Showing posts with label Hegemony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hegemony. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Iran's Methodical Gutting of US Power in West Asia | Pepe Escobar

The ways Iran is dismantling the entire American military ecosystem across West Asia with an extremely disciplined strategy are something to behold. The whole CENTCOM support infrastructure is devastatingly fair game: from costly early warning radars to full air defense systems; from hangars to logistics hubs; from fuel and ammunition storage to forward operating bases; from naval and maritime surveillance assets to intel collection and communications nodes. [...] Iran knows where everything is located—to the millimeter. No need to go for flashy photo ops, Shock'n Awe-style, monopolizing the news cycle. What matters is the Chinese torture of steadily degrading the enemy's capabilities; the strategy is painfully methodical and painfully precise.
 
The core elements of American naval power projection rely on supercarriers positioned as the central flagships and command hubs of the fleet. They are accompanied by escort vessels like destroyers and frigates that provide essential anti-air, anti-submarine, and surface protection. Additionally, support ships serve as logistics units responsible for underway replenishment and refueling at sea.
» 
Hitting one of those sitting ducks is being kept for the appropriate time. «
   
[...] The Iranian Way of War is a sophisticated mix that may eventually be studied in Western military academies. All logically interconnected—from destruction of enemy support infrastructure to steady degradation of intel, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; from attrition of air defense and interceptor inventories to widespread disruption of logistics. And all that is supremely cost-effective—but certainly not for the attacking Empire, as every malfunctioning Patriot costs millions of dollars and simply cannot defend scores of different locations simultaneously.

» 
Iranian Way of War may eventually be studied in Western military academies. «
 
[...] In the bigger picture, the Russia-China-Iran interlocking strategic Eurasia partnerships remain in full effect. That's Russia-China in practice supporting the Axis of Resistance. Iran uses the Russian Murmansk systeminexorably jamming GPS and blinding US/Israeli missiles. Iran also uses Chinese BeiDouthe equivalent of GPS, unjammable by the Americans and rendering precision to the centimeter to Iranian missiles and drones. And Iran uses the Russian Kometa: electronic chips equipping missiles and drones wreaking havoc on American electronic warfare.
 
» Just check the satellite images. «
 
In a nutshell: this is how a systematic degradation of the whole regional architecture that allows the US and its vassals to project military power across West Asia looks. Played out in front of the whole Global South. The manual is available for all, live, in real time. [...] Iran's precision, restraint, and reach are shutting up the whole vociferating spectacle emanating from the Empire of Narratives, as Iranian missiles and drones relentlessly strike fighter jets, Black Hawks, data centers, logistics depots, power plants—and more.

 
The Global South just needs to check the satellite images of proverbial craters across Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE. And Iran hasn't even started yet. Were Iran to obliterate Qatar’s remaining LNG trains, that would leave most of the planet with no LNG from Doha for at least a decade—not to mention the helium for making microchips.

The massive humiliation of hitting and disabling one of those multibillion-dollar sitting ducks is being kept for the appropriate time. And as everyone knows, Iran runs the clock, and time is on its side. None of that, of course, minimizes the risks of the escalation ladder; and we are still in the middle of what could become the Mother of All Escalation Ladders.

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Lose Hormuz, Lose the Dollar, Lose Hegemony: Game Over | Jeffrey Currie

Jeffrey Currie, former Goldman Sachs head of commodities and a lifelong insider of the dollar system, defines the one red line America cannot cross: handing control of the Strait of Hormuz to Iran is not a tactical retreat; it is the formal end of the US as a global hegemon and the death of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

For the Epstein class, the only acceptable Iran is one
that caves in to the hegemon and its dollar scheme.

In 1945, the US made a deal the world still lives under: it would control every major shipping lane with its navy, and in return, the world would use the dollar and recycle capital through New York. Oil was the strategic commodity that made the bargain stick. After Nixon broke the gold standard in 1971, that same arrangement evolved into the petrodollar system that still funds American living standards today.
 
»
 Give Iran the Strait, and the dollar dies. « 

If the US walks away and allows Iran and Oman to manage the Strait under any fee structure, the rest of the world will see that the big-stick policeman has quit. Every other chokepoint on earth immediately becomes fair game. The Fifth Fleet would then need Iranian permission to enter or leave its own base in Bahrain—an image that ends the illusion of global hegemony overnight.

Currie points to Switzerland, where a 30-year fixed mortgage can sit around 50 basis points because global capital floods into a perceived safe currency. That is the kind of privilege the US still enjoys. The country currently spends about 7 percent more than it produces; remove the forced global demand for dollars, and that gap becomes direct economic pain.
 
»
We're fighting wars. It's not possible for us to take care 
of Medicare, daycare, Medicaid, all these things. « 
 Orange ape guns and butter salad, July 27, 2026.
 
History offers no comforting precedent. No previous hegemon—Britain, Spain, or any other—lost control of the world’s most important sea lanes and remained the hegemon. The US can retreat to a Monroe/Donroe/Technate of America Doctrine posture and control only the Western Hemisphere, but then it is no longer a global power and the dollar is no longer the reserve currency. 
 
Reference:
 
Iran Conflict Now Existential for US Global Hegemony—No Exit Allowed | General Wesley Clark

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark, a centrist-to-hawkish democrat, has laid out what he describes as the real thinking inside Washington. According to him, this is no longer simply about Iran; it is about whether the United States remains the global hegemon or watches its power collapse in real time. Stopping is not an option—that is the hard line now being drawn. Clark makes clear that if America pulls back and allows Iran to retain control of the Strait of Hormuz, the damage to U.S. global leadership would be permanent. He warns that such a retreat would undermine American deterrence, weaken influence in Asia, and compromise European security all at once. This moment represents a critical decision point: failure here would not be a temporary setback but the end of the post-1945 international order.


Clark rejects any notion of simply walking away or accepting a weaker deal. “Pulling back, that’s no good,” he states without hesitation. In his view, a memorandum of understanding worse than previous agreements would signal American weakness to every rival watching. China and Russia are already encouraged by the current trajectory, and he insists they should not be allowed to celebrate any further gains.There is no easy military solution, yet retreat would be far worse. The immediate focus must remain on keeping the Strait open and isolating the theater of operations. Any pause would only give Iran time to rebuild, rearm, and entrench itself more deeply. At the same time, Clark emphasizes that the longer-term threats posed by Iranian missiles and nuclear capabilities cannot be ignored.

In the end, Wesley Clark speaks not as a pundit but as a former NATO Supreme Commander with deep insight into how key circles in Washington view this conflict. For them, the war has become existential for American global power, and stopping is no longer on the table.
  

Friday, January 16, 2026

"Russia Will Nuke Germany & UK if Ukraine War Persists" | Sergey Karaganov

"We are fighting Europe once again—the continent that has consistently been the source of all ills and evil in the history of humanity, including, of course, world wars, racism, and colonialism." Sergey Karaganov’s perspective on Europe and its relationship with Russia is defined by his belief in the urgent necessity of a definitive civilizational break from the West.
 
 » The source of all ills and evil in the history of humanity. «
 Zelensky, Starmer, Macron, and Merz coordinating their seizure of Russian assets, December 8, 2025.

He views the current conflict between the US-EU-NATO and Russia in Ukraine as a historical repetition, noting that "Europe has been several times invading us" and that "last time was in 1941–1945 when Western European countries came here under the banners of Hitler [Operation Barbarossa]." Karaganov asserts that "unbelievably after all their defeats they haven't learned the lesson" and "they are still pushing for a big war."
 
He warns that Europe’s "strategic parasitism" and "loss of the fear of God and nuclear war" make them "dangerous idiots that are pumping up hatred towards Russia like mad. Even in Hitler's Germany, the level of anti-Russian propaganda was maybe weaker than what is happening in Europe now." He argues that "they do not understand anything but physical pain," suggesting that Russia will be forced to "punish them severely" with "waves of nuclear strikes" should they continue fueling the war in Ukraine and threatening to directly attack Russia.
 
How far are we from Russia using nuclear weapons against Europe? "Two years, maybe one year. I've been calling on my government to escalate earlier. But President Putin is very religious and cautious." Karaganov specifies that "my choice would be Britain and Germany" and "Germany should be nuked first because it is the source of the worst in European history."
  
»
Germany should be nuked first because it is the worst. «
Sergey Karaganov, January 14, 2026.
 
"I beg the Almighty that won't happen. I have a lot of friends in Europe, but I have no contact with them because they are banned by their elites from talking to us. These elites are preparing them for war, though they cannot comprehend that if a real big war is unleashed, there will be nobody in Europe left to talk to. I pray that we won’t have to make this decision."
 
Regarding the decline of European elites, Karaganov argues that under its current leadership, Europe "became anti-European and even anti-human." He characterizes these leaders as "complete failures on all counts—moral, political, economic," and bluntly asserts that "Europe is going down." He further contends that "never in the history of Europe have we had such a low level of intellectual capacities in the leadership of most European countries," noting that while this applies to "not all but almost" every nation, the overall decline is undeniable.

» Micron keeps peddling this pathetic bullshit. This is what you’ll get. «
 
European elites "understand that their Golden Age is finished and they are desperate," primarily because they realized "they cannot live on others' money nor on the cushion of US protection any longer." Ultimately, he suggests that "everybody in the world now laughs at Europe," observing that a continent which "used to be one of the core centers of world power" has now been reduced to "a joke."
 
On the relationship between Russia and Europe, Karaganov believes "our European journey which Peter the Great started is over" and "it should have been over 150 years ago." He expresses a sense of liberation from Western influence, saying, "we are not European, thanks God" and "we are returning back to where we belong—to become the Eurasian nation... We have done away with "comprador" elites and thrown away the "fifth column." We are returning to our Russian soul. The only problem is that we have to pay for it with the lives of our best men. But other than that, Western sanctions have been a blessing. Russia, when threatened, is again a nation of warriors."
 
 
See also:
Sergey Karaganov is a Russian political scientist, Professor Emeritus, and Supervisor at Moscow's Higher School of Economics. A long-standing personal friend and advisor to President Vladimir Putin—and formerly Boris Yeltsin—he is the honorary chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. Architect of the "Karaganov Doctrine" and Russia’s Eurasian pivot, he advocates for an assertive foreign policy, interaction with the non-Western World Majority that has no binding relationships with the US and the organizations it patronizes, as well as for a radical civilizational break from the West.

Sunday, January 4, 2026

US Decapitation Operation "Absolute Resolve" in Venezuela | Ron Aledo

The operation in Venezuela is a multi-agency effort aimed at regime change, intended to install a pro-US, easily controlled government and eventually take indirect control of the country's oil. This is designed to maintain the US dollar's status as the world standard for global oil transactions. 
 
 
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro kidnapped in US military strike,
Caracas, January 3, 2026, 4:30 AM local time.
 
In recent years, China, Russia, and other BRICS nations have attempted—with some success—to shift global oil transactions away from the US dollar toward the Chinese Yuan. Trump views this as a threat to the strength of the dollar and US global hegemony. This operation against Venezuela makes such a move away from the dollar more difficult.

 
Operation "Absolute Resolve" was a multi-agency effort involving US intelligence agencies, the military, law enforcement, and the Department of Justice. The steps of the operation were likely as follows:
 
1. CIA and DIA Intelligence Covert Actions: The intelligence agencies recruited dozens of Venezuelan military personnel, primarily Generals and Colonels in charge of Nicolás Maduro’s security and the air defenses of Caracas. Additionally, the CIA, DIA, and NSA provided real-time intelligence for the military operation, including the locations of air defenses, military leaders loyal to Maduro, and the movement of bodyguards and security systems. 
 
The US war machine struck Venezuela just hours after President Maduro met
Chinese envoy Qiu Xiaoqi on January 2 to renew 600 bilateral trade deals.
 
2. Military Action: The US military destroyed multiple targets, likely air defense systems and command-and-control centers manned by military and political elements loyal to Maduro. This was a massive attack that neutralized all air defenses in the area and disabled military units that could have protected Maduro. US Delta Force arrived via helicopter at Maduro's location; facing neither bodyguards nor defenses, Maduro and his wife surrendered. They were then transported via helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima, a US Navy amphibious assault ship. As of 17:30 ET, Maduro arrived in New York escorted by civilian officers from the Department of Justice (DEA, US Marshals, and FBI). This is significant for Trump, as it depicts the mission as a "police/law enforcement" and "counternarcotics" operation.
 
» For Venezuela, we are prepared to give even our own blood! «
 
3. Transfer to the Department of JusticeThe US military transferred custody of Nicolás Maduro to law enforcement officers to maintain the appearance of a legal operation against an indicted narcotics trafficker. This provides legal authority to the mission and protects the Trump administration from future court challenges or potential impeachment attempts by a Democratic-controlled Congress following the November 2026 elections. This phase mirrors the actions taken against the former ruler of Panama, General Noriega.
 
» We are going to run the country. «
 
4. Transition Inside VenezuelaThe Trump administration will likely negotiate with the Vice President—now President—Delcy Rodríguez to complete a transition to a new pro-US government. While María Corina Machado is a potential candidate for the presidency, Trump may appoint someone more widely accepted by the Venezuelan military to reduce the risk of a counter-coup in the immediate future.
 
 
other areas, including the center of the capital Caracas.
 
As the Maduro government remains in charge—at least in appearance—via Delcy Rodríguez, the possibility of escalation remains high. If Trump negotiates a peaceful transition with Rodríguez, the crisis may be resolved without violence. However, if Rodríguez resists due to pressure from pro-Maduro military elements or Cuban intelligence officers in Caracas, violence is likely. Trump may then push for a military coup against Rodríguez using CIA-recruited officers, supported by US airstrikes on the command posts of pro-Maduro generals.

» An attack of this nature undoubtedly has a Zionist tinge. «
 
Alternatively, Trump may leave Rodríguez as the nominal President if she agrees to follow all directives from the administration. However, the potential for unrest and armed resistance from segments of the population remains possible under all options.
 
» Trump's Plan A is the less bloody one. The people change 
hats very easily. The king is dead, long live the king. «
Ron Aledo on US Plans A and B for Venezuela, January 4, 2026.
 
Real Reason for the Operation: The primary motivation is likely an attempt to slow the efforts by Russia and China to replace the US dollar as the universal currency for oil transactions. Global oil trade is conducted in US dollars, which bolsters the dollar's strength and US global trade dominance. Recently, Russia, China, India, and other BRICS nations have challenged this by moving toward the Chinese Yuan. Trump views this as a threat to US dominance. By executing regime change, the US aims to install a friendly, manageable government in Venezuela and secure indirect control over its massive oil reserves, thereby reinforcing the dollar's position.
 
the most significant geopolitical realignments of the 21st century. «

» Vassalize Mexico, to complete a North American internal
economic circulation, replacing China in its supply chain. «

Secondary Objectives: A secondary goal is the defeat of the Cuban regime. By cutting the flow of Venezuelan oil and funding to Cuba, the regime will likely collapse within a year, potentially leading to a negotiated transition and a new pro-US government on the island.

 
It is important to note that Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President J.D. Vance were likely not active participants in this operation. The primary driver was Marco Rubio, who has long promised the fall of the Venezuelan and Cuban governments. Rubio views this as a "victory card" for a 2028 vice-presidential or presidential bid, potentially replacing J.D. Vance on the ticket.
 

Friday, December 19, 2025

Why a US War with Venezuela Would Benefit Russia | Dmitry Seleznyov

As cynical and crude as it may sound, a US war with Venezuela would benefit Russia. Venezuela could become America's "Ukraine," diverting US attention and resources away from our own conflict in Ukraine. The United States risks getting bogged down in a war it starts—especially if it launches a ground operation. In that case, Venezuela could turn into a second Vietnam for the US. Either way, South American countries would likely rally in solidarity to support it, uniting the continent in a fight against the "gringos." 
 

It won't be possible to tear the country apart with impunity; there won't be an easy walkover, and the US could face unacceptable losses. On the international stage, Russia and China would provide support—both politically and through hybrid means. On one hand, we'd be whispering sweet nothings to those 
Witkoffs or whoever's in charge in that administration, while on the other, quietly fueling Maduro's fire. Why not? If others can do it, why can't we? Of course, we'd offer help with the constraint that we're still tied down in Ukraine, but we'd do what we can.  
 
» Why not? If others can do it, why can't we? «
 
If things in Venezuela escalate to a hot phase and body bags start flowing back to Trump's "Great America," the MAGA electorate won't like it. Trump was elected to do the opposite. Fighting a war in Venezuela isn't just getting involved for Israel's sake or bombing Iran on the other side of the world—this one's right in America's backyard, with short supply lines. Not to mention that Trump would permanently lose his carefully cultivated image as a "peacemaker," the one he wants to be remembered for in history. A war in Venezuela would brand him forever as the man who tied a bloody ribbon of a second Vietnam around America's neck. Does Trump want that? Doubtful.
 
But Trump is pushing hard—he always plays the bluff game. Recently, Mr. Twitter declared a no-fly zone, and just the other day, he went even further with a full blockade. In effect, that's already a declaration of war. Will Maduro escalate? Sure, a direct conflict could end in different ways, but if Trump has already sentenced the Venezuelan president, what does he have to lose? Escalation often leads to de-escalation. Remember how young Kim Jong-un told Trump to get lost on surrendering nuclear weapons—and nothing happened; he ended up as a "good guy."
 
But for now, our friend Maduro is acting unconvincingly. Chanting "peace, peace, peace" won't stop an inevitable war. "You're only guilty of making me hungry," as the fable goes—red-haired Donnie's intentions are clear. So why wait? Look at the "barefoot" Houthis—they drove off American ships from clustering near their coast. And they're still standing strong

Or what—surrender?

 
Caracas, December 18, 2025: Venezuelan naval forces have begun escorting non-sanctioned oil tankers carrying petroleum derivatives, reportedly destined for China, in direct response to US President Donald Trump's December 16 announcement of a "total and complete blockade" targeting sanctioned vessels entering or leaving Venezuela. The escalation follows the US seizure on December 10 of the tanker Skipper, carrying approximately 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, which Trump indicated the US would retain. 
 

Venezuela has condemned these actions as aggression, requesting an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting to address perceived violations of international law. Domestically, PDVSA workers staged protests across multiple states in defense of national sovereignty, while Vice President Delcy Rodríguez reaffirmed the uninterrupted operation of the hydrocarbons sector. Amid the tensions, President Nicolás Maduro reported that Venezuela achieved 9 percent GDP growth in 2025 despite sanctions, with projections of at least 7 percent for 2026.

Monday, December 8, 2025

Preventing Empire Collapse | Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou

The new 33-page US National Security Strategy, strongly shaped by Elbridge Colby and personally prefaced by President Trump, represents a partial yet still incomplete departure from three decades of neoconservative pursuit of hegemony. Officially released on December 4, it explicitly renounces any further quest for global domination, acknowledges that post-1991 globalism hollowed out American industry while delivering few benefits to ordinary citizens, and ultimately weakened the United States itself. It faults an over-reliance on allies and proxies that Washington could not fully control—pointedly implying Israel and European-driven adventures in Ukraine—for repeatedly pulling America into conflicts that did not serve its core interests.
 
» The unipolar era is over. «
» The unipolar era is over. « 
 
In place of hegemony, the document calls for aggressive domestic reindustrialization, technological supremacy, and a return to traditional spheres-of-influence politics. It resurrects an explicitly imperial interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, insisting that no external great power may have any presence whatsoever in the Western Hemisphere and that the United States must maintain absolute predominance there. At the same time, it insists that America must remain the world’s foremost military and economic power and must permanently prevent any rival from ever attaining the degree of primacy the United States itself enjoyed in recent decades.

» Extraordinarily harsh toward European leadership and the EU. «
»
 
Extraordinarily harsh toward European leadership and the EU. «
 
China continues to be treated as the sole peer competitor capable of achieving parity or even supremacy; opposition to Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland remains a clear priority, revealing no substantive softening despite changed rhetoric. Russia, by contrast, is now a power with which the United States must seek accommodation and continental stability. The document is extraordinarily harsh toward European leadership and the European Union, accusing Brussels of delusional thinking on Russia and Ukraine, economic self-destruction, creeping authoritarianism, and the erosion of European civilization itself. Stabilizing Europe, it argues, requires ending the Ukraine war in partnership with the continent’s other great power—Russia.
 
The new operating model abandons the image of America as a "weary Titan" bearing the world’s burdens alone. Instead, Washington will concentrate on its own hemispheric backyard while outsourcing or franchising security responsibilities elsewhere: Europe is expected to provide for its own defense, Asia will be handled by regional proxies, Africa reduced to transactional resource partnerships, and the Middle East treated as a complicated but no longer central theater. These partners will still answer to the United States and pay their dues, yet day-to-day management becomes their problem.

Historically, this precise pattern—admitting overextension, rejecting free-trade globalism, demanding allied burden-sharing while assuming continued overall control, and invoking the "weary Titan" metaphor—appeared during the terminal phases of both the British Empire under Joseph Chamberlain in the 1890s–1900s and the Spanish Empire under Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares in the 17th century. In both cases the reforms were offered as salvation but in reality signaled irreversible imperial decline.

» Explicitly imperial interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. «
» Explicitly imperial interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. «
 
The strategy is riddled with contradictions. While calling for stabilization with Russia, Pentagon sources simultaneously press Europe to be combat-ready against Moscow by 2027; Europeans counter that 2030 is more realistic, and Viktor Orbán openly states that the official EU position is preparation for war with Russia by that later date. The unspoken American ultimatum to Europe is therefore: achieve full military self-sufficiency on Washington’s timeline or the United States will negotiate directly with Moscow over Europe’s head and end the Ukraine conflict on Russia’s terms. Given Europe’s incapacity to meet that deadline, the second path becomes the default—yet powerful entrenched forces in Washington, Brussels, and the broader transatlantic apparatus remain committed to perpetual confrontation with Russia and containment of Russia.

» Franchising security responsibilities elsewhere. « Joseph-Noel Sylvestre "The Plunder of Rome"
»
 
Franchising security responsibilities elsewhere. «
 
The document is ultimately a fragile compromise between a small restraint-oriented faction and the far larger interventionist bureaucracy. History suggests the bureaucracy will prevail, just as it defeated Chamberlain and Olivares. Moscow and Beijing instantly recognize the contradiction of a United States that urges its vassals to keep fighting while posing as the reasonable party seeking stability; they will not be deceived. Russia, in particular, reads the American declaration that peace in Ukraine and stabilized relations with Moscow are now core US interests as confirmation that time is on its side, that it can stand firm on all demands, and that Washington will eventually concede because it is the United States, not Russia, that now needs the war to end.

Thus, while the 2025 National Security Strategy marks the intellectual arrival of restraint-oriented thinking inside parts of the American national-security establishment and constitutes an official admission that the unipolar era is over, its internal contradictions and the entrenched power of the old order make it unlikely to survive in anything like its present form. Like its British and Spanish predecessors, it may ultimately be remembered less as the blueprint for managed retrenchment than as one of the first formal acknowledgments that American hegemony has irrevocably ended.
 
Reference: