There are always reasons

On Planet Earth, the Panama Canal is part of Panama, and managed by the Panamanian government under strict neutrality treaties that ensure equal treatment for all nations' vessels.

On Planet Trump, "American ships are being severely overcharged," and "China is operating the Panama Canal."

"We didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama," Trump proclaimed in his inaugural address, "and we're taking it back."

No, China isn't operating the canal, and there's no legal way to take it back. At least Trump admits that we did indeed give it to Panama, which underscores the illegality of his concomitant threat.

Autocrats always find made-up reasons to exercise brute power, which is why the truth always matters, and why Trump's endless lying is endlessly dangerous.

For example, Vladimir Putin had his own made-up reasons for his illegal invasion of Ukraine. Historically, Ukraine was never an independent entity with its own identity, he said, but always a part of Russia. False. And Ukraine's leaders are "Nazis," he insisted. Ludicrous. In launching his war of conquest, Putin reneged on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by Russia, under which Ukraine gave up its Soviet era nuclear weapons in return for respect for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and existing borders, and for refraining from the threat or use of force against Ukraine's territorial integrity or political independence. So much for all that.

Now Putin says we're taking it back.

Even the most lawless thugs assert justifications for their lawlessness. Trump's false reasons include: "Panama's promise to us has been broken."

But no, American ships aren't being "overcharged," at least not in the sense that they pay higher fees than other nations' ships. All shipping is subject to the same fee structure, which varies based on vessel size. These rates are determined in public meetings by the Panama Canal Authority, ostensibly reflecting market conditions and operational costs. (There can admittedly be disagreements about whether the fees, which apply to everybody, are set at appropriate levels.) Recent increases have been attributed to severe drought conditions since 2023, which have led to historically low water levels in Gatun Lake, the canal's primary water source.

Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, the Panama Canal Authority chief, has emphasized that there are no exceptions to the rules, and giving preferential treatment to one country's ships would violate international law and "lead to chaos."

A Trump spokesperson pointed out that the U.S. is the largest user of the canal and thus disproportionately affected by fee hikes. But in what sense is the largest user paying the most fees unfair?

Crucially, Trump's claim that China is "operating" the Panama Canal is categorically false, so false as to properly be called a lie—particularly in the context of his threat that "we're taking it back." It is certainly true that there has been significant Chinese investment and commercial activity adjacent to the canal. Chinese companies operate ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides. But there are also ports operated by Taiwanese and Singaporean companies, and by an American-Panamanian joint venture. And ships transiting the canal need not use the ports at all.

Lest there be any misunderstanding here, my point doesn't involve any opinion about whether or not the current transit fees are set at appropriate levels. What I condemn is the thuggish threat of taking the canal back (even by force, as Trump has suggested), which would mean the seizing of sovereign Panamanian territory, and predicating that action on an outright lie, told to the American people and to the world. The lie thus becomes the "reason" for a lawless act. We should expect better of the United States (or maybe not), but obviously not of Trump.

Asserting lies to construct false realities is what autocrats necessarily do. Lying continually about almost everything is what Trump does. It's a noxious combination that's toxic to all our highest intellectual and ethical values. As a country, it seems we increasingly have neither.

Copyright (C) 2024 James Michael Brennan, All Rights Reserved

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