Tokyo Bay
August 15, 1945: the Empire of Japan signed the formal surrender treaty. The Second World War ended on the deck of the battleship, USS Missouri. It was a victorious affair for the Allies: the United States, Great Britain and the British Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Burma, India) and the Soviet Union. Most of the US Pacific Fleet and more were in Tokyo Bay: ten battleships, six aircraft carriers, five heavy cruisers, ten light cruisers, fifty-one destroyers, twelve submarines, and seventy-five smaller war ships. More than a dozen other aircraft carriers remained outside the Bay, in case the Japanese had a change of heart.
They were all there to make a point. The choice for Japan was surrender, or overwhelming defeat and destruction. Of course, the first two atomic bombs used in world history had already made that clear. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed. And there was a second message sent on that day seventy years ago. Most combatant nations of World War II ended the War devastated. Germany and Japan were in ruins, with over 5 million German and 2 million Japanese soldiers killed. But some of the winning nations were little better. The Soviet Union suffered over 11 million soldiers killed. The British Commonwealth almost 500,000. And the United States lost 407,300.
But it was clear that one nation ended the Second World War much stronger than it began. The United States, the “arsenal of Democracy”, made that point in Tokyo Bay. The US was the dominant military power in this world. The atom bomb, at that time exclusive to America, just underlined the strategic reality.
Cold War
But the Soviet Union, despite their enormous losses, soon made it clear that they would contest the US for world power. They built their own “bomb”. Within two years, the era we now call the “Cold War” began. From 1948 until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was a time of the “balance of Mutual Assured Destruction” (MAD). The US and the USSR knew that, no matter what provocation or premeditation, in the end an all-out war between the two meant equal world destruction and the end of civilization as we knew it.
In spite of the madness of Stalin, the criminality of Nixon, the scale-tipping gambling of Khrushchev, and the relentless pressure of Reagan; the US and the USSR avoided the confrontation that would end the world. And while there were wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East and Afghanistan (and dozens of smaller “proxy” battles in Africa and Asia), none ended in “super-powers” going head to head and world conflagration. This era, after the two World Wars in the first half of the twentieth century, is called the “Pax Americana” (American Peace).
The United States, both before and after the fall of the USSR, led the world to maintain that peace. It wasn’t just a peace of military force. It was also a peace of benefit. The United States spent billions of dollars in humanitarian aid as well as weaponry, to keep nations “on their side”. In the process, America limited world diseases from smallpox to AIDS. And millions were fed, educated, and given other health care. Pax Americana was an American obligation to the world, as well as an American benefit.
World Economy
In the process, the US became the greatest economic power in the world as well. Americans built so many things, so well, that their standard of living became high enough that it was cheaper and easier to move some industries “off-shore”. Today, less than one percent of “US shoes” are made in America. Even the United States Shoe Corporation was bought out by Luxottica (1995), an Italian corporation.
With the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States took a larger role in maintaining world peace. Even when America “failed”, in Afghanistan for example, it was a failure that did little to impact their world standing. And when Putin and the exploding Chinese military aggression raised concerns; the US made it clear that the “Pax Americana” still reigned supreme.
Make America Small Again
That was, until the past few weeks. The new Trump Administration ran on a slogan of “Make America Great Again”. But their foreign policy is closer to the isolationism of post-World War I America. For reasons that are beyond understanding, the MAGA theory is that the military problems of Europe and Asia are no longer a United States concern. They have told the NATO allies, who stood by us after the attack of 9-11 and the war in Afghanistan; that the US is no longer interested in protecting them from Russian aggression.
And Trump made it clear to our ally, Ukraine, that the Trump Administration will deal directly with Russia, behind Ukraine’s back, and make a “separate deal”. American leaders are meeting today with Russia’s leaders, and without Ukrainian representation. The implicit threat: either Ukraine goes along with “whatever” the US decides, or lose all of the military and humanitarian support for their war. Quite simply, after three years of valiant Ukrainian defense against an “overwhelming” (overwhelmed) Russian military and 80,000 Ukrainian military deaths; the US will leave them high and dry.
Sell Out
And if the European NATO allies decide to support Ukraine in spite of US decisions, then Trump made it clear that the US will not stand with them either. Trump, single-handedly and in a few short weeks, is Hell-bent on ending Pax Americana.
That message will not be lost on China. One of their core goals is to take control of the nation of Taiwan. That island became the refuge for the Nationalist side of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the Communists took over the Nation. Ever since, the Communist Chinese Government lusts for the island, especially as Taiwan is now an economic power, ranked 22nd in the world. The US has made it clear that they stand with Taiwan against a Chinese incursion, until now. After Trump sells out Ukraine, it won’t be so clear.
Jack Boots
The Trump world policy is no longer Pax Americana. It’s America “Vince” (Conquer). Take all of the seemingly “crazy” statements Trump’s made in the past few weeks: taking over Greenland, Canada, Panama, and the Gaza Strip. If Americans can “make a buck”, then the US military can “make it so”.
MAGA wants the resources of Greenland and Canada, and the “canal back” from Panama. And Trump envisions the Gaza strip as the next “Riviera”, filled with luxury hotels and beaches. He’s even demanded half of the mineral resources of Ukraine in return for continued aid. It’s as if the United States, once the “protector” of the world, now has become the world’s exploiter. Trump is turning our defense into a military “bully”. It is exactly what the US fought against in World War II, the jack booted aggression for resources of both Germany and Japan. Now, those jack boots seem to be on American feet.
