On the eve of D-Day, Dwight D. Eisenhower invoked “our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms” in his rallying cry for the battle ahead.
President Donald Trump threatened NATO with a “very bad future” unless fellow Alliance members aid the US in its war against Iran.
The response of US allies and rivals alike to Trump’s loaded request for help to secure the Strait of Hormuz has been blunt.
Berlin was uncharacteristically scathing. The UK, habitually first in line to join past US military operations from Iraq to Afghanistan, made clear that it’s sitting this one out. Japan — the closest US ally in Asia — said it had no plans to dispatch ships to escort tankers in the Gulf.
That’s despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio hitting the phones to Japan and South Korea respectively. They agreed to keep talking.
In China, state-run media couldn’t contain their scorn for Trump’s request that Beijing help.
Such a clear rejection hasn’t been witnessed since Europe refused to bow to Trump’s demands for control of Greenland. He duly backed off.
Backing off isn’t so straightforward now, when the US is fighting a war jointly with Israel in which massive military superiority is running into Iran’s ability to control a naval choke point and upend the world economy.
Trump is learning that friends are scarce when he fails to consult or even notify them of his war plans, after mocking their past military contributions.
Standing up to Trump can pay electoral dividends, too.
A vocal critic of the war, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez saw his Socialists post unexpected gains in a regional ballot on Sunday.
It remains unclear whether the resistance will translate to other areas, like trade or efforts to regulate US Big Tech.
But on Iran, Trump looks increasingly on his own. — Alan Crawford