Circle the Wagons !

Ever since the end of the second world war we in Australia have lived with the security that we have the protection of an iron clad security treaty with the United  States of America.  In particular, we live under the protection of the US's " nuclear umbrella  ".  We have renounced the option of having our own nuclear weapons on the understanding that America will stand shoulder to shoulder with us if we ever encounter a nuclear threat.

That is of course, a two way deal.  This treaty obliges us to support the US and we have  fought alongside them in many conflicts, including the Vietnam war, but unfortunately the US of today has a very different outlook from the past.

America always had an isolationist tendency and this has been pronounced under the leadership of its current president.  Donald Trump has firmly stated his policy of not getting the US involved in foreign wars and this results in country's like Australia living in a more dangerous world.

When the Soviet Union imploded and the Warsaw Pact countries gained their freedom, Ukraine found itself the site of nuclear weapons.  It surrendered those weapons in exchange for a security pact with the United States and other great powers.  Despite this pact Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and the great powers turned their backs and simply declared it a " civil war ".

Donald Trump seems to have made it very clear that treaties signed by former presidents will have no standing unless they meet his approval and in particular he does not feel bound to respect treaties that came into force under any Democrat president.   He simply walked away from the deal put in place with Iran to prevent that country developing nuclear weapons despite Iran meeting the required conditions faithfully.

We are now in the process of concluding a territorial war with Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq. The Americans fought side by side with the stateless Kurds in bringing down  the Caliphate that enslaved millions of people and now they are proposing to pull their forces out of Syria without any sort of prior notice of arrangement with the other players in that conflict.   The likely outcome will be Turkey filling that vacuum in Syria and as Turkey regards the Kurds as enemies they will suffer oppression.  Turkey has signalled its intention to drive them from the lands they have liberated.

Fortunately this isolationist stance is the sole outlook of the present US president whose term in office may end next year, or possibly a four year term later.  It is possible that future US policy may return to the status of leading the world but Australia would be  wise to look to its own defences and to carefully nurture our defence in association with other powers in this region.

The policies emanating from the Trump White House are disclosing gaping holes in that US nuclear umbrella.   Like the early settlers finding themselves in a hostile environment it is becoming necessary to circle the wagons and look to our own defence.