Declining Empire At War

News today that Washington is sending yet another massive chunk ($3 billion) of military aid to Ukraine, on top of the $10.6 billion we have already sent. Unconfirmed reports suggest that some weapons are being taken from American soldiers by the US military to be sent to Ukraine. Is there any domestic production? Are our leaders sure that we can sustain it indefinitely? What?

Every single American needs to read Christopher Caldwell’s powerful piece asking what on earth the US is doing in Ukraine. Excerpts:

Never has an official non-belligerent been more implicated in a war. Russia and its allies claim that America’s attempt to make Ukraine an anti-Russian armed camp is the reason for the conflict. Even those who disagree with this view agree that the United States is a key player in the conflict. It is pursuing a three-pronged strategy to defeat Russia through every means short of entering the war–which, of course, raises the risk that the United States will enter the war. The state-of the-art weapons it supplies to Ukraine is one prong. Numerous computer-guided artillery missiles capable of causing havoc in the Russian border have been operating since June. Another prong are sanctions. Washington, with the help of western Europe, has made use of its global market dominance to make Russians poorer in the hope of punishing Russia. The U.S. wants to unite the people around a culture war to punish Russia’s traditionalism.

It would be foolish to bet against the United States, a mighty global hegemon with a military budget 12 times Russia’s. But something’s not right. Russia’s military tenacity was to be expected–bloodying and defeating more technologically advanced armies has been a hallmark of Russian civilization for 600 years. The economic sanctions have not caused the collapse Blinken boasted about, but they have pushed up the cost of energy Russia exports and strengthened the ruble. This has threatened America’s Western European allies with recession, frostbite and shortages. Few people outside the West’s wealthiest latte communities support the culture war. Cultural self-defense could be one reason why India, China and other emerging countries have repeatedly declined to cut their economic ties.

Caldwell reminisces about how the United States have been playing with Ukraine for years, making moves Russia can’t help but consider aggressive. Both the Obama and Trump administrations were outrageously provocative. As Caldwell puts it, channeling his inner John Mearsheimer: “What did you think Russia was going to do? “

Caldwell examines the ways the US is putting itself in a very risky situation by its radical actions against Russia to get it out the international financial system. This hasn’t worked and Washington now shows India and China what might happen if they get on the wrong side. This is a ridiculous idea. Here’s Caldwell:

The attempt to isolate Russia from the American world system has had a striking unintended consequence–the possible founding of an alternative world system that would draw power away from the existing one. George W. Bush made Iran a regional power twenty years ago by removing the Iraqi deterrent. Joe Biden has given China the gift of Russia’s mineral and food resources. Our ability to identify our most grave military enemy and solve its greatest strategic problem is remarkable. China’s attention is on us now. Joe Biden claims that China will see any hesitation in the cause to obliterate Russia as an endorsement of Taiwan. Although he may be right, the U.S. handling of Ukraine over the last decade has been encouraging enough.

Administration officials often describe Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a war of choice. This may not have been the case at all, but it was true from the beginning. Vladimir Putin and Russia, which he governs cannot cease fighting. The United States will continue to arm Russia’s enemy and devastate its people, so they can believe that their country is in war for survival. Although the United States has been involved in less-bloody wars, it cannot escape a conflict it chooses. In this instance, it is afraid of overthrowing the international system that it has derived its strength and success for nearly three quarters of the century.

Read it all. Caldwell raises issues and asks questions I’ve never seen or heard raised anywhere else. These questions are crucial for America’s future. None of this is to justify Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but damn, remember how the unnamed Bush administration official, in 2004, told a reporter that in Iraq, “We create our own reality”? That is sheer hubris! It seems that America has a false notion about its power. We feel like the Ottoman Empire or a man in decline. Today, I was riding in a taxi with a Hungarian immigrant driver. He said to me, “I don’t want you to criticize my country. But look at what you have done the past twenty-or thirty years.” While you went to all corners of the globe trying to promote democracy, you only spread chaos. “

Yes. We spent $2 trillion on Iran to make it a regional power and for Osama Bin Laden to die in Kabul, where he was protected by the Taliban. Our European allies who followed Washington’s example on Ukraine are now going to see their economies fall this winter while their citizens freeze in the darkness. Only God knows how the European Union will survive. Russia has exhausted NATO’s weapon stocks. If we are really starting to ship our weaponry to Ukraine, how will we defend ourselves against a war that erupts?

We have to acknowledge that America has won the culture war against America’s classic liberal ideals. This includes adolescent girl’s breasts and pubescent child’s genitals. Parents also deserve to be able to see what’s going on at their kids’ schools. This is the one war that our decadent leaders know they will win.

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The US Navy is now offering up to $115,000 as a signing bonus, or to get vets to come back. Are you willing to fight for Western ideas to be shoved down Russia’s throat, citizen? With the defeats in Iraq and Afghanistan, I believed I’d seen the end to foolish American imperial wars. There have been 21 years of war, without any sustained victories and with no penalties for anyone who loses. The culture war is the exception. The Cathedral/Regime wins going away.