USA: The Dying Hegemon

“The current military-political situation and threats to our states [Iran and Russia] oblige us to do this [promote defense and military cooperation], as well as common approaches to building a just world order [multipolar order] based on equality for all participants in the international community.” Sergey Shoigu, Russian Minister of Defense, meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, with Iranian Defense Minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.

Sanctions Addiction

After 9/11, the U.S. abandoned “carrot-and-stick” diplomacy for the stick: sanctions, threats, wars (Iraq and Libya), proxy wars (Syria and Ukraine), and regime change (Ukraine). The sanctions map (above) demonstrates the pervasiveness of U.S. sanctions, which impair about one-third of the global economy.  The U.S. and its allies (Canada, UK, EU, NZ, Australia), or “the collective west,” are viewed by the bulk of the world’s population—the six billion not included in “collective west”—as pro-war, pro-sanctions, pro-Israel, pro-genocide, anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic, and xenophobic. China sees the U.S. as the “great hegemon;” indeed it is, but the hegemon is dying by slow suicide. It has alienated billions, who are developing alternatives to U.S. leadership through organizations like BRICS+; and dumping the dollar in trade to insulate their economies against sanctions (de-dollarization). Trump’s “answer” to de-dollarization is “penalties for allies or adversaries who seek active ways to engage in bilateral trade in currencies other than the dollar.” That will work splendidly.

Blinken in China

Poor Little Blinkie. He goes to China, where he is not given a red-carpet welcome at the airport or met by PRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, but by a lowly official. No Chinese official saw him off; only the U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, was at the airport. While in China, Blinkie threatened China (video). The gist of Blinkie’s offer to China: “Help us enforce sanctions on Russia so NATO and our Ukrainian proxy can destroy Russia, which will leave us free to arm our proxy in Taipei and focus on destroying China.” China will pass on the offer. Beijing’s relations with Moscow are more important to it than its relations with Washington—a hegemon that is dying—a death that Iran, Russia, and China intend to accelerate.

Russia, China, and Iran

The quote by Shoigu reflects the reality of what is transpiring before Washington’s eyes. A coalition of countries targeted by the collective west know they have a common enemy and are cooperating militarily, politically, and economically to neutralize it. General Ashtiani also met with his Chinese counterpart, Defense Minister Dong Jun. Russia and Iran recently signed an agreement on military cooperation (details unpublished). “May you live in interesting times.”