Trump Spits on Marshall’s Grave

Published in http://www.elmundo.es/opinion/2018/06/07/5b180b7d268e3e5d278b45bb.html
(Spain) on 7 June 2018
by Iñaki Gil (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Antonio Sánchez. Edited by Tiana Robles.
Group of Seven or Group of Six + 1 summit of leading industrial nations? Donald Trump has created such a deep rift by imposing tariffs on aluminum that we could say two opposing sides are meeting in Quebec: Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the U.K. on one side, and the U.S. on the other.

Not much can be expected from the conclave. It's clear: the "America First" president decides on his own, whether it is economic matters or breaking the nuclear deal with Iran.

There's also his disdain for the multilateral order and his closest allies, which disregards the principles that have ruled the world since the end of World War II. It's not about the tariffs, but about the global order.

This week marked the 71st anniversary of Gen. George C. Marshall's speech, which laid the cornerstone of this system of U.S.-led Western supremacy.

On June 5, 1947, the person who had served as the U.S. Army chief of staff during the war, someone with the capability to organize an army of more than 8 million soldiers, spoke at Harvard’s commencement ceremony. He was then the secretary of state, and presented the European Recovery Program, which would later be known as the Marshall Plan.

The United States’ biggest diplomatic success cost more than $13 million at the time. That injection of money represented more than 5 percent of the American gross domestic product in 1948. In exchange, Marshall imposed two conditions: there would be no hurdles in trade, and the plan had to be accepted by all the European nations. This resulted in what is today known as the Organization for Economic Cooperation, which promoted the construction of Europe.

"The United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace." Marshall said.

Only the eastern countries, impeded by Moscow, and Spain, which wasn't invited, were left out.

"The real benefits were psychological. Indeed, one might almost say that the Marshall Plan helped Europeans feel better about themselves. It helped them break decisively with a legacy of chauvinism, depression and authoritarian solutions. It made coordinated economic policy-making seem normal rather than unusual. It made the beggar-your-neighbour trade and monetary practices of the thirties seem first imprudent, then unnecessary and finally absurd," s Tony Judt wrote in his book ,“Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945.”

Trump is tearing all that down. It is as if he is spitting on Marshall’s grave, Marshall who was buried – like other heroes – at Arlington, after he received the Nobel Peace Prize.


Trump escupe sobre la tumba de Marshall

¿Cumbre del G7 o del G6+1? La fractura provocada por Donald Trump al imponer aranceles al aluminio es tan profunda que se puede decir que en Quebec se reúnen Alemania, Canadá, Francia, Italia, Japón y Reino Unido por un lado frente a Estados Unidos por el otro.
Poco cabe esperar del cónclave. Está claro: el presidente del America First decide solo. Sea en materia económica, sea rompiendo el acuerdo nuclear con Irán.
Y ese desprecio por el orden multilateral y por sus aliados más próximos pone en cuestión los principios que han regido el mundo desde el fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. No son los aranceles. Es el orden global.
Esta semana se han cumplido 71 años del discurso del general George C. Marshallque puso la primera piedra de ese sistema que no es otro que la supremacía occidental liderada por EEUU.
El 5 de junio de 1947 quien había sido jefe del Estado Mayor en la guerra, capaz de organizar un ejército de 8 millones de soldados, habló en la graduación de Harvard. Era secretario de Estado y presentó el Programa de Ayuda a Europa que pasaría a la Historia como Plan Marshall.
El mayor éxito diplomático de EEUU costó 13.000 millones de dólares de entonces. La inyección de dinero supuso en 1948 el 5% del PIB americano. A cambio, Marshall puso dos condiciones: que no hubiera trabas al comercio y que el Plan fuera aceptado por todas las naciones europeas. Ello dio origen a lo que hoy es la OCDE y empujó la construcción europea.
"Estados Unidos debe hacer lo que esté en su mano para restaurar la salud de la economía del mundo sin la cual no habrá estabilidad política ni estará asegurada la paz", dijo Marshall.
Sólo los países del Este, forzados por Moscú, y España, que no fue invitada, quedaron al margen.
"Los verdaderos beneficios fueron psicológicos. El Plan ayudó a los europeos a romper el legado de chovinismo, depresión y autoritarismo; hizo normal la política económica coordinada y logró que las políticas [nacionalistas] de los años 30 parecieran imprudentes, luego innecesarias y, finalmente, absurdas", sentenció Tony Judt en Postguerra.
Trump está arrasando con todo ello. Es como si hubiera escupido sobre la tumba de Marshall. Que está enterrado, como los héroes, en Arlington. Tras ganar el Nobel de la Paz.

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