The general move away from U.S. strategic policy is hardly a surprise. “America First” apparently means “Everyone Else Last with added insults”. The highly debatable interpersonal and diplomatic social skills that accompany this sewer outfall of logic are also very much on the nose.
There is a reason for this appalling situation:
During the early Cold War, only America could lead. Nobody else had the money after the war, and the U.S. was one of the few major economies left standing.
Scientifically, America took the lead through the 1950s and 60s. The world had to catch up. Meanwhile, the strategic situation was all about nukes. Very few other countries could participate. Strategic leadership was largely about things where most other countries had no input at all.
This state of affairs bumbled on until the Vietnam War. American credibility took a massive hit for losing an extremely unpopular war it didn’t need to fight and achieving nothing. Betraying its own veterans became fashionable around then, too. Other wars followed this general storyline.
By the 1990s, the USSR had fallen apart, and the entire strategic situation had changed. By the 2000s and 2010s, China’s rise dwarfed other issues. America’s stated priorities simply prattled on regardless. Common ground disappeared fast enough. The current directionless drivel is hardly helping.
You don’t need the rest of the history. Now, America demands increases in military spending on unspecified defense assets while sabotaging its own trade and revenue base.
No, thanks. No thanks at all.
Defending against whom, you may ask? Why, the Russians, of course. Or The Chinese. Or both. Or the pixies at the bottom of the inexcusably defunct White House Rose Garden, for all anyone can find out. It’s an absolute shambles at best.
This is the same administration that shut down cyber intelligence operations against Russia a few months ago. The administration has failed totally to stop the Ukraine war, one of its stated top priorities. The dying, rotting, insolvent remains of Russia are being propped up entirely by Chinese money and American intransigence.
The “strategic” situation is thus entirely self-inflicted. The world doesn’t care. Seriously offending allies seems to be the main goal. Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the EU, the UK, and NATO have to guess what’s happening in between patronizing remarks from the cuckoo clock previously known as Washington.
That’s getting very stale. It’s impossible for allies to set clear objectives or integrate anything while waiting for the next off-target babble. The EU is rearming because it has no choice, and it’s getting no guidance. Canada and Australia are looking for much less verbose options and real people who can complete whole sentences all by themselves.
America is getting cut out by default now. American strategy no longer makes sense. There are no longer even theoretical objectives. All this bluster is utterly worthless and time-wasting.
This is supposed to be an op-ed rather than a recital of the obvious.
Here’s a military perspective:
All this expensive squeaking is happening at a huge generational tipping point in modern warfare.
“Go buy some more stuff” couldn’t be more meaningless as a policy.
A ridiculous menagerie of vintages of useless stuff is available to buy. It’s more like a yard sale. It’ll take years to get modern stuff deployable. The tech alone will take that long, let alone production.
At no point has an integrated policy even been mentioned.
There is no indication of serious real-world threats being even mentioned, let alone addressed.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Ukraine, with occasional Post-it notes from the bassinet as acknowledgement.
The monotonous, constant cowardly diplomatic failures do not equate to peace or any chance of peace. Quite the opposite. This total lack of strong, decisive leadership guarantees more wars.
This is not a game, according to you, you’re not playing, and somehow, you’re still losing.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
