{"id":33670,"date":"2026-06-28T18:05:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=33670"},"modified":"2026-06-28T18:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:05:31","slug":"a-constrained-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=33670","title":{"rendered":"a constrained beast&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Elbows-Up-with-Carney-Trump-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Elbows-Up-with-Carney-Trump-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Elbows-Up-with-Carney-Trump-2-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Elbows-Up-with-Carney-Trump-2-768x472.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-bf2ab9f3de15474d5b2c393c7bb5c1f0 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#06436d\">This is a rather long and involved post; however, the point is that Canada\u2019s Department of National Defence and Prime Minister Carney better begin instigating a major drone manufacturing initiative. This is necessary to bolster the security of the world\u2019s longest unprotected border, especially in light of Uncle Sam\u2019s recent Middle East misadventures and the likelihood that the United States will dust off once again the Monroe Doctrine as a guide for hegemonic adventures in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone-2pxm.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone-2pxm.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone-2pxm-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone-2pxm-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Court-Painter-drone1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-blue-color has-dark-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-72ae6e0216cad72de1179ff7c57793bc wp-block-paragraph\">Following Post from December 5,2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"791\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-1.37.31-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-1.37.31-PM.png 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-1.37.31-PM-300x237.png 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-1.37.31-PM-768x607.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"746\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/D-Trump-Can-Globe.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/D-Trump-Can-Globe.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/D-Trump-Can-Globe-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/D-Trump-Can-Globe-768x573.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-court-painter wp-block-embed-the-court-painter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"06zkcjr83o\"><a href=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=31824\">&#8216;reassert and enforce&#8217; USA style&#8230;<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201c\u2018reassert and enforce\u2019 USA style\u2026\u201d \u2014 The Court Painter\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=31824&amp;embed=true#?secret=zjPKpw8Ya6#?secret=06zkcjr83o\" data-secret=\"06zkcjr83o\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-blue-color has-dark-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-1b93fbc72a465c198584b97899fe5a9d wp-block-paragraph\">UPDATE:&nbsp;Excerpted\/edited comments by Professor Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, from transcript of his conversation on&nbsp;<em>The Bottom Line<\/em>&nbsp;(Al Jazeera English), June 28, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"US trying to \u2018squeak out of strategic defeat\u2019 after Iran: Pape | The Bottom Line\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iSm7ArDcMLU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chapter 4: A constrained global power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Al Jazeera<\/strong>:&nbsp;Really, what you\u2019re saying is that Iran was never going to be a cakewalk. You were one of the earliest people to come and really game this out, saying, \u201cThis is not going to end well, and here are the reasons why. You\u2019re going to propel Iran to a level of power and significance that it didn\u2019t enjoy before.\u201d But if you look at the Western Hemisphere, if you look at <strong>the Monroe Doctrine<\/strong>, if you look at Venezuela and the grab and snatch of Maduro from Venezuela, and now the rightward shift of even a lot of elections in the Western Hemisphere, you know, Donald Trump points to that as something that\u2019s a clear win. That was a cakewalk. So, what do you think the peculiar characteristics are of when it\u2019s a cakewalk and when it\u2019s not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Professor Pape<\/strong>:&nbsp;What you\u2019re going to see, is that the Iran war is going to have a powerful effect in constraining America as a great power in many regions of the world. I call it a constrained great power. America will remain the number one most strong military in the world, China number two, and then Russia number three. But it is more constrained. In the case of the Middle East, we\u2019re seeing the balance of power shifting right before our eyes. In the case of Asia, many people are thinking that what will happen is that we\u2019ll pull back from the Middle East and we\u2019re going to go to Asia. This is not right. That\u2019s not a correct understanding of our future. The future is going to be that we are going to be more restrained because if we can\u2019t keep our bases and carriers safe vis-\u00e0-vis Iran, imagine how we\u2019ll hold up against China. This is not going to work out. In fact, I won\u2019t be surprised if we start to think twice about building more carriers for Asia. This is going to be a situation where we\u2019re going to be heavily constrained. And of course, you\u2019re also seeing with Russia, Ukraine is now on its own mostly without any real new help, and with the drones, it\u2019s going to do quite well. The opposite of what most people thought, again not understanding the precision air revolution that has been underway for years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-08cd5ac9ed108dcefa98d5ab6f96a79a wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#045e9b\">What that is going to mean,  is that that thing called the Monroe Doctrine, as the US is constrained in the Middle East, as the US is constrained in Europe, and as it is constrained in Asia, it is probably going to focus more in the US region of the world. The US will become a more constrained power.  And the countries in its western hemisphere ( Canada, Mexico etc.) are substantially weaker than China, Ukraine, and of course, Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; This is a rather long and involved post; however, the point is that Canada\u2019s Department of National Defence and Prime Minister Carney better begin instigating a major drone manufacturing initiative. This is necessary to bolster the security of the world\u2019s longest unprotected border, especially in light of Uncle Sam\u2019s recent Middle East misadventures and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=33670\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;a constrained beast&#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-images","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33670"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33691,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33670\/revisions\/33691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}