For weeks now, the Trump administration has caught world media attention with its incursion into Venezuela and capture of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. However, attempting to avoid the appearance of seeking regime change, Trump has instead now focused on the oil reserves in that country. What is not clear is whether the CEOs of major oil companies were consulted before hand, especially as they are apparently not ready to invest billions of dollars toward the restoration of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. Economically and from a business perspective, the addition of that country’s crude oil would not make much difference to gas and oil prices in the U.S., certainly in the short term. In addition, continuing the naval blockade against oil tankers in the region has become a costly endeavour and has stretched the operational capabilities of U.S. forces.
More recently, Trump has turned his attention to directing his overall foreign policy strategy to Greenland, Cuba and even Iran. For example, he has repeatedly said that the U.S. must take control of the strategically located and mineral-rich island, which is a semi-autonomous region of NATO ally Denmark. From a military standpoint, the U.S. already has a defense agreement with Denmark
dating back to 1951. Its installation at the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of Greenland
currently supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO. There is nothing to stop the Americans from increasing their military presence on the island under the current agreement. Instead, it became evident, as in the case of Venezuela, that his administration is more interested in exploring business and mining deals by controlling Greenland’s governance.
Next, we have statements by Trump about the economic impact of the loss of Venezuelan crude oil to Cuba. The control of Cuba and removal of its current regime is a big personal issue for Secretary of State Marco Rubio who has family ties to Cuba. A day after the U.S. captured Maduro, Rubio issued a warning to Cuba, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he thinks the country is “in a lot of trouble.” As in the case of Venezuela, Trump has suggested that the U.S. could run Cuba.
Finally, Trump’s attention has also turned to Iran and the current large-scale protests against the current regime under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mostly as a result the deteriorating economic situation in Iran and the regime’s heavy handed approach to any opposition. Iranian protests rage and civilian deaths mount. Trump has renewed his warning of possible U.S. intervention, without being very specific about what a U.S. intervention might involve. Khamenei has accused the U.S. and Israel of having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians”, arguing that they are behind the protests. Trump has simply asserted that any possible American strike wouldn’t “mean boots on the ground but that means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
As many historians and political scientists have asserted in the past, the focus on foreign policy initiatives, especially those involving military actions, are often a form of distraction from economic and political problems at home. One only needs to remember the former unpopular U.K. Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and her administration’s military actions in 1982 against Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Even some Republicans in Congress are beginning to question the foreign policy goals of the Trump administration. Far-right activists such as Laura Loomer, Tucker Carlson and others opposed the operation in Venezuela, maintaining that Americans will ultimately pay the price. They have also questioned how the administration’s vague plans are squared with a commitment to refrain from military intervention and regime change, something certainly not in line with Trump’s “America First” base.
Moreover, on America’s domestic front, things are not going well politically and economically. Unemployment is up and inflation continues to rise, especially for food, housing and other staples. The operation of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) in numerous cities has resulted in harm to American citizens and legal immigrants, including recent ICE-related deaths and injuries. As a result, country-wide protests against ICE initiatives have emerged, leading to administration officials having to justify the use of force against protesters.
Recent polling has shown that Trump’s popularity has fallen to an all time low, including with respect to his once-popular immigration policies. In addition, hundreds of cases involving the administration’s policies are before the courts. Americans’ trust in the judicial system and governance has taken a massive beating. For this reason, a strong argument can be made that the Trump administration has decided to assert U.S. foreign policy and power in order to distract from continuing domestic problems.
FROLITICKS 