The Imperial End-Timers
Biden's war on everybody, all the time
(Part One)
(I experimented with footnotes for links here, which was not IMO less distracting, actually more so. Apologies for any visual annoyance, I went back to links.)
One of the more disturbing aspects of the Trump administration was his appointment of neocon extremists to key positions, such as John Bolton1 and Eliot Abrams2, Washington swamp creatures of the slimiest, lowest order, with extreme views and the records to match. Even more terrifying was his appointment of evangelicals like Mike Pompeo, literal Armageddon fan boys, on the belief it will bring back Jesus, who will (when not immolating apostates) then take them by the hand and lead them to paradise.
This collection of rogues and crazies certainly spread their share of chaos3 and took disturbing steps towards escalating conflict, from the blatantly illegal assassination of General Solemani4 (bonus crazy points for doing it in Iraq, while he was on a peace mission), to bizarre5 and sloppy overt6 efforts to overthrow the Venezuelan government. But overall, the level of confrontation and hostility was kept at the usual low- still brutal- simmer, with the weakest opponents getting the brunt of the abuse, while powerful enemies like China and Russia were recognized as too dangerous to be the object of serious provocations. Along with their bomb throwing, like petulantly bailing on the Iran nuclear deal, they even made some clumsy efforts at diplomacy, from North Korea to setting the groundwork to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Amazingly, the Biden administration has managed to easily top Trump in aggression and maximalism, destabilizing relations to an alarming degree with the planet’s two other major economic (China) and nuclear (Russia) powers, while continuing, and accelerating, bluntly threatening, uncompromising approaches to any states defying imperial hegemony. Bizarrely, for a supposed ‘left-leaning’ administration, Biden’s appointment of fanatical devotees of the most destabilizing, disastrous, and failure-ridden ideology of modern politics, neoconservatism, to vital positions, has created a foreign policy of anti-diplomacy and endless militaristic belligerence, with the same fanaticism, fantastical thinking, and washed vs. unwashed dogmatism associated with the Christian fundamentalist end-timers.
For these neo-con imperial end-timers (and their neo-liberal fellow travelers), the preservation of American hegemony is the primary, foundational battle to be fought, if necessary to the exclusion of all others, and to the most bitter of ends. The terrifying evangelical belief that any act that brings forward the return of the messiah, and the four horsemen of the apocalypse he brings with him, is both justified and inherently good is mirrored by the imperial end-timers’ belief that any act that secures the Empire’s hegemony is justified and inherently good. All non-elites are pawns to be sacrificed as needed to maintain this power, from Ukrainians handed a rifle7 and deployed as cannon fodder8, to the European poor forced to choose between unaffordable food and unaffordable energy9, to the populations of enemy states collectively punished by brutal sanctions.
Every act, no matter how immoral10, dishonest,11 or destructive, is weighed equally as a possible tool to advance this crusade12, based purely on its ability to deliver results that strengthen the Empire. Consideration of the interests and sensitivities of others13, including allies14 and neutrals15, is similarly weighted purely on positive imperial returns. If anything, militarist, violent, aggressive actions are favored, as both profitable and seen as ‘tough’, and thus greatly valued as a visible bloody cudgel to shake at enemies and for supposed domestic political value.
That an administration sold as “Not crazy, unlike Trump!” has plotted an even more extreme, recklessly dangerous, and fundamentally violence based foreign policy is another unpleasant reminder of the unidirectional inertia that has characterized US interactions abroad since 9/11, if not back to the Clinton administration. The iron fist and the gun, in the past options employed after coercion and diplomacy failed to get seriously desired results, has become the first tool of choice, for all problems and goals, no matter how minor, almost to the exclusion of all others. Negotiation, diplomacy, and other collaborative approaches have fallen far down the list of possible strategies, to the point they seem effectively dismissed or forgotten. Basically, in modern American foreign relations, talking is for pussies.
That this current crescendo of might makes right, bullying foreign policy has risen under a key group of neo-con appointees is far from surprising. Like the American exceptionalism it is often associated with, neoconservatism has, at its roots, fantastic, illogical, deeply prejudicial thinking. Just like the embarrassingly stupid, blatantly biased belief that Americans embody almost mystical, inherent superiority, neoconservatism’s foundational beliefs are also illogical and unbalanced, believing that the world is best served by being fully dominated by the American empire. That extreme imperial violence and brutal coercion of other nations, if it leads to or maintains ‘benevolent’ American uber-hegemony, are both right and righteous.
That neoconservative nut jobs and ideological fellow travelers, like Antony the anti-diplomat Blinken16, have been given control of so many key positions is an incredibly damning indictment of the Biden administration. It hints at either a deeply nasty17, cruelly amoral viewpoint on the president’s part, or gross incompetence in understanding who exactly these people are. Or perhaps simple laziness and spoils sharing, choosing to effectively appoint (not)President HRC’s foreign policy team, because they were at hand, familiar, and well connected.
The bitter fruit of the appointment of this rogue’s gallery to so many positions of power was predictable: more unilateral demands, more naked force, more pushing of other’s redlines. Basically, asymmetrical (when not literal) war on everybody, all the time. From Iran, to Syria, to Venezuela, to Cuba, to, terrifyingly, Russia and China, confrontation and belligerence is the rule.
The administrations pathetic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal are typical of the lazy18, indifferent anti-diplomacy of these creeps . First, a golden opportunity at the administration’s beginning to simply declare the US was rejoining19, while a less hardline government20 was in place in Iran and the US had a good partner to work with in Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif21, was ignored.
This despite Biden having multiple layers of political cover and strong talking points22 to leverage when rejoining the deal: that he was fulfilling a major campaign promise; that this wasn’t actually in any way a concession, it was simply reversing a foolish, impetuous, un-diplomatic move by stupid bad Orange Man; that this quick reaffirmation, of a Democratic president’s diplomatic achievement, would both reassure allies of American trustworthiness and willingness to negotiate, and also set the foundation for success23 in further Iran negotiations. And they could even add, off the record, hints that this move would help moderates and hurt hardliners in the upcoming Iranian election.
But it didn’t happen.
Whether due to simple disorganization and lack of effort and leadership, or a visceral resistance to any move that could be spun as concessions to Iran, including from the top man (making him a campaign promise liar), the window of opportunity was pointedly ignored.
Whether the JPCOA gets revived or not is yet to be seen, but no one in their right mind would characterize the Biden administration’s efforts towards getting readmitted (to a deal the US blatantly abandoned without reason) as bold or vigorous. If anything, continued24 and even accelerated25 aggression26 towards Iran27 seems to indicate little more than a desire to check off an accomplishment, and hopefully briefly reduce oil prices, with no reduction in the pace of efforts to overthrow the Iranian government, or any confidence the agreement will last. Preliminary reports28 on a supposed deal to reenter seem to indicate exactly that, with several steps that will likely blow up the agreement before it ever gets much beyond some basic steps like a prisoner exchange and a release of Iranian assets in return for a stoppage of uranium enrichment (and a spurt of Iranian oil to briefly tamp down prices). If anything, this ‘rejoining process’ seems designed to fail, if not in Congress, then by some US declaration that Iran is not holding up its end- but not until after Biden’s gets a nice photo op and a minor propaganda win (“look, we negotiate, we’re reasonable!”).
And with other sanction and war weakened imperial enemies, the beat, or rather the beating, goes on. In Syria, the Biden bully boys and girls are even more enthusiastic than Trump about keeping an American bayonet stuck in Syria’s guts, in the form of a completely illegitimate US occupation29 of the country’s oil30 and grain31 heartland. Remember, Trump briefly pushed to remove those troops, before someone waved something shiny in his face in the form of saying it meant we could steal their oil.
As the Arab world, even fervent Assad haters like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, start to bow to reality and realize that an isolated, abused Syria is detrimental to their interests, the US continues to cling to a viscerally hostile32 stance that evolved during Hillary Clinton’s disastrous run as Secretary of State. This is not surprising, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, climate envoy John Kerry, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, NSC Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, and State Department Counselor Derek Chollet all were major players in the failed effort to use ‘moderate rebels’ to overthrow the Syrian government. And not surprisingly, considering that HRC’s Syria proxy war veteran and current National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a leaked email “Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria”, the policy of de facto shielding and support of Islamist rebels continues, from the curious33 concentration of Syria’s surviving ISIS elements in the deserts of the US occupied zone, to effective radio silence about the fact that Al Qaeda’s biggest remaining stronghold is Idlib.
Instead of using these Arab world efforts at rapprochement as an entrée to dial down the suffering34 the US is inflicting on Syrian citizens35, and for once fully abandon a completely failed regime change operation, the stick continues to be the policy. Withdrawal of the illegally occupying forces36 seems effectively predicated on a new Syrian government, in other words, likely never. Regardless of US refusal to recognize reality37, the Assad government, with firm Russian backing, is going nowhere. Having stared down the very real prospect of actual death or enslavement at the hands of ISIS, the millions of Christians, Alawite, Shiite, and secular Syrians dismissed by Western media as faceless ‘regime supporters’ will likely continue to support the government no matter how much misery the West inflicts on them.
To the imperial end-timers, such troublesome populations deserve collective punishment for not recognizing and embracing the might and majesty of the great hegemon. The fact that the same entity led the Western government lynch mob that brutalized and destabilized their nation, and worked at least indirectly to get their heads cut off, is irrelevant, as they should understand it was all done in their best interests. This habit of treating civilians as partners in crime to their naughty governments, and easy targets via sanctions, is universally applied. And populations who have successfully resisted, or even worse, actually defeated, the Empire, are singled out for maximum suffering- just ask the Afghans38.
Or the Cubans. Despite an explicit campaign promise to roll back Trump’s extremely hostile Cuba policy, it has been barely altered by Biden. Basic, no brainer moves like reversing, with a pen stroke, the idiotic designation of Cuba as a terrorism sponsor39, or rolling back the harsh sanctions40 Trump imposed, never happened.
However, as happens in relations to other imperial enemies, some minor sops were offered up to Cuba, a few half measures41 akin to offering someone you’re kicking the shit out of a sip of water. As mirrored in other interactions with willful states, domestic political considerations42 and unrelated minor goals seem to carry much more sway than any desire to improve relations.
Even easily justified, easily enacted gestures, like dispatching oil fire experts to Cuba when a massive oil facility fire raged, killing firefighters and spreading massive environmental contamination, aren’t bothered with. Unless, that is, some kind of imperial benefit can be garnered.
Thus, Cuba gets minor remittance and travel sanctions relief because the Biden administration hoped it would lead to a better attended Summit of the Americas (not the multiple disobedient states- including Cuba- not invited, of course). But help them extinguish an inferno just off the US coast by doing nothing more than sending a few experts? Nah, fuck ‘em.43
Another example of this tactic of occasional, jarring interruptions of hostility in the expectation that the beaten dog will now lick their hand is Venezuela. Suddenly, as the massive economic blow back from remarkably poorly thought out Russian oil sanctions hit, the Biden administration went to Caracas44, saying they wanted to be- a little, while holding their nose- ‘friends’ with the oil rich country.
Of course, up to that point, Biden had exactly the same attitude Trump took to the very much legally elected45 Venezuelan government- they pretended it didn’t exist. That instead, a little known (and now much hated46) legislator who had never even run for the Presidency was President.
As the Venezuelan opposition, of which (not)President Guaido is in many ways a marginal figure, also supports continued sanctions47, the people are basically given a choice between supporting the Maduro government or opponents that literally side with the United States against their own people.
Typically when the US tries to sanction enemy populations into such a state of misery they overthrow their governments, the effort fails and usually backfires. If anything, it lessens pressure on repressive governments to change, as they can both (rather reasonably) argue suffering and problems are the fault of the US, and with a muscular thug glaring and throwing rocks at them, they must maintain a vigorous military and security fortress mentality.
And these governments are not fools, and easily see the imperial machinations in the background when Uncle Sam suddenly offers a withered carrot between stick blows. When Biden attempted his half-assed rapprochement with Venezuela, the effort went nowhere other than some minor mutual acts. As the US brought nothing meaningful to offer, for instance, the dropping of ludicrous drug smuggling charges against Maduro, or the release of illegally rendered diplomat Alex Saab,48 the Venezuelans shrugged and moved on. To instead do a trade of oil products with fellow pariah Iran49.
And it isn’t just these select wayward states that get shin kicks and finger wags: North Korea, Yemen’s Houthi’s, Nicaragua, and others get their share of sanctions and imperial aggression. Again, no meaningful change from Trump to Biden. No real efforts to build relations. No real diplomacy. Same childish ‘benevolent, saintly Empire vs. evil autocrats/extremists/authoritarians’ narratives.
Of course, this is nothing new, just continuing the insane trend in American foreign relations towards extreme unilateralism, even greater militarism, and blatant, galling jingoism. In regard to these weaker, smaller countries, these policies are embarrassing and distressing for many clear eyed, compassionate US citizens, but don’t actually threaten them directly with real harm.
With the psychotic policy these nuts have adopted toward China and Russia, it’s a different story.
(Continued in Part Two)
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