The interview of Jeffrey Sachs, a Social Progressive, by Tucker Carlson, a Social Conservative, makes riveting viewing since its an insight to where the polar enemies of American politics may be converging on their big picture view of US foreign policy. (more…)
Category: USA
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Avoiding an ‘exclusion’ disaster in the Pacific – a different lesson from Ukraine
The most senior US officials, including President Joe Biden himself, refer to US alliances with individual or groups of countries in the Indo-Pacific as benign and defensive in nature. These references contrast with warnings about the possible “knock-on” effect of a Russian victory in Ukraine which, it is said, could encourage China to seek to incorporate Taiwan by force. However, an examination of the situation in Europe provides a different lesson for our part of the world; that is that building an alliance system which excludes the most important country in a region can have disastrous effects. (more…)
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Rainbow flag genocide vs MAGA hat genocide
Kamala Harris has enthusiastically accepted the endorsement of Dick Cheney. (more…)
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The loss of global influence by the United States is China’s gain
The world doesn’t see an “indispensable nation” in America, only one that is ‘dysfunctional at home and pursuing naked self-interest abroad’ (more…)
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Nelson Mandela warned us that ‘the US has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world’
That warning was 20 years ago, but in the years since, the US has continued in its violent and aggressive ways, cloaking its violence and aggression with bromides about a rules-based international order and defence of democratic values. If only that was true. (more…)
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The shadow of empire: how the dream of global dominance undermines American democracy
The notion of American exceptionalism — that the United States is uniquely destined to lead the world due to its superior values and capabilities — has been deeply embedded in the national consciousness for generations. This belief, cultivated by political, business, and intellectual elites, frames the US as a force for good, a beacon of liberty and democracy that must guide the world. Yet, this self-image, so central to the American identity, has also become a source of dangerous rigidity, blinding the nation to the realities of its own decline and the limitations of its power. (more…)
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Next year’s US Taiwan policy: Trump versus Harris
Very much on the minds of the government as well as residents in Taiwan is the November election in the United States. The question is which candidate, Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, will oversee a more friendly policy toward Taiwan? (more…)
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A ‘liberal Hawk’ is a Hawk nonetheless. Time to focus less on the ‘liberal’, more on the ‘Hawk’
On the liberal Left, we consider ourselves above judging people by their appearance. We don’t presume to know what a person will or won’t do because they are Black or a woman. But as we learned from the Obama presidency, where we all hoped he would bring the global war on terror to a close, he expanded it – and his successors have done nothing to change course. (more…)
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The US made the Dutch an offer they couldn’t refuse
Hold on to your mobile phones, civilians, this is gonna get rough. If you thought the Sopranos and Corleones were intimidating, check this out. (more…)
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Is a new American civil war possible? Probably not, but…
It is sometimes difficult to believe that the US is not headed irretrievably towards a new civil war. But recent research suggests that among the massive problems and sheer insanity of many of its citizens — let alone that of one of the Presidential candidates — the situation is much more complex. (more…)
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The United States and its allies need to avoid caricaturing China in their foreign policies
Nicholas Ross Smith, from the University of Canterbury, argues that the temptation to essentialise China as simply being a Xi-led CCP monolith that will stop at nothing to re-integrate Taiwan and seek global domination overlooks the complexity of domestic politics in China. Basing policy on a simple caricature of China is a recipe for disaster. (more…)
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Burning the EV bridges with China is risky
While Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are engaged in a tight presidential race by highlighting their differences, they share similar perspectives about China. They both hold the common belief that the imposition of higher tariffs will stimulate economic growth. However, the intricate network of tariffs implemented by both the Trump and Biden administrations is generating trade tensions, adversely affecting American consumers, and hindering innovation. (more…)
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The main suspect in the Sde Teiman gang rape case is now a media star in Israel
Soldier Meir Ben-Shitrit has revealed himself as the main suspect in the infamous gang rape of Palestinians at the Sde Teiman detention facility. Rather than making him an outcast, his story has turned him into Israel’s latest media darling. (more…)
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The great Australian crawl
Recent P&I contributors have drawn out sharply the consequences of American influence in Australia. (more…)
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‘They will tell me.’ Malcolm Fraser’s Cold War nuclear heterodoxy and Labor’s willed ignorance today
The United States Government doctrine of neither confirming nor denying the presence or absence of nuclear weapons on board US aircraft has been virtually unchanged in almost 70 years, with a very small number of exceptions. (more…)
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Returning to Australia’s bedrock for security
Richard Marles’ double-speak knows no bounds. His national strategy is entirely contrived to deliver “projection” for America’s ends, without mentioning that Australia is now merely one cog in the unfolding US war machinery across the periphery of Asia. Which is what Paul Keating is saying. (more…)
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Keating was wrong. Australia is already the 51st state of the US
Paul Keating is wrong when he says that Anthony Albanese risked making Australia the 51st State of the United States of America. Not so! Australia is already the 51st State of America, in all but name. (more…)
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Beyond US hegemony: creating a visceral fear of China
It is difficult to understand why Senator James Patterson and “dewy eyed” Defence Minister Richard Marles think of China as part of a threat environment. There is a remarkable agreement between these two defence mavens from the opposite sides of politics that has a common source. (more…)
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American reflections on global hegemony
Some US commentators are advocating a recalibration of America’s full-spectrum global posture, while others, including Condoleezza Rice, energetically beg to differ – naturally for the good of the world. (more…)
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Would Harris adopt the militarism of the failed Biden Doctrine?
Past experience of Donald Trump is fuelling intense anxiety among the allies and partners of America; that oddly fearful collection of wealthy supplicant states. As Trump’s prospects of electoral success seem to fade, the issue becomes, will Kamala Harris carve out a different foreign policy path as president from Biden’s failed doctrine? (more…)
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Democrats release insanely hawkish Middle East policy platform
“When you’re siding with John Bolton on whether to bomb Iran, you’re as insanely hawkish as it gets.” (more…)
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Accusations of US regime-change operations in Pakistan and Bangladesh warrant UN attention
The very strong evidence of the U.S. role in toppling the government of Imran Khan in Pakistan raises the likelihood that something similar may have occurred in Bangladesh. (more…)
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What will our US alliance get us into from November?
A Trump administration, and even a Harris one, will pose new challenges for Australia: sycophancy or independence? Non-alignment or more complicity in US wars? (more…)
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Is peaceful cooperation a hopeless pipe dream?
According to Matt Pottinger, ‘a China expert and deputy national security adviser in the Trump White House…anyone who has entertained the idea of stable ties with Beijing is really smoking dope.’ If that’s what it takes, it might be time to light up. (more…)
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Peace is not on the ballot in November
I keep seeing liberal commentators like George Takei trying to frame Kamala Harris as the best candidate to bring peace to the middle east, despite her coming directly out of the administration which has been lighting the region on fire with its insane warmongering. (more…)
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China and the US are facing parallel economic conundrums
Mutual economic quandaries as both try to reshape their economies may force the two bitter rivals to learn to live with each other again. (more…)
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The potential US withdrawal from AUKUS must be an election issue
Resolution of the tension between President Biden’s policy of strengthening America’s position through allies and partners, and the US Navy’s (USN) mission requirements, will come to a head in the next president’s term. The AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines will be at the centre. (more…)
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A new western war against Iran?
Iran made two attempts to free its oil fields from Western domination. Since the Islamic revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, Iran has kept Western companies out. They paid a huge price, a trade embargo lasting some 40 years. Is a new attack on Iran in the offing? (more…)
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How Rupert Murdoch helped create a monster – the era of Trumpism – and then lost control of it
You can’t help but feel sorry for Rupert Murdoch. (more…)

