TRUMP’S WEAPON OF CHOICE
First, for all his bullying and bluster, Donald Trump’s weapon of choice appears to be tariffs and economic sanctions, not bombs and missiles.
In fact, he is proud to claim that in his first term in the White House, he did not start any new wars.
If he stays true to this, it will be a significant departure from the America the world has come to know – and dread, if you happen to be at the receiving end of its military might.
Since World War II, the US has been involved in numerous wars: The Korean War (1950-1953), Vietnam War (1955-1975), Gulf War (1990-1991), Iraq War (2003-2011) and Afghanistan War (2001-2021), all of which combined resulted in millions of deaths and untold destruction in those countries.
Not to mention lesser conflicts involving America in Lebanon, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Libya and Syria.
All were fought in the Third World, which is a good thing if you happen to live in the Western advanced economies.
But if you do not and a superpower flexes its muscles where you live, life can be terrifying.
Mr Trump’s economic war appears more even-handed, targeting both developed and developing countries.
Even-handed is good news for the Third World which has borne the brunt of America’s wrath.
Tariffs and sanctions can lead to economic hardship but from humanity’s point of view are preferable to weapons of mass destruction.
If you tax what I sell to you (which is what a tariff does), I might sell less as a result or choose to do my business elsewhere but if you send missiles my way, that’s the end of the argument.
Mr Trump’s latest on-off tariff actions show that waging economic warfare is very different from its military equivalent.
The foot soldiers are not infantry or artillery but ordinary people, businesses and corporations with a much lower pain threshold and likely to panic more quickly.
America will find out that there are no clear winners on the economic front and that much of the damage caused will be self-inflicted.
Whether it will make the US great again remains to be seen (though it is unlikely) but if the new America is less inclined to start military wars and expends its energies on economic ones, it might not be a bad outcome for the world as a whole.
