Washington’s Empire Is Not Unraveling
Washington’s Empire Is Not
Unraveling
Paul Craig Roberts
The military/security
complex spent seven decades building its empire. The complex assassinated one
American president (JFK) who threatened the empire and drove another (Richard
Nixon) out of office. The complex does not tolerate the election of politicians
in Europe who might not follow Washington’s line on foreign and economic
policy.
Suddenly, according to the
Western and even Russian media, the complex is going to let one man, Trump, who
does not rule America, and one woman, Merkel, who does not rule Germany,
destroy its empire.
According to the
presstitutes, by pulling out of the Paris Accord (the global climate pact) and
stating that NATO members should contribute more to the alliance’s budget for
which the US taxpayer has an overweighted share, Trump has caused Merkel to
conclude that Europe can no longer rely on Washington. The discord between Trump
and Merkel and Washington’s resignation of its leadership position has
destroyed the Western alliance and left the EU itself on the verge of being
torn apart.
All of this is nonsensical
sillyness. What has happened is this:
Just as men in dark suits and
dark ties carrying briefcases explained to Trump that it was not Washington’s
policy to normalize relations with Russia, they explained to him that it was
not Washington’s policy to exit the Paris Accord. Trump said something like
this: Look, you guys, you have already required me to abandon my peace
initiative with Russia and my intent to pull out of Syria. Now you are forcing
me off my “America First” pledge. If people realize that I am not really the
president, who are you going to rule through? What about a compromise?
Here is the deal, as Trump
made perfectly clear in his speech. He is temporarily pulling the US out of the
Paris Accord while he immediately opens negotiations to rejoin the Paris Accord
on terms less burdensome to Americans. In other words, the “pull out” is a
face-saving gesture that will result in a small reduction in America’s share of
the cost. We will have a “Trump victory” and no damage to the Paris Accord.
Merkel facing reelection
needs a boost that will refocus German attention from the one million Muslim
refugees, bringing crime, rape, and terrorism in their train, that Merkel
brought into Germany. Her dramatic statement that Europe can no longer rely on
America was a perfect way to refocus attention. I wouldn’t be surprised if
Trump and Merkel got together and agreed on how they would play this.
Yet neither reporters nor
commentators could report the obvious truth. Why? The Western media could not
let pass the opportunity to denounce Trump for destroying American leadership
and the climate, and environmental organizations seized the fundraising
opportunity to oppose Trump’s climate destruction. Russian commentators saw
hope for Russia in NATO and the EU breaking up as consequences of America going
its own way.
There are two serious
implications of this media deception. One is that Americans and the world are
blinded to the fact that there are power centers that constrain a president and
are capable of substituting their agendas for the agendas on which the
president campaigned. We saw this with Obama, but were given the explanation
that Obama never meant it in the first place. Now we will get the same
explanation of Trump. The fact that the president is constrained by the
military/security complex and the financial sector will not come through.Thus, The Matrix’s myth of democracy bringing change via elections will continue to blind people to reality.
A second consequence is
that the Russians, ever hopeful to be part of the West while retaining national
sovereignty, which no member of the EU or NATO is permitted to do, will see in
the reported withdrawal of American leadership renewed hopes of joining Europe.
If the Russians take seriously the New York Times anointment of Germany’s
Merkel as “the liberal West’s last defender” (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/europe/germany-merkel-trump-election.html?mcubz=0&_r=1), Russia might leave
herself militarily and economically exposed by slowing military preparations
and the development of economic relations with Asia.
People can have little idea
of actual events as long as news reporting and commentary reflect political agendas
and hopeful aspirations.
No comments:
Post a Comment