Bill Dalton: American Extortion
"These are now the hallmarks of U.S. foreign policy. This is how we are making America great again: by stealing, confiscating or bargaining away the world’s natural resources from other nations for our benefit," columnist Bill Dalton writes.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.
With each passing week, it’s becoming clearer that what’s really motivating Donald J. Trump’s foreign policy isn’t making the world “safe for democracy” or any other noble cause that motivated past presidents.
No, it’s money. No surprises there.
But perhaps the surprise is in how he’s executing our foreign policy and that Congress — and ultimately the American people — appear not to care.
Extortion.
Trump tried it in Greenland. He’s trying it in Cuba, Canada and the Strait of Hormuz. And now he’s finally succeeded in Venezuela.
The recent announcement that a “sweetheart” deal had been struck for U.S. control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves proved that Trump’s threats of military intervention and toppling governments can pay off big.
Those threats might even win a few Republican congressional races in the crucial midterm elections — if the promise of lower gasoline prices kicks in sooner rather than later.
Venezuela’s president Delcy Rodriguez said the historic agreement would help in her struggling country’s economic revival. But the truth is, it really helps in her political survival since her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, is rotting in a U.S. prison.
She knew she could be next, and if not imprisoned, maybe “neutralized” by the CIA or a drone strike.
Either way, the Trump Administration obviously made her an offer she couldn’t refuse — much like ones the Corleone mob family made famous in “The Godfather.”
Still unknown in the secret agreement is which U.S. oil company will benefit from Trump’s deal (most likely Chevron) and what it may have given in return for such favored treatment over all other oil refiners.
It’s a big deal; 65 billion barrels is nearly as much as all of the proven reserves in America and, although Trump likes to downplay it, the United States is the world’s biggest oil producer.
Also unclear is the oil company affiliated with Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt Lopez that will reportedly benefit on the other end of the deal, and what he may have given in return for such favored treatment.
To the north, it has finally leaked out that one of the reasons Canada angrily broke off trade negotiations is because the word “annexation” came up, which sounds a lot like Trump’s silly talk about making our former friends the 51st state.
Everybody in the world thought he was joking. But the Canadians aren’t laughing anymore, and after what’s happened in Venezuela, they might want to beef up their border security.
In the wake of the latest announcement, The New York Times pointed out that previous U.S. leaders had “shied away from any suggestion that gaining sway over another country’s natural resources was a primary objective of U.S. military and foreign policy, wary of the international backlash, doubts over the legality of doing so, and the potential for such moves to generate security threats against the United States.”
Those were wise leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike. But this is Donald Trump.
Extortion. Deposing leaders and decapitating foreign governments. Cutting off energy to starve island nations into submission. Blockading international waterways.
These are now the hallmarks of U.S. foreign policy. This is how we are making America great again: by stealing, confiscating or bargaining away the world’s natural resources from other nations for our benefit.
It’s probably good for business, but it’s a bad foreign policy for America. Because now all over the world we’re ridiculed, feared, and loathed — and not just by our enemies.
Unfortunately for us, what goes around comes around. Americans everywhere will need to watch their backs.
Just like the Corleones.
— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor for The Kansas City Star and worked for several Michigan newspapers. He spends summers on the family farm near Fennville. His novel “The Bank Game” is available from Amazon along with “Dalton’s Bend.”
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