Americans, Where Is The Prudence, Realism And Rule Of Law…

“Make America Great Again” (MAGA) is a political slogan and movement associated with Donald Trump’s three presidential campaigns and his “America First” ideology. It is a populist, conservative and anti-globalist movement, supported by strict immigration limits, economic protectionism and strong borders.

Some view Trump as a political genius but someone once labelled him as an “evil genius”.

Some truth there because Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution provides the federal government with the legal authority to enact protectionist policies and it also empowers Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations.

The Constitution also does not inherently promote war or foreign meddling, but it provides a framework balancing war powers between Congress and the President, designed to make initiating conflicts difficult. However, the executive-driven foreign involvement and undeclared wars have increased. Congress has only declared war 11 times but presidents have frequently used military force without formal declarations (e.g., Korea, Vietnam and post-9/11).

Operation Epic Fury was a joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and is an illegal war. But the US tried to explain it to the U.N. Security Council that the US is engaged at the request of and in the collective self-defence of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the US’ own inherent right of self-defence.

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter explicitly prohibits the “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state” and this war, effectively is illegal.

As for self-defence, Article 51 of the UN Charter (the Caroline Doctrine) acknowledges that states can defend themselves until the UN Security Council takes necessary measures. It must strictly satisfy two criteria: Necessity (the last available resort after all peaceful, diplomatic, or non-military alternatives taken) and Proportionality (repel the specific threat, not to exact revenge/pre-emptive strike and restore the status quo).

One needs to ask whether the self-defence justifications (all this while), by Israel and US, are they in conformance with the Caroline Doctrine?

Even the US Congress did not formally approve or authorised the military action against Iran.

On May 5, the Secretary of State announced the war in Iran ‘over’ to avoid row with Congress on funding prohibition and said Washington now prefers “the path of peace”. But Trump’s social media post showed that Epic Fury would be at an end if Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to. Otherwise, “the bombing starts. Ironically, US started many conflicts but legislators have been unwilling to cut off funds for the offensive.

Apart from starting the war, Trump’s other rhetoric include:

1. Liberation Day tariffs – an assault on the global trade order that contributed to rising inflation and a widening affordability crisis.
2. Denmark “doesn’t have right” to Greenland.
3. Hinting he’ll run for third term – despite it being illegal.
4. Renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America”.
5. Doesn’t like artificial intelligence (AI) and requested for AI to be called something else.
6. Encouraging Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that fail to meet their defense spending obligations.
7. Rated his US-Israel war with Iran a 15 out of 10.
8. Has already brought up the “nuclear option”.
9. Call for regime change and rejection of the successor in Iran because he was “not happy” with the choice and had attempted to send firearms to Iranian protesters but it did not reach its intended recipients.

Trump has also declared he is unable to be a president to all Americans but it seems he wants to be the president of the whole world!

In short, he has created a sort of destructive dumpster fire and acts like a vengeful bully.

As I see it, democracy and rule of law in the US in withering and the wealthy wields disproportionate power through lobbying, campaign financing and existence of the “Revolving Door”.

There is a growing anti-war public opinion in the US as it has struggled to achieve its strategic objectives in Iran. If Americans really value the life of its fellow citizens, their economic prowess and their democracy, they must stand up and be heard.

Has the US institutionalised incompetence?

The US needs someone competent and not one who needs his image to be preserved even though after making numerous foreign-policy blunders. These misadventures are multiplying by the day.

It can’t afford to have someone who throws prudence, realism and rule of law to the winds. Wanting to still be the global hegemon unless all the rest of the world is liberal is “not in many people’s books”.

Fact is, some Gulf allies view the presence of American bases as a “burden” rather than an asset. At least sixteen key bases suffered extensive and unprecedented damage, with some rendered temporarily uninhabitable while costs are not detailed. I think, NATO should take note.

I don’t want Americans to follow item 9 of Trump’s rhetoric above since US is considered a highly civilised nation and there are other democratic avenues.

And it will be a disaster if other would-be autocrats see all the rhetoric as something to admire or emulate.

To err is human but being habitually prone to error is frustrating and there needs to be a shift.

What say you…

 

Saleh Mohammed