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Raymond J. de Souza: Lessons for Trump from the Rideau Canal

It's hard to secure a waterway from only one side. Hence the Rideau Canal's construction in 1826-1832

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A quarter century back, the Americans — with their NATO allies — launched Operation Enduring Freedom, the post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan.

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Contrary to form, the otherwise grandiose Donald Trump launched the mere Project Freedom on Monday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. Nothing enduring about it — he called it off on Tuesday, as he had no NATO allies in the effort, and his staunch Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, refused him use of their bases and airspace to carry it out.

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Feverish diplomacy ensued — with the Saudis, not the Iranians. By week’s end, the Saudis and Kuwaitis had granted permission for operations to resume. (When Project Freedom was rendered Project Futile by their initial refusal, they realized that further embarrassing Trump was not in their interest.) It would be comical if so much suffering had not been caused by the closure of the strait, from stranded mariners to Asian energy rationing.

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