By General Monzer El Ayoubi*
Translation: Dr Pierre A. Sarkis
“Lame America’ was the title of his 2015 book, which depicted in its pages US President Donald Trump’s vision of reform and (Make America Great Again/MAGA), a strategy based on the performance of a narcissistic temperamental personality that received much analysis by psychologists and sociologists alike. Danish behavioral psychologist, Henrik Tingleff,presented a reading summarizing as an example, the brutality of the “I” (ego). In confirmation, it is characterized by severe behaviors that may sometimes amount to rhetorical violence, while practicing a force-based judgement approach, as well as, personal influence in favor of the slogan “America First” without any regard for international alliances and commitments when necessary.
Next, in his second term, Trump pushes the world towards more political and economic changes, and does not hesitate to proceed with plans to modify geography with its human, political and regional branches. In the process, he redraws the maps of countries and borders without establishing any consideration for the time factor in times or waiting, to set his sights on stopping regional wars and seeking to achieve the Nobel Peace Prize he aspires to.
In a quick review of his foreign agenda so far, is to regain control of the Panama Canal, seize the strategic Greenland region, threaten the Canadian State with annexation and raising tariffs on its products, construct a separation wall on the border with Mexico, control the Gaza Strip and displace its population to Egypt and Jordan, drop the two-state solution (Israel and Palestine). Added to this is to agree to change the borders of the Jewish State and its expansionist policy, stop the Russian-Ukrainian war, complete the deal to invest rare earth materials, arrange Russia’s influence on the old European continent and stop the trade confrontation with China.
On the domestic front, his speech to the US Congress on the 5th of this month included working to reform the administrative and economic structures, raising the standard of living of the American citizen, reducing unemployment and inflation, protecting local products and supporting industrial and technical projects. In addition, he vowed to carry out the largest deportation of illegal immigrants from the country.
In context, and facing the US President’s decision to end free privileges, whether related to security guarantees or trade relations, and his insistence on making NATO members pay their fair share of financial coverage, the recent Brussels Meeting of European leaders failed to adopt a joint defense strategy based on continued support for Ukraine, spawning chaos in a political clash between divided allies amid imminent existential challenges. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reviewed his calculations announcing prior approval of the mineral agreement with the US, while responding to Trump’s conditions in correcting the course in terms of stopping the Ukrainian-Russian war and signing a bilateral peace agreement based on the concession and abandonment of the four regions annexed by President Putin to Russia (based on demographic majority and economic interests), as well as, pledging that Kiev would not seek to join NATO in the future.
Between firmness and flexibility, Trump’s presidential term will tackle international issues in accordance with his strategic vision and the doctrine of America the Great (MAGA), starting with the troubled region in the Pacific Ocean, such as, the independence of the island of Taiwan from China, the inter-Korean conflict, and the regional tensions with Japan. As for Iran, President Trump does not want a war as long as Iran’s tentacles are cut off in the region, content with imposing a comprehensive blockade and applying a policy of maximum pressure, in parallel. During an interview with Fox TV Business which aired just recently, he declared his desire to negotiate, saying “I hope you negotiate because it would be far much better for Iran” so that the margin granted to Netanyahu in targeting nuclear or oil facilities, remains a sword hanging over Tehran.
It does not seem that things stop at the aforementioned, as for every new day, the occupant of the Oval Office raises concerns around the world. He has not finished bringing out what is in the folds of his ideas, applying the approach of neo-realism or structuralism that “power is the most important factor in international relations.” As countries are considered similar in needs rather than capabilities, their pursuit of military or economic alliances becomes a necessity, as in the case of the European Union where the “security dilemma” is rooted in the size of threats, in light of weak or limited capabilities, while the relative equivalence of power between the two superpowers, the United States and the Russian Federation enshrined the principle of bipolarity.
On the other hand, relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seem to be on good terms, especially with the promise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to invest a trillion dollars in the United States,while Trump confirmed that his first foreign visit after his reelection will be to Saudi Arabia early next month. On the other hand, it is safe to bet on the ability of the Crown Prince to convince him to reduce his exaggeration, in terms of his rejection or reservation, regarding the decisions reached at the extraordinary Arab Summit held in Cairo recently to discuss the Palestinian issue and the Gaza reconstruction plan. Notably, four European countries, France, Germany,Italy and Britain announced their support for the decisions of the Arab Summit to avoid the displacement of the residents of the besieged Strip. Added to that isthe need to understand the Saudi position on rejecting the normalization process with Israel before the adoption of the two-state solution, the issue of Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon and the cessation of hostilities.
Moreover, friendliness that does not add up,perhaps from the standpoint of the charisma of two similar personalities, the first, Trump, based on the authoritarianism of his mercantile ideology and the second, Putin, whose background is intelligence which leads to a distinctive and credible relationship between the two of them, whether in sharing influence or harmonizing solutions. Perhaps its most prominentindicators are the Russian mediation between Tehran and Wahington, as well as, Trump’s vision of nuclearcountries dismantling their nuclear arsenals. He said “Iknow that Russia and us possess the largest number by a large margin and China will reach the same level in 4 to 5 years. It would be great if we could all denuclearize because the power of nuclear weapons is insane.”
In conclusion, President Trump wants to plant the American flag on Mars, for he believes, after survivingan assassination attempt, that “God saved me to make America great.” However, the question remains: who will save the planet in moments of abandonment and the illusion of absolute domination?
*Scholar in Security and Strategic Affairs
-El Koura 12.03.2025
