I have been wary of this ever since before the election but I think we have here the first clear indication that the United States is now— not “risks becoming,” “may become,” or even “is becoming” — a client state of Russia.
What the term “client state” means is that one nation becomes militarily, economically, and/or politically subservient to another. “Subservient” here does not mean “inferior to;” it means “takes orders from.” I can’t believe that I have lived long enough to type words such as these. But we’ve seen it coming, even almost a year ago as the Trump campaign sought to make only one change to the GOP platform, eliminating the plank regarding assisting the Ukraine in its resistance to Russian takeover.
I see the implications as follows:
- Every move of the Trump administration can reasonably be expected to favor Russia and Vladmir Putin, directly or indirectly. This may be more straightforwardly seen in foreign policy (e.g. lifting of sanctions and associated profit by Exxon/Mobil, leaving Ukraine to its own devices) but also can take hold indirectly via domestic policy (e.g. keeping us uneducated, poor, sick, incarcerated, high, disinterested, powerless).
- When the realization of the US’ position as a puppet hits the governments of nations around the world, even our historically closest allies must take a long hard look at our motives and furthermore, what it means to have the world’s largest military answer to the commander of its second largest. This applies to both military acts of commission and of omission; consider the latter in light of Trump’s well-documented attitudes toward NATO. I am with no small amount of apprehension reminded of British PM Winston Churchill’s decision (Operation Catapult) to obliterate the French navy in port in July 1940 after France fell to the Nazis; whereas France at that point in WWII was much farther down the road of subordination than the US is now, nevertheless I must ask: who will eventually come to the same conclusion Churchill did and take similar action?