Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA

The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 active-duty soldiers to be prepared to go to Minnesota if necessary, as anti-government protests are drawing thousands to the streets in the Twin Cities. The U.S. Army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case the protests escalate into violence and state security forces are overwhelmed. Officials did not give a timeline, but Donald Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces if officials in the state do not stop protesters from targeting immigration officials. The protests come after ICE agents killed two people in the span of ten days – an American woman in her car, and a Venezuelan man on the street. Neither victim was armed.

After half a year of poorly trained ICE agents using illegal, unconstitutional force, Americans have started pushing back against the Gestapo-esque behaviour of DHS agents, and Donald Trump appears ready to quell any signs of rebellion. The Insurrection Act, created in 1807, has been used less than two dozen times in the country’s history. Donald Trump has threatened to use it four times since the start of his second term in 2025. The act allows the President to deploy military and National Guard troops to states in order to take action against any necessary emergency, whether that be ‘insurgents’ or natural disasters.

Are the protests violent?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer to this question. After months of conflict, ICE Agents in Minnesota are quick to anger and extremely aggressive. ICE Agents are attempting to conduct arrests during protests, and small protests are starting naturally across the state in response to violent DHS arrests. In the months of violent ICE arrests across America, the agency has seen little to no resistance as they take friends and neighbours off the streets. In Minnesota, the population has finally drawn the line, and Donald Trump is ready to send in the military in response. The last time Trump threatened to impose the Insurrection Act, he faced threats of lawsuits from every mayor that would have been impacted; he’s weighing his options as 1,500 soldiers sit in waiting.

There was one example of potentially threatening protesters, but it was once again in response to the actions of others. On January 17, far-right influencer Jake Lang, an anti-Muslim, antisemitic, Christian nationalist who was pardoned by Trump for assaulting police officers during the January 6 riot in 2021, was chased away by protesters after attempting a pro-ICE demonstration. Lang advertised the protest on his social media and managed to attract five ICE sympathizers, but the group was chased away by a swarm of hundreds in a counterprotest. Lang and his gaggle were attacked with cold water and aerosol string, known colloquially as ‘silly string’.

Experts are warning Trump not to send more troops to Saint Paul and Minneapolis. With 3000 immigration and border patrol officers already in the Twin Cities, more troops would just exacerbate the protests, which have been largely peaceful. The statement from Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell is chilling, though, with Parnell stating that “The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander-in-chief if called upon.” Trump has already shown his desire to impose the Insurrection Act, and the Twin Cities may just be the excuse he is looking for, especially with polls being released showing that Americans are feeling uneasy with Trump’s use of violence overseas. Trump will either have to rule with an iron fist as he’s proposed, or back down to American voters.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that Canada will receive ‘significant’ financial investments from Qatar, calling it a ‘new chapter’ in the nation’s relationship. According to Carney, Qatar will be investing in major Canadian building projects. Carney made the announcement on January 18, after a meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The agreement will finalize the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with Qatar – a deal that has been in the works for several years but has yet to come to fruition.

During his statement, Carney claimed that the agreement would mark an alignment of Canada and Qatar as friends and strategic partners as countries work to become less reliant on the U.S. According to Carney, Qatar will be funding major developments in the Canadian energy sector, and that the capital from Qatar would create thousands of high-paying careers for Canadians. He added that the agreement would also streamline the process for Canadian businesses to expand into Qatar.

Details of the agreement

According to Carney, the agreement deepens Canada’s relationship with Qatar across the board. Air services between Canada and Qatar will be expanded, and a Canadian defence attaché will be posted in the country. The two nations will also reportedly be working together to further defence, security, and military relationships, including a focus on AI developments. Since his election in 2025, Carney has been laser-focused on strengthening Canada’s relationship with Qatar, a nation he clearly sees as having serious potential. With global trade in turmoil because of Donald Trump’s tariffs, Carney made it clear in his January 18 interview that Canada is seeking a diverse set of deals with various countries, and that he would be willing to work with the countries needed to further the Canadian economy.

This deal with Qatar comes just a week after Carney announced a massive deal with China to import nearly 50,000 Chinese EV’s with a slashed tariff rate of 6.1%. The deal drew criticism from those hesitant to have Canada deal with China, an argument made about Qatar as well. Qatar operates under Sharia law, according to Islam, meaning the nation’s laws on homosexuality and certain human rights are different than Canada’s. While trading with a country whose values differ from Canada’s clearly is not a problem with Carney, it is a problem for some Canadians, with Carney’s Liberals receiving criticism over both the China and Qatar deals.

On the point of culture, Carney is promoting curiosity, not judgement, claiming that when two nations start to understand each other’s cultures, they start to trust each other, and are able to ‘build more together’. Carney was given an official welcoming ceremony upon his arrival in Qatar, and after the meeting, extended a formal invitation to the Emir of Qatar to visit Canada in the near future. The Prime Minister thanked the Emir for his hospitality in a statement released after the meeting.  Carney has been on a nine-day trip focused on expanding Canada’s foreign relationships and continuing to diversify Canada’s traditional trade supply lines away from American reliance. Carney’s trip will end in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.

The Kremlin announced that it has received an invitation from Trump personally inviting Vladimir Putin to join a «Board of Peace» committee tasked with overseeing the reconstruction of Gaza, as the president also floated the idea that a permanent seat on the committee could be purchased for $1 billion. Speaking to reporters, the Russian press secretary confirmed that «President Putin also received through diplomatic channels an invitation to join this Board of Peace», signaling that the proposal had been formally transmitted. He added that the Kremlin was «hoping», as it reviews the invitation, «to get more details from the US side», suggesting that Moscow is treating the offer cautiously while seeking clarification on the scope of the proposal.

The «Board of Peace», chaired by Trump, is built on the premise of the American plan to demilitarize and rebuild Gaza, but has already drawn concern from U.S. allies. According to CNN, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee issued a statement over the weekend warning that the body proposed by Trump «would have a mandate wider than the implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan», raising questions about its scope and authority. The initiative continues to expand as Belarus announced that President Alexander Lukashenko has also received an invitation to join the «Board of Peace». As of now, the board is set to include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while Argentinian President Javier Milei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and, lastly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reportedly also received invitations from the U.S. president.

But according to indications reported by several media outlets, Israel is opposing Trump’s proposed «Board of Peace», with objections focusing primarily on its composition, mandate, and the lack of prior coordination with Jerusalem. Officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have objected to the announcement of the board without consultation, arguing that several of the invited or rumored participants conflict directly with Israel’s security doctrine and postwar objectives in Gaza. Particular concern has been raised over the possible inclusion of countries such as Turkey, which Israeli officials view as hostile and as having political ties to Hamas, as well as over the broader internationalization of Gaza’s governance. Members of Netanyahu’s coalition, especially on the right, have warned that the board risks limiting Israel’s freedom of action and transferring strategic decisions about Gaza’s future to external actors. The Israeli government has also signaled unease with a mandate that could extend beyond reconstruction, viewing the initiative as undermining Israeli sovereignty and security control in the postwar phase.

Donald Trump has intensified his threats to seize Greenland, recently declaring that the territory could be taken whether they «Like it or not», now shifting responsibility for his hardened stance onto Norway. In a letter addressed to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump links his rhetoric directly to the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, presenting the snub as a turning point in his approach to planning the potential seizure of territory from U.S. NATO allies. According to Trump, the failure to receive the prize has removed any moral or political restraint he previously felt, leading him to state that he is now no longer bound «to think purely of Peace» on Greenland. The remarks frame his renewed pressure on the Arctic territory as both a strategic move and a reaction to what he portrays as unfair treatment by Norway, escalating tensions around a proposal that has already drawn widespread international criticism.

In the letter addressed to Norway’s Prime Minister, which comes as Trump imposes 10% punitive tariffs on allied countries opposing his vision of seizing Greenland, the president directly links economic pressure to his territorial ambitions toward a NATO ally. Trump wrote «Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace», explicitly presenting the Nobel Committee’s decision as a justification for abandoning diplomatic restraint. He added «although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.», framing the shift as a recalibration of U.S. priorities. The timing of the letter, alongside trade measures targeting allied nations resisting his Greenland plans, underscores how Trump is combining territorial pressure, economic leverage, and personal grievance into a single confrontational strategy toward U.S. allies.

In the letter, Trump boasts about his role within the alliance, claiming he has «done more for NATO than any other person since its founding», and argues that this record entitles him to immediate concessions from U.S. allies. Framing the issue as a matter of reciprocity, he insists that Greenland should be handed over to him «now», asserting that «NATO should do something for the United States.» The president attempts to cast this demand as part of a broader effort to safeguard global stability, presenting territorial control as a prerequisite for security rather than an act of coercion. He pushes the argument further by declaring «The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland», portraying the acquisition of the Arctic territory as a necessity for world peace.

In public pushback to Trump’s Greenland threats, several NATO leaders have used unusually direct language: a joint statement by seven European leaders said Greenland «belongs to its people» and stressed «It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland». Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said «Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter». UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged de-escalation, saying «I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion», even as he called Trump’s tariff threat «completely wrong» and warned that a trade war is in no one’s interest. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, pressed on whether allies would back the U.S. if force were used, deflected and said members were working to «make sure that the Arctic is safe», while insisting such disputes between allies should be handled out of public view.