When Hamas attacked Israel, Republicans knew whom to blame: President Biden. Donald Trump asserted that the attack wouldn’t have happened if he were still in the White House; Mike Pence, while condemning Trump for praising Hezbollah, asserted that Biden was somehow endangering U.S. interests by “projecting weakness.”
Like much of what the American right says these days, these smears were both vile and infantile. No, the U.S. president isn’t like Green Lantern, able to shape world events through sheer force of will. And Biden has, in fact, taken remarkably tough positions on foreign affairs, much more so than his predecessor.
More generally, it’s striking how both the far left, which has no significant influence on the Democratic Party, and the far right, which largely runs the G.O.P., are American solipsists. They blame U.S. leaders for everything bad that happens in the world, denying foreigners any agency.
That said, even serious students of international affairs are noting that […]
Paul Krugman is so bright and Americans should pay attention to his thoughts. The GOP extreme right is not only demoralizing this country, but at the moment it is paralyzing it as well. They, the GOP, always brings up the extreme left, but what has that left done that has harmed America? They want strict climate change policies, less oil more solar—-and this is bad? No!!! It’s the extreme right that has harmed Pax America and placed millions in dangerous positions because the US cannot make policy and provide funds and weapons enough to bring down terrorists—-and the Russians ARE terrorists. The solution—–the ballot box! Americans must vote out these miscreants in the GOP who are not only harming the US but the world! Terri Quint
“Yes, the Pax Americana is in decline. But the problem isn’t lack of toughness at the top. It’s the enemy within.” This analysis by Krugman is patiently false. The reason Pax Americana is in decline is because the neo-liberals in control over the past few decades have gotten us involved in military foreign policy mis-adventures based on lies. This is a process which started in Vietnam, and excellerated post 9/11. None of those responsible have been held to account. Our forced withdrawal from Iraq and Afganistan has shown to the world that we cannot impose our will. This is the crux of the issue. We will have to get used to a multi-polar world wherein we will have to negotiate. This is something the neo-liberal empire managers are loth to do. Hence the decline of Pax Americana.