Oman has become the 15th country on the list of states that US President Donald Trump is threatening with military action. These countries are home to one in 11 people in the world.
CNN writes about this.
The channel notes that as a presidential candidate, Trump portrayed his opponents as interventionists eager to meddle, dragging the United States into all sorts of foreign wars, including World War III. As president, he “compiled an impressive list” of countries he both threatened to attack and actually attacked.
On May 27, Trump threatened to strike Oman if it tried to control the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.
“It was especially striking because it was said as if by the way — Trump seemed to say it carelessly, almost without thinking. And it has become quite typical of Trump,” the CNN article says.
Oman is at least the 15th country he has either threatened to attack, left open the possibility of attacking, or actually attacked during his two terms in office. Almost all of these incidents occurred during the first 16 months of his second term, although some span both terms.
During Trump’s current term, the United States has conducted military operations in seven countries. Strikes have been launched against Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Some of these countries were also targeted during his first term. This list does not include strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, which resulted in nearly 60 strikes and the deaths of more than 190 people.
Since the start of his second term, Trump has also threatened or left open the possibility of strikes against seven other countries: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Greenland (which is part of Denmark), Mexico, Panama, and now Oman. During his first term, he threatened Mexico and North Korea.
The channel notes that not all of these threats and strikes are the same. Some, like in Iraq, have been narrowly targeted at terrorists rather than the government in power. And in many cases, Trump has simply refused to rule out the possibility.
Experts call this strategy the “madman theory.” In other words, Trump wants to appear unpredictable, believing that this makes foreign adversaries more likely to comply with his demands.
“But all of this betrays an extremely belligerent stance from a president who has already invaded two countries (Iran and Venezuela) this year and is likely considering a third (Cuba), the channel notes.
According to CNN analysts:
- Trump has threatened or attacked 15 of the world's nearly 200 countries, or one in every 13 .
- Every 11th person in the world lives in these countries.
- Trump has threatened or spoken out against five countries in the Middle East alone. That's five out of fewer than 20 countries in the Middle East overall.
- The threats and strikes targeted countries on four continents: Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. He also technically threatened the European country of Denmark, although he spoke of seizing its territory in North America.
- Of the 15 countries, he identified five as possible targets for annexation : Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Panama (particularly the Panama Canal), and Venezuela.