Predictability of the Security Council

 

The resolution designed to nullify President Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and announcing the United States intended plans for moving their embassy to Jerusalem invigorated almost every member of the United Nations Security Council bringing them to immediate action. As you probably already know, their reaction was absolutely no different from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation conclusion reached in Turkey. The fourteen nations who attempted to nullify and void President Trump and actually believed that they have the power to force the United States to cancel their plans for moving the American embassy to Jerusalem were China, Russia, England, France, Japan, Italy, Egypt, Bolivia, Uruguay, Sweden, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Senegal. The audacity of the United Nations believing they actually have the power and right to instruct the President of the United States and the Congress and the people what they could decide and do through their elected government is astonishing. Reality is that the United States is currently planning and hopefully will be moving their embassy in the near future with or without the United Nations, OIC, European Union and almost countless nations’ blessings. Of course, United States Ambassador to the United Nation Nikki Haley vetoed using the power available to the United States just as it is to France, Britain, China and Russia currently. But what if the United States decided they wanted to do more to blunt the power of the United Nations.

 

Let us go down that road for a moment. First, were New York City inspectors to go and really give the United Nations buildings a good going over, we bet they could find sufficient serious deficiencies necessary to condemn the building and setting a date for its destruction giving the inhabitants thirty days to vacate. The real estate upon which the complex at Turtle Bay sits is prime New York property worth tens of hundreds of million or more per square foot along 1st Avenue between 42nd and 48th Streets. Somebody could build a new productive structure, a nice, private, super skyscraper, nice and new with the latest technology and interconnections for the new occupants which would be far more productive than the United Nations. The headquarters could be moved somewhere in Europe such as Paris, Geneva, Vienna or better still, Mosul, Iraq. Well, if the United Nations was located in Mosul, then we would see them make a fast and furious recognition of Kurdistan and placing Mosul within its borders probably as the capital city and they would include all the Kurds and permit the Kurdish first leaders to determine who would be permitted to reside within their borders and who would need to relocate being sent into Turkey, Iraq or even Syria depending on which area they currently reside and Kurds would be granted protective relocation inside the new national borders. The United Nations would probably warn Turkey against any belligerence or resistance to this arrangement as the United Nations would probably desire to be located in a place which was stable with democratically elected governance. They could even be sent to China or Russia, just anywhere outside the United States and hopefully to some place willing to provide them with most, or at least much, of its required financing for all functions. The reason for this is the United States could decide to just pay their minimum dues or resign from the United Nations entirely and ignore anything passed as inconsequential and inapplicable to the newly freed United States. So, what would be left of the United Nations without any American funds? Very little is the honest answer.

 

United Democracies for Freedom and Liberty

 

Of course, should the United States pull out of the United Nations and take its cash flow with them, which includes twenty-two percent of the budget, twenty-five percent of peacekeeping costs, and a relatively unknown amount for UNRWA, it would be Free of the influences of the United Nations, and the United States would free themselves of many of the pressures made through that international agency. That could include the amounts that are paid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) which is not disclosed, as there are numerous ways in which funding is sent to the PA. The only honest estimation we could make is total funding of the PA is measured in tens of billions of dollars per year if not higher. Once a goodly share of that funding stopped, the leadership would actually be required to spend a higher percentage to care for the population and less would end up in their pockets. Such might allow for a greater chance for peace. Imagine the savings if peace were to break out in the Middle East, or at least a severe calm. Free from the United Nations and the dictatorships of the world, the United States could choose a dozen or couple dozen nations, or whatever number they could find willing to operate to make the world be filled with more freedom for the people, governance which provided a plethora of liberties and assist in actually solving problems, advancing conditions throughout the world and assisting the nations which are willing to work towards a better world for all peoples, of course starting with their own but also ready, willing and capable of assisting other nations still developing and requiring the basic technologies which were available to the United States by the central era of the last century such that they might join the advanced world in the future. The United States could also work on their own infrastructure, modernizing of their aging structures.

 

What many people do not realize or even have the vision to see, our world is on a precipice walking a narrow path where the technology for near infinite possibilities is on the verge of exploding and becoming very real while at the same time some of the most threatening and destructive technologies are also becoming widely available. We were watching a story which was a slight dramatization of Albert Einstein’s life and times which included parallel events such as the Manhattan Project. When World War II came to an end, they showed the scientists who worked to develop a nuclear weapon for Germany and one of their leading physicists, Werner Heisenberg, is talking with another of the physicists who wondered what prevented them from reaching the point of making a weapon and Werner Heisenberg simply replied, let me get a piece of paper and I will draw you how to make a bomb or some similar comment. He knew and likely, any number of other Nazi scientists knew how to manufacture a simple device and simply chose not to speak up knowing the people who would be using any device they produced and very privately hoping for their defeat. We can only hope that there are such principled people but we unfortunately know otherwise, North Korea has exploded devices which, judging the data provided, are most likely designed as “Super EMP” devices. Iran is said to be close and probably able to manufacture simple nuclear weapons within the next decade. We fearfully believe that Iran not only could manufacture a thermonuclear weapon of sophisticated design already and that they probably have already produced any number of “Super EMP” devices as well as any number of thermonuclear warheads capable of placement atop their ballistic missiles and their ICBM’s and these warheads are fully capable of surviving reentry. Iran and North Korea have both launched satellites which employed the most preferred approach angles upon the United States approaching from the south which is considered the area where the United States interceptions and detection systems are partially blind.

 

That leaves the world two directions, the science fiction future we saw in things like Star Trek, Babylon V, Lost in Space and other depictions of flying around the universe, or at least the solar system, and the other side of science fiction such as On the Beach, Damnation Alley, Cyborg and other post-apocalyptic stories even including Blade Runner. The possibilities of World War III actually coming to fruition are limited but a distinct possibility while a positive future may be closer than any of us believe. The difference might be how long the United Nations spends all of its efforts joining the Europeans and parts of the Islamic world in destroying the one Jewish State of Israel while ignoring the real problems in the world. The world needs to decide what direction it desires to take whether forward towards a world of cooperation and near unbelievable discoveries and advancements which science is on the verge of discovery or back to sniping with nations against nation leading to war and ruin very possibly sending the world back thousands of years losing all that has been built within a few generations needing to start from scratch once more, if some discoveries are true.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

The Hate Israel Anti-Semites Boycott Israel Club

 

We all have read about the supposed evils of Israel because the media lists them almost daily. We have the leader of the musicians recently gathering the signatures of numerous British artists all swearing they will never play a concert in Israel simply because Roger Waters says Israel is hateful. How Mr. Waters knows this is beyond any first hand evidence, he just woke up one morning and joined the well-financed and well-organized boycott Israel club. He never bothered to verify any of the charges against Israel, he simply bought the propaganda that Israel hates the Arabs and refuses to allow them to vote. He took the bait that the Arabs living under the semi-autonomous self-rule in areas of Judea, Samaria and Gaza are not permitted to vote in Israeli elections. That is absolutely true, as is the fact that Israelis are not permitted to vote in elections for the Palestinian Arab Authority. Oddly enough, Israeli Arabs are not permitted to vote in Palestinian Arab Authority elections so should Mr. Waters also protest the Palestinian Arab Authority, who refuses to allow Israeli Arabs from voting in their elections, making them just as guilty of Apartheid. Perhaps we need to find some example closer to home for Mr. Waters and see if perhaps he can become enlightened.

 

We can use the United Kingdom where there are various semi-autonomous nation states of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each of these four nation states has their own governing boards and other functions which are elected from within their regions. A citizen of Northern Ireland cannot vote in Scotland and a citizen from Scotland cannot vote in Wales and so forth. Does this make each of the nations which make up the United Kingdom apartheid states because they have independent elections within each nation? We have all read that Scotland held a recent vote to remove themselves once again from under the British Crown and return to complete independence. They did not decide to do so in a close election which very well may have hinged on the threats coming from others within the United Kingdom and some of the scare tactics coming from London could have been interpreted as threats against the Scottish should they decide to return to being independent. Does this mean that the rest of the United Kingdom is using their vast influence and power to intimidate the Scottish from complete independence thus acting in a manner of racial hate towards the Scottish for their self-identity as a separate peoples? This could be twisted to show all kinds of reasons to boycott goods, academics and musicians from playing anywhere within the United Kingdom outside of Scotland with whom we the citizens of the world feel a need to unify behind in their quest to return to independence from under the colonial power of the United Kingdom and its British colonial oppressive tactics to continue their rule over what is left of their once mighty empire upon which they used to brag that the sun never set on all of the British Empire. The mighty may have fallen but they still rule with complete control and arrogance from London. After all, did the United Kingdom allow Mr. Waters to vote in the Scottish vote for independence, of course not?

 

A similar example could be made for the separate nations within the European Union who each elect their own governments which in turn make their own policies as long as they do not interfere with each other’s internal affairs. As part of the European Union each nation must accept the Euro coinage for payment of goods making travel between the several nations of the European Union much easier. This facilitates the freedom of movement within the European Union as there are no requirements for passport and visas to travel and the Euro is universally accepted. But then there are the British with their Pound Sterling which the Iron Lady former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to give up and replace with the Euro. I believe her argument was that the British were better served to be in charge of their own monetary policies and their economic and other independent actions required Britain not to accept the Euro as the coin of the Realm. Could this British self-glorification, self-admiration and stubborn egoism not bring upon them the wrath of the rest of the European Union? Currently there are a few little budgetary and economic troubles within the European union of which this British elitism prevents the British Isles from being fully able and responsible to aid Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and other struggling nations leaving the burden to be pressed almost entirely on Germany with some lesser assistance from France and others, but the British remain outside the ill effects of this on the Euro as the British refuse to surrender the coin of the Realm, probably one of the most egregious symbols of British colonialism and conquest which spread the world over, the Pound Sterling. Perhaps the rest of the European Union should demand that the British give up their separate and unequal currency and accept the Euro completely and without any further reservations thus truly incorporating themselves within the European Union, after all that English Channel no longer separated you from the rest of Europe, there is the Chunnel connecting you directly to France and the Continent. If the British would just use the Euro it would better enable the European Union in assisting those members in need of a hand up which the Euro is supposed to supply.

 

Needless to point out, but the Lady Thatcher was dead on correct to not place Britain into the European cauldron of troubles by acceding to use the Euro and instead to remain in direct control of the coinage of the Realm and to be economically self-dependent and self-reliant using the Pound Sterling. Yes, I realize it is actually referred to a simply the Pound or ₤. The entire disaster which is the Euro derives from exactly the argument that Lady Thatcher made in her argument to retain the Pound and simply accept the Euro at its rate against the Pound at the time of the transaction. The threats that by retaining the Pound the British would be forever forced to check the going exchange rates of the Euro against the Pound or the € against the ₤. She flat stated, and was pilloried for it, that the Euro was untenable as long as each nation retained their ability to set their own economic policies, their own productivity targets and just about anything linked to their economy, work force policies, guaranteed employee benefits or anything else which would affect their use of the Euro. The sole manner that would make the Euro truly the coinage of the European Union would be a central planner who was responsible for setting all rules of the entirety of the European Union pertaining to the economy in any fashion, form or obligations. Every country would need to require their employees to have identical work weeks, vacation and sick leave, salary structure and economic targets. This would require the European Union to merge virtually every government function into the central authority of the European Union and it was this eventuality which the Lady Thatcher wished most to avoid.

 

So, do we now boycott all of the European Union who are insisting that the government of Greece accept to having their economic and other policies dictated to them from Brussels or possible Berlin as these are the origins of the Euros being loaned to Greece to keep the nation solvent and from economic collapse as their economic engines do not achieve a similar RPMs (Real Productivity per Man-hour) to the German and other economic engines within the European Union. Thus, because the Greeks use the Euro their government is being persuaded to adopt austerity measures which the people are so reluctant to implement after experiencing such restriction that they elected a government which will return them to their former economic policies and should the European Union object or demand further austerity measures, they promise a return to the Drachma, the ₯, the original Greek coinage which is one of the oldest coins in all of Europe and the world. Sitting on the cusp and watching as Greece is the first to actually fall beyond the cusp and become insolvent solely due to using the Euro and thus not being allowed to set their own monetary value which would better represent the economic productivity of Greece instead of accepting the Euro whose unified monetary policy in nonexistent and instead attempts to straddle an all inclusive area, an area which Greece did not quite attain, nor did Spain, Italy, Portugal and others potentially even France. So, Roger Waters, tell me, who do we protest by boycott now, Greece or Germany and Britain? Somebody is forcing the Greek governance how to write their economic policy and how to set their pension plans and everything else and the Greek people are refusing to elect any government which will bow to the central planners in Brussels. Who are the bad guys so I know whether to purchase a German vehicle, a French vehicle, an Italian vehicle (my first choice), or a Greek vehicle?

 

I figure who else should I ask other than Roger Waters who claims to be such an authority on who is acceptable amongst the nations of the world, so where do I spend my money, who do you approve as I would hate to get any bad social media attention because I did not do my civic duty and check to see if my purchases pass Roger Waters’s approved list of nations which qualify as politically acceptable. I mean, after all, with all the tours with Pink Floyd he must have full and first-hand knowledge which nations are kosher, if I can use that term or is it also too Israeli or too Jewish, please let me know on that one too while we are at it. What other words might be too supportive of the only nation thus far worldwide you have decided deserves our ire, which is correct Mr. Waters, just Israel deserves out boycott. Just to make sure, Russia is fine or the Ukraine, which one is righteous among the nations as judged by Roger Waters? Then do we not purchase anything made in China until they end their occupation of Tibet where they have also forced many Tibetans to be relocated in other far removed provinces and have replaced these native Tibetans with Chinese people who were mostly homeless and extremely poor and were bussed into Tibet and given the homes of the Tibetans who had been forced to leave. So, what about China and their subjugation of Tibet, a nation which never in recent history attacked or even bothered anybody but China just swallowed up Tibet. So, boycott China as well or just Israel Mr. Waters? What about the United States which swallowed up all of the Native American nations, do we demand that the United States return all the lands they did not legally purchase to their original Native American nations or just boycott Israel? What about Iran which sponsors the most terrorist actions and groups worldwide or Saudi Arabia which denies women of equality before the law or in society, or Australia which still has not returned the lands to the Aborigines from whom they stole it by force, or just Israel, which Mr. Waters?

 

Perhaps you should visit Israel and look around. You would be amazed as you would find a nation that is as free of racial afflictions as any I have ever witnessed. Israel, who went to rescue the Jews in Ethiopia who were being herded into a camp, you know what a camp means when you herd the Jews there, right Mr. Waters? They have arranged to bring the Bnei Menashe from India home as they are also of the house of Jacob. Many of the tribes who were scattered throughout the globe are being brought home to Eretz Yisroel. Not all were oppressed at this time but all have faced desperate periods where they were set upon by the other native populations, expelled from their homes and businesses, murdered outright, pogroms, made to pay an additional tax because they were Jews, and worst of, mass slaughter. Mr. Waters, the Jewish People are perhaps the most persecuted race of all time. When Israel was formed she received numerous Jews from Europe, as you are aware. Did you realize that they were prevented from simply coming to live in Israel by the British because the British had signed an agreement with the Arabs to never allow the Jews to become of a sufficient number as to be capable of forming a nation. Once Israel was barely recognized by a very tight vote in the United Nations, the Arab nations evicted approximately 850,000 Jews often with just one suitcase per family member and some with even less. Many Jews around the Arab world and across Europe were dispossessed of their homes and often Jews who survived the Nazi camps returned to their former homes only to find another family residing there, and their former neighbors joining together to force them out of their hamlet or village and then when they attempted to make their way to Israel they were prevented and placed in camps. Some Jews were taken from one Nazi concentration camp and when there was little room in the camps on Cyprus, they were shipped to Germany and placed back into one of the Nazi concentration camps. Read the story about the ship the St. Louis Mr. Waters and tell me who were persecuted. There were many Jews, millions of them, who had an even bigger problem than British making their return to Zion near impossible, these Jews found themselves behind the Iron Curtain, as Winston Churchill referred to Soviet domination. Many face years in the gulags simply for wanting to go to Israel, some just because they were a Jew and their loving neighbors complained to the authorities that they were unpatriotic and not a real member of the society and needed special treatment. Do you understand special treatment Mr. Waters?

 

On another note, did you know that Arabs serve in the Israeli Knesset Mr. Waters? Did you know that Arab Israelis do vote in Israel as do Druze and Bedouins as well as Christians, Buddhists, and every other religion which an Israeli may practice? There has been an Arab who sat and I believe one currently sitting on the bench of the Supreme Court of Israel. Arab doctors and nurses work side-by-side with Jews as both are Israeli citizens and fully incorporated in Israeli society and we would not have it any different way. Look around the Muslim controlled world and tell me how many of these nations allow Jews equal rights? Are there more than four or five out of the fifty-seven Muslim nations Mr. Waters? Why do people seeking a job and a better way of life who leave places such as Somalia, South Sudan, Eretria and others walk through numerous nations and cross Egypt which might simply shoot them on the spot if they were caught and across the Sinai Peninsula which is fraught with danger from terrorist gangs and still the increased possibility to be seen and shot by Egyptian border guards and finally make it to Israel. These are not political refugees but people seeking employment who are in Israel illegally and will end up returned to their homelands as soon as it is possible, but why would they come to Israel if it were such a horrid place as you claim it is? You probably know nothing about Israel. You probably believe the security fence which is over three-quarters fence and the rest wall usually within urban areas, and you call it an Apartheid Wall. Before that fencing was put in place it was impossible to prevent terrorists from entering Israel and thousands of Israelis were blown up simply living their lives, riding buses, eating in a pizzeria, shopping in a mall or just about anything else you could imagine. One such incident was the Passover Bombing of the Park Hotel Seder where a Hamas assassination bomber exploded its bomb murdering thirty mostly elderly Jews who had no family with whom to share their Passover Seder so they joined each other for this potentially joyous occasion turned tragedy. There were an additional almost 150 severely injured and amongst the victims were numerous Holocaust (Shoah) survivors. This was the sort of action the fence was erected to prevent and it was a total success as it decreased bombings and other terrorist acts significantly within the Green Line, the false armistice line which you mistakenly claim is the end of the lands granted Israel and the Jews by international law. Regarding that, simply read the notes from the San Remo Conference for the truth. As to the original claim to the lands of Israel, allow me to direct you to a book you know about but likely believe it is just a bunch of fairy tales, the book is called the Old Testament, and to make it simple so as not to tax you too much, just read Genesis and Exodus and if you still have questions, read Deuteronomy. Within you might see a few promises made and as was the way of the times, yes, we took the land by force, much like Egypt, Greece, Rome, Persia, Babylonia, the Mongols and the Arabs have done since. And just so you do not get confused, the Canaanites were not the Arabs who are claiming their ancestral origins to have been, their ancestral origins were from Saudi Arabia and Yemen of today, not anywhere near the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea. Then, Mr. Waters, visit Israel and even go to Ramallah and witness that there is an Arab Palestinian Authority government there, the government the Arabs do vote for, providing Mahmoud Abbas ever allows elections, elections which he has postponed since 2006 for his position and for the Parliament he has, they were not all elected, some were appointed and others reside in Gaza which is mostly controlled by Hamas and Abbas is pretty much unwelcomed there. These feuds have nothing at all to do with Israel other than the fact that both Fatah and Hamas as well as Islamic Jihad and the rest of the alphabet terror entities desire all of Israel destroyed and every Jew dead, which is where they claim separate ideas, Fatah just wants the Israeli Jews dead for now, Hamas and friends want every Jew dead worldwide. There is your truth Mr. Waters.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Worldwide Struggles to Continue to Intensify

There are numerous contests in numerous fields spanning from military contests to economic contests to diplomatic posturing to impose one’s influence. These disparate struggles have escalated and in all appearances will continue to escalate for the time being. Often people talking about this phenomenon want to compare the situation in the world today to the fall of the Roman Empire and equate their presumed imminent collapse of the United States for whatever reason they assign from financial to ecological or whatever their heart’s desire with the loss of the influence of Rome as the preeminent power of their age. There are so many reasons that such a comparison is ridiculous not the least of which is the United States is nowhere near collapse of any foreseeable kind. Has the United States appeared to take a break from their role of world’s police force and become preoccupied with their own internal problems and various difficulties? The obvious answer is yes, only a fool would not have picked up on this occurrence. So, what exactly are these disparate struggles over, who is contesting and is capable of achieving the leadership in their theater and what does it all mean for the future?

 

The most obvious arena of contests is the Arab and Muslim worlds. Some of these struggles are internal such as the current unrest in Egypt. Then there is the Palestinian Israeli conflict which is sometimes misperceived and called a peace process, it is a war in which only one side is permitted to attack and the other is denounced and demands for it to cease any military action they take even if it is in an effort of self-preservation. The main struggle in this theater is currently focused in Syria and currently is rapidly spreading into Lebanon. In one particular manner this struggle also is taking place in Egypt. There are three sides to the contest with the most active being the Iranian Shiite axis which in addition to Iran includes Hezballah, Iraq, the Syrian military and President Bashir Assad, and the terrorist forces which are controlled by the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps). Another front is the Sunni forces which favor militant Islam and has two dominant faces, the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda. The Muslim Brotherhood is still behind much of the fighting in Egypt where they have recently been removed from ruling over Egypt by the Egyptian military which is attempting to place a more secular type of governance that will require excluding the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in any future government. In Syria the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda are allied and working together despite the numerous experts’ opinions that claim these two are contesting against each other for control. This would not be the first time that the experts’ opinions did not exactly match the real world, especially in the Middle East. The final front is another Sunni Islamist force headed by Saudi Arabia which is the lead in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. This group has a longer ranged view for their taking power in the world where they rely on their oil wealth to slowly purchase influence and through positions such as chairs at prestigious universities and forming political groups and institutes through which they exert their influence. The basic analysis of the contest in the Arab and Muslim worlds breaks down primarily along a Sunni-Shiite divide with a secondary struggle between the most powerful of the Sunni nations jostling to take and retain the lead.

 

In Europe the struggles are along financial and economic roles where Germany holds the most prevalent and strongest financial health. At the other end of the spectrum are Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and to a lesser extent a number of other countries who are facing economic, budget or banking difficulties. France and England both are financially sound with the English having the advantage of not having completely converted to using only the Euro which is partly responsible for their economic health. The unknowns in this group are the numerous nations that were formerly behind the Iron curtain and who are experiencing potentials for great growth once they establish updated infrastructure. The positioning in Europe will come down to Germany, France, Britain and Poland with Russia also attempting to gain some leverage though they are often seen as being outside of the European theater. This is also one of the theaters where the United States has a finger in the pie though it is often not welcomed by the Europeans.

 

Africa and South America are both future powers. South America appears to be blossoming more quickly than is Africa but both are more likely to be distant future powers. Of these nations Brazil and Argentina would be seen as the leaders. In Asia the preeminent powers are obvious, China and India. These have been the leading powers of Asia throughout most of history with some sharing at times with Thailand and Siam for examples. There are other nations that are worthy of note which include but are not limited to Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea. Still, the obvious item of most importance is where the United States is headed and what that means for the future and will the United States be reasserting themselves.

 

Well, what has come over the United States is something that the world has witnessed before and it is not anything like the fall of Rome. The United States has entered one of its take care of the home front introvert modes where the United States is concerned with internal problems and politics while leaving foreign policy on ignore wherever and whenever possible. The United State has entered such periods before and they always take care of themselves. The first one came after the United States faces some problems with a declining Spanish colonial empire where, after routing the Spanish Navy, the United States gained some colonial properties and protectorates. After this brief worldly encounter the United States returned to her sleep mode allowing the world to take care of itself. This worked out splendidly and resulted in World War I. Eventually the United States entered World War I and though they had minimal effect they like to claim their entry into the war facilitated its conclusion. The United States returned to their cocoon after World War I so fast that they barely had any influence over the Treaty of Versailles. The United States signed the treaty, signed some additional treaties and papers and sat on the sidelines while the League of Nations was formed and the United States never took the bother of joining the League of Nations.

 

With the United States back on auto-pilot and taking care of internal matters while ignoring the rest of the world things got dicey largely due to unfinished business and strict and overly punishing terms from World War I landed Europe and eventually Asia in World War II. The United States gave sitting out this war a good try or at least the citizens did until they were shaken by the attack on Pearl Harbor. World War II resulted in a new alignment of world power with Europe no longer in the lead. The new leadership fell initially to the United States and the Soviet Union and later China. This initiated the Cold War where the United States and the Soviet Union engaged through secondary players and contested in a series of proxy wars such as Korea and Viet Nam to name the two best known. But it was another front where there was a proxy contest that played out between the Soviets and the Americans and that was the Middle East. It is that final arena which will become a major issue going forward.

 

The real question is will the United States retake her position as a world super power or is she entering a long term hibernation of introspection. That will remain a question until after the next Presidential elections in 2016. The result of that election will determine the future of more than just the United States but also whether or not another World War looms in the near future. Should the American people decide to continue with their preoccupation with internal affairs and simply pretend the world will take care of itself then the future could be very dark. The United States will very likely rebound from their current financial difficulties but to do so will take some extreme measures which may demand the full attention of the American political field then the world will act rudderless with the separate influences battling for the lead positions. There is a good chance that we might witness another expansion of Islam if one of the interests currently manages to extend their influence sufficiently that they unite much of the Muslim world behind them in a new caliphate then such an expanse would be inevitable. For this reason the two arenas which bear watching are the Middle East and the United States domestic scene. The inspection of the United States should concentrate on the importance placed by the news media on world events against domestic issues. The Middle East will be easier to understand as the fight over Syria will be one major contest with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran as the powers whose influence will indicate the direction. The wild card in the Middle East is Israel which only needs to survive to stand as an obstacle to any grander dreams the Islamic powers might desire to achieve as in order to solidify a preeminent position and be crowned the leader of the new caliphate will necessarily need to defeat Israel, no small task. Strange as it may seem but, the continued peace and ability to avoid yet another World War one only need watch two nations, the United States and Israel. If Israel continues to exist as the Jewish state then the chances of another World War are greatly minimalized. Without Israel the world will need to hope that the United States wakes up to her rightful place in the world and take her position seriously and takes the responsibilities of a super power to heart. Unfortunately, it is far more likely that the United States will remain in her introvert mode and the world will end up dependent upon a small nation that so many nations in the world love to hate, Israel.

 

Beyond the Cusp