Steal or buy: Trump's dilemma

Steal or buy: Trump's dilemma

Any arithmetician knows that spreading out bases increases the defense perimeter exponentially in the proportion of 2πR, where R is the radius of the area. Therefore, the logistics for a set of decentralized, dismembered North American bases spread across 90 countries are 988 bases around the world, with around 300,000 military personnel.

So, each base should have an average of 300 military personnel, which makes it very easy to hit a poorly defended base with only 300 military personnel and a few anti-aircraft units, a small force everywhere.

Regarding the international market, I must say that nature is extremely heterogeneous: 90% of the dry surface of the earth is in the northern hemisphere, so 90% of the Earth's population is concentrated above the equator.

About 90% of the world's niobium ore is in Brazil, the metal for rocket and turbojet engines; Oil is largely in Asia and the Middle East, and to complicate matters, the richest countries have almost no oil.

Also: ferrous metal deposits are in Brazil, Australia, Canada, Africa.

Gold is in Russia, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Canada; Rare Earths in China (almost 80%), Brazil, Vietnam; Lithium is 80% divided between China and Bolivia.

So, the US needs to cooperate or pirate the commodities.

Roberto da Silva Rocha, professor universitário e cientista político