Andrew Bacevich has written a very thoughtful article that appeared in Asia Times titled:  Big Change Whether We like it or not. Like just about anything that Mr. Bacevich writes, I recommend reading his article.  Following is my summary of it.

Andrew J Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston University. A TomDispatch regular, he is the author, among other works, of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War and the editor of The Short American Century: A Postmortem, forthcoming from Harvard University Press. 

____________________________________________

Synopsis of Big Change Whether We Like It or Not

Europeans created the modern Middle East with a single purpose in mind: to serve European interests. With the waning of European power in the wake of World War II, the United States – gingerly at first, but by the 1980s without noticeable inhibition – stepped in to fill the void. What had previously been largely a British sphere now became largely an American one, with the ever-accelerating tempo of US military activism testifying to that fact. 

According to Bacevich, big change is happening now and it is political, economic and military.

At least four converging vectors are involved:

1. The Collapse of the Freedom Agenda
George W Bush set out to remake the Greater Middle East. This was the ultimate strategic objective of Bush’s “global war on terror”. Intent on accomplishing across the Islamic world what he believed the United States had accomplished in Europe and the Pacific between 1941 and 1945, Bush sought to erect a new order conducive to US interests.

2.  Second, the Great Recession: In the history of the American political economy, the bursting of speculative bubbles forms a recurring theme. Wall Street shenanigans that leave the plain folk footing the bill are an oft-told tale. Recessions of one size or another occur at least once a decade.  [I, as Bacevich, believe that the American people are now wise to this and I believe this is indeed a game changer in the USA.] As Bacevich writes:
“. . . Members of the middle class are beginning to realize that the myth of America as a classless society is just that. In truth, the game is rigged to benefit the few at the expense of the many. . . ”

3. Third, the Arab Spring.  Bacevich writes that “. . . the ongoing Arab upheaval is sweeping from that region of the world the last vestiges of Western imperialism. . . ”   On this point, I am not in agreement with Bacevich.  I believe that is a story that is yet to unfold as certainly western imperialism is alive and well in Bahrain.  Also it would appear to me that the field is being plowed for American imperialism in Libya.

4. Fourth, Beleaguered Europe’s Quest for a Lifeline: To a considerable extent, the story of the 20th century – at least the commonly-told Western version of that story – is one of Europe screwing up and America coming to the rescue. The really big screw-ups were, of course, the two world wars.  Today, Europe has once again screwed up, although fortunately this time there is no need for foreign armies to sort out the mess. The crisis of the moment is an economic one, due entirely to European recklessness and irresponsibility (not qualitatively different from the behavior underlying the American economic crisis).

So, since the USA can’t come rescue its cousin, Europe is turning to China.

_________________________________________

As the article concludes, we are told that the USA is not over, but it is decidedly a different USA than the USA of 1945 and it’s time for most of Washington to realize this.

Proclaim the Queen!

•