Sword Rattling

Putin has swords. Shows them. Rattles them. Thunders his jets near other nations’ militaries. Buzzes his jets in cityscapes of US allies. Scandinavia mostly, but near-miss jet encounters have been mostly against US military.


Putin has missiles. Doesn’t like previous treaties agreed upon with the US and our allies. So he breaks those treaties and tests new missiles, new bombs, new warheads. All in violation of the treaties.


The US touts these violations and pulls out of the treaty. Russia looks shocked in feigned reaction. Then Putin tests his missiles more claiming he is going tit for tat with Trump’s military.


All of this is bosh and nonsense. Just gamesmanship. A TV reality start tweaking Putin and he retaliating with fake actions claiming opposite. One wonders if they chatted on tactics before taking action?


Then there is China making a show to build – yes, build – islands in the South China Sea. Islands they can arm and claim new territory, although international waters boundaries are well drawn and understood by the international community. And the UN. Gamesmanship again.


With tRump making a mockery of American agreements, treaties and trustworthiness, China and Russia appear glued at the hip to show their partnership to challenge America and her allies. This is their chance to rattle collaborative swords and statesmanship to reshape international power balances.


The trade wars are window dressing. Billionaires make more money. Taxpayers as consumers pay the burden of tariffs, and jobs in America are not affected at all. Only trading partners shift allegiance and resources. If prices are affected, they rise in the market to pay the false bravado claimed by a sitting president without moral authority.


All these paragraphs sum up the game as it now stands following the 2016 election. America is weakened and lesser than it was. Allies are shaken; they do not understand the new order of things and who is in charge of forming strategic initiatives among once trusted partners. The old foes are emboldened to shift their emphasis forward in daring ways. Inroads to trust these old foes are now shattered and impassable.


A sorry state has emerged. All at the hand of a president who has little understanding of foreign relations, diplomacy and dealing with agreements that matter more than trade. The real issues remain unmanaged: global warming; unrest and violence among the world’s religions; crumbling infrastructure of world health management; ignited culture wars that gain nothing; and a growing gap between haves and have nots.


The world is a tender tinder trap. Much more so than it was 3 years ago. Pity to have wasted what was so diligently worked for and gained over decades of hard work. Pity. Pitiful. Failed presidency of the current occupant who shall not be named.

The recent G7 meeting may have demonstrated leadership skills of France's Macron along with some others in the group. America is not the only stronghold of global power, strategic thinking and commonsense. I am thinking the western alliances may be shifting?


August 27, 2019