A senior Trump administration official has publicly critiqued global geopolitical discussions about a “middle powers” strategy, calling it a distraction.
In a series of X posts uploaded on Tuesday, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby also rejected the idea that countries may look away from purchasing American military equipment.
“There is a lot of commentary that, due to alleged frustrations with the United States, the American defense industrial base will lose out on the market for weaponry. But this is neither feasible nor accurate,” Colby wrote.
“From our point of view, a collective middle powers strategy is based on a faulty understanding of international relations. We are flexible realists. So, we view the international scene through the prism of interest, geography, economics, military power, etc. ‘Middle powers’ don’t have a coherent basis for alignment.”
He also added that access to the U.S. defence industry “is a privilege, not a right.”
While Colby did not name any countries or political leaders in his posts, Prime Minister Mark Carney frequently mentioned middle powers in his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, which focused on nations coming together to advance their interests and avoid being subjugated by global superpowers, which are increasingly volatile.
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“Our view is the middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” Carney said on Jan. 20.
“But I’d also say that great powers can afford, for now, to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not.”
Carney also mentioned middle powers again in Australia earlier this year.
“Middle powers have more power than many realize,” he said on March 4.
David Lametti, Canada’s United Nations ambassador, said on July 2 that Carney’s speech has already begun to take shape.
“We have set up a number of different kinds of relationships that work for specific issues,” said Lametti. “And that’s precisely the manner in which I think Prime Minister Carney has envisaged this, for areas outside of the UN.”
TRUMP 2028, make Canada great again.
There is no “ middle power strategy”
Just a catchphrase
Carney slammed “ hegemony” then promptly kissed and made up with the Saudi murderer who had a human being chopped to pieces
Also kissed and made up with Xi, China being the most “ hegemonic “ of them all
Carney had the slowest economic growth since 1963
No I’m not supporting Trump
All I’m saying is that for Canada , Carney is worse than Trump
And Trump is gone in 2 1/2 years
Carney still there
Spoken like an Undersecretary, buried well under the MAGA dreams of the Orange Clown Emperor Trump.
Canada is buying submarines from Germany and fighter planes from Sweden…i am glad it has no affect on American vanity
The context is not provided on this story; Colby was an architect of the ‘America First’ strategy that Trump is pursuing, so he suffers a major professional setback if middle powers manage to navigate around the failing and flailing Empire of America. His comments should be viewed as evidence of a small-minded man helplessly and desperately watching smarter people work around the bad faith bullying tactics he promoted.
When the Trump administration lashes out at these strategies, it is a tacit admission that their preferred tools of economic pressure only work if the rest of the world remains fractured, dependent, and compliant.
Basically it sounds like Carney trying to …unionize..middle countries. Super powers ( company presidents) don’t want a union. Mmmm.
We don’t need big words! we need big changes!
why is the american even talking?
What’s good for General Bullmoose if good for the USA ……
Middle powers are all communist losers who rather parasite off wealthy nations like USA than look at their own dystopian gulags. a band of middle powers is essentially equal to soviet union and how did that turn out for the people and prosperity?
Well, this American politician thinks like the Assyrian kings. He forgot that those were defeated twice by coalitions of middle powers.
The middle powers concept will wane over time. Countries are going to choose either China or America.
Canada is beating its chest about aligning other small irrelevant countries together but the effort won’t amount to anything.
Carney is aligning Canada to Europe which he says will be the leader for the middle powers.
Europe ? My goodness. Think about who you are choosing to join.
I think the US simply let’s Canada go any direction it wants – until it fails.
Chump’s the master of distractions, almost, so he should know.
Lol. USA with so-superpower status can’t defeat a significantly less than middle power, Iran.
Truly amazing to say in the same speech that middle powers have no reason to try to replicate American defense industry and should instead try to fully integrate with it and then also say in the same paragraph that access to the American defense industry isn’t a right and they shouldn’t assume they’ll get it.
Just sort of says it all.
So, if the notion of, “middle powers” is such a distraction, and accessing the U.S. defence industry, “a privilege, not a right”, why has dear Elbridge bothered posting at all? Hardly seems worthy of his valuable time…
“From our point of view, a collective middle powers strategy is based on a faulty understanding of international relations. We are flexible realists. So, we view the international scene through the prism of interest, geography, economics, military power, etc. ‘Middle powers’ don’t have a coherent basis for alignment.”
Sure they do – a united counter to US hegemony.
Carney continues to flush our credibility down the toilet.
Are they actually expecting any liberal gov’t to put any forethought into anything?
Should think the Middle Powers will decide for themselves if they want to rely on america, or increase their independence from a state that has treated them shoddily. Bargaining from a position of power gets better results than otherwise.
It’s not a distraction, america has made it a necessity to avoid its attempts of subjugation.
America has shown it can no longer be trusted to the degree it was pre trump. A true ally would never break trust. If done once, then there can be twice.
If it wasn’t for the U.S canada would still be in the middle ages.
If USA wasnt really worried about losing customers for their military complex they wouldnt be taking the time to make such statements
Objectively, almost 90% of our trade is tariff free. The “deals” other countries have signed where they pay tariffs aren’t what you would call a flex, they are a failure.
Objectively: carney’s delivered very little. So protest all you want, it seems his strategy isn’t working.
Poor USA doesn’t want competition in it’s twilight years as a former world power. It’s losing the Iran war, it lost the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. China is ahead of the US technologically some ways. Canada is superior in terms of its location on world freedom and democracy indices and other parameters.
In over a year, Carney has not delivered on any of his promises to Canadas.
I’d take America under Trump any day! Canada and it’s Canadiots are going to become the 51st state, ECONOMICALLY, that means actual free trade and finally American companies will be able to come to Canada and give us cheaper internet, phone costs, cheaper energy, cheaper cheese and milk, more abundance and less Chinada!
Carneys idiots lap it right up though
Another Trump-approved doofus
Carneys “Davos” speech is total rubbish.
I mean, the Americans are doing everything in their power to collapse the petrodollar, it makes sense that they would grasp at straws to try and retain the last shreds of their dignity. But not a one of them can ask why us “Middle Powers” should trust military equipment manufactured by and primarily for a nation that has threatened us with annexation and extortion? Would America buy military jets from China? From Iran? No, of course not. Time for Americans to wake up, the old world is dead, and they killed it.
Countries are slowly moving away from relying on the US and the US is not a privilege it’s a disaster
Of course he would try say this. Moving away from the USA as a supplier reduces business for there manufacturers. By the middle size countries demonstrating that can move on from the USA does not bode well for moving forward.
He’s not invited.
zzz zzzz….but give trump time and the US will be closer to a middle power.
to hell with the yankee dogs