The Japanese have wisely chosen to collaborate with the United States. Joining Australia, the trio is working together on mining rare earth elements and financing a liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea. For their part, the Aussies have stepped up their investment in the Pacific, including cybersecurity deals with Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and East Timor. Australia is even planning on creating a new military unit to train and help its Pacific allies.
As for the United States, there are some interesting possibilities in its neighborhood. For starters, President Trump wasn’t joking when he said that he wanted the US to buy resource-rich Greenland. Greenlandic MP Aaja Chemnitz Larsen didn’t rule out “the possibility of there being political majority in Greenland five to ten years from now for becoming part of the US instead of Denmark.” It’ll be sooner than that, because Denmark won’t be able to afford to protect Greenland in the coming era of territorial expansion. It’s very likely that Greenland becomes a US territory.
Another potential addition to the United States is the Canadian province of Alberta. On its own, Alberta is one of the largest oil producers in the world. Yet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans on imposing a federal carbon tax. This tax would decimate Alberta’s oil industry. What’s more, because of Canada’s equalization program, Alberta sends billions of dollars to the federal government and doesn’t get much in return. Under this system, Alberta literally pays Quebec’s bills. Unsurprisingly, Alberta secession is gaining traction, but it would be difficult for a landlocked oil-producing country to ship its crude. If Alberta became a US territory, that problem would be solved.
Back in December of 2018, President Trump asked, “Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever?” Clearly, that’s a rhetorical question. He added, “Time for others to finally fight.” That time is coming soon.