April 13, 2025
The Gates of Thy Enemies
Timothy Birdnow
What is Hegseth smoking? Is this coming from Trump?
Seeking Stability, Hegseth Bolsters U.S. Troop Presence and Reaffirms Panama’s Control Over Canal
Remember the fundamental negotiating principle of demanding the moon and settling for Nesark. It may be that Trump simply wanted the Chinese out of there and Panama to understand that we will take the canal away from them if they don't toe the line. Or Hegseth just went rogue.
It would be very hard to take the canal back at this point, and hard to keep it safe if we did take it. Better perhaps to keep the Panamanians in APPARENT control while we hold veto power. But that means kicking China out completely.
I remember when Carter made this horrible deal. The argument was "we stole the canal" which was total hogwash; we BUILT the canal, and our "gunboat diplomacy" only benefitted Panama, which rose in rebellion against their mother country Columbia. Our gunboats were there to defend Panama, not threaten them. Nobody stole anything. If anyone is owed an apology it is Columbia, who got shafted by losing their northern province.
In Genesis 22:17 it is promised to Israel:
"I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies."
Now we possessed one of the great gates, but now China holds the upper hand in the gate we built.
Gates are important (as are walls); the British controlled Gibralter, the entry to the Mediterranean. They also controlled the Falkland Islands, which stand at the entrance to Cape Horn and the straig of Magellan. The British also co-owned the Suez Canal, another critical gate. And guess what? They ruled the world for a century (with the French, the other co-owners of Suez, right behind them.) Britain also controlled the entrance to the Red Sea and to the Persian Gulf via the Protectorate of South Arabia. They used to understand the importance of gates.
We gave our gate away and now it is coming back to bite us.
Trump wants it back. He also wants Greenland, which would give us control of the far less useful Northwest Passage.
Speaking of gates, the Punic Wars, which were essentially world wars between Rome and Carthage, were fought over another gate - Sicily. The Romans occupied much of the island preperatory to moving into North Africa while Carthage built a colony on the south-west part of the island to secure their trade routes. Sicily sits right in the middle of the Mediterranean, being the obvious port for ships moving between the Levant and the western Mediterranean. Carthage, located in modern-day Tunisia, had to have a base there for it's defense. Rome didn't like that, and several wars were fought that ended with Carthage completely destroyed and salt sowed in the Earth to prevent it's resettlement.
That's how important gates are.
So I don't know what Hegseth is doing, but he's not been backed up by the guy whose responsibility it is to actually deal with foreign affairs - Marco Rubio. Is this coming from Trump? We need to find out now.
What is Hegseth smoking? Is this coming from Trump?
Seeking Stability, Hegseth Bolsters U.S. Troop Presence and Reaffirms Panama’s Control Over Canal
In a diplomatic bid to ease mounting tensions between the United States and Panama, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth publicly reaffirmed America’s recognition of Panama’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal, despite President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that the U.S. would "reclaim” the strategic waterway.
"We certainly respect the sovereignty of the Panamanians,” Hegseth said before leaving Panama for Washington, aiming to defuse controversy stirred by Trump’s remarks and assure Panamanian leaders that no takeover was planned.
The controversy erupted after a discrepancy between the joint statement issued by the two governments following high-level meetings earlier in the week.
While Panama’s version explicitly reiterated its sovereignty over the canal, the U.S. version omitted such language, instead referencing a commitment to working within Panama’s constitutional framework—which already affirms national authority over the canal.
For many in Panama, the omission stoked fears of a reversal of the historic 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties, which led to the official transfer of the canal from U.S. to Panamanian control by the end of 1999.
Trump has sharply criticized that deal, repeatedly claiming the U.S. should never have relinquished the canal, and even told Congress in March that the United States was already "reclaiming” it.
"We certainly respect the sovereignty of the Panamanians,” Hegseth said before leaving Panama for Washington, aiming to defuse controversy stirred by Trump’s remarks and assure Panamanian leaders that no takeover was planned.
The controversy erupted after a discrepancy between the joint statement issued by the two governments following high-level meetings earlier in the week.
While Panama’s version explicitly reiterated its sovereignty over the canal, the U.S. version omitted such language, instead referencing a commitment to working within Panama’s constitutional framework—which already affirms national authority over the canal.
For many in Panama, the omission stoked fears of a reversal of the historic 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties, which led to the official transfer of the canal from U.S. to Panamanian control by the end of 1999.
Trump has sharply criticized that deal, repeatedly claiming the U.S. should never have relinquished the canal, and even told Congress in March that the United States was already "reclaiming” it.
Remember the fundamental negotiating principle of demanding the moon and settling for Nesark. It may be that Trump simply wanted the Chinese out of there and Panama to understand that we will take the canal away from them if they don't toe the line. Or Hegseth just went rogue.
It would be very hard to take the canal back at this point, and hard to keep it safe if we did take it. Better perhaps to keep the Panamanians in APPARENT control while we hold veto power. But that means kicking China out completely.
I remember when Carter made this horrible deal. The argument was "we stole the canal" which was total hogwash; we BUILT the canal, and our "gunboat diplomacy" only benefitted Panama, which rose in rebellion against their mother country Columbia. Our gunboats were there to defend Panama, not threaten them. Nobody stole anything. If anyone is owed an apology it is Columbia, who got shafted by losing their northern province.
In Genesis 22:17 it is promised to Israel:
"I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies."
Now we possessed one of the great gates, but now China holds the upper hand in the gate we built.
Gates are important (as are walls); the British controlled Gibralter, the entry to the Mediterranean. They also controlled the Falkland Islands, which stand at the entrance to Cape Horn and the straig of Magellan. The British also co-owned the Suez Canal, another critical gate. And guess what? They ruled the world for a century (with the French, the other co-owners of Suez, right behind them.) Britain also controlled the entrance to the Red Sea and to the Persian Gulf via the Protectorate of South Arabia. They used to understand the importance of gates.
We gave our gate away and now it is coming back to bite us.
Trump wants it back. He also wants Greenland, which would give us control of the far less useful Northwest Passage.
Speaking of gates, the Punic Wars, which were essentially world wars between Rome and Carthage, were fought over another gate - Sicily. The Romans occupied much of the island preperatory to moving into North Africa while Carthage built a colony on the south-west part of the island to secure their trade routes. Sicily sits right in the middle of the Mediterranean, being the obvious port for ships moving between the Levant and the western Mediterranean. Carthage, located in modern-day Tunisia, had to have a base there for it's defense. Rome didn't like that, and several wars were fought that ended with Carthage completely destroyed and salt sowed in the Earth to prevent it's resettlement.
That's how important gates are.
So I don't know what Hegseth is doing, but he's not been backed up by the guy whose responsibility it is to actually deal with foreign affairs - Marco Rubio. Is this coming from Trump? We need to find out now.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
09:10 AM
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