Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Reuters
Michael T. Klare, The Nation: The New Cold War Is Here—and Now 3 Major Powers Are Involved
The world contains more potential flash points than ever before.
We all can recall some of those defining moments that mark the beginning or the end of major historical epochs: the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945; Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech of March 5, 1946, heralding the onset of the Cold War; the tearing down of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, signaling the Cold War’s end; and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, precipitating our never-ending “War on Terror.” To these, we now must add a new inflection point: the escalation of the New Cold War this February.
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WNU Editor: At present there is a "mini-Cold War" between Russia and the West .... and the main reason why is Ukraine. With time the crisis in Ukraine will be solved, and people like Putin will disappear. As for the medium to long term .... Russia does not have the population or economy to sustain itself as a major force on the world stage .... they are significant only because of their nuclear arsenal. At best .... in the years to come they will remain a regional power that borders a lot of countries ... and talk of a Cold War would be just a distant memory. The country to look at is China. They have the economy and population .... and more importantly .... a determination to be a super power. The conflicts that we see with China today are with its neighbours, and it is using its economic and military strength to get its way. This has created tensions throughout Asia, and a chill between China and all its neighbours. And in this mix is the U.S.. I see this "Cold War" lasting a long time .... probably into the next century.
1 comment:
"They are significant only because of their nuclear arsenal." Very respectfully this is like saying about a major league baseball pitcher, "he is only a fastball pitcher because he throws a 101 mile per hour fastball." Another way to put this is "the NBA player is star basketball player only because of his extreme ball handling skills, his leaping ability, and his ability to shoot a jump shot." I could go on. I think you get my point.
Russia is a superpower and needs to be treated as such. Treat them as equals, respect them, and while we likely will not agree on everything and there may be some conflicts good outcomes for us are possible. Continue the current course and it is hard to imagine any good outcome for America.
The problems you site regarding the size of the population and the size of the economy, if these really are problems, are easily solvable. Furthermore when putting America on the level of Russia or China you appear to ignore the enormous problems that America has.
With that said, it may not be possible to "know" the mid to long range with any degree of certainty. I do like your optimism on the prospects of the mew Cold War with Russia ending without any major harm being done. I hope and pray you are right. Actually I can solve the Ukrainian problem tonight, if this is causing it. It was extraordinarily stupid for us to blunder our way into this one, arguably the dumbest move in world history ever made by a major power. Extricate ourselves from it and jettison the chump Ukrainian government. Nothing is lost and there is much potential for gain.
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