Even though the EU and China have their own differences the
actions of the United States are forcing both entities to look outward. Trump
continues to antagonise Europe, driving them toward the pursuit of their own
economic, diplomatic and military agendas.
The pending British withdrawal has weakened the EU but in
some ways it is Britain that stands to lose the most. Trump has tried to woo
France through his buddy sessions with Macron and his administration has sought
to strengthen ties with the EU's Russian periphery.
The Brussels ascendancy and Berlin continue to express alarm
and anger at his policies and philosophically there is some turmoil within the
EU/NATO structure. As mentioned in the linked piece below there are a variety
of outlooks, factions and sub-factions and what was once theoretical wishful
thinking is now becoming implementable reality.
Obviously this is an ongoing and very active story. The pending
G7 Summit will be interesting to watch. The Trump approach seems to lay the
greatest pressure on the Empire's stress points. Looking back some will mark
Trump's tenure as the beginning of the end.... or it may lay the groundwork for
future war... and while there are other possible scenarios the two presented
here (End of Empire and War) are not mutually exclusive.
Additionally Trump's destruction of the Iranian deal spells
financial disaster for Europe. US media has focused mainly on whether or not
the Iranians have violated the terms of the treaty. The administration and its
Evangelical allies have been tag-teaming with Likud and yet one grows weary of
Israeli accusations. At this point I'm not sure why anyone would listen to
anything Netanyahu has to say. But for Europe it's more practical. In the wake
of the 2015 deal their firms signed massive contracts with Tehran for oil and
other trade and now it's all in jeopardy. This is one of Washington's means of
power that aggravates and even angers its allies. At this juncture 'satraps' as opposed to 'allies' is
truly more appropriate because these nations cannot express autonomy in their
policies. If their companies do business in the US financial system which they
most certainly do, Washington claims legal jurisdiction and will go after them
if they violate American policies. The US can largely ignore laws in other
countries. They can scream and file lawsuits against Washington in
international court but everyone knows that very little can be done and the US
can extract revenge a hundred and one ways.
At this point the United States has been, at least since the
second Obama term in a state of low-grade war vis-à-vis Russia. The Pentagon's
latest doctrinal statements have all but made it official. Part of a long-term
project, its implementation was for many years done in trickles but now there's
a full-scale campaign.
As mentioned previously, Europe is caught in the middle and a
war between Moscow and Washington means certain devastation for the nations of
the EU. This is why some of the EU leadership is beginning to move. Other Deep
State figures like George Soros are trying a different approach and are
desperate to save Atlanticism and reverse Brexit.
Of course for Putin, he'd be foolish not to act. Things are
afoot, especially in Southeastern Europe and the Balkans. His best bet for
Russian security is the destruction of Atlanticism and even better, a
fragmented EU. The former is a long shot, but the latter may help Moscow by putting
stress on the periphery allowing Moscow to re-establish its desired buffer. Putin
is scheming and yet others are doing much of the work for him. EU and NATO
doctrine and their combined actions in the Balkans have driven not a few back
in the direction of their historic friend and ally Moscow.
Beijing does not want a military confrontation with
Washington but at this point they most certainly believe the United States is
itching for a fight. Who would have ever guessed that the US would try to
'flip' North Korea, but that's what's being attempted. It's a long-shot and I
don't think Beijing will let it happen. In the meantime they're looking for
friends and a means of strengthening the OBOR project. If Trump wants to
antagonise Europe, that's fine, the Chinese will certainly move and try to
ingratiate themselves with Brussels.
See also:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.