Time for a divorce?
Given the how unreliable the US has proven itself as an ally really starting with Trump's first term, but more recently under the clown car that is Trump 2.0, rumblings of a divorce are surfacing. How would that be done? It won't happen overnight, but there are some ideas that are serious enough for consideration. Recently a Danish pension fund (it provides pensions for educators in the country) decided to sell off any US bonds in its portfolio. While just a drop in the bucket, imagine what would happen if European nations and Europe-based organization began to do so en masse? What if the EU (or at least a coalition of the willing, since Hungary is one likely roadblock to any actual collective EU action) created its own market for bonds denominated in Euros? What if nations like Germany, which store much of their sovereign gold in the US repatriated those gold bars back to their own capitals? What about EU reliance on US-based companies for internet platforms and cloud storage? Is there a game plan for weaning off those US-based companies? That's a question without any easy answers for now. What about the future of a NATO alliance without the US? That may not happen right away, but it appears that is an on-going conversation that will only grow more urgent as the US federal government becomes increasingly unhinged when it comes to military policy. Canadian Prime Minister Carney's Davos speech should be read in its entirety. He's right, you know. The US is no longer a reliable ally, or really an ally at this point. The middle powers that compose much of NATO and the EU (along with other fellow travelers elsewhere on our aching planet) need to band together if they are to adapt. Appeasing a major world power run by a man-baby and his enablers ends badly. Carney can see it, and so can anyone else willing to pay attention. The old order is dead. It would have been better if middle powers in Europe, east Asia and elsewhere had begun a decade earlier, but today is the next best time to begin. What will be gained is stability as the US decline becomes impossible to ignore. We all have no idea what we have lost, but for those willing to stand up, perhaps what replaces the old order can still provide a life worth living.
Comments
Post a Comment