USA vs Canada: allies in war and enemies when it comes to trade? How does this work?

 

Twice, when Donald Trump campaigned the motto was "Make America great again.". The obvious questions should have been how and at what cost?

On the one hand, President Trump stated that he wanted NATO countries to pay more for their Defense but, on the other hand, he set out to make things extremely difficult by waging trade wars against USA allies. Not only that. Military actions undertaken by the USA have made extremely difficult for USA allies to have access to energy at affordable prices. In fact, with few exceptions, energy costs  had led to borrowing at increasingly high levels. We still do not know how is President Trump going to make America great again, but we do know that even for the USA things are reaching critical levels.

One particular angle that has not gone amiss is the fact the the USA military, regardless of all expressions of optimism, are not going through a brilliant time in their lives. Sailors have being going through very bad circumstances. When you hear about low morale leading to suicide attempts, somebody has to listen. When you hear about ships that malfunction while loaded with deadly weapons, somebody has to listen. Words like Fantastic and Fabulous do not cut any ice. When you hear that a major superpower has to stop military operations because it is running out of ammunition, somebody has to listen. Reality calls. If USA cannot win when fighting a country that is a little better than Iraq, somebody has to listen and somebody is both looking and listening.

The mutual protection alliance between Pakistan (a nuclear power), Turkey (a military power) and Saudi Arabia (an energy power) - all Muslim countries - did not come out of nowhere. Those who were under the protection of the USA are now wondering if the life insurance they were sold is actually going to protect them. Israel is closely associated to India as Modi´s India provides Israel with a substantial amount of military hardware. Middle East is starting to look like 1914´s Europe. Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated very clearly that Israel will attack anybody that Israel sees as a threat. Regional countries are taking notice. Oman, usually a middleman between USA and Iran has been threatened by the USA. President Trump has made explicit threats to Oman. So how many Middle-Eastern countries still see the USA as a protector? Many no longer see USA as an allie and are rushing to maker their own arrangements.

Turkey is supposed to be a NATO country, but its alliances with countries outside NATO tell a different story. The moment of truth will come when NATO countries will have to make hard choices and it will come the time when NATO membership will be a hindrance.