U.S. President Donald Trump is likely reviving old fears, as the U.S. had initially intended to invade Canada nearly a century ago in 1930.
The U.S. now seems to be vying for regional dominance. Experts point to War Plan Red, with its proof that its Canadian allyship was likely to have always been flimsy.
The plan then was for American forces to initially strike with poison gas munitions. This would lead to seizing a strategically important port city. U.S. forces were expected to sever undersea cables and proceed with actions to paralyse infrastructure by destroying bridges and rail lines. It was also intended to capture major cities on the shores of lakes and rivers. These captures were intended to blunt any civilian resistance.
The multipronged invasion was expected to rely primarily on ground forces. This was to be supported by both amphibious landings and mass internments. Architects of this plan envisage that the attack would be short-lived. They also expected the besieged country would likely fall within days.
The target had been Canada, as part of a classified 1930 strategy termed War Plan Red. That was for a hypothetical war with the U.K., where the U.S. was seeking to deny the U.K. any foothold in North America.
The invasion plans were once dismissed as a fumbling historical quirk. This has taken on fresh relevance. This evolution is due to the U.S. pivoting its foreign policy to an increasingly aggressive view of its preeminence. The focus was likely in the western hemisphere as it turns its sights on both foes and allies.
During early January, the fusion of economic nationalism and belligerent foreign policy was championed by Donald Trump. The Trump administration put this on full display when they ordered the capture of Venezuela‘s president, Nicolas Maduro. On the occasion, the U.S. president shared on social media that the U.S. would seize control of the South American country’s crude oil reserves.
