That was the term that Nixon used when he was confronted by having to maintain a two front war in Vietnam and Cambodia.He was afraid that even if the US was indeed strong,just the perception that it was getting beaten by two small Southeast Asian countries was going to diminish US credibility worldwide.That is a perception that a universal predator like the US cannot afford to acquire.
Last week’s meltdown in the financial markets represents an economic,not a military inflexion point in the continuing saga of US predatory assaults on other nations of the world.As John Perkins has described in his book on Economic Hit men,the money always comes first.If a man like Hugo Chavez does not do what he is told, the first threat is economic,through the banks and the oil companies.If that fails,the jackals move in and mayhem is let loose.
With the economic threat now fading away, small countries in Asia,Africa,Latin America can breathe a sigh of relief.All economic threats will ring hollow from now on.As the oil producing countries from Russia,to Venezulea and Iran wise up to the ways of Uncle Sam and the low hanging fruit are all gone,the US finds itself in a completely different environment economically.Countries like China,India,Russia and Brazil can offer all the products and services the US companies can offer, at more competitive rates and without threats.
Unless the US gives up hegemony as its goal,it is going to be expensive to compete against the more nimble competitors who do not have delusions of grandeur.
John Gray of the London Observer had the image right when he said “On the day when Hank Paulson was on his knees imploring Congress for an infusion of 700 billion dollars into the financial system,a Chinese astronaut was taking a space walk signaling that another superpower has arrived on the scene”.
Would it be too farfetched to visualize a day in the near future when Chinese comapnies can offer missiles and military hardware at a fraction of the cost at Lockheed-Martin,GE, in a WalMart for armament shoppers?
