– Elena Karaeva, RIA Novosti –
The newly elected American president has outlined his geopolitical preferences. These choices are designed to avoid any subsequent “allergies” or indigestion — and, most importantly, without harming his electoral ratings.
For an appetizer, he has requested Canada. As a main course, Greenland is on the menu, and Trump intends to finish the meal with Panama as dessert.
Dining on countries with which the USA supposedly allies or even claims to be friends is a new style of Washington diplomacy. Those who had hoped to stay safe under its military, nuclear or financial umbrella would do well to adapt to this approach quickly.
Trump, in his usual sweeping and, most importantly, clear manner, announced — right as his voters were finishing off the bones of their Christmas turkey — that he aims to acquire three major territories for American needs, the American homeland and every American family. The “grocery list” includes two countries and one very large island, considered a region.
The governments of these countries immediately began flapping their wings, supposedly to declare that they would “never, under any circumstances, for any price” give up or sell anything. And this is where things get interesting.
The Panamanians know very well that their territory hosts a massive number of U.S. military installations. These include an army diver training centre, an army rescue training centre and the headquarters of the Coast Guard of their large northern neighbour. Not to mention units of the National Security Agency, personnel overseeing the military radar system and other surveillance equipment. For all this, Panama receives substantial compensation — more than half a billion dollars annually (out of a GDP of $84 billion), not including tax payments of roughly the same amount. In essence, Panama has already been bought by the U.S. Trump, if and when he decides to formally complete the takeover, won’t even have to make much effort: the deal is already sealed.
The Danes, as soon as they caught wind of how their own NATO ally plans to swallow them whole without so much as choking, struck the pose of offended innocence, declaring: “We will never be yours.” This was their reaction to Trump’s desire to carve off Greenland from Denmark — for money. Yet, who better than the Danes knows full well that the Americans are already present in Greenland? And just as heavily and actively as in Panama. The U.S. operates the powerful Pituffik Air Base on the island.
The base hosts the U.S. Space Force with launchpads for both missiles and rockets, near-polar airfields for several squadrons, and the same radar installations and related infrastructure. And so on and so forth. This grand display of militarism and expansionism in Greenland began as far back as 1951. Is there any chance that the Danes were unaware — or remain unaware — of such extensive American military activity? Of course not. Therefore, their cries of “we will never be yours” are pure hypocrisy. Lies. Falsehoods.
As for Canada — despite being America’s close friend, as social media often phrases it, “it’s complicated.” Or, rather, more nuanced. Trump holds Trudeau in contempt, often mocking the carefree reputation of the current Canadian Prime Minister’s mother. She was known for her wild partying with the most famous men of her time, from members of The Rolling Stones to Fidel Castro. Trump humiliates Trudeau politically, imposing punitive tariffs on Canadian steel, for instance. Revamping his neighbour’s economy while threatening to dismantle its key export sectors? All it takes is a decision — one that falls within the prerogatives of the occupant of the White House. And Canada wouldn’t even need to be bought with worthless green paper. It would willingly want to join America.
Let us not forget that the U.S. has ample experience in purchasing territories that have had the “good fortune” to catch its eye. Louisiana was bought from France, the Virgin Islands from the Netherlands and Alaska from us. Always with a hefty purse, but always — and this is worth keeping in mind — with massive profit for itself.
Whether America ends up buying Greenland, Panama or any other such territories is, ultimately, not our concern. Their interests are their problems.
However, once stocked up on those territories, Americans, having developed a taste for acquisitions, will begin to purchase whatever else they can physically buy in Ukraine. Subsoil resources, farmland and natural assets. This mechanism operates in only one way — and no other.
There are enough specific and convincing options for our behaviour to prevent this. We must remember that strength and mechanisms to restrain Americans cannot, when dealing with geopolitical predators, serve as a guaranteed deterrent from them salivating over our lands.
Only sovereignty is reliable and valuable — sovereignty that not only defends itself but also creates situations in which the very thought of such schemes cannot even arise.
As for Panama, Greenland and Canada, we can only wish them luck in becoming the 51st, 52nd and 53rd American states. Legally, that is. In practice, they have long been viewed by Washington as absolute vassals with not the slightest claim to independence.
(Translated by NEPH from the Russian original)