The Decline Of Deterrence -- The Economist
America is no longer as alarming to its foes or reassuring to its friends
AMERICA’S allies are nervous. With Russia grabbing territory, China bullying its neighbours and Syria murdering its people, many are asking: where is Globocop? Under what circumstances will America act to deter troublemakers? What, ultimately, would America fight for?
The answer to this question matters. Rogue states will behave more roguishly if they doubt America’s will to stop them. As a former head of Saudi intelligence recently said of Vladimir Putin’s land grab in Ukraine: “While the wolf is eating the sheep, there is no shepherd to come to the rescue.” Small wonder that Barack Obama was asked, at every stop during his just-completed four-country swing through Asia, how exactly he plans to wield American power. How would the president respond if China sought to expand its maritime borders by force? How might he curb North Korea’s nuclear provocations? At every press conference he was also quizzed about Ukraine, for world news follows an American president everywhere.
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My Comment: I know that many people are cheering the prospect of a diminished U.S. on the global scene .... but when one looks at the alternatives .... in some cases there is no reason to be cheerful at all because the alternative is far worse.
3 comments:
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
Your anti westernism is getting old.
How in the world was my above comment an anti western one?
Its a pretty old saying that seems to be true thats all.
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