The US is Forgetting the Lessons of Pearl Harbor
Trump's new "national security strategy" makes a mockery of the world order that resulted from that day
Today is Pearl Harbor Day, 84 years since the surprise attack shattered the illusion that America could safely isolate itself from the world. Despite the powerful isolationist currents at the time and the so-called America-firsters like the aviator Charles Lindbergh, the United States was drawn into the World War II. Out of that nightmare emerged the transatlantic alliance, forged in shared sacrifice and common purpose. That alliance has stood for freedom, for capitalism in a decent form, and for multilateral cooperation under American leadership — a leadership that assumed responsibility for the part of the world that we believed was in the right.
It is therefore all the more dismal to see that just days ago, a National Security Strategy was published that seems to reject these very principles. The document suggests a deep disdain for America’s European friends, and reflects a worldview that among other nonsense sees free trade as a threat. I am writing this from London, which despite Brexit still is very much at the heart of Europe, and I can say with confidence that Europeans are shocked and dismayed at what has happened to America. They’re right. The coming elections are shaping up as a referendum on whether Americans really want to abandon the strategy and alliances that made the United States strong and secure, while driving off a cliff with corrupt billionnaires at the wheel.
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy makes it painfully clear that the mask is off, at least as regards the MAGA version of the country that at present holds power. Essentially, it would seem the MAGA crows hates Europe for not abandoning the values of the transatlantic alliance. I do not believe most Americans want this.
