America First
President Trump has made “America First” a prime pass-phrase of his Administration. The term has come to mean that America will do what benefits America, regardless of the history or the long-term consequences. “America First,” in President Trump’s terms, means “every other country second.” It means that the United States will take advantage of other nations to our benefit, even if it means to others’ detriment.
The US actions at this week’s NATO meetings are a prime example of “America First.” The world is faced by a rising tide of racism and nationalism. Italy, Germany, France, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom all have growing political movements that echo the nationalist/fascist movements of the 1920’s and 30’s. NATO has been the counter-balance to this kind of nationalism for the past seventy years.
Fascism and nationalism led the world to both world wars. Before both of those, the United States took a similar position to President Trump’s: the view that America was being taken advantage of by “foreigners;” and that the US can do better one-on-one with the world rather than through multi-national organizations. After World War I, the US walked away from the League of Nations (proposed by Woodrow Wilson, the US President) and tried to hide behind the oceans in “Fortress America.”
Just prior to the US involvement in World War II, the “America First Committee” played a prominent role in politics. Well known figures such as Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford called for America to stay out of the war in Europe (started by Hitler in 1939.) And, like today, the America First Committee had vague undertones of racism and anti-immigration, particularly Jewish immigrants trying to escape the Holocaust.
The America First Committee disbanded on December 10th, 1941, three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It was the alliance of nations, led by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, that led the world to victory over German Nazism and Japanese Imperialism. And when the Soviet Union became the next threat to world stability, the United States organized NATO to counter-balance the Soviet bloc. For seventy years the NATO allies have cooperated and shared; preventing Soviet aggression and nuclear conflagration.
We now have a new “America First” movement. Like the old, it sees the US as being more powerful by itself, unrestricted by the “encumbrance” of alliance. This Steve Bannon produced philosophy sees America as the ultimate “bully,” able to use its strength to demand what it wants from other nations without need of cooperation. It is now national policy. We see it in the trade wars the US has started, we see it in US strong-arming at the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the G-7, and we see it in the personally insulting treatment President Trump has for our allies at this week’s NATO summit.
And what of the concern that NATO is being “…carried on the backs of US taxpayers (Senator John Kennedy, Rep- LA)?” NATO has always been an extension of US foreign policy. There is no “NATO ARMY,” there is cooperation among the various armed forces of NATO members. The US has by far the largest military in the organization. Member nations have agreed to support THEIR OWN FORCES with 2% of their gross domestic product. This is not money owed, it is money to be spent.
And if there wasn’t NATO, then the United States would still have to execute its foreign policy without that assistance. For example, the United States invaded Afghanistan after the 9-11 attack. The NATO allies not only supported the US invasion, but over twenty-seven nations fought alongside US forces there. Could the US have done it alone? The answer is yes, but at an even higher cost in lives as well as money.
President Trump sees the United States as a “world leader.” He clearly sees Vladimir Putin as an “equal” world leader, and in Mr. Trump’s bilateral view someone worthy of praise. He clearly sees the NATO alliance leaders at somehow inferior, eligible for criticism and disdain. This is his personal style of leadership: if you work for him you are liable for attack and insult. He clearly sees the Chancellor of Germany, and the Prime Ministers of Canada and the United Kingdom, as “employees” rather than equals.
But when Putin’s Russia begins to attack the national sovereignty of the Eastern European nations, as they already have in Ukraine, will the US stand by its policy of defending NATO members, or will we step back and say it’s not our concern? Will “America First” once again lead us to world conflict?
In World War II, we waited for a direct attack on our nation to respond. It was only with tremendous effort and sacrifice that we defeated aggression. With this new version of America First, are we doomed to repeat history?
Trump’s mistaken philosophy is illustrated by a simple observation. Each of us has friends. Are we made stronger or weaker by our friends? Of course, having friends makes us stronger. Trump, who is actually a very lonely man, fails to grasp this.