Washington losing its control of the world over Ukraine

CIA Director William Burns hightailed it to Saudi Arabia last week, reportedly frustrated that peace was on the verge of breaking out — the kind that could end the Global War on Terrorism in the Middle East, which has been the pretext for U.S. military intervention for decades, and unite Washington’s allies with its foes. And it only has itself to blame.

Of utmost concern to the spy chief is an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic ties. Even worse: China is the broker. Not only does this mean that efforts to isolate Iran from its neighbors and from the global economy will now be undermined, but Washington will lose the ability to count on Saudibacked

jihadists to do its bidding against Iranian-aligned interests in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Libya. It also raises the specter of a global economic de-dollarization, with both Iran and Saudi Arabia now ramping up their use of the Chinese yuan in bilateral trade.

A Russian-mediated rapprochement has just taken place between Saudi Arabia and Syria. The CIA and Pentagon have spent billions in support of Saudi-aligned jihadists to oust Syria’s president.

Another sign that Washington was losing control over the Middle East came when OPEC+ — led by Russia and Saudi Arabia — decided to suddenly cut output (thereby raising prices) at a time when Washington and Europe have done everything to deprive Russia of revenues

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It’s not hard to imagine that these countries would be fed up with fighting with each other, egged on by Western interests, to the detriment of their own economic development. Or that the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the need for these nations to diversify their economic interests away from Washington and in favor of a more balanced approach to avoid the impact of sanctions like those already imposed on Moscow, Iran and China. The problem with sanctioning so much of the world is the risk of it ultimately culminating in self-isolation. The world is tired of endless conflict, with Washington being the biggest beneficiary. Even close U.S. allies are hurting as they follow an agenda of endless global drama.

Lisa Mitchell at lmitchell@ 21st-centurymedia.com, 484-374-1264

Europe has been begging Washington for some relief on pricey U.S. gas imports in the wake of being egged on to cut themselves off from cheap Russian gas in support of the Washington-led Western agenda. Then came another slap in the face to European industry from Biden’s protectionist Inflation Reduction Act. So it’s no wonder that leaders of France, Germany and Spain have made pilgrimages to China to talk trade.

For Sen. Marco Rubio, RFla., all this economic diversity is a threat. “Brazil cut a trade deal with China. They’re going to, from now on, do trade in their own currencies, get right around the dollar. They’re creating a secondary economy in the world totally independent of the United States,” Rubio told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

What exactly did he expect?

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Inoculation against U.S. sanctions is the whole idea of de-dollarization. Maybe if lawmakers like Rubio hadn’t wielded sanctions as a weapon against even friendly global competitors, then it wouldn’t have blown back in their faces. It’s hard to find any sanctions that Rubio hasn’t supported —including those targeting Europe’s energy lifeline, the Nord Stream pipeline network (before it was mysteriously blown up in an act of sabotage).

The conflict in Ukraine has sent much of the world scrambling to reduce its exposure to Washington’s self-centered whims in their own sovereign interests. Don’t blame China and Russia, who are only capitalizing on years worth of unforced errors.

Marsden is filling in for S.E. Cupp.

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