Friends + Interlocutors,

Here’s a brief video except from an interview of John Mearsheimer and Joshua Landis which I enclosed in a link a few days ago. They were in a discussion about the Iran war with Tom Switzer in a show called Switzerland. (Get it?) Landis is an academic expert on Syria. He has lived there and is married to a Syrian.

Landis is understandably distraught at the situation in the Middle East brought about by Israel and Washington who have worked in tandem for decades. He goes so far as to suggest that it might be a good idea for China to extend its influence in the Middle East as a counterbalance!

This is novel. I like the idea. Instead of Washington pivoting to the Far East, let’s have China pivot to the Middle East! In point of fact, I am opposed to a Washington “pivot” to the Far East for the purpose of confronting the so-called “China threat”. That would be yet another fool’s errand.

The threat to upend the world today is from the U.S. and Israel, not China. If my knees were in better shape (an old football injury), I would get down on them every night and pray that Washington never pivots to the Far East. American foreign policy, in full-blown subservience to Tel Aviv, has spread chaos to the Middle East and beyond since the end of the Cold War. 

Based on its track record in the 20th Century and afterwards, I have lost trust and hope in American foreign policy and would not want to see Washington extend its malfeasance to the Indo-Pacific region. 

Why take the chance? Washington has made a wreck of the Middle East. Why extend the craziness to the Far East? China seems to me to be the last adult left standing.

Patrick

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