The recent meeting between Vladimir Putin and Chairman Xi only reinforces the fact that the United States of America once the leader of the world continues its downward spiral into the abyss. As Xi departed he told Putin: “Now there are changes that haven’t happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes.” Although only a parting comment one could not have imagined this to be uttered just a few years ago.
As a member of the military under President Reagan I saw America in terms of its military and economic power at its height only to be squandered away by endless overseas military excursions that were paid for heavily in lives, monetary capital, and loss of prestige around the globe – all of which can never be regained. In addition, I witnessed firsthand the crippling effect of the Obama Administration slash in military budgets sold to Congress and the American public under the guise of “sequestration.” Quite frankly our military has never recovered from the smoke and mirrors that were foisted upon us by naïve intellectuals.
It is no accident that China has now filled a power vacuum in the middle east that was once the exclusive domain of the United States of America. Say what you may about President Donald Trump, but he understood the restrained use of military hard power and economic soft power which the Biden Administration has failed to grasp. Our timidity of a withdrawal from Afghanistan certainly was the catalyst for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and I suspect it will also serve as a green light for China to seize Taiwan while we stand by and issue strong diplomatic demarches.
Yes, unfortunately, all great civilizations must come to an end. We continue to pretend all is well in spite of our obvious decline as a nation both internally and externally. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, and we know all how that ended – unfortunately, I now hear the strains of a fiddle in the background – please stop the music.
