Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Dave Majumdar — Is America's Greatest Fear Coming True? Is a Russia-China Alliance Forming?

Thus far, Washington’s own actions have fueled closer cooperation between the two Eurasian titans. As Russia grows more isolated from the West, the Sino-Russian alliance will only grow closer.
Great strategy. Pushing the only countries that can destroy you into each other arms.

The National Interest
Is America's Greatest Fear Coming True? Is a Russia-China Alliance Forming?
Dave Majumdar | Defense Editor

See also

Andrew Korybko is a good analyst but I think he misses a key point in his opinion piece. The Russian leadership no longer trusts the American leadership to make agreements and keep its world. End of story. It's now too late to reverse that perception.

Oriental Review — Opinion
What The US Really Wants From Russia
Sputnik interviews John Steppling, public intellectual

12 comments:

Ryan Harris said...

I find it amusing how the deep state, Russia and China misunderstand Trump foreign policy agenda so they try to pressure in areas and negotiate to give us what we want while thinking they are twisting our arms. Interesting to watch. Trump wants the focus on economy and get out of security commitments while having China play a greater regional role in Asian security. China is taking over containment of Korea, Philippines, Russia while presenting the image the US is opposed because otherwise Russia, Korea and Philippines would be suspicious of China. Meanwhile the US is extricating itself from the Chinese financial leach... Short term thinking these look like bad moves but long term thinking it makes the US stronger economically and militarily it leaves us in auch stronger position where we are not adversaries with China in Asia. The only anchor remaining is Taiwan but I think Trump will jettison that dead weight as well for other concessions.

Noah Way said...

Trump is irrelevent except to the extent that he defies the deep state that continues to cause this mess. Obviously his anti-trade positions are detrimental but they pale in comparison to the deep state's decades-long anti-Russia actions from economic warfare, political isolation, NATO encroachment, military threats, etc. The deep state is in charge despite Trump. They have made him both a tool and an excuse to further their agenda.

Ryan Harris said...

Stratrgic Protectionism Tried and Tested policy. It just works.

Extricating from far flung wars and illusion of empire prevents war and allows cooperation and economic growth.

The left and its deep state liberal agenda is dead, for now, at least. Kaput.

Open migration, open capital, free information, free trade and all that ideological agenda has found reasonable limits rather than total global annihilation. Progress, can't go backwards to the dark ages of the 2000s.

Tom Hickey said...

Have to keep in mind that the ruling elite is factional and different cohorts have different interests and agenda that intersect on major salients, which become the projection points.

Government" in the broadest sense is comprise of the "policy types" that may or may not her serving in government at the time (revolving door) or may never serve in government, while others are career people, which includes much of the military and intel people. The people that are not serving at the time may be in business or finance, academia or think tanks, etc.

US politics is directed by the political leadership and it is heavily influenced by money-sources on which politicians depend for election and reelection, including lobbyists, as well as policy types.

The agenda is keeping America on top, which benefits the interests of all of these disparate cohorts.

The foreign and military policy types are trained to think in a certain way and also to operate in a certain way with others as participants in a thought collective. They read history and study geopolitics and geostrategy.

The foreign and military policy types operate on the assumption of path-dependence, that history follows certain patterns that can be discerned. The fundamental conviction is that this is a game of "king of the mountain," and they view everything from this perspective. (This is why the institution of a general staff in the military is a bad idea, for example.)

This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that result in continuance of path-dependence. There may be interruptions when peace breaks out for a time, but the annals of history show that this is only temporary.

And so it goes.

Most other people are clueless about this, and so that don't see what is happening behind the scenes and are therefore easily persuaded by manufactured consent.

Tom Hickey said...

From this vantage, Russia is an obstacle but not a threat. China is the only threat since the collapse of the USSR.

In this view, there cannot be two competing systems. One alone will triumph and replace the other. It's a zero-sum game, and there is no possibility of win-win.

One side has to fold, or fail, or there will be a showdown.

The US strategy is to force failure if possible, since who wins in a showdown is never a sure thing.

Matt Franko said...

We’re leaving.... redirecting resources to strategic systems maintenance and US southern border...

Tom Hickey said...

Believe it when you see it.

White House walks back Trump's call for US to leave Syria 'very soon'

We'll see whether DJT has any more balls than Obummer, or this is just more "perception management."

Ryan Harris said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ralph Musgrave said...

Having three powerful countries rather than two or one is a good system. In Ancient Rome they recognised the merits of a triumvirate, i.e. having three powerful men at the top. If one of them gets stroppy, the other two gang up on him!!!!

Matt Franko said...

"whether DJT has any more balls than Obummer"

c'mon... you cant be serious with this...

Tom Hickey said...

c'mon... you cant be serious with this...

I am totally serious. This is being played out both in Washington and on various battlefields and potential battlefields right now.

The m. o. of the "deep state" actors is to maneuver the president into a position where he is forced to act in the way that they want.

That's why I say, wait and see.

Of course, I am on the side of peace so I hope the president does have the balls to say, "You're fired."

He has fired some people; however, his hires don't encourage me. Glad to McMaster go, but replacing him with John Bolton had to be about the worst choice possible, for instance.

His ramping up Russophobia by increasing sanctions, expelling diplomats, and supporting May and Johnson to defend himself against Trumpgate while making nice with Putin in order to make a deal to split Russia from China (as realist Henry Kissinger advised) is going to go nowhere since his ability to deliver is not credible.

Noah Way said...

White House walks back Trump's call for US to leave Syria 'very soon'

To reiterate: The deep state is in charge. Trump blurted out some nonsense and they are correcting it.