The death spiral of American foreign policy

When trying to predict what the New Year has in store for us, it may be worth remembering the old adage; do what you always did and you will get what you always got. And so, with no sign that the United States has any intention of doing anything else than it always has, it looks like we are doomed, or, to put it more succinctly, substitute that word for the one it has. Bombardier uses frequently.

This is the derivation of an opinion piece by Professor Walter Hixson in the latest collection of articles from the Information Clearing House.

And the shrinking group of US apologists can point their finger at wherever they see fit, Russia, China, Iran, Ukraine, Palestine, Hong Kong, Syria, Iraq. , Yemen, the Youghurs, climate change, global poverty, human rights, the world refugee crises – none of these issues would come close to the levels of concern they presently cause, without the helping hand of American foreign policy.

As Professor Hixson writes;

“American foreign policy today is on a reactionary death spiral. Never has a new ‘national security’ political paradigm been more desperately needed, but there isn’t even a glimpse of salvation on the horizon – wherever you look you’ll find policies that speak to the past and offer little hope for a viable global future. ”

Incarnated by …

“An endless series of eternal wars, a wholly inept response to the existential threat of climate change, the rampant destruction of animal and plant species, the continued militarization of the planet amid poverty, epidemic disease and little prospect of” a true national, and even less international, Security “,

… The United States is not the answer to our problems – it is the problem, Hixson alludes.

Built on a decades-long national indoctrination program just as sinister as that which underpinned Nazi Germany’s belief in its “Aryan destiny,” the United States, now ruled by the targets of all this flannel, have become a victim of their own propaganda. .

How else could supposedly educated adults in positions of power and influence in the American political system shamelessly use the phrase “American exceptionalism” to justify the global hegemony it imposes?

The outright pride at the heart of America’s national identity is astounding, a fact perhaps only overshadowed by the staggering number of so-called independent nation-states that bow to it.

Like passengers crammed into a bus descending a mountain track at breakneck speed, we have been conditioned to suppress our natural survival instincts for fear of upsetting the maniac at the wheel.

Like the Emperor in his new clothes, when will it be time for us to cry out; “The Emperor has no clothes! “?

“US policy towards Russia has been irrational since 1945” said Hixson…

“At that time, a truly ‘realistic’ foreign policy would have recognized and contented itself with trying to ameliorate an inevitable expansion of Soviet influence due to the USSR’s sacrifices during the war. Well over 50 Soviets died for every American who died in the conflict, as the USSR deserved the lion’s share of the credit – which it of course never received from Washington or Hollywood – for defeating the Nazis.

“Instead of addressing Soviet power realistically, the United States declared and waged an ideological holy war, which produced militarized nightmares around the world and especially in Indochina. After childishly touting the “victory” of the Cold War in 1991, the United States did the one thing Russian pundits, including George F. Kennan, warned would ensure the continuation of the Cold War: it expanded NATO, a hostile anti-Russian military alliance. , in Eastern Europe then in the former Soviet republics.

“Today, Vladimir Putin drew the line in eastern Ukraine, a place where millions of Russians live (they make up almost the two-thirds majority in Crimea, which Putin has already secured) and where the Russian language is widely spoken. Rather than having the realism of recognizing Russian national interests along its western border – and seeking common ground on climate change and perhaps non-intervention in each other’s domestic politics – the United States chooses the confrontation at the risk of an escalation of the military conflict.

And

“Israel, now widely and precisely recognized as an apartheid state, has, with the help of the lobby led by AIPAC – which controls the US Congress as completely as Putin controls the Russian Duma – any intention to start a war with it. Iran. “

“The aforementioned George Kennan once compared US foreign policy to a brontosaurus, a large prehistoric beast that wreaked havoc with its mighty tail, which was not held back by its very small brain. The image has never been more appropriate than it is today.

“A new foreign policy paradigm is desperately needed but, like World War II, it will likely take a cataclysm to inspire the necessary tectonic change. In the meantime, there will be a survival bonus.

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