Sunday, March 19, 2023

Calamity Joe: Geopolitical Catastrophes Multiply as American Power and Influence Crash to New Postwar Lows - Thomas Lifson

 

​ by Thomas Lifson

In only two years, Joe Biden’s presidency has produced multiple catastrophes from which recovery will be difficult, if it is even possible.

 

In only two years, Joe Biden’s presidency has produced multiple catastrophes from which recovery will be difficult, if it is even possible. Domestically, we see the banking system teetering on insolvency, as the rapid escalation in interest rates has devalued long term Treasury notes that used to be considered a safe place for banks to park funds in excess of what could be safely lent. The reason for these Federal Reserve interest rate hikes is the inflation that was immediately triggered by Biden’s jihad against domestic oil, gas, and coal production, that triggered an inflationary spiral that continues today, devaluing the life savings of thrifty Americans, and pushing food and energy costs up so fast that many families have had to drastically reduce their standard of living.

Bad as these catastrophes are, the potential for serious damage to the welfare of the American people from the military and diplomatic policies of the Biden administration is much worse. Losing a war – or even just fighting a nuclear war – makes a mere Depression look like a day at the beach. And make no mistake, the Biden administration is flirting with a nuclear confrontation with Russia that China might well decide to join and eliminate for good the power of the United States to oppose its aims for dominance of the Asia/Pacific region (for starters). Meanwhile, as the potential for an ultimate confrontation increases, resources for America to counter the threat are rapidly diminishing.

Start with the monumental blunder of driving together China and Russia, not necessarily natural allies, indeed with a recent history of serious tension. But now Xi Jinping is about to visit Moscow, and the two are united in opposition to American hegemony. They are joined in the task of replacing the dollar as the world reserve currency by other rising powers of the BRICS.

The imposition of woke policies on our military, following the purge of active-duty members who refused to submit to mandatory vaccination by an experimental (and increasingly hazardous-looking) drug has made recruitment so difficult that standards have had to be lowered. A denuded military force staffed by lower quality recruits is not a recipe for success in war.

Then consider the insane drawdown of our stocks of ammunition, missiles, and other weapons of war, sent (along with untold billions of dollars going to the most corrupt regime in Europe) to a dictator in Ukraine who has banned his political opposition, shut down opposing media, and closed Orthodox Christian churches, all in the name of “defending democracy.” This denuding of critical resources continues, even as China and Russia both strengthen their positions, and China openly continues a massive military buildup aimed at conquering Taiwan (by war or diplomacy).

And don’t forget the massive stock of weapons thoughtfully left intact for the Taliban during Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Those weapons can be shared with Iran, which has excellent reverse engineering capabilities, and/or used by any Islamic radicals the regime in Kabul chooses to reinforce. I’d call the weapons stockpile a ticking time bomb.

Kim Dotcom alludes to what I have read elsewhere: that Russia has substantially more manufacturing capacity for ammunition than we do:

 


 

The US ran a simulated a B-52 nuclear attack on St. Petersburg recently that was captured on publicly available radar.

The United States continues the practice of provocations near the Russian borders, this time the Americans have worked out the possibility of launching a missile attack on St. Petersburg using the B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber. Data on the flight route of the American strategist was provided by the Flightradar service.
The US Air Force B-52H strategic bomber worked out an attack on the Russian northern capital, entering the city from the Baltic Sea near Gogland Island, while being in neutral airspace. According to the service, the American bomber took off from the territory of Poland, after which it flew over the Baltic Sea towards the Russian city, simulated a missile attack over the Gulf of Finland, after which it turned around and went to the base through the Baltic airspace. During the "attack" the American strategist was at a distance of 200 km from St. Petersburg.

 

This was followed the attack on the US drone and then:

 

 

Diplomatically, the US is on a losing streak. “Shocking” is the word to describe China’s brokering of resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, although “catastrophic” may end up being even more appropriate. Saudi Arabia has been, since World War II, a virtual protectorate of the United States, a huge purchaser of our weapons, and a reliable (if profit-maximizing especially since 1973) source of the most critical commodity in world trade: oil. The stunning gains of diplomacy under Trump with the Abraham Accords, bringing Israel and much of the Sunni Arab world into dialogue and diplomacy, have been replaced by China acting as the outside force capable of bringing about healing.

Diplomacy often has immediate military consequences, and the reduction of US prestige and power in the Middle East just got worse. Much worse. Syria’s hereditary dictator Bashar Asaad just visited Moscow (supposedly “isolated” by US sanctions, but in fact conducting trade with countries accounting for the vast majority of the world’s population) and announced that Syria wants a permanent Russian military presence in his country. This means a Russian naval base on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean, just north of Israel. Andrei Martyanov claims that this changes the balance of power in the region, and puts US carrier battle groups deployed in the region at risk. Looking at the map he provides, it is hard to disagree:

 

Closer to home, Biden’s halting of construction of Trump’s border wall, leaving bought and paid for segments to rust away in the desert, and his policies virtually throwing open the border, have flooded us with lethal fentanyl and brought cartel operations within our borders, along with millions of unknown persons from around the world, including terrorists, a number of which have been intercepted. Meanwhile, he has thoroughly alienated Mexican President Lopez Obrador at a time in which he should be an ally in taking on those heavily armed cartel gangs that threaten to reduce our nextdoor neighbor to a failed narco-state.

The potential for all these catastrophes to simultaneously swamp us is the stuff of nightmares. It’s not as if China, Russia, Iran, and the Mexican cartels don’t realize that our ability to defend ourselves is rapidly diminishing, and that if they all move together, we will be less able to respond effectively.

Incompetence is the most likely explanation for all this chaos. After all, this is the administration that thought Sam Brinton is just the man… uh, person… to handle our lethal nuclear waste and that Mayorkas would be just dandy at Homeland Security. But with the knowledge  that millions of dollars have flowed into Biden family bank accounts from China and Ukraine, more sinister causation cannot be ruled out.

Hat tip: Mark Wauck

Biden caricature credit: Donkey Hotey CC BY 2.0 license

 

Thomas Lifson

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/03/calamity_joe_geopolitical_catastrophes_multiply_as_american_power_and_influence_crash_to_new_postwar_lows.html

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