OPINION: But What About Her Emails?!

By Sheri Monk
Guest Columnist

It’s tough to be a journalist these days – I’m glad I just dabble in it.

First, the truth is no longer just contextual and objective – it’s often not truth at all. In January 2017, just after Trump’s first inauguration, the White House coined the term “alternative facts,” and at the time, I laughed. I actually thought the public, whether Democrat or Republican, would admonish the newly minted administration back into reality. But I was young, naive, and so much less misanthropic back then. I miss those days. They feel like 30 years ago.

Last week, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed that he was added to a group chat discussing detailed plans for bombing Yemen. This group chat was on an app called Signal, which, while known for better privacy than Facebook Messenger, is still an app available for download by anyone, on any phone. To be clear, this group chat – into which the journalist was mistakenly added – included more than a dozen senior Trump officials, including the vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense.

In excerpts released by Goldberg, Vance (the VP) expressed his distaste for Europe’s “freeloading” on U.S. military action in Iran-backed Yemen. The timing was discussed, and he even used emojis in the chat to represent the bombing.

Is this the same country that condemns its allies for not spending enough on defense? The same country where officials plan foreign attacks via a public messaging app and accidentally invite a journalist? And these are the people who control roughly half the world’s nuclear arsenal? AND we share a border with them?

Goldberg initially sat on the leak, not wanting to cause a national security crisis before the bombs were dropped. He wasn’t even sure if the conversation was real, but once the Yemen attack made the news, he knew it was. I would have been incredulous, too. I took greater security precautions sending my sister all my passcodes in case things went south during a recent shark-diving trip in Australia.

And what was Trump’s reaction when he found out? He pretended not to know and attacked The Atlantic, while other officials slammed the journalist. I was dumbfounded—but not surprised. I don’t even know if I’m capable of genuine astonishment anymore. If aliens landed tomorrow on a giant horse-shaped spaceship, I wouldn’t be surprised. Impressed, maybe. Surprised? Nah. I haven’t been surprised since 2017.

After Trump and the White House blamed Goldberg for everything, the MAGA cult did likewise, claiming he should be imprisoned for exposing the massive screw-up in the first place. Do these people have any idea what journalism is supposed to do? How it functions to ultimately support democracy? Oh wait – they’re not interested in democracy.

If they weren’t so dangerous, the U.S. would be the laughingstock of the world right now. But that would be like laughing at a suicidal bus driver swerving between lanes—while you’re riding the bus.

This latest insanity comes from the same administration criticizing Canada for our lack of security and military spending. Just for sport, I looked up some statistics.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Canada ranked 16th in the world in 2023, spending $27.2 billion USD on its military. In contrast, Israel spent just slightly more at $27.5 billion. The U.S. placed first with $916 billion, China was second with an estimated $296 billion, and Russia was third with an estimated $109 billion. India and Saudi Arabia rounded out the top five biggest military spenders.

There are 196 countries in the world, and Canada ranks 16th in military spending. Our 2023 defense budget represented 1.3 per cent of our GDP. Sure, the U.S. spent FAR more—but their $916 billion represents only 3.4 per cent of their GDP, and they have a bad habit of invading, attacking, and otherwise involving themselves in conflicts. A quick AI search revealed, “The U.S. has been militarily involved in nearly 400 interventions in foreign countries between 1776 and 2023, with half of these operations occurring since 1950 and over 25 per cent in the post-Cold War period.”

Canada has apparently been involved in seven conflicts since the Cold War. Not 50. Seven.

So, the U.S. spends 2.62 times what we do but is involved in seven times as many conflicts? What a joke. It’s almost as ridiculous as blaming Canada for the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. when their own threat assessment summary didn’t even mention us. It’s one thing to be betrayed—it’s another to be falsely accused and gaslit on the world stage.

Speaking of being falsely accused on the world stage, I’ve thought a lot about Hillary Clinton and what she went through during her campaign against Trump. Remember the rallies where red-faced people in red hats screamed “LOCK HER UP”? Because I sure do. I happened to be in the U.S. the night of that election, and a “Lock Her Up” billboard stood just outside my hotel. That night, multiple trucks with Confederate flags unleashed their rage and misogyny by hurling beer bottles at the very advertisement Trump’s donors had paid for.

And why did Trump tell his followers and the world she should be in prison? Because she was answering work emails from her home server while serving as secretary of state. Meanwhile, Trump had more classified files sitting around on his coffee table, and there wasn’t a peep from the same crowd. Now, military secrets that risked the lives of their own military personnel have been leaked—and they refuse to be accountable in any way.

Thankfully, other nations see that the emperor has no clothes (and, make no mistake, it’s a terrible sight), and they are rallying behind Canada. The “Made in Canada” movement has caught on throughout Europe and the Commonwealth, as people overseas deliberately exclude American products—many expressly seeking to support us. These efforts to stand with us and truly see the situation for what it is mean so much more than mere dollars and cents. From the bottom of our hearts—thank you.

Should we be spending more on defense? Yes, now we absolutely should—thanks to the bully in our backyard.

Sheri Monk is a freelance writer based out of Medicine Hat, AB. She can be reached at sherimonk@gmail.com