So what's Trump's goal with Canada?

"I have no idea," said Barry Posen, a prominent scholar of U.S. international strategy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He says he's been trying to figure out Trump's endgame with this foreign policy rhetoric.

There's always the possibility that Trump truly relishes a return to the might-makes-right international order that predates the Second World War — where, if a superpower wants something from Greenland, it takes Greenland.

"He's expressing solutions that are fundamentally illiberal. They're old-fashioned," Posen said.

But it's possible Trump is trying something else: negotiation, albeit by means more typical of a shady New York real-estate deal than among NATO allies. 

Posen says there are broad concerns in the U.S. involving Greenland, Panama and Canada, and it's not just Trump, nor just Republicans, who hold them.

With Greenland, it's the attraction as a hub for radar, anti-submarine systems, minerals and navigation. With the Panama Canal, it's about countering Chinese maritime presence in the Americas. With Canada, it's about Ottawa's perceived disinterest in matters of continental security.

It's plausible that Trump is trying to scare everyone into more mundane U.S. foreign policy wins, Posen says, like making a military arrangement with Denmark about Greenland.

 “He likes to start the negotiation with a very strong hand. So if you want NATO to increase defense spending by three per cent, ask for five. If you want privileged access to Greenland, ask to own it"

"So he goes to Europe and, you know, he's welcomed like the king he is and his ring is kissed and gifts are offered and it's all done on television and it looks great for his constituents at home.… He needs the show, right? So it's a bargaining position."

But again, Posen admits he's still trying to figure out Trump's plan. 

All that expansionist rhetoric is, at this point, only that — rhetoric. The concrete policies Trump has actually executed will only surprise anyone who failed to pay attention over the last two years.

"There's a new sheriff in town," Posen said. "And that sheriff is intent on not merely imposing his authority as the presidency is understood — but in increasing his authority as he understands the presidency.… He's pushing as hard as he can."

[Read the full article at CBC]

From CBC News, Radio-Canada