Trump Lights a Dumpster Fire at the G7
"Unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees, reassurances, or promises (i.e., conditions) are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation." - Wikipedia.
The meeting at the G7 was supposed to be the moment when Canada tamed the wild beast. The media ate up the possibility of a deal and a new relationship with Donald Trump. Trump played into this delusional hope with his suggestion that he and Prime Minister Carney could come to an arrangement on tariffs.
He even complimented our Prime Minister for being very smart. And then he laid out his real priority — getting Russia readmitted to the G7.
Standing on Canadian soil, he blamed Canada for kicking Russia out of what had been the G8. It was a lie. But typical Trump. Russia was kicked out for illegally invading Ukraine.
The G7 was an opportunity for the "allied" countries to bolster Ukraine, but Trump made sure that didn't happen.
Having shown up as Putin's obedient sock puppet, Trump left town just as President Zelensky was arriving in Canada. It was another deliberate attempt to undermine a man the world looks to as a frontline hero in the fight against gangster regimes.
The Ultimate Threat
Once Trump was back on American soil, things began to go sideways. He claimed he had to leave the G7 early to deal with the increasingly dangerous situation between Iran and Israel.
Another president would have used the G7 as a stage to demonstrate American leadership among the Western allies. But Trump doesn't see countries like the UK, Germany, France, and Canada as allies. He has thrown his lot in with Putin and Netanyahu.
And so, while the diminished voice of the G7 attempted to hash out a statement calling for calm and diplomacy, Trump was pouring gasoline all over Netanyahu's latest act of international arson.
Trump is dangerously escalating an already frightening situation. He has stated his willingness to use the "ultimate ultimatum" to force the surrender of the Iranian regime. Trump says he isn't interested in a deal.
He is demanding the "unconditional surrender" of Iran.
Unconditional surrender is a very loaded term. As a military strategy, it is rarely invoked because it forces both sides into an all-or-nothing fight to the death.
Many historians have questioned the Allied decision to call for unconditional surrender in the Second World War. Those critics pointed out that unconditional surrender dragged on the war, resulting in thousands more casualties and leading to the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In that war, there was little other choice.
But even Winston Churchill who was an advocate for total war understood the importance of framing the call within a larger obligation to respect international law.
Speaking in the House of Commons in 1944, he reassured the people:
"Unconditional surrender… does not mean that the [victors] are entitled to behave in a barbarous manner, nor that they wish to blot out Germany from among the nations of Europe. If we are bound, we are bound by our consciences to civilization."
Those were the words of a statesman at a defining moment in world history.
You won't hear any such vision and leadership from the gangster from Mar-a-Lago. He made the call for unconditional surrender in direct opposition to the advice of the US intelligence community, which stated that Iran was not moving on a nuclear weapon.
He ignored US intelligence and American interests in order to back Netanyahu, who has been using permanent war in the Middle East to stay three steps ahead of the courts in his own country.
The idea that Trump can force the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to the Netanyahu regime is the stuff of dangerous fantasy.
Threatening to use the "ultimate ultimatum" will send a strong message to the people of Iran. If they weren't already inclined to build a nuclear bomb before, you can bet that they will be determined to arm themselves now.
Whatever happens with Iran now will be determined by nuclear weapons tomorrow.
The political fallout will be felt for years to come.
Wither Canada?
But let's wrap up this G7 rundown with Trump's musings about a deal with Canada. Like a broken record he has has given us 30 days to agree to his terms.
Will this be like the UK deal, where PM Starmer has settled on a 10% tariff rate and crippled access to the American car market while still being hammered with devastating rates on steel?
Or the “great” China deal, which remains a form of economic warfare between the two countries.
In Canada, the "offer" is coming in the form of a shakedown. Trump tells us we can either pay billions in tariffs or agree to give up our nationhood.
Yup, he said it again.
He hasn't veered away from his determination to threaten to break our economy in order to erase our national sovereignty.
He tried this in January when Prime Minister Trudeau stood up and threatened a dollar-for-dollar retaliation. Trudeau stared down the bluff, and as markets went into a tailspin, Trump pulled his first TACO.
So here we are again.
Prime Minister Carney has opted not to use the Trudeau response of point-for-point retaliation. When Trump recently hit us with his latest 50% tariff rate on steel and aluminum, Carney didn't react. His team thought they could use diplomacy.
Downplaying the threat, the PM observed that the tariffs were "illogical."
They are actually very logical if you recognize that they are not about tariffs but about an old-fashioned criminal shakedown — this is an attempt to break our economy or break our nation.
Canada already has two premiers (Moe and Smith) going out of their way to appease MAGA by restoring American liquor on the shelves. Premier Doug Ford is now whinging about how much American governors like us.
Is he suggesting that we should all be friends again? Such comments seem ridiculous, as our auto, steel, and manufacturing sectors are being held hostage. Anyone who watches old gangster movies knows that when you agree to pay the mob in "protection money," you will be on the hook forever.
The G7 was another Donald Trump shitshow and no Canadian that I know was surprised. People are holding the line. We need our leaders to stand firm as well.
While the world is burning, and the gangsters are lighting the fires, Canada remains a determined but fragile line of resistance. We cannot bend. We cannot break.
Great insights! For me, the fact that he continues to be inhumane within his own country, has protests rocking his country, and openly supports those that are committing acts of warfare and genocide... means he's not a partner for our country. The fact that he continues to threaten our sovereignty while admiring Putin's attempts to take over Ukraine makes him dangerous to us. And there is no amount of soothing by politicians that can take that feeling from my bones. This is not the US we were raised with - not the US of a year ago. He is not to be trusted. His vision of a 51st state will not happen. He has enough trouble with the 50 he has now.
This Floridian is counting on you to hold the line. Thank you, Canada!