Thursday, July 24, 2025
PMT: Who are our friends?
Back in the day (say, 2024), it was pretty easy to say who the United States' closest allies were: UK, South Korea, Canada, Australia, etc. But now it is all turned upside down: Canada is mad about the whole "51st state" business, the UK is flustered by tariffs, Trump has threatened to withdraw troops from South Korea, and Australia seems to be just waiting out the craziness.
Part of the "America First" agenda is exactly that, of course-- that we stand alone for our own interests and don't need allies the way "internationalists" say we do.
That will be tested when there is an international debacle (and there will be). It might sneak up on us because of a weakening of the "Five Eyes" intelligence group composed of the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It specializes in "signal intelligence" (intercepting and decoding messages). Right now, it is more important than ever because of the rise of Chinese hackers.
Still, members of the Trump administration suggested moves to push Canada out, which failed. The tumult in the US intelligence community is a further stressor.
There is a lot that is being lost right now-- and we may not know until it is too late.
