New U.S. National Security Strategy should frighten Canadian lawmakers

At the FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., on Friday, American, Canadian and Mexican leaders smiled together in a tableau of hemispheric partnership. But imperial strategy rarely announces itself at press conferences — it announces itself in doctrine.

The new United States National Security Strategy , released last month, is such a doctrine. Canadians must read it carefully, because it describes an architecture of American dominance that sits in sharp contrast to the smiling theatre of the moment.

The strategy rests on pillars that demand Canadian attention: a reinvigorated Monroe Doctrine for the Western Hemisphere, a technology-centred national security doctrine built around U.S. dominance of artificial intelligence, compute power and the cloud infrastructure that enables them,