I guess Carney was getting too much attention as "the Trump whisperer" for his ego to handle, so he wants to punish Canada and put Carney back in his place as he sees it.
I kind of suspected we would see something like this after seeing so much in media about Carney's success in managing the Trump relationship.
The US isn't leaving NATO. The US just got everything it wanted from NATO, and they still hold massive sway over the alliance. This was just another threat to put fear into the public and the leaders of NATO states so they would pay more money. That's Trump's main focus. He wants other people to pay for what suits the US instead of the US doing so.
It's very much all happening at Trump's behest. The idea that Trump is an actual threat to NATO is silly. Why would he push NATO countries to increase their defense spending target by 150% if he was planning on actually invading? He is very pleased with a more militarized NATO. He just used fear to motivate the public in NATO countries to open their wallets for more defense spending so the US can concentrate their resources on China. He scared and bullied NATO countries into doing what he wanted.
Trump is the one who pushed for it in the first place! It was his idea. This is all driven by the US. Trump pushed NATO to a 5% target and Hegseth pushed Europe to reindustrialize their defense industry. There's no way NATO was going to a 5% target if not for Trump. It's entirely because he wants it.
5% on defense spending is a lot. Really a lot. By the time it reaches 5% in 2035, that's going to be at least $3.5 trillion per year spent by NATO.
That's insane.
Also, how much of the infrastructure that gets built is going to be publicly owned and see revenues from their use flow back into public coffers? Are we going to drop tens of billions into infrastructure for rare earth mining only to see the mining companies reap all the benefits?
I am very, very skeptical of all this.
Tbh, my cynical read of this is that it looks a lot more like the West preparing for war under US guidance. BRICS+ has surpassed the G7 in GDP, the center of world economy is now moving to Asia, and China is about to leave the US in its dust economically. That will all happen without any need for war, just based on continued economic development under peaceful conditions. War would be the main thing that could disrupt that and military power is a main advantage the US still has over the competition. The US is already waging economic war on China, and Hegseth has been open about wanting Europe to spend more on their own defense so the US can square off against China. To me, it looks like the Western-led order with the old Western colonial powers dumping a tonne of money into military power so they can disrupt the transition of power to the emerging powers from the Global South and make a last ditch effort to hold on to the world order that's kept them on top for the last few hundred years.
Carney's response was brutal. He totally gave up on the whole international law and territorial integrity thing. Israel's foreign minister just mocked us publicly a week ago and already Carney is compromising his expressed values to take their side in an illegal attack. It's pretty pathetic. Kills my confidence in him that any of the Canadian sovereignty rhetoric is more than just that.
I can't be the only one who can't help thinking of the rumored Trump golden shower tapes every time he talks about the golden dome. It's what I imagine he's dreaming of, but on a continental scale.
My preference would be for active nonalignment in the China-US rivalry while broadening relations with other stable nations looking to similarly ride those waves.
I really, really hope we do not fall in line with the US. A window has been opened for us by Trump, but the little I've heard from Ray and Carney regarding China makes me worry we will align with the US after all in what is the world's principal rivalry.
I wonder, what would the consequences have been for Ukraine if Russia had first built an air defence system that extended across all of Ukraine's airspace? I'm sure nothing bad could have come from that for Ukraine... right?
I would like to think this is more than performative, but given the history of inaction I won't be holding my breath as a wait to see something more than threats and condemnation.
Not really sure how any US diplomat can be taken seriously in their public statements when sycophancy for a completely dishonest and untrustworthy leader is a requirement for keeping their job.
AGM @ AGM @lemmy.ca Posts 0Comments 69Joined 4 mo. ago
I guess Carney was getting too much attention as "the Trump whisperer" for his ego to handle, so he wants to punish Canada and put Carney back in his place as he sees it.
I kind of suspected we would see something like this after seeing so much in media about Carney's success in managing the Trump relationship.