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Do you remember these images?
They are from the fall of Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban.
This happened in September 2021, which is less than a year ago.
However, it seems like an eternity has passed since then.
There was a time when it seemed that the United States was about to lose its global dominance.
The end of the American empire... a multipolar world where Uncle Sam would have to compete
with China or even Russia for global geopolitical influence.
However...
we are already in June 2022 and the current picture is completely different.
That’s right!
In today's video we are going to see how the American Empire is now more powerful than
ever.
I'm going to be even bolder: Have you ever heard of the Project for the New American
Century?
Well, to put it plainly: the New American Century is back... to stay.
To put it symbolically...
Remember TOP GUN?
Surely, if you lived through the 80's you will have seen it.
It is the most iconic film for understanding the final years of the Cold War, when it was
clear that the United States militarily surpassed the Soviet Union.
Well, it is curious that just this year is when the sequel to Top Gun, which also stars
Tom Cruise, was released.
Yes, VisualPolitik community, everything indicates that the United States is once again the world's
policeman and there seems to be no one who can seriously stand up to them.
And take note, because we are talking about an influence that could last a few more decades.
Everything that has happened in recent months paints a new reality that we have to understand
well.
So the question we are pondering today is:
What exactly does it mean that the United States is the world's policeman?
Are we really facing the end of the multipolar world?
Today we are going to answer these questions but first, one thing: everyday citizens from
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And now, let's look at a bit of history.
T1(THE GLOBAL POLICE)
Have you ever heard the term "neocon" or "neoconservative"?
Younger people won't know what I'm talking about.
But if you're over 30 and interested in politics, you've probably used it a million times.
“Neoconservatism" was the trending ideology of the American right wing during the early
years of the 21st century.
You could say that the modern neocons were re-founded in 1997 with the foundation of
the "Project for the New American Century".
This foundation was directed by these two gentlemen you see on the screen: IRVING KRISTOL
and ROBERT KAGAN.
And what did these two gentlemen stand for?
Well, to sum it up in one sentence, the United States should be the world's police.
Just like that.
The world is a dangerous place and it tends towards war.
The fact that most of us have never had to fight on the battlefield is a historical anomaly.
And, according to the neocons, this historical anomaly has a name: PAX AMERICANA.
Think about it, in the 1990s, the Soviet Union was out of action.
That plunged the United States into an existential crisis.
Who were they fighting then?
What did they need a military for?
That explains this chart.
If you look, you will see that, as soon as the Soviet Union was dissolved, the United
States made a mega-cut in their military budget.
You could say that the ideologist of the 1990s is this other man you see on the screen: FRANCIS
FUKUYAMA, author of a book entitled "The End of History and the Last Man".
Fukuyama argued that liberal democracy had triumphed.
With the Soviet Union dissolved, it was only a matter of time before all the other countries
of the world became vibrant democracies trading with each other.
After all, who would want to live under a dictatorship knowing that democracy is better
in every way?
However, democracy does not defend itself.
Neocons understand that democracy is not something natural to man.
Without a police force to uphold international order, the world would be doomed to dictatorship.
It may seem a somewhat cynical idea but... there is no shortage of reasons.
Look at this map.
Here you can see the US military bases around the world.
Except for very specific areas, we can say that there is a US military base roughly every
1000 kilometers or 620 miles.
No other country has anything like this.
Are there countries with military bases beyond their borders?
Yes, of course there are.
But neither Russia nor China come close to the number of the United States.
For example, when Iran wanted to attack oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the United
States was ready to send planes and soldiers to pacify the area in a matter of... hours!
And the same can happen anywhere else on the globe.
Throughout the 20th century, Uncle Sam had always competed with other superpowers, especially
the Soviet Union.
But at the turn of the 21st century, no one was overshadowing Washington.
Some would think this was a good opportunity to stop spending on defense.
The neocons said otherwise.
C1(At present the United States faces no global rival.
America's grand strategy should aim to preserve and extend this advantageous position as far
into the future as possible.
--Excerpt from Rebuilding America's Defenses)
What you have just seen is an excerpt from a report published in 2000 by the Project
for the New American Century.
In this report it is clearly explained that the American military should not be limited
to defending the country but should also be the world's police.
This influence is exercised through military bases and the ability to be able to enter
any war rapidly – Side note: this report proposed, among many other things, to cancel
the development of the F-35.
In any case, this document was intended to become the Republican Party's ideological
guide to foreign policy.
However, at the time, no one listened to them.
In fact...
Do you remember former President George Bush Jr?
Well, pay attention to what he said about the neocons during the election campaign.
C2("If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions,
then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road.
And I'm going to prevent that."
--George W. Bush during the electoral campaign 2000)
However, September 11 changed all of Bush's plans.
Suddenly, the whole world began to listen to the neocons.
And Bush, who had said he no longer wanted to be the world's policeman, embarked on two
wars.
Two wars designed to overthrow dictatorships and replace them with democracies.
And, once again, the United States increased its military spending, pay attention to this
graph.
That's right!
The first decade of the 2000s were the "War on Terror" years.
The bad guys were no longer the Russian communists but the Taliban.
However, in this case there was a difference.
During the Cold War, American society was fully aware of the Soviet threat.
After all, the Russians had nuclear bombs.
However, Islamic terrorists posed no such threat.
At least, American society was not as aware.
This can be illustrated very well by analyzing the movies of the time.
If you notice, during World War II, Hollywood produced countless war movies depicting the
heroism of the US army fighting the Nazis.
You have masterpieces like From Here to Eternity.
In the 80's we have another collection of Cold War movies where the Soviets are shown
as the bad guys and the Americans as the good guys: Top Gun, Rocky IV and Rambo III.
However, what films have shown us the Iraq or Afghanistan wars?
Almost all of them are semi-satirical stories: from Three Kings to Team America.
Movies where soldiers are disoriented and unable to bring order to the countries they
invade.
Think of it this way: everyone thought Iraq and Afghanistan would be short wars.
Yet the US had to stay for decades to try to consolidate a democratic government.
You know how that worked out.
Side note: I know what many of you are thinking, what stupidity!
Who would think that democracy can be imposed at gunpoint?
Of course, that is what we think after seeing how Iraq and Afghanistan ended up... but let
me remind you that Germany and Japan did not adopt democracy in a peaceful way either.
And I know what many of you are thinking: the American right, that is, the Republicans,
were the ones who defended the wars while the American left, that is the Democrats,
were against them, right?
Well, nothing could be further from the truth!
If there is anyone we have to hold responsible for the end of the New American Century it
is none other than... this gentleman.
And I know what many of you will be thinking....
This is the classic slogan a politician says to make himself look good, isn't it?
After all, if he is the President of the United States, it is logical that he would say that
he is going to focus on his country first.
Can you imagine a president, Democrat or Republican, saying....
"I don't care about my country"?
However, behind the "America first" rhetoric there was a whole change of approach.
Trump was sick of being the world's policeman.
Sick of sending his military to solve other countries' problems.
And, believe me, he was willing to take his vision all the way.
N1(Trump Discussed Pulling US From NATO, Aides Say Amid New Concerns Over Russia.
NYTimes)
Exactly!
Trump was the first occupant of the White House to discuss the end of NATO.
And the truth is that many of his European counterparts didn't think it was a bad idea.
Check it out.
N2(Nato alliance experiencing brain death, says Macron.
BBC)
Yes, VisualPolitik fans, until just a few months ago, the very existence of NATO was
in question.
In all the international politics forums there was talk of a new multipolar world.
A world where US dominance would be contested by other powers such as China or, to a lesser
extent, Russia.
Remember all the videos we have made about Germany's energy policy.
There was a moment when Germany was going in the opposite direction of US interests.
And, in turn, Washington was losing strength on all fronts.
We only have to look at those pictures from August 2021....
Whichever way you look at it, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was a complete failure.
A symbol of the decline of the American Empire.
However, all this has changed in 2022.
How?
We are going to take a look at that right now.
T2(THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY)
We already said it on VisualPolitik weeks before Putin tried to take Kyiv: the Ukrainian
war is a trap for the Kremlin.
Of course no one, not even us, expected Ukraine to resist Russian forces so strongly.
This does not mean that they are going to win the war.
We all know that Ukraine is going to be scarred forever: its economy has collapsed, it is
a real humanitarian disaster and everything indicates that the war is far from over.
However, think of it another way: every second that passes, Russia is getting weaker while
NATO is getting stronger.
For example: up until a few months ago, it was unthinkable that Finland and Sweden would
join the alliance.
Now they are in the middle of the accession process.
Months ago, no European government was seriously considering increasing military spending.
Now, all the capitals are talking about doubling it.
I don't know if you realize what this means, but think of it this way: NATO is a military
alliance.
The United States is just one more member... but it is the most influential one.
You could say that the United States was the driving force behind the alliance to create
a common bloc of liberal democracies.
All of them against the Soviet Union.
In recent decades, this bloc was weakening.
Only a few countries considered it a priority.
Now things have changed.
This may be a clear return to the Cold War era, where Europe and the United States formed
a joint bloc against the Russians...
But with a difference!
Before, the antagonist was the Soviet Union, which reached far beyond Russia's borders.
Now, we are talking only about Russia... and an increasingly weaker Russia, both militarily
and economically.
Yes, it is true: in the short term, Moscow seems to be coping with the sanctions.
But what will happen if Europe manages to stop buying Russian gas?
What will happen to Russian factories when they run out of components from the rest of
the world?
In the long term, the Russian economy does not look good.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic alliance has many more members than during the Cold War.
Of course, this does not mean that NATO has no problems – of course it does!
But no one now denies its importance.
And wait, because there is still more...
Asia-Pacific is the United States' top priority.
It is the world's most populous and fastest-growing economic area.
However, the United States did not have many allies in this region.
At least, it did not have allies willing to make defense commitments.
After all, why should they?
The only great power that could scare the rest of the countries was China.
But the pre- Xi Jinping China was a world-friendly country.
Yes, it is true: during the 1980s, China engaged Vietnam in a war almost unheard of by Westerners.
But it was a mere regional conflict where the United States had little interest.
Now the situation has changed.
The Chinese giant is not only an economic but also a military superpower.
And all those territorial conflicts that once seemed unimportant have returned to the political
chessboard.
We are not going to mention them all because there is a whole collection of VisualPolitik
videos where we review them in much more detail.
But, to summarize: from Taiwan to Japan, passing through South Korea and even Indonesia, they
are starting an arms race to contain China.
And, in this respect, we have to recognize that Washington has been in the right place
at the right time.
Check it out.
N3(Indonesia hails 'new era' for US ties, hosts biggest joint military drills.
Reuters)
In the case of Vietnam, it is not yet possible to speak of an alliance.
For starters, Vietnam has been an ally of Russia since the 1960s.
That means they still do joint military exercises.
But Hanoi is closer to Washington than ever.
Since 2016, US warships have been able to dock in Vietnamese ports.
That's quite a statement of intent.
And what about the rest of the Asia-Pacific countries?
Well it’s a similar story.
N4(Pentagon doubles number of US troops in Taiwan under Biden.
Taiwan News)
If you have been following VisualPolitik for some time, you have probably heard about QUAD,
which includes the United States, India, Japan and Australia.
We also have other associations such as the Indo Pacific or ASEAN.
The new governments in South Korea and Japan are more pro-American than ever.
Put another way: the Biden administration wants to militarily unite all Asian countries
that feel threatened by China.
And, for the moment, it is working out well.
So can we talk about an Asian NATO?
Certainly not.
And even if that were to happen, it would take years of negotiations.
But, we come back to the same point: the US military presence in Asia is more important
today than it was 10 years ago.
And you will probably say, "But [host]!
China is arming itself to the hilt...
And yes, you are right.
But so are its neighboring countries.
Put another way: The United States is improving its alliances both in the Pacific and the
Atlantic.
Meanwhile, the rest of the powers that could confront it: China and Russia, are scaring
their neighbors off.
And this leads us to speak of an increasingly monopolar world.
So now the question is: Do you really believe that the United States will achieve global
dominance?
Do you think it is right for the United States to be the world's policeman?
You can leave me your answer in the comments.
As always, don't forget that here on VisualPolitik we upload new videos every week.
If you liked this video, LIKE it and see you in the next one.
All the best and see you soon.