Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Silent people are not political subjects but followers. They can also be called losers. If war is in the air, losers are going to, well, lose. Understandably, they prefer to see themselves in more dignified terms, as peaceful and law-obeying citizens, while perusing the philosophy of “nothing can be done”. The powerful, who pride themselves on winning, despise the “losers” who are not seriously challenging them. These winners are not numerous, but they are mighty and have equally rich and powerful backers in the shadows who are right now handsomely investing in weapons.

The first of these “winners” is, unavoidably, Donald Trump. He offends journalists and all that held the presidency before him in a most vulgar way. He bombs boats, renames buildings, boasts, roars, and brags. He blackmails his compatriots and upends the global economy. He dreams of the Nobel Prize (for peace!). He rewards the ones who flatter him the best and arrests the ones he doesn’t like. He changes his opinion, forgets what he has said, deploys guards in the cities, and evicts immigrants. He threatens to invade countries and sometimes follows through.On the home front, he is “transforming government into a police state that kills with impunity and deports without legal justification… (his) administration is destroying all the aspects of government that can make a positive difference in people’s lives and pumping up those aspects of government that concentrate wealth, promote injustice, and spread hate.”Trump’s agenda in international politics—though seemingly hectic, unpredictable, and elusive—is based on the crystal-clear logic of power pursuing its interests. Venezuela is a blatant example. As a prelude, he accused Nicolas Maduro of emptying his prisons and insane asylums and “forcing” its inmates to migrate to the United States.Then, in recent months, U.S. forces carried out more than two dozen strikes in international waters on boats alleged to have been carrying drugs, killing more than 100 people. The United States also attacked and seized tankers, explaining it as the expropriation of sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Venezuela has called U.S. maritime actions “international piracy,” and the International Criminal Court has declared “that the US military campaign more generally fell into the category of a planned, systematic attack against civilians during peacetime.” Most recently, Trump comitted an act of aggression by kidnaping Maduro and bringing him to New York for trial. The U.S. president is now openly professing his love for Venezuelan oil.

Putin and Rutte

It is anybody’s guess what Vladimir Putin’s dreams, intentions, and plans are for Europe. He has invaded Ukraine, to be sure, and has conducted cyberattacks against EU members. But it is to be hoped that he will not oblige Europeans’ potentially self-fulfilling prophecy that a full-scale war will take place in the next few years. In the meantime, European states are busy cutting their funds for education, culture, and health care, and starting to produce more arms.NATO chief Mark Rutte seems to be sure Putin is preparing one or another attack in Europe. Trump, on the other hand, is torn between respecting and being disappointed with his Russian counterpart who is still foiling his attempts to end the war (and finally get his Nobel Prize). Then again, if Putin agrees to the peace plan and holds to it, it will prove that Trump’s admirer Rutte was wrong and the big European military buildup is not necessary. As for the weaponry that Ukraine needs and that Europeans are made to believe they need, much of the missiles, armored vehicles, aircrafts, and hardware comes from the United States. Many U.S. arms manufacturers will be seriously displeased. So, Trump is facing a serious dilemma: strive for the Norwegian prize or export lots of weapons to Europe? That’s a tough one.Mark Rutte, in his position as NATO chief, has his own definition of “winning.” Of course, NATO dreams of mighty weapons because the meaning of its existence is war or the defense against it. The life of a professional soldier without a war is as meaningless as that of a butcher in a vegetarian country. So, as Europe’s top soldier, Mark Rutte wants armaments.He is also a textbook example of an apparatchik—a full-time, professional functionary of the Soviet Communist Party—though today the definition extends to any official or bureaucrat devoted to following orders. Put simply, if Rutte’s next position would be to protect dolphins, the marine mammals could rest assured that they would receive protection. As it is, Europeans can rest assured that more war-related taxes and catastrophizing are coming their way.

More “Winning”?

Though he promised his voters more than once that U.S. forces will not be sent to foreign countries, Trump spent the holidays bombing Nigeria and attacking Venezuela. His explanation for the attack on an Islamic State offshoot in Nigeria is that he wanted to protect Christians. Since Nigeria has neither the resources nor the finances to act against extremist violence, the government has welcomed any assistance. But skeptics are asking about the real motives. According to the National Security Strategy issued in early December, “the Trump administration sees the African continent primarily as a source of critical raw materials that the U.S. should be given access to. Africa was described in the document as a region with ‘plentiful natural resources and unused economic potential’.”After Venezuela, meanwhile, the list of potential targets is getting longer. Trump has threatened Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Iran, and Greenland. The UN and many politicians around the world have accused Trump of war crimes. And yet, silent losers remain largely silent. Will Americans be the first to speak out?Concerning Ukraine, Trump has convinced U.S. citizens that Europeans must take responsibility for the country’s defense. The president has already secured an agreement with Ukraine on mineral rights, while his envoys are busy considering certain agreements with Russia. Probably ‘beautiful’ ones. His obliging European allies are at work. In early December, they failed to agree on their first-choice option of using Russian state assets frozen on the continent as backing for a loan but agreed to keep Ukraine funded for two years with a loan of 90 billion euros.

Israel and Rule of Law

Israeli deals with both the United States and EU confirm that, genocide or no genocide, business must go on. According to the Cost of War Project report, published in October, the United States has given Israel more than $21 billion over the last two years. The United States is the largest supplier of military equipment to Israel (approximately 69 percent), followed by Germany at 30 percent. According to the United States, Germany, and Israel, this is a win-win proposition.In 2024, 10 pro-Palestinian NGOs filed a lawsuit accusing the Dutch state of doing too little to prevent genocide in Gaza. There were previous reports that Dutch-made parts for F-35 fighters continued to arrive in Israel via the United States. On November 6, 2025, the Hague Court of Appeal dismissed the groups’ appeal, saying that, although “there is a serious risk that Israel will commit genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza,” the Dutch government has “considerable discretion” to determine foreign policy and issues of national security. This was a loss for the NGOs and for international law more generally.For what it is worth, the Dutch government says that it has halted most arms exports to Israel and only allows parts for defense systems, such as the Iron Dome. But calls for a European arms embargo find no support. The motion by Kati Piri of the GreenLeft and Labor Party, which proposed a full arms embargo, was dismissed by the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy leader Dilan Yesilgöz as “bizarre, indefensible and unwise.” Yesilgöz, who followed Rutte to become chair of that party, has a very good chance to take a post in the new Dutch government now in formation.

In Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East, in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America, in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, in Sudan and elsewhere in Africa, soldiers are on the move, bombs are being used, and lives are being taken. If the silent losers don’t find their voice and strength, at least in numbers and out of fear, democracy does not have a chance. The minimum demand must be respect for the UN charters, international law, and common sense. Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu have been rightfully accused of war crimes. Donald Trump must be next.

This first appeared on FPIF.

The post Losers of the World Unite! appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

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