There was a time, not that long ago…..
The United States was the peace keeper of the world. Where there was a trouble spot, an insurrection, a rebellion, the threat of a regime change, the United States would send in troops and quell the unrest, and life in the world would go on.
Maybe fatigue set in internationally, maybe countries tired of the U.S. usurping regional power once they calmed the disruption, maybe nations got angry with American capitalism exploiting the quelled region for its profitability, but the U.S. is no longer the policeman of the world.
Maybe it was the leadership change in the White House, maybe the shift in economic goals by American capitalists, maybe actually being sucked into a real war, whatever the reason, the U.S. is not the world policeman longer.
The world looks to the United Nations for policing of the hot spots of the world. If this can be done with hot air, the United Nations is your man.
The policeman’s role has definitely shifted away from the U.S. Nations now believe they can control region uprising on their own by the imposition of sanctions and embargoes to bring the incalcitrant perpetrators to their knees. Slapping trade bans and economic prohibitons will do the trick in their view today.
Whatever the case may be considering all the above, there is no policeman of the world any longer. Hence, nations that want to flex their military muscles and annex neighbhouring nation’s territories can do so at will, limited only by the military power or defensive determination of the victim.
Israel is the classic example of this flexing of military power. The nation has decided to destroy territory that Palestinians call their homeland, Gaza. It is not important why Israel has decided to do this, nor how they are doing it, nor the extent of the suffering and killing they are causing. There is no policeman to force Israel to review its aggressive behaviour. There is no international accountability for the genocide of the Israeli military. No one can prevent Israel from continuing this destruction. There is no policeman any longer that can step up to Israel with words of support for the Palestinians backed by military action.
The same can be said about the conflict in the Ukraine. Russia recognizes that the U.S. will not get involved in this conflict in any way beyond a few words of rebuke and revulsion for the atrocities Russia is inflicting on Ukraine. The United Nations, oh please!
The world is a sorrier place without the U.S. policeman. But we must be cautious what we wish for as the U.S. of today could be more harmful in anything it does in the cause of world peace as its leader blows hot and cold, allies and supports nations that are aggressors rather than condemning, criticizing and controlling the regional powder kegs.
We live in sad times. Peace management is now relegated to the effectiveness of the hot air, something that will never push the rogue nations into any kind of retreat and peace. We may have had choices much like the “between a rock and a hard place,” the U.S. military occupation vs. American capitalism.
Adding insult to injury, no nation seems ready to actually back their criticisms with military action to quell the regional disruptions. We live in a world where such nations are damned if they do and damned when they don’t.
