When former President Barack Obama took office, he embarked on a global apology tour.
In Cairo, in 2009, he apologized for the Global War on Terror, which he would go on to lose by letting the Islamic State in Iraq—which he laughed off as a “JV” terror squad—overcome the country he abandoned as Commander in Chief.
He apologized for “dictating our terms” to Cuba for decades following the Missile Crisis, as if projecting kindness toward an adversary that threatened the American homeland with nuclear annihilation would make it less hostile.
His penchant for bowing to foreign leaders reflected his discomfort with American power as he sought to bridge diplomatic divides.
This apology tour was born of hubris, the notion that one man’s charm, interpersonal skills, and personal understanding of various foreign policy issues could alleviate deep-seated geostrategic tensions.
Donald Trump vs the World
It’s a mistake that President Donald Trump is repeating in real-time. While his method is more blunt force trauma than contrition, Trump’s own exaggeration of his personal abilities to solve international problems is no-less misplaced.
Elected in part on a commitment to end the war in Ukraine on day one, Trump believed that the conflict was rooted in large part in then-President Joe Biden’s lack of personal diplomatic talents. With Biden out and Trump in, success would be inevitable.
Except that’s not turning out to be the case.
Trump is starting to lose his temper with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. His administration has resorted to essentially extorting the former for deeply needed military assistance in return for access to Ukrainian critical mineral resources and sharing that he’s “pissed off” with Putin for dragging his heels on a peace deal.
The hubris exhibited by both Obama and Trump—and their lack of appreciation for what “realists” would refer to as objective, competing national interests—is not only a lesson for future American leaders, but it also presents a significant opportunity for the free world, including Canada.
Trump’s well-documented “bromance” with the Kremlin’s top thug, Putin, seems to be winding down, and with it, the potentially horrific scenario of closer U.S.-Russian geopolitical alignment that seemed possible, or even likely, when Trump returned to the White House.
Canada and its democratic allies should use this opportunity to artfully, diplomatically, and earnestly convey a vital message to Trump: Russia’s quiet refusal to do Washington’s geopolitical bidding speaks to the value, wisdom, and natural staying power of NATO and the Atlantic community of democratic partners. Not only that, but Canada and her allies should build on newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s charm-and-policy offensive—especially the moment when he claimed Trump had “revitalized” NATO as president—to build enhanced trade and security links. This is a moment for establishing solid partnerships across both vectors as NATO modernizes and Canada heads into CUSMA renegotiations in 2026.
Two areas where Canada specifically should focus include critical minerals and the Arctic.
President Trump has been seeking critical minerals deals worldwide to secure America’s high-tech and defense supply chains. Canada has them in abundance. The US relies on Canada for between 50% and 80% of its critical mineral needs, including 80% of the nickel used in the US aerospace sector.
And it’s not just the raw critical minerals but the ability to extract and refine them. Unlike in the oil industry, where Canada extracts but doesn’t refine, America’s northern neighbor is in a much stronger position on mining and critical minerals. For example, Canada has three fully online nickel refineries across the country. The United States has none. That’s despite the fact—as summarised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies—that mining and mineral processing are “crucial in maintaining the military’s technology edge, securing manufacturing supply chains, and pursuing sustainable development practices.”
This is exactly what free trade and international partnerships are for. Not everything can, or should, be made in one country. This fact of “comparative advantage” is literally why Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations. Canada should propose a bold new critical minerals development and processing partnership with the United States under the auspices of NATO to “securitize” this sector amid rising competition from aggressive, revisionist dictatorships like China and Russia and to attempt to “tariff-proof” as much of the critical mineral and mining industry as possible. This could be a profoundly beneficial economic and military partnership.
In the Arctic, Canada is finally addressing the situation with seriousness.
In 2022, under then-defence minister Anita Anand (now the newly appointed foreign minister in Carney’s cabinet), Canada committed $5 billion to an over-the-horizon polar radar system. This was to replace its legacy predecessor, the North Warning System, which had, in turn, stemmed from the original Dew Line built in the 1950s.
That’s a good step, and Canada has also committed—at least through research initiatives—to partnering with America on ballistic missile defense capabilities—which have deep strategic applications for the Canadian High North.
The Institute for Peace and Diplomacy persuasively makes a case for Canada to redouble our Arctic efforts because—unlike most security-related arenas where those of the United States dwarf the dominion’s capacities—this isn’t true of Coast Guard Arctic icebreaking.
“If Canada was a leader in a subset of relevant capacities,” they argue, “including Arctic science, icebreaking, surveillance and detection, and food security in the North,” the nation would have significant leverage and opportunity to couple into US strategic capabilities, providing leverage and equal partnership in an area of critical and growing interests for both countries.
And this is the broader point. While Trump may have a penchant for the strongman persona of autocrats around the world, the United States remains a democracy and the leader of the world’s democracies in a way that is deeply institutionalized by law, practice, culture, and values.
As the 47th president faces disappointment about the potential for allyship or even rapprochement with the Russian Federation, and as he comes to terms with the limits of his ability to achieve ambitious geopolitical outcomes based on his talents, this is the moment to reinforce why NATO and its members have stuck together so long, and so successfully: because it’s a partnership that makes sense.
About the Author: Matthew J. Bondy
Matthew J. Bondy is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Centre for North American Prosperity and Security.
waco
June 2, 2025 at 8:27 pm
The thugs are the CIA, NSA and the various carrier strike groups that regularly attacked or bombed weak nations.
Never heard of carrier strike groups that bombed major powers.
Obama was a house servant that allowed the CIA to operate it’s global drone war that killed over 2,400 people, according to UN figures.
The actual figure was more than 5,000 which included first responders.
According to Daniel Hale, most victims of CIA drone strikes were civilians (90%). Very few were actually militants or armed fighters. No more than 10%.
US presidents have always been known as war presidents or bomber presidents. They include Obama, Biden and trump.
Ostap Bender
June 2, 2025 at 8:53 pm
Do you know another U.S. president bowed to a foreign leader? Nixon bowed to Brezhnef when signing agreements. Russia doesn’t even have a bowing culture.
Nixon acted like an enamored teenager meeting her favorite idol.
pagar
June 2, 2025 at 11:03 pm
Obama, which Obama.
O’s father had more than one wife, and so he fathered several or many obamas.
But Obama, the particular 44th US president, is none other than Hussein Obama.
Hussein Obama is the president that has lots and lots of human blood on his hands.
In late 2009, Hussein proudly announced his infamous surge for Afghanistan, which resulted in vastly increased deaths, for US troops as well as afghan civilians. For the next several years.
Hussein Obama also was or is responsible for US attacking Libya, and allowing islamist groups to take over the oil-rich nation.
Hussein Obama left behind a legacy of war and chaos for donald trump, his successor.
It eventually convinced trump to either use nukes against the taliban or start talks with them to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.
Trump chose the latter which was completed and finished by Biden in August 2021.
Obama is a president with blood on his hands.
He therefore needs to have a full medical checkup with a doctor at walter reeds to avoid the Karma that befelled joe his sidekick.
Perhaps Hussein Obama has sickle cell disorder, karma !
Taco
June 3, 2025 at 2:49 am
(Taco = trump always chickinin’ out.)
US presidents are a bunch of two-faced goons. No exceptions.
Latest news say trump very keen to talk with xi jinping this week (June 3 to June 7). Xi is treacherous and likely to play to trump’s wishes.
Obama is, or, was hardly better.
In early 2015, the US learned that OPM had been hacked twice, allegedly by PRC state hackers.
That hacking was regarded as very extremely serious as the data of over 20 million American civil servants were harvested by the chines. Included were the identities of hundreds of US spies then working abroad.
The US intelligence community was furious and Obama himself was totally livid.
Obama later approved a CIA plan to teach the chines a lesson they wouldn’t quickly forget.
The CIA employed its network of local operatives in china to set up two explosions in Tianjin port. The two explosions in two separate localities were timed just minutes apart during one early morning in August 2015.
The resultant explosions and fires killed nearly 200 people, many of them godown attendants, rescuers and firefighters.
Xi knew of the sources of the incident, but being Obama’s man in china, suppressed the news and covered up the big damage.
The next month, xi visited Obama in US and was widely photographed wearing a white shirt minus his business suit as if he was right at home. Hmm.
Xi now of course today is trump’s man in china and will weasel his way into trump’s good books and betray the chines in china. Two pardners in crime.
403Forbidden
June 3, 2025 at 6:01 am
US and Canada are inseparable and will share a common fate.
That fate is the coming ww3.
How. Read the following.
On Friday 28 February 2025 (three months ago), zelenskyy had a furious bust up with JD Vance in the US white house.
Vance told zelenskyy it was time to seek a diplomatic solution to the ukro-russo conflict.
An angry zelenskyy immediately shot back, “What kind of diplomacy are you speaking about. What kind.”
Vance shot back at zelenskky who obviously wanted trump to provide a military solution.
“The kind of diplomacy that would end the destruction of your country,” said vance.
Trump interjected and told zelenskyy he had no more cards to play with.
Unknown to trump and Vance, zelenskyy already had his nazi thugs planning the secret sneak attack on Russian airfields. It now has happened.
Trump told zelenskyy he was gambling with ww3. Now, clearly trump’s warning has come true.
Give the nazis what they have always wanted – ww3. Give it to them now, today.
TheDon
June 3, 2025 at 10:34 am
War results with isolation and not educated with others ways. Single source production whether us, eu, or china giving a hungry world anger.
I have been involved helping installing water stations in Malawi and other countries, hiking in Peru. The people are happy and wonderful with family and knowing they can eat, be healthy, and get medical care.
I believe NAFTA all North & South America improves the lives of many , breaks the one low subsidized china source, gives companies other options for locations.
NAFTA, the EU , England and bringing China firmly as a non adversarial party and trading party, travel, brings friendships, and peace.
Sounds “ideal” but the ability to stop an economy is a deterrent to war.
The current pressure on china is an example. Their support for Russia is misguided. Expansion Putin wants is something their military just doesn’t have the numbers to support in men, equipment, and I think the stomach for. It’s unfortunate.
The reality is the opening of EU was a potential business boom for Russia, as Europe bought fuel and goods. Putins living in the past, Chinese sanctions also will include stopping support of them, and distributing production and wealth.
Horsemen-of-the-Apocalypse
June 3, 2025 at 12:15 pm
The mind of the west is typically very dangerous, and totally highly harmful to humankind.
It was the same dangerous thing in the 19th century, no different at all in the twentieth and now, today, in the 21st century, still as dangerous as ever. And growing more and more dangerous.
Take a look now , today, at the world. Full of crises and troubles, thanks to the west.
Take a look at gaza today.
Who’s behind the problem. Yes, the people using the weapons are from the IDF, but check the source of all the trouble.
Where did it once come from, and where does it still come from.
In Ukraine, the US admitted $5bil was spent to sow the seeds of trouble. Who said it. Former Obama official Victoria nuland.
Nuland famously said “screw the EU. Yats the guy (US pick).”
Showed who were behind all the dirty scheming and planning.
And let’s not even talk about the role played by now cancer-stricken joe Biden, also known as genocide joe.
He’s not called genocide joe for nothing.
In short, the west is full of genocide victoria nulands and genocide joes.
The world would be better off if somebody is able to nuke the west from space. ASAP.
Horsemen
June 3, 2025 at 1:30 pm
Who was the prime minister of Ukraine in 2015.
He was….arseniy yatsenyuk (famously known as yats) who was premier from November 2014 to early 2016.
I have an article from early 2015 on my external HDD, that clearly revealed yatsentuk’s stand on Donbass.
Yats called the Donbass residents ‘terrorists’ and in a meeting with his cabinet in early 2015 said “Our goal is to regain control of Donetsk and lugansk.”
How.
By using money made available from the US-controlled IMF, and hedge fund managers like George Soros. As well as from european supporters.
Yats said “Adequate financial resources are available to retake Donbass.”
He called the operation to retake Donbass as the Anti Terrorist Operation, or ATO.
Yats further told his cabinet “We’ll fight using all methods and techniques for regaining control of Donetsk and luhansk region.”
That presumably included the all-out use of massive heavy firepower to subdue the 1.5 million russian-speaking inhabitants of Donbass which later led to eventual and unavoidable intervention by Moscow.
Michael
June 3, 2025 at 2:25 pm
” That presumably included the all-out use of massive heavy firepower to subdue the 1.5 million russian-speaking inhabitants of Donbass …”
And yet the cities stand.
But where rashka-paraska goes, there is only rubble. Pathetic.
Horsemen-of-the-Apocalypse
June 3, 2025 at 9:16 pm
Pheck off.
The cities have mostly been rebuilt, at least partially. Except places like mariupol where fighting was very severe, as the stubborn nazis refused to surrender until the very end when their food supplies totally ran out.
To hell with the nazis.
The best wespon to use today against the nazis are nuclear weapons.
BURN THEM TO HELL !!!
Nazi phecker, pheck off.
Pheck off to HELL.
David Chang
June 4, 2025 at 5:26 am
God blesses people in world.
People in world should obey Ten Commandments and practice Augustine’s just war theory, never ever believe socialism and evolution. And assume their defense obligations, and should not rely on the United States of America. The USA President Trump’s policy is right, because the sin of Allies is to covet the property of people in the USA, that have caused the huge US federal debt, and have caused the people in all countries should reorganize their government finances.
Canada should merge with the United States.
God blesses people in America
Shy
June 4, 2025 at 5:23 pm
If you think CANADA can TELL the USA &/or NATO anything, you’re f*cking delusional. Canada spends THE LEAST out of all NATO countries on their defense. Gee, I wonder WHY that is? Perhaps look in the mirror and start upping your own defense before you go try telling other countries what to do. Especially the one that it’s sheer existence has allowed you to have a prosperous life and able to spend your tax dollars on things other than defense, like healthcare and etc. You know, since Canadians think that is SUCH a clever own to try and insult Americans with. “oOoOoOoOoOo at least we have free healthcare” …..yeah….so would we if we didn’t HAVE to spend $1trillon on defense. Now pipe down and quit talking sh*t & making us look even worse on the world stage Because guess what b*tch?
If we go down…..YOU go down.
Understand?
Jim
June 4, 2025 at 5:24 pm
President Trump has yet to announce any official policy… or so it seems.
A series of Tweets or Truth Socials doesn’t make an official policy.
Trump flies by the seat of his pants, almost a stream of consciousness style of governing and pronouncing policy.
Which ends up being pushed about by forces most current in his thinking or on his mind at any given moment or worse… reacting to events after they’ve already happened.
This week exposed the weakness of that style: silence for three days about all the goings on in Russia… and finally Trump comes out today with a statement about a phone call with Putin.
Where else does he do it but on Truth Social.
And, how much does it mean when Trump is seemingly going from day to day without a road map.
Trump needs more than a seat of the pants style.
Because governing by the seat of the pants also leaves you subject to and reacting to events instead of shaping events…
… or at least that’s the idea.
Seat of the pants is a reactive style to events… the United States needs more than that out of its President, Commander-in-Chief, and Chief Executive.
Trump needs to up his game instead of being carried on by events… as if he’s floating in a stream carried on by the current.
… which at this moment seems to be happening.
Jim
June 5, 2025 at 6:31 pm
The Europeans have no plan for peace…
… and they have no army.
After this strike into Russia, Trump has to take a firm grip, or he’s going to get rolled.
Obviously, there are many in Washington who want to continue escalating… I question what they’re thinking.
(The British need to be shut down in their sabotage & espionage activities, both in the U. S. and Ukraine… and more broadly, across the E. U. as they’ve gone rogue.)
There are forces who want to Box in Trump to a Biden 2.0
Trump is weak if he lets himself get boxed in by the warhawks.