President Putin Gifting President Xi Jinping the YotaPhone 2. (Source: RT screen grab)
Robert Kagan, Foreign Policy: Backing Into World War III
America must check the assertive, rising powers of Russia and China before it's too late. Accepting spheres of influence is a recipe for disaster.
Think of two significant trend lines in the world today. One is the increasing ambition and activism of the two great revisionist powers, Russia and China. The other is the declining confidence, capacity, and will of the democratic world, and especially of the United States, to maintain the dominant position it has held in the international system since 1945. As those two lines move closer, as the declining will and capacity of the United States and its allies to maintain the present world order meet the increasing desire and capacity of the revisionist powers to change it, we will reach the moment at which the existing order collapses and the world descends into a phase of brutal anarchy, as it has three times in the past two centuries. The cost of that descent, in lives and treasure, in lost freedoms and lost hope, will be staggering.
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WNU Editor: A long read .... and a point of view that I am in disagreement with. Robert Kagan may feel comfortable with the idea of the U.S. "playing empire" in maintaining the global order of the past few decades .... but I am not. 16 years ago the U.S. had a balanced budget and was involved in no wars .... today .... the U.S. runs multi-trillion dollar debts and is involved in so many wars and conflicts that even I have lost count on how many there are. China has stayed away from wars, and with the exception of Syria, Ukraine, and Georgia .... Russia has limited its involvement. Not surprising .... even though both countries are facing enormous problems .... there is a confidence in their societies that they are on the right path .... but I cannot say the same about the West. And while I do not know if President Trump can change the role that the U.S. plays globally .... there are after-all many who are happy with the status quo .... I do hope that he does make an effort to drawback from many of the world's conflicts and supposed U.S. spheres of influence because when you look at the big picture .... I fail to see what is the benefit to the American people to be involved in "playing" this global role .
