The US Under Trump Is Demonstrably the Most Dangerous Nation in the World |
Donald Trump's imperial ambitions and aggressive use of military power push the world toward a perilous future. At this moment in history, when the world actually needs cooperation among nations to confront existential environmental, technological and socioeconomic crises, diplomacy must promote international collaboration in achieving shared goals. Trump's administration, however, has completely abandoned diplomacy as a primary means of resolving international concerns and conflict. Military power is swiftly displacing it as the arbiter of competing interests. In a hostile and militarized international political environment “might makes right” is the operative principle. The consequence of policy based on this principle is international chaos and war.
The Trump administration's foreign policy sends multiple ominous signals to the world. Questions that would seem unthinkable little more than a year ago now are central concerns of the international community. Will the US retreat from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? Will the US actually attempt to destabilize the economy of its neighbor Canada? Will the US favor Russia over Ukraine? Is Greenland in imminent danger of a US invasion? Is destroying dozens of boats and killing scores of people onboard—all without evidence and due process—justified under international law? Are invasion of another nation and abduction of a head of state an assault on territorial sovereignty and the United Nations Charter? Will billion-dollar seats on a Board of Peace chaired by Trump and displacing UN peacekeeping authority improve the lives of Palestinians in Gaza? Will the US employ tariffs as a universal political tool despite their destabilizing consequences for global economic growth and market predictability?
The hubris and ruthlessness of a leader who forces such questions to the surface, particularly when that leader is the commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful military force, are more than menacing. These leadership character flaws are nevertheless amplified by Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth's bellicose and callous use of language concerning war. In discussing the sinking of Iran's naval force, for example, Trump recalled with obvious satisfaction that a general told him that he preferred destroying ships to capturing them “because it's more fun to sink them.” In remarks about Kharg Island, Iran's oil export hub in the Persian Gulf, Trump warned “I'll knock the hell out of it,” and he, too, would do it “just for fun.” Referring without evidence to alleged drug smuggling into the US on boats, he characterized the extrajudicial murders of the boats' occupants as “an act of kindness." He mocked Greenland's military defense as “two dog sleds." Trump offered this justification for invading Venezuela: “They took our oil rights...and we want it back." And, regarding Cuba, Trump declared, “I think I can do anything I want with it."
Further, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demands that he be called Secretary of War, chief of the Department of War. Hegseth obsessively refers to soldiers as warriors. He gushes over US exploits in the war with Iran. “What it takes to [wage war] with the precision that we do is world class. No one else can do it. And it's world class Americans... the engine of what makes our country great." His predatory instincts and disregard for human suffering are deeply alarming: “This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be.”
Elsewhere he describes the American military operation in Venezuela as “spectacularly executed,” claiming it “reestablish[ed] the deterrent effect of the US armed forces." Equally frightening as brandishing missiles and proclaiming that the greatness of America is its use of military force is Hegseth's predilection for religious crusade. In his 2020 book American Crusade echoes of 'holy war' ring sharply: “Do you enjoy Western civilization? Freedom? Equal justice? Thank a crusader,” he exhorts Americans. “ If not for the Crusades, there would have been no Protestant Reformation or Renaissance. There would be no Europe and no America."
In Hegseth's apocalyptic vision those who resist American military dominance are less than human. He casts Iranian leaders as vermin, “desperate and hiding, they've gone underground, cowering. That's what rats do.” His Old Testament wrath and........