Trump Is Considering War With Mexico, Iran and Panama
Trump and the GOP have falsely masqueraded as a bunch of left wing peaceniks. The reality is that when Trump was president, he escalated the wars he was fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. There were more drone attacks and civilian casualties. In 2021, every Republican opposed the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Republican Party still loves war.
During the recent presidential campaign and since the election, Trump has been openly discussing new wars that he wants to commence. Republican members of Congress have signaled that they will back any new conflicts.
Rolling Stone reported during the campaign that Trump and his national security advisors were discussing “how much” to invade Mexico once he is sworn in. They are discussing what they have termed a “soft invasion” of our southern neighbor and biggest trading partner. Can an invasion be soft? We may find out.
Trump has been asking his team for for a range of military options aimed at attacking Mexican drug cartels, including strikes that are not authorized by the Mexican government. “‘Attacking Mexico,’ or whatever you’d like to call it, is something that President Trump has said he wants ‘battle plans’ drawn for,” says one of the sources who talked to Rolling Stone.
Trump’s team is discussing more than missile and airstrikes — they may even send ground troops into Mexico. The military operations would include Special Forces operations and deployments of the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
“It is hard to imagine a worse idea than attempting unilateral use of US military force across our southern border without Mexico’s very specific permission and full cooperation, which is highly unlikely for a wide variety of historical, cultural, and political reasons,” says retired Adm. James G. Stavridis, who served as commander of U.S. Southern Command and European Command.
The most disturbing report is that Team Trump is even considering going to war with Iran. There was a bombshell report on The Hill website on December 20 about this development.
Trump’s team is considering airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites if economic pressure isn’t enough to curb the Iranian nuclear program, according to the GOP friendly Wall Street Journal. In a Time magazine interview in conjunction with being named the Person of the Year, Trump did not rule out a potential war with Iran during his second presidency.
Republicans on Capitol Hill would support an attack on Iran. Phony “moderate” Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) said he was open to strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. “If Iran does stuff that they’ve been doing, like doing these missile attacks, or other kinds of attacks on Americans, we should use that opportunity to take out their nuclear force,” he said. “If Iran opens the door by being aggressive with us on something, that should be our response.”
The war fever escalated over the weekend when Trump threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal unless transit fees were reduced for American ships. The U.S. turned over the canal to Panama in 1977 with bi-partisan support. The treaty was negotiated by the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations.
Don Old Trump claimed that the 1977 treaty was signed as a gesture of cooperation. “We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands! It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama,” Trump posted on his social media site.
It is highly doubtful that Panama would voluntarily return the canal zone to the U.S. Recapture of the Panama canal would require an invasion by U.S. ground forces.
Nobody voted for more wars in the recent elections. Trump ran as a peacenik who didn’t start any wars during his first presidency. His MAGA allies constantly claimed that Trump was a peacenik.
Trump’s slender “mandate” was to reduce costs. The former TV reality star claimed that he could “rapidly” reduce costs and that it would be very “fast.” He is already attempting to backtrack on his ridiculous promises. Perhaps he hopes some new wars would distract the American people from his broken promises.
The problem here is that Trump has virtually unfettered power to start a new war — there are virtually no restraints. Trump’s erratic attempt to shutdown the government over the holidays doesn’t inspire confidence in his judgment.
Any new wars would most likely be a disaster due to Trump’s erratic behavior and lazy work habits. During his first presidency, Trump spent several hours a day watching cable news and went months at a time without reading his intelligence briefings. Failed wars have destroyed previous presidents.
We must take to the streets if Trump starts any new wars. “Right now Trump is busily flooding the zone, threatening people, making it seem as if he is a juggernaut who can’t be stopped and any opposition is impotent. That’s just not true. Yes, he has the trifecta and he’s threatening any of his own party who might stand in his way. But there is no reason for people to make it easy for him. Anyone in a position to do so should delay everything they can, fight on any front, and make him work for every single abuse he’s planning to inflict.” Heather Digby Parton
There will be millions of disappointed and angry soft Trump voters next year. The comeback begins in 2025 with the city elections in Omaha and Lincoln. Resist! Organize! Vote! Blue Wave 2026!
Sources consulted: