Being Ignored Can Be a Blessing

Billions of people around the globe would like Americans to put America first.

Guest post by Robert Gore at Straight Line Logic

The largest infrastructure project in the world is China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, often referred to as the New Economic Silk Road. This effort spearheads the economic integration of the physical center of the world: the contiguous nations from China across Southeast and Central Asia, Russia, Belarus, Iran, and Turkey. The area has large percentages of the world’s land mass, population, and resources. Under construction is a huge network of new linkages: ports, roads, highways, high-speed rail lines, electricity transmission facilities, and petroleum pipelines.

To date China has also invested more than $51 billion in the countries along the present OBOR route. The new land rail routes will greatly reduce transportation costs across Eurasia, enable formerly isolated regions to connect efficiently to sea and land markets and ignite tremendous new economic growth across Eurasia.

“The Eurasian Century Is NOW Unstoppable,” William Engdahl, 10/11/16

US companies and US-led multinational institutions have been excluded from both the construction and financing, and the world’s reserve currency is getting the boot. Transactions are denominated in yuan and rubles, including oil and gas deals. Bye-bye petrodollar, the anchor for the dollar’s reserve status since Nixon abandoned the last dollar-gold link in 1971.

A LIGHT-HEARTED LOOK AT

THE DARK SIDE OF EMPIRE

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AMAZON PAPERBACK

KINDLE EBOOK

The war lobby ceaselessly conjures threats to US interests and conspiracies to dominate the world. All which must be met with US intervention—overt, covert, or both. How do you conjure a threat when a big part of the world decides to ignore you, who at best see the US as irrelevant, at worst, a dangerous nuisance? One of life’s joys, all too rare, is telling self-important, pompous people that nobody cares what they do or say, or even if they live or die. It’s been a long time coming, but the rest of the world is starting to tell the US to keep its opinions and interventions to itself, and that’s a good thing for all concerned.

Two men who have caught the new mood are those Best Friends Forever, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Putin watched the Soviet Union crumble, and Trump has been a vocal critic of the US’s Middle East follies. They both see the dark side of empire. Neither man has ever been accused of selfless concern for humanity. They are both unabashed proponents of national interests—putting America and Russia first—but they’ve redefined national interests in ways that vex the Western elite status quo.

Despite the best efforts of the US government and its mainstream media arm to portray Putin as bent on offensive expansion, to date his efforts outside of Russia have been directed towards securing what fair-minded observers would concede are vital interests. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine after a US-sponsored coup installed a hostile regime there. In a referendum, Crimean citizens voted overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and join Russia. Sebastopol, on the western Black Sea coast of Crimea, is the Russian navy’s warm-water base.

Russia has provided aid to eastern Ukrainian separatists, who have Russian roots, speak Russian, and would prefer to be part of that country. Repeated references to a Russian “invasion” of Ukraine are a canard. If Russia had invaded Ukraine a Russian flag would fly above the capitol in Kiev. Putin regards a secure Ukraine as vital to Russian security, but he has no interest in assuming Ukraine’s ruinous debts or suppressing the pro-Europe and US western half of the country, and he has not annexed eastern Ukraine. Putin tolerates Ukraine’s current Western puppet government—it’s so incompetent and corrupt it poses little threat—but NATO incorporation, a goal of US neoconservatives, would be unacceptable.

Russia has maintained a naval base, Tartus, on Syria’s western Mediterranean coast since 1971. The Soviet Union and then Russia have been staunch allies of the successive autocratic regimes of father and son Hafez and Bashar al-Assad. Putin’s military moves have bolstered Bashar al-Assad against a rebel alliance seeking regime change, funded and supported by the US, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf monarchies, and until recently, Turkey. Russia’s regime preservation operation came at the request of Assad, Syria’s elected head of state. Whatever moral high ground there may be in this sad and bloody war, Russia has the better claim to it.

Syria has been disastrous for the US and its Europe allies, and they were excluded from the most recent cease-fire negotiations conducted between Syria, Turkey, Russia, and Iran, on the one side, and various rebel groups on the other. This drives US interventionists crazy. Being ignored is inconceivable and unacceptable, but what can you do other nations choose to do so and you cannot impose your will? Tellingly, the new Trump administration, presumably less interventionist, has been invited to the negotiations.

There are billions of people who wish they could ignore, and be ignored by, the US government. From South and Central America to the countries joining the OBOR initiative to the Middle East and Northern Africa, the US has inflicted misery, corruption, devastation and death. Americans often cast what they do in righteous, even messianic terms, rendering foreigners as “less than” who need to be saved and protected, and Americans as their “more than” saviors. Americans are among the world’s worst listeners; the desires of the saved are usually not acknowledged, much less acted upon. The saved soon see through the charade—America does what America wants, hang the rhetoric—and the US government would undoubtedly win a global poll as the world’s most hypocritical institution.

The hypocrisy leaves the government unable to acknowledge either what it has wrought or its consequences. It has made South and Central America its playpen for political meddling and the war on drugs, but will not admit that the misery it has helped create is in large part responsible for the influx of immigrants. US intervention has turned the Middle East and Northern Africa into a horror show, but policymakers refuse to publicly connect that to the obvious dots of burgeoning global terrorism and the European refugee crisis. US military “protection” comes with the usual protection racket price: you do as your protector says. Hence Europe, Japan, and a host of smaller countries are enervated US vassals. Per the reserve currency privilege, the US has papered the world with its fiat debt, setting up the global economy for the biggest financial and economic crash in history.

Whether they realize it or not, countless billions of ordinary people should pray to whatever god they pray to that President Trump’s America First means America leaves them alone. Commendably, many Americans realize that would be not only best for world, but for America, too. The country faces a debt, demography, and entitlement tsunami. It can no longer afford empire and Pax Americana, if it ever could. Putting America’s own house in order, or even making a good start, would be a full-time, eight-year endeavor for the entire Trump team, and that’s if they never take vacations or sleep.

There is much wisdom in the phrase: “Mind your own business.” Making America great will entail making America dispensable and irrelevant, setting it free to address its own problems, and setting the rest of the world free to address theirs.

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Iska Waran
Iska Waran

There was a time when the left wanted America to mind its own business. Comes a President who promises to do just that and they’re pissed because he said “pussy” and called a guy a Mexican. How do you reason with such people? Unfortunately you can’t. They’re incapable of reason.

starfcker
starfcker

“There are billions of people who wish they could ignore, and be ignored by, the US government.” Yeah, and whole bunch of them live in the US.

pyrrhus
pyrrhus

Nailed it!

Uncola

It’s always a pleasure to read the truth plainly stated. Thank you Robert. I hope it gets disseminated far and wide.

EL Coyote
EL Coyote

That’s actually what disseminate means.

Uncola

Good catch. But it just seemed too abrupt to stop there. In my world, sometimes cadence supersedes redundancy in rhetorical, as opposed to epigrammatic, sentence structures. ?

Francis Marion

And the best rebuttal award for TBP January 2017, goes to….

Edwitness
Edwitness

This answers the problem of a 200,000,000 man military making it’s way from the east into the Middle East. The stage just continues to be set for the most terrible time that mankind will ever face. The great tribulation that is described in detail by the prophets of the Bible.
All because of mankind’s refusal to accept the gracious gift God sent His Son to provide for them.
Another fulfillment of that great book is coming to pass right before our eyes.
Maranatha!
Blessings:-}

PS I agree that the US should mind it’s own business as other countries should. But, they won’t.

EL Coyote
EL Coyote

You don’t have to be a bible-thumper to see the truth.

Stubb
Stubb
Gator
Gator

It is quite amusing to watch a group of people who were apoplectic about bush’s various misguided interventions crybaby over a person who claims to want to stop that. The liberals who constantly called bush a nazi are now up in arms because they were denied their neocon, warmongering interventionist as president.

At least the neocons are somewhat consistent – Obama, some how in their minds, never did enough violent intervention, and now they are beside themselves over trump. The hypocracy of the left truly knows no bounds.

EL Coyote
EL Coyote

Hypocrisy

Gator
Gator

Thank you for all you have contributed to this thread. It wouldn’t be the same without you.

A. R. Wasem
A. R. Wasem

After all – what are friends for?

unit472
unit472

There’s a reason the Silk Road never amounted to much over the milleniums. It was too long, too empty and too unprofitable. Toss in the fact that much of it is under the rule of impoverished Islamic peoples and China ( if it can afford to develop it) will be engaging in an enormous boondoggle.

It took 18 days for the first train to go from Beijing to London! If a bit faster than a slow boat to China it isn’t by much and the amount of cargo that needs to go from Beijing to Dushanbe or Tashkent is, shall we say , limited.

starfcker
starfcker

Right on, unit. Chinese mal-investment is going to bite them hard

pyrrhus
pyrrhus

Whereas US mal-investment in the military, welfare, and tens of millions of decaying houses and retail spaces won’t….??? At least the Chinese got a Plan B out of this.

Deanna Johnston Clark
Deanna Johnston Clark

That’s what they said abut the Trans-Siberian Railway and even the railway across the vast, ’empty’ continent of America.
Alaska was ‘Seward’s Folly’ and Thomas Jefferson’s bargain from Napoleon of the Louisiana Purchase was a waste of money.

Stucky

“This answers the problem of a 200,000,000 man military making it’s way from the east into the Middle East.” ——– Edwitness

A 200 MILLION man army? Bwaaaahahahahaha!

You really ARE a fucken moran.

RiNS

Ed keeps fapping away and droning on about the fucken’ end times. Why just 200 million! For Fuck sakes there are 1300 million Chinese. Think about that Ed!

Now that you know Peter is really not going to be safe in the Palms.

RiNS

comment image

Picture of Ed!

Edwitness
Edwitness

???

RiNS

Dont know, dont worry.
Fap away my little bible buddy.

Edwitness
Edwitness

Stucky,
Why do you kick against the goads?
Blessings:-}

Stucky

I prefer the KJ version —> “Why do you kick against the pricks?” Answer: Because Edwitness is such an easy target.

C’mon Mr. Bible Expert! Is that all you got??? I thought for sure you’d offer up at least 6 proofs that a 200 million man army is most feasible. Oh, cuz you can’t? Piker!

Edwitness
Edwitness

But, I am not who you are kicking against. No matter how “easy a target” I am. And one should not mistake graciousness for weakness. Just sayin’.
Blessings:-}

RiNS

You are not gracious bud.

Stucky

“To date China has also invested more than $51 billion in the countries along the present OBOR route.” ———- from the article

Pfffft. That’s the cost of just ten F35’s. Those Chinks are pikers when it comes to spending juans.

Stucky

Nice article, Robert. Spot on everywhere ….. (as always, which sometimes makes it hard to comment on).

Trump shoulda considered you for SoS. Really.

FaF
FaF

Hopefully we will see the change in vector of confrontation from “West-East” to “North-South”. For white Christians to be on each others’ throats while being eaten alive by Islamic and African hordes is the pinnacle of stupidity never achieved before.

Edwitness
Edwitness

You can read about the doom of Islam in Rev.9:14-19 at the hands of the kings of the east (also mentioned in ch.16) that come in a 200 million man army to destroy Islam. 1/3 of mankind is the number who are killed and coincidently matches up well with the number of people in the Arab and muslim world.
But, there is still time to receive Christ before it’s too late.
Blessings:-}

Putinmultiplikator
Putinmultiplikator

If China reachs 25 % gnp per capita of the USA, they are stronger as the USA. If they reach 100 % gnp per capita of the USA, they are stronger as the USA and all Europe including Russia.
I like the idea of a prospering and well-to-do China. But in this situation, can we afford to have a cold war with Russia instead of partnership? And our European governments and the EU: Are they mad to start a cold war against Trump?

The West spends money in strange military actions. China spends money in African infrastructure. They are building a railway network in Ethiopia and Eastern Africa to Burundi. There are plans to connect it with Western Africa. We did destroy Afghanistan, Irak, Serbia, Libya, Syria, Eastern Ukraine, etc.

Edwitness
Edwitness

Trump is making good on his promise to move our embassy to Jerusalem. There is a war whose combatants are described in Psalm 83 that is set to happen because of this. So it looks like this will be the next big conflict when the embassy is moved.
Blessings:-}

RiNS

Ed says yes!
More endtimes doomporn!

Rdawg
Rdawg

I wonder if Michael Snyder is hiring.

Ed would be a perfect fit.

RiNS

I agree.

People like Ed have been the useful idiots for this neocon end game currently in play on this planet.

A march to fullfill prophecy.
The neocons for the money.
The thumpers for their salvation.

Why the rush to end the world? Why?

As for Ed. His posts smell like farts on an elevator. You’d like to punch him in the face but when the door opens all one wants to do is get the fuck out.

Deanna Johnston Clark
Deanna Johnston Clark

If you believed what you wrote, you would not be wasting time here, but be on your knees praying day and night. There is nothing fatalistic in God’s word…nothing. Every warning is conditional on repentance and change of heart to an unbending will for good.
Nothing is “written” but the Father’s unconditional love and peace to those of Good Will….period.

Edwitness
Edwitness

Deanna,
I do believe what I wrote and am in a constant attitude of prayer just as Paul said. “Pray without ceasing”.
And it is Jesus that said most of mankind would reject Him. When He said that the way to life is narrow and FEW would go there. But, the way to destruction is wide and MANY would go there.
So expecting the world to repent and turn to Jesus for salvation so the prophecies won’t come to pass is not Biblical. Some will, many won’t. We don’t know who they are so we share His truth with as many as will hear it.
The prophecies will come to pass just as He said. There is not one thing anyone can do to stop them. God proves who He is through their fulfillment. He always leaves us with a way of escape though.
So, you can make a choice that will deliver out of what is to come.
“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” Rev.3:10
If you know Jesus you will not be here for this. I know I won’t be.
Maranatha!
Blessings:-}

Gay Veteran
Gay Veteran

Gerald Celente:
The business of America is war.
The business of China is business.

RiNS

Robert

A great article. I echo the words of Stucky. It is amazing how sucessful the neocon takeover of Foreign Policy has been. Both political parties co-opted in the headlong pursuit of implementation of the Project For A New American Century. A book I read in early 2000’s. What struck me then was how audacious and arrogant the plan really was. True to their words we now have The Great Game Redux.

Of course the big obstacles then are even bigger now. China and Russia staggered have recovered their form. Kristol and Kagan didn’t account for that and now its too late. The Anglosphere no longer the Starting Quarterbacks have shuffled to sidelines. Look no farther than gathering in Astana this week.

Trump is the hoped for change in direction to a saner foreign policy. One that will let my Grandkids grow old. Hopefully he succeeds.

DaBirds (happy as a pup with two peters)
DaBirds (happy as a pup with two peters)

Robert Gore (speaking as the world’s most obscure man), “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do it’s Nelly! Stay obscure my friends.”

Another good read. Thanks

A. R. Wasem
A. R. Wasem

Can’t offer Robert his pick of the women in the Saturday march because there weren’t any.

Bob
Bob

Ed, just what exactly have you been witnessing, anyway?

Edwitness
Edwitness

I am a witness to the saving power of the God who created everything that exists and has been made. And to the record He left mankind- the Bible -that attests to the life, death, burial, and resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ, so that you and I might know Him. The gospel which is good news.
Blessings:-}

PlatoPlubius

I try to imagine how long it will take for the U.S. Dollar to lose its role as reserve currency. Think about the Yuan being accepted into the I.M.F.’s basket of currencies known as SDRs! To me, I still don’t think the average person truly understands the gravity of that little piece of 21st century history. But Trump won and is putting America First…Wow! Executive Order to get us out of the TPP! Ballsy! I wonder what effect that will have on our currency? I also wonder what will happen with Trump’s idea of
“dynamic scoring!”…Increasing government spending on infrastructure by half a billion or so and cutting taxes and regulations (sounds an awful lot like the lead up to Enron’s demise and California’s rolling brown outs) i.e. “deregulation” and fire sale of what is left of the American carcass! How is decreasing government revenue through taxes and increasing the national debt by an additional half trillion or so going to benefit the average person? I’m sure most of the infrastructure will be heavily integrated into the Big-Brother surveillance system! Sweet! That’s an added bonus for those lucky enough to get a job building the shit in the first place!
C’MON People! Wake up! Get out of your comfort zones! Shake things up a bit!

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