"THE MARCH 24TH OPERATION"

("THE MARCH 24TH OPERATION")

Of all the thousands of books written about the Second World War, one of the best would be from the Supreme Commander himself, General of the Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower and his excellent volume, Crusade in Europe. In one of the concluding chapters, the General was making the point that by March 24th, 1945, Germany's fate was sealed. That was the Rubicon where any sort of recovery on the part of the Third Reich was no longer possible. On March 24th, virtually the entirety of the Allied host was finally on the far bank of the Rhine. All that remained was pursuit and final reduction. The Germans did finally surrender on May 7th.


The difference is in options. The Allies could, and did, strike at will, while the Germans could only watch. That has been the story for President Trump's opposition and like the Germans facing annihilation, like those judges or politicians who think Trump is acting as an oligarch, the President is displaying a flexibility of the type that had been available to General Eisenhower.


Judicial intransigence notwithstanding, Democrat collapse as evident as ever, news is being made on the trade front. On April 2nd, a date almost as important as March 24th, reciprocal tariffs would be assessed. The President's actions in this regard had introduced a certain un-certainty in the Markets. Apparently until today. The White House has indicated that said levies might not be absolute. Like a death-row in-mate strapped onto the gurney to die by lethal injection only to get a call from the Governor's office granting a last-minute reprieve.


That is what the President indicated about April 2nd. It is like the threat of a tariff is worse than the tariff itself. So, what will Trump execute when the day arrives ? If this a pause, a chance for nations to come to terms before terms get imposed, that would be consistent. In other words, the President is bluffing. What happens if the bluff is called ?


Such an action would not necessarily be relevant because Trump starts with a winning hand. In the end the prospect is true reciprocity. Billions and trillions of dollars are being committed to this country and as an investment opportunity the U.S. has no equal. That is by the President's design. So, he will impose tariffs. Or, at least threaten. 

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