Who's The Leader Of Them All?
If you ask the US government, the answer is clear: America is the leader of the world. In fact, you don’t actually need to ask—our spokesjerks are out there, eagerly looking for people to share this truth with around the world.
Caitlin Johnstone brings up an interesting concept to explain this:
US Officials Really, REALLY Want You To Know The US Is The World’s “Leader”
The illusory truth effect is a cognitive bias which causes people to mistake something they have heard many times for an established fact, because the way the human brain receives and interprets information tends to draw little or no distinction between repetition and truth. Propagandists and empire managers often take advantage of this glitch in our wetware, which is what’s happening when you see them repeating key phrases over and over again that they want people to believe.
Johnstone provides a recent example of this approach, which smacks of protesting far too much:
In response to questions he received during a press conference on Monday about Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin cementing a “new era” in strategic partnership between China and Russia, the White House National Security Council’s John Kirby made no fewer than seven assertions that the US is the “leader” of the world.
Here are excerpts from his comments:
“The two countries have grown closer. But they are both countries that chafe and bristle at U.S. leadership around the world.”
“And in China’s case in particular, they certainly would like to challenge U.S. leadership around the world.”
“But these are not two countries that have, you know, decades-long experience working together and full trust and confidence. It’s a burgeoning of late based on America’s increasing leadership around the world and trying to check that.”
“Peter, these are two countries that have long chafed, as I said to Jeff — long chafed at U.S. leadership around the world and the network of alliances and partnerships that we have.”
“And we work on those relationships one at a time, because every country on the continent is different, has different needs and different expectations of American leadership.”
“That’s the power of American convening leadership. And you don’t see that power out of either Russia or China.”
“But one of the reasons why you’re seeing that tightening relationship is because they recognize that they don’t have that strong foundation of international support for what they’re trying to do, which is basically challenge American leadership around the world.”
And it’s not just Kirby. Johnstone provides the example of our ambassador to China, arch hawk Nicholas Burns, speaking on a panel only a month ago and boasting that he thinks he has made it clear to the Chinese that America is the “leader” in the “Indo-Pacific”—the entire east and south faces of the Eurasian landmass. It’s a remarkable statement, worth reproducing:
A recent US Chamber of Commerce InSTEP program hosted three empire managers to talk about Washington's top three enemies, with the US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns discussing the PRC, the odious Victoria Nuland discussing Russia, and the US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides talking about Iran.
Toward the end of the hour-long discussion, Burns made the very interesting comment that Beijing must accept that the United States is "the leader" in the region and isn't going anywhere.
"From my perspective sitting here in China looking out at the Indo-Pacific, our American position is stronger than it was five or ten years ago," Burns said, citing the strength of US alliances, its private sector and its research institutions and big tech companies.
"And I do think that the Chinese now understand that the United States is staying in this region — we're the leader in this region in many ways," Burns added emphatically.
Brave words, but a lot has changed in just a few weeks. China has taken the initiative in transforming the the dynamics of the Middle East to the detriment of the US petrodollar—I refer, of course, to the Iran - Saudi Arabia rapprochement. That was quickly followed by Xi Jinping’s historical trip to Moscow to cement what amounts to an alliance with Russia that solidifies the economic and security structures of the Eurasian bloc of nations. These developments have left the US scrambling to convince the world that the US really is “the leader”, and seeking a “reset” with China—maybe telling the Chinese that Americans are their leaders wasn’t a great idea, after all. Whatever, it’s clear that Xi didn’t take to that message—I hafta luv the photo here of Zhou with his patented ‘What me worry?’ grin:
Xi was probably legitimately too occupied to waste valuable time on a waste of space like Zhou:
The reality is this:
Eurasian Integration Including Iran Proceeds Despite US “Maximum Pressure” Campaign
The latest US attempts to stir up instability in Syria (where we still train Daesh terrorists) and in the Caspian/Caucasus region are undoubtedly attempts to at least slow down the integration of Saudi Arabia into the Eurasian bloc of nations. The war on Russia in Ukraine is designed not only to cut Europe of from Russia, but also to block overland traffic to China—as Douglas Macgregor maintains. These two maps from the linked article speak volumes:
Note the centrality of Iran as well as of Central Asia, linking China to the West overland. The entire article is a fascinating read, but the conclusion lays out the utter backfire of our sanctions war and our continued attempts at disruption—which are being rejected by one nation after another:
For another look at how Western sanctions are backfiring and only drawing countries closer to countries the US is trying to isolate, take the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) members of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, which are also all being boosted by anti-Russian sanctions. From Silk Road Briefing:
It has had the unexpected effects of boosting regional GDP growth rates: in their “Regional Economic Prospects” report, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), analysts noted that Kazakhstan’s 2022 GDP growth reached 3.4% instead of the previously anticipated 2%.
Part of that has been due to sanctions, with an increase in income due to the re-export to Russia of computers, household appliances and electronics, auto parts, electrical and electronic components. Exports of non-energy goods from Kazakhstan to Russia in 2022 increased by 24.8% and amounted to US$18.9 billion. …
An EAEU Intergovernmental Council meeting held in early February this year showed that the economic situation in all EAEU members states is stable, and mutual trade is growing. Anti-Russian sanctions actually significantly contribute to this growth, meaning that for EAEU members especially, as well as countries such as China and India, the attractiveness of Russia as an economic partner has grown.
India, Turkey, and Egypt are among the countries discussing free trade agreements with the EAEU. And Iran signed one in January. The primary driver for the Iran-EAEU integration is to upgrade Iran’s transport and logistics infrastructure, i.e., the INSTC.
The importance of the INSTC and its link to the Middle Corridor, which enables Russian traffic to head east via Kazakhstan to China, and vice-versa, is growing to include the entire region. At a joint press briefing with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in February Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi made it clear that EAEU economic participation is critical for Astana, and Kazakhstan would not be opting out of such a beneficial arrangement in order to please the US.
It was just another reminder of how the INSTC and Middle Corridor represent the growing integration of the EAEU, MENA, China, and India, and the US’ fading influence.
So the “illusory truth effect”, repeatedly crying ‘We’re the leader!’ has diminishing returns when reality gets its say. The Eurasian bloc has energy and it has other critical resources. The transport infrastructure is already starting to function effectively and is developing rapidly. The idea that America will be able to break the Eurasian bloc apart is delusional. Instead of trying to base US national security on military dominance around the globe, we would do far better to concetrate our resources on our own economic and social development, a return to the values that made the West great.
https://twitter.com/NakedHedgie/status/1639937839411388417
Led by Donkeys
"Instead of trying to base US national security on military dominance around the globe, we would do far better to concetrate our resources on our own economic and social development, a return to the values that made the West great."
AMEN!!!
Hope you & the Missus are feeling better!