Can the US change?

THE Imperial Project has been stuttering and tottering for quite some time. The triumphalism of the “American Century” and the “End of History” , after the collapse of the Soviet Union, appears to be unravelling.

All empires eventually collapse and the US will be no different. Instead of turning inwards after the end of the Cold War and rebuilding their own country’s crumbling physical, social and educational infrastructure they have instead continued blindly with the neocon project of “continuous war for continuous peace”.

Massive funding has been splurged on the military and their ongoing conflicts. Wars that are not being won and in the case of Afghanistan has been going on for more than 16 years with no end in sight.

Continuing war and continuing failure comes to mind.

Their only achievement, one would hope unintended, is that increasing numbers of people around the world hate America and what they stand for. This is particularly so in Muslim countries that have been targeted for special treatment.

A once admired country has become an international laughing stock.

With a crackpot president who is being held in thrall by the warmongering deep state, they have lost all credibility.

The usually restrained and measured Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have come to the end of his tether, having contemptuously said “it is difficult to talk to people who confuse Austria and Australia”.

This is the level of their political culture. A multi-polar world is already a reality and no amount of posturing, threats and bullying is going to change that.

One can only hope that they will eventually come to their senses and accept the inevitable decline of their country and try to play a more positive role in the world. Brian van der Vijver Cape Town