Harry Shannon
Donald Trump seems to have his heart set on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In support, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has even written a nomination letter for him.
Most people scoff at the prospect that Trump could get the award, given his record. Perhaps, but there are things Trump could do to justify the Prize. The minimal list, though, is long and would require him to renounce many of his policies:
- Show some spine and stand up to Vladimir Putin. Don’t just talk tough but be tough in dealing with this despot.
- Reassure Greenlanders that he will not attempt to seize the island. Invading and taking over another country is not favoured by the Nobel committee.
- Promise not to use military force to take control of the Panama Canal and instead leave it under the control of the Panamanians.
- Drop all talk of making Canada the 51st state and vow to respect Canadian sovereignty.
- Respect international law, especially humanitarian law. Sanction countries, even allies like Israel, when they commit war crimes. Support the international courts. Don’t sanction United Nations officials, like Francesca Albanese, for doing their job.
- Keep the US military out of wars of choice, even limited actions such as in Iran.
- Drop all tariffs and threats of tariffs. They’re called trade “wars” for a reason.
- Restore funding to agencies like USAID whose work promotes and maintains peace in many parts of the world.
- Don’t push plans for ethnic cleansing, for example by advocating a “riviera” in Gaza. Don’t aid and abet Israel’s plans for herding Palestinians into a tiny area of Gaza which they will not be allowed to leave.
- Withdraw the big bill that will leave millions without health insurance, potentially hastening their deaths.
This of course is only a minimal list. Oh, and there’s something else that is even more important: actually broker a peace agreement somewhere.