I’ve been thinking recently that it would be good if the United States changed its focus to the Americas.
I realize we have a lot of history with Europe, and I realize we have some level of … something like responsibility … for keeping the world’s shipping lanes open, and so on. I’m not saying we withdraw from the rest of the world, but I am saying it would be nice if we paid attention to our own neighborhood for a change.
Why can’t we have a good relationship with countries to our south?
We’re almost stuck with it anyway. So many people have come here that we’re going to see a shift towards interest in those countries in any event. Why not get serious about it?
It seems like a good strategic move for several reasons.
The first, and most obvious, is that we don’t want a threat on our southern border — either a military one or a demographic one. The Soviets tried to get a hold on countries in Central and South America — for good reason. They wanted a way to threaten us to the south. Let’s stop that before it happens again.
It also seems rational for us to exert a certain amount of protective control over North and South America, and to form something analogous to NATO. I.e., strategic partnerships with American countries to defend the Americas.
I’m not saying the White Man has to go tell everybody to the south how to run their countries, but I am saying that trade and security deals could benefit everybody.