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The US President's "Manifest Destiny" aims for US expansion throughout the Western Hemisphere...
Taking a brief break from his war with Iran this week, Donald Trump posted an image depicting Venezuela as the 51st state of the United States, with the country’s map covered in the American flag. At first glance, it seemed like another typical Trumpian provocation, but as his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, once told me: “Trump jokes, but he never really jokes.”
In his characteristic style, Trump further amplified the message. He told Fox News that he was “seriously considering” the possibility of Venezuela becoming the 51st U.S. state. Venezuela has a population of about 29 million and would be the third most populous state in the U.S., behind California and Texas.
Trump seems to have ignored the possibility that Venezuelans themselves might oppose such an annexation. In an interview with American journalist Sharyl Attkisson, he said that the US was already helping to run the country. “Venezuela is very happy now. They used to be miserable. Now they are happy. It is being governed well,” he declared.
The threat to take over Venezuela is not just another provocative statement by Trump. There is a long tradition in American history of presidents who have expanded US territory beyond its borders. That is how the United States came to be what it is today. But Trump is going further than any president before him: Venezuela is located about 2,250 kilometers from the continental US.
During his first term, Trump was seen as an isolationist with the slogan “America First.” Today, he is increasingly seen as an imperialist with the same slogan. This is his version of “Manifest Destiny,” the 19th-century ideology that Americans had a divine mission to expand westward.
Under this new vision, the US would extend control over the entire Western Hemisphere. Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser, described this approach with the words: "What could be more 'America First' than Manifest Destiny 2.0?"
In addition to Venezuela, Trump has also expressed interest in Cuba. In early May, he declared that the US would “take control” of Cuba “almost immediately.” He said that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln would be moved from Iran to the Cuban coast and docked very close to the island. “And they will say: thank you very much, we surrender,” he said.
Këto deklarata mund të mos jenë vetëm retorikë politike. Edhe pse Trump duket i angazhuar me disa kriza njëkohësisht, kalimi i menjëhershëm nga një krizë te tjetra ka qenë gjithmonë një nga taktikat e tij politike. Një hetim i CNN zbuloi se fluturimet amerikane të mbledhjes së inteligjencës pranë brigjeve të Kubës janë shtuar ndjeshëm. Që nga shkurti janë regjistruar 25 misione të tilla me avionë dhe dronë, ndërsa më parë ato ishin shumë të rralla.
Sipas raportit, shtime të ngjashme të operacioneve të vëzhgimit u regjistruan edhe përpara ndërhyrjeve amerikane në Venezuelë dhe Iran më herët gjatë këtij viti. Të marra së bashku me deklaratat e Trumpit, këto zhvillime konsiderohen shqetësuese për regjimin kuban.
Nëse Trump do të arrinte të merrte Kubën, ai do të realizonte atë që idhulli i tij politik Andrew Jackson nuk arriti dot. Portreti i Jacksonit ndodhet sot në Zyrën Ovale me urdhër të Trumpit.
Para se të bëhej president, Andrew Jackson drejtonte Divizionin Jugor të Ushtrisë amerikane. Historiani Paul Johnson shkruan në librin A History of the American People se Jackson i kishte premtuar presidentit James Monroe se do ta pushtonte Kubën nëse i jepej një fregatë. “Do t’jua siguroj Kubën brenda pak ditësh,” kishte deklaruar ai. Monroe e refuzoi kërkesën.
Jackson kishte pushtuar tashmë Floridën, e cila në atë kohë ishte nën kontrollin spanjoll. Ai zhvilloi një luftë të pashpallur, duke anashkaluar Kushtetutën amerikane, e cila përcakton se vetëm Kongresi mund të shpallë luftë ose paqe. Megjithatë, Kongresi i vitit 1819 nuk e ndëshkoi, por përkundrazi legjitimoi më pas marrjen e Floridës.
Sipas autorit të artikullit, kjo është edhe metoda që Trump ka ndjekur në Venezuelë dhe Iran: vepro fillimisht dhe sfido Kongresin të kundërshtojë, duke llogaritur se ai nuk do ta bëjë.
Kjo mund të jetë mënyra se si Trump synon të marrë edhe Kubën. Sot ai ka versionin e tij të Doktrinës Monroe, të cilën e quan “Doktrina Donroe”. Doktrina Monroe e shekullit XIX paralajmëronte fuqitë europiane të mos kolonizonin më Amerikën Latine, duke e konsideruar hemisferën perëndimore si zonë influence amerikane.
“Doktrina Donroe” shihet si një version shumë më agresiv i saj dhe sipas këtij interpretimi, “oborri” amerikan shtrihet deri në Groenlandë.
Stephen Miller, një nga këshilltarët më të afërt të Trumpit, e shpjegoi këtë qasje në një intervistë të debatueshme për CNN, menjëherë pasi Trump urdhëroi rrëmbimin e presidentit venezuelian Nicolás Maduro. Miller minimizoi konceptet e sovranitetit kombëtar dhe vetëvendosjes, duke i quajtur ato “formalizma ndërkombëtare”.
“Jetojmë në botën reale, një botë që drejtohet nga forca, pushteti dhe fuqia. Këto janë ligjet e hekurt të botës,” deklaroi ai.
Në të njëjtën intervistë, Miller sugjeroi se administrata Trump mund ta detyronte lehtësisht Danimarkën të hiqte dorë nga Groenlanda. “Askush nuk do të hyjë në luftë me Shtetet e Bashkuara për të ardhmen e Groenlandës,” tha ai.
Danish politician Rasmus Jarlov reacted harshly, accusing Miller of having “the mentality of a rapist.” However, according to the author, Miller was simply expressing the classic logic of 19th-century colonialism.
During that period, the US forcibly annexed Florida, Texas, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Alexander Hamilton had dreamed of American expansion throughout Latin America, while President Woodrow Wilson invaded Mexico twice in the 20th century.
But today is the 21st century and the international order has changed. The United Nations Charter places the self-determination of peoples at the center of international law.
However, Donald Trump is known for his disregard for international norms. He built his fortune in the New York real estate market and continues to think in the same business logic. He has talked about “buying” Greenland or getting Canada to join the US in a “beneficial” deal.
In practice, negotiations are much easier when American military power is behind them. This is diplomacy of the type: “We’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
Trump has previously said it would be a "good idea" to have his face carved into Mount Rushmore. Adding one or two new states to the Union could bring him even closer to that symbolic ambition.
And if Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Canada or Panama do not want to become new stars on the American flag, according to the author, Trump's ambitions could go even further.
In his second inaugural address, the speech's drafters included a reference to "Manifest Destiny" immediately before the promise to plant the American flag on Mars.
"We will follow our manifest destiny to the stars," Trump declared.
"Towards infinity and beyond", lack of ambition has never been Donald Trump's problem./ Adapted from "Pamphlet"
Ate Willson ne e njohim si mbrojtes I kombeve te vogla, biles ne Shqiperi kemi nje shesh me emrin Wilson,ndersa ky paska qene pushtues mundesisht dy here meksiken. Dmth nga amerikanet çdo gje lidhet me interesa, jo me parime.