published in German by Walter Grobe on 26 03 09, translation done by Google, correchtions by the author
The American empire, or to put it another way: the global power of US finance, US oil economy, US military, US intelligence agencies, and cultural influence („soft power“), is not yet over.
But the empire is also showing symptoms of political weakness and intellectual decay in its leading circles.
That Trump has now been elected president for the second time is, in my opinion, one such symptom. This individual has a long history as a television entertainer („The Apprentice“), and this, if you will, ploy seems to be continuing in the erratic and arbitrary way in which he tries to survive politically: he relies on ever-new surprises for a—rather forgetful—audience that wants cheap entertainment and is expected to keep the television channel switched on.
There would have been plenty of reasons for the public to shut down the „Trump as President“ channel by now (though it has not the power): the US economy is dire for most citizens; Trump’s involvement with Epstein’s abuse and espionage networks can no longer be denied; the brutal actions of the anti-immigrant police and – in my view, particularly blatant and serious – the failure to reach almost any international deal – all symptoms of incompetence and unreliability.
The war in Ukraine, which Trump announced would end „within weeks of taking office,“ has now dragged on for more than a year; there’s little sign of a major deal with Russia – otherwise, Russia would hardly be reporting the positions of US warships to Iran; Gaza remains at the mercy of Israel’s arbitrary actions… And currently, a war is being orchestrated that, according to some observers, could very well lead to the US and Israel having, almost literally, exhausted their resources without achieving any significant political results.
Perhaps these results aren’t even the real goal; rather, the true intention is to disrupt the economic structures of other countries in the interests of the disruptors in the US.
US Secretary of War Hegseth seems to be developing a particular knack for interpreting his duties in his own idiosyncratic way. According to various reports, Hegseth has instructed officers to understand the war against Iran as a major step toward bringing about „Armageddon“ and to act accordingly.
For evangelicals in the US and elsewhere, the word „Armageddon“ evokes the idea that (participating in) bringing about the „Last Judgment“ is a religious duty. Only when „Israel“ has triumphed over all its enemies will Jesus return and finally judge everyone; therefore, supporting „Israel“ and destroying its enemies is an absolute commandment. (See also)
In my view, it is a clear symptom of a disconnect from reality in the leadership circles of the US empire when a person like Hegseth, who apparently genuinely believes in such a peculiar myth as that of Armageddon, is given a not insignificant position like the Department of War.
I deliberately use the relatively mild term „disconnect from reality“ here because I would not like to face police action, for example, for calling an important political official an „idiot,“ a „dangerous religious fanatic,“ or something similar. No, I won’t do that.
But when figures like Trump or Hegseth are entrusted with leadership positions by the US „deep state,“ it seems to me that this state is furthering its own dysfunction—a dysfunction that is not only detrimental to the majority of the population, whose lives are becoming increasingly bleak, but also to US imperialism itself, which is increasingly on the losing end in its rivalry with China.
These lines are not to be understood as a prediction of imminent heavy losses and embarrassments for the US. These could also be postponed or masked by tactical successes in global politics and by replacing particularly incompetent officials with better ones. Last but not least, it seems to me that the rival China does not currently (yet) appear intent on inflicting too much embarrassment on the US—for a whole range of reasons that I cannot address here.
The Chinese system is also not crisis-proof.
And: the global system is almost as unpredictable as the weather, or even more so as the climate.
We shall see.