India, July 12 -- The Wall Street Journal has revealed something far more consequential than another chapter in the political turbulence surrounding Donald Trump. According to its reporting, Prime Minister Mark Carney's efforts to persuade European leaders to reduce their strategic dependence on the United States were not simply a response to one American President. They reflected a strategic thesis he had been developing since the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

If that reporting is accurate, Canadians should pause.

This is no longer a debate about personalities or election cycles. It is a debate about the future architecture of the international order and the principles upon which it should rest.

The United States has already mad...