The United States is arguably the most powerful nation in the history of the world. There have been powerful empires in the distant past and near modern history.
The Mongols, Ottoman, Spanish, Roman, Russian and British empires readily come to mind. However, in terms of raw power, global reach, and the ability to destroy humanity, no other empire has come close.
According to the Institute for policy studies, the world spent over $2 trillion on militaries for the first time in 2021. Of those 2 trillion dollars, the United States spent more than the next nine (9) countries combined.
That expenditure on defense represents 39 percent of the world’s military spending.
If military spending were the only calculus that defines security, the United States would have nothing to worry about because it has dominated defense spending since the fall of the Soviet Union.
In fact, some have argued that Ronald Reagan helped to accelerate the fall of the former Soviet Empire by accelerating military spending here at home.
That may have some truth, as the Soviets did not have the economy to sustain the massive military buildup that the Americans had initiated. The Soviet Union became a top-heavy brass monster on legs of clay, so it collapsed.
The United States, with its bloated military budgets, along with the rest of the western world, can arrogantly pretend that this alliance between China and Russia is nothing to worry about. Still, deep down, they understand what Xi’s visit means.
Long before Vladimir Putin invaded and annexed Crimea, politicians and talking heads in the United States arrogantly made the case that Russia was a weak regional power with an economy the size of Italy’s.
The statement wasn’t necessarily all wrong. Russia’s economy is about that of Italy’s, but they never bothered to mention that Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. That is the game changer, and even as they sought to minimize the power of Vladimir Putin and Russia, Putin invaded and annexed Crimea.
When Putin amassed his military on the Ukrainian border, they made the same predictions, ‘this was only a show of force.’ ‘Putin will not invade.’ Until he did.
Vladimir Putin may have miscalculated to some degree, arguably a consequence of bad intelligence and bad advice, which generally affect totalitarian leaders who surround themselves with yes-men and lackeys.
Nevertheless, a year and a month after Russian Tanks rolled over the border into Ukraine, the war still rages; largely because of help from the Americans and other western powers, Ukraine has somehow managed to stay in the fight.
Even so, much of Ukraine has been reduced to rubble.
Putin still has not conquered the nation of Ukraine, but neither has Ukraine been able to expel Russian forces despite western help.
It is fair to say that the United States and NATO are not engaged in a full-scale war with Russia. Still, no one can deny that they are fighting a proxy war with the same regional power with the weak economy they ridiculed. Despite military help and massive economic sanctions, a year later they have not forced Russia to back down. Additionally, the rigid sanctions the western nations imposed against the Russian economy have not achieved the immediate results they hoped to see.
Instead, Russia has forged new alliances with Iran, China, and others in defiance of western help toward Ukraine. Militaries do not fight wars the way they are used to, so manpower is not as important as it used to be. Nevertheless, human resources are still an important part of warfare today.
The United States had a population of 331.9 million (2021). China had a population of 1.412 billion (2021). Russia had a population of 143.4 million (2021). Iran had a population of 87.92 million (2021). And North Korea’population was 25.97 million (2021)
These are the nations that the world needs to pay attention to as this new alignment begins to take shape and as China and Russia assert their alliance and power.
If the Americans learned anything, they should have learned from the many lost wars. From Korea to Vietnam to Iraq, and the disastrous withdrawal that followed the Vietnamese and Afghan conflicts.
During the three years of the Korean conflict, the Americans failed to recognize that it was not only fighting the North Koreans but the Chinese military.
The demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas is a testament to the fact that the United States did not win that conflict.
The North Koreans, between June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953, were able to stave off the powerful American military and South Korea with the help of light Chinese infantry units resulting in the stalemate that has been in effect for seven decades.
In the 1950’s China was an impoverished so-called third-world nation. Today, China stands mighty as it fooled the western world into thinking it was a behemoth but one disinterested in world affairs. Consequently, the world moved its manufacturing to China, making that nation a rich and powerful player on the world stage.
China modernized its military, including its nuclear forces, and went around the world building new alliances using dollars as opposed to the western powers who believed alliances were built using bullets.
Instead of understanding the imminent threat posed by this burgeoning alliance between China, Russia, and other players like Iran and South Korea, the United States is embroiled in division, racial animus, and hatred.
No single nation can out-militarize the United States, but they do not need to. America is destroying itself from the inside with Russian disinformation and propaganda inserted in its eco-system and the racial segregation that has characterized America’s DNA from its founding.
Instead of celebrating its diversity, America is weakening itself along racial, gender,s sexual, religious, and other defining lines.
In that regard, America is its own worst enemy.
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Mike Beckles is a former Police Detective, businessman, freelance writer, black achiever honoree, and creator of the blog mikebeckles.com.