THE AXIS OF ANGER IGNITES/GLOBAL RESISTANCE TO TRUMP GROWING 11/12.02.2026
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
THE SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION
RUSSIA’S ALLIES
COALITION OF THE LOSING - INC. USA
RUSSIA & BELARUS/EXPATS IN RUSSIA
NON-ENGLISH NEWS
TRUMP AND THE ART OF BLACKMAIL
Donald Trump says he has no respect for laws he presumably expects others to abide by. What crimes then might fall under his notion of what is right, and can he even recognize what is plainly wrong?
They used to call Trump’s way of doing things on the international scene ‘gunboat diplomacy’ but can anyone explain why this is any different from common, criminal blackmail?
What is gunboat diplomacy?
Google AI:
Gunboat diplomacy is the pursuit of foreign policy objectives through conspicuous displays of naval power. It implies a direct threat of warfare should an adversary fail to comply with a “strong” nation’s demands.
Bullies use blackmail to get what they want, commonly saying or implying that you will do what they say or they’ll hurt you.
If this doesn’t work immediately then there’s always the option of grabbing the victim’s arm and twisting it up behind his or her back to get compliance.
The factor that is always present is that a stronger individual is taking advantage of a weaker one and knows he or she can abuse the victim with virtual impunity. The blackmailer is always in this way also a coward.
Discuss the similarities between gunboat diplomacy and a bully blackmailing a weaker individual.
Google AI:
The similarities between gunboat diplomacy and blackmail are so striking that historians often describe the former as “state-level racketeering.” Both rely on a lopsided power dynamic where the threat of ruin replaces the need for genuine negotiation.
It is widely recognized that Donald Trump is a bully who doesn’t give a good goddamn about the rules of normal conduct or for the rules and laws embedded in the UN Charter or in international law for that matter. Trump conceives himself to be outside of almost all laws which others are expected to abide by. On one infamous occasion he said he could walk down any main street in America and shoot someone without losing votes. This is an extreme case which (we must hope) is unlikely ever to occur, however Trump has no such squeamishness concerning using criminal actions against other nations.
Trump not only engaged in a highly aggressive form of blackmail against Venezuela in recent months, he also authorized the unlawful killing of at least 126 individuals who were offering no direct threat. As is likely to be argued out in a court of law at some future date these were no more nor less than acts of murder performed by the U.S. military after accepting an unlawfull order with Trump as its primary source.
Currently Trump is using the same tactic of gunboat blackmail against the nation of Iran. If the Iranian authorities don’t do what he says then there can be little doubt that Trump will authorize some attack upon Iran resulting in similar numbers of fatalities that were seen during the eventual attack upon Venezuela. At least one hundred individuals lost their lives during that attack. This brings the total of deaths by the U.S. military in nations offering no direct threat to the USA.
Blackmail is considered one of the blackest of black arts in the criminal world in which it is used. The threat of harm, injury and even, as we have seen, death, is used to coerce to get something that would not be given freely and voluntarily by the one targeted. It is the coward’s way of operating, usually in the dark away from the view of others, with the intent to instill the kind of fear that makes others malleable to a criminal’s demands. Trump however, currently the leading voice in the world’s most powerful state does his blackmailing in full public view. He can do this simply because he IS the most powerful force in the world currently. And the world’s foremost coward and bully.
Trump is very proud of his book, ‘The Art of the Deal’. Perhaps he will now have someone ghost write another? ‘The Art of Blackmail.’
TRUMP AND THE ART OF BLACKMAIL
Please compare the Trump tactic of using warships to threaten both Venezuela and Iran and how this tactic compares to gunboat diplomacy and the criminal act of blackmail.
Google AI:
The 2025–2026 naval strategies of the second Trump administration towards
Venezuela and Iran represent a modern, high-tech revival of gunboat diplomacy that shares the foundational mechanics of criminal blackmail.
1. The Mechanics of Modern Gunboat Diplomacy
Historically, gunboat diplomacy involved anchoring a warship off a weaker nation’s capital to secure concessions. Trump’s tactics mirror this through “strategic visibility”:
The Venezuelan “Southern Spear”: In early 2026, the U.S. deployed a “massive armada” of dozens of warships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean. This fleet served as the physical platform for Operation Absolute Resolve, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026.
The Iranian “Armada”: By late January 2026, Trump ordered an even larger fleet—led by the USS Abraham Lincoln—toward Iran. Trump explicitly framed this as a coercive tool, stating on social media that the fleet was “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary”.
Coercive Deterrence: Analysts define these moves as “coercive deterrence,” intended to signal a readiness for intervention and raise the cost of resistance for the target regimes.
2. Comparison to Criminal Blackmail
Blackmail is defined by the use of a threat (typically exposure or harm) to compel a victim into an action they would not otherwise take. The parallels in these geopolitical tactics include:
The “Orwellian” Ultimatum: Trump issued a public ultimatum to Iran’s leadership to “come to the table swiftly” or face “severe consequences,” invoking previous U.S. strikes as a warning. In blackmail terms, this is the “pay or suffer” demand.
Kompromat and Capture: Critics describe the abduction of a foreign leader (as seen with Maduro) as a form of “state-level kidnapping” or blackmail used to force regime change or policy shifts.
Economic Extortion: The administration tied the Venezuelan intervention directly to oil access, announcing a 50-million-barrel oil deal with the acting government immediately after Maduro’s removal. This “profit from coercion” mirrors the blackmailer’s financial motive.
4. Geopolitical Risks
While gunboat diplomacy is intended to achieve goals without war, analysts warn it can easily trigger the very conflict it seeks to avoid. Iranian officials have responded to the current naval buildup by declaring that any attack will be treated as an “all-out war”. This escalation illustrates the danger of a “blackmail” strategy: if the victim refuses to pay, the aggressor is often forced to carry out the threat to maintain credibility.
TRUMP AND THE ART OF BLACKMAIL
