“The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies in other domains.” This year marks the closest estimate of the possible midnight disaster in 75 years.
Harry Targ
As the narrative unfolds concerning a possible war in Eastern Europe over Ukraine, the material below is usually left out of corporate media stories. There is reason to suspect that the Biden Administration, losing popularity by the day for its failure to get sufficient support for its domestic agenda, has chosen to reignite a new cold or hot war with Russia and China. Domestic politics, plus the fears of foreign policy elites about the relative decline in US global hegemony, may be leading the world down the path of grotesquely increased military expenditures and war. And the institutions that thrive on war or the preparation for war remain beyond the control of elected leaders.
NATO/Ukraine/New
Cold War. In
2016 leaders of the 28 NATO countries met in summit in Poland to reaffirm their
commitment to the military alliance that was established in 1949 for the sole
purpose of protecting the European continent from any possible Soviet military
intervention. With the collapse of the former Soviet Union, rather than
dissolving, NATO took on the task of policing the world for neoliberal
globalization and the states “victorious” in the Cold War. NATO was the
official operational arm of military operations in the former Yugoslavia in the
1990s and the military force that would destroy the Gaddafi regime in
Libya.
After the
collapse of the Soviet Bloc, NATO incorporated the states in Eastern Europe
that had been affiliated with it. Now Poland, Hungary, and the Baltic States
remain the frontline in the ongoing hostilities with Russia. They and western
financiers from Ukraine, with substantial assistance from the United States,
engineered the coup that ousted a corrupt but elected President in Ukraine.
This set off an ongoing civil war between those in the population who wanted to
continue ties to Russia and others who wanted Ukraine to join the European
Union and NATO. The instability in Kiev was orchestrated by high US state
department officials who advocated a New Cold War with Russia. Some US
diplomats involved in the Ukraine story remain in the Biden diplomatic team.
At the
NATO summit of 2016 it was agreed to establish four battalion-sized “battle
groups” in Poland and the Baltic states. To use the language of the Cold War,
this small force could serve as a “trip wire” that could precipitate an
“incident” and a major war with Russia. NATO agreed to bolster the Ukraine
military. The alliance would commit to establishing a controversial missile
defense system in Eastern Europe. And NATO countries promised to
spend two percent of their budgets on the military. The continued commitment of
the United States was affirmed by President Obama. After the Trump period of
reduced commitment to NATO, President Biden wishes to resuscitate the alliance.
The Asian
Pivot. In 2011,
US spokespersons announced that the country would shift resources and attention
to Asia, where US economic and security interests are deemed vital, from the
Middle East. Although US/Chinese dialogue continues the United States has
criticized China’s repositioning of what it regards as its possessions in the
South China Sea. The United States has restated or implied its continued commitments
to Taiwan, expanded military relations with Vietnam, reestablished military
bases in the Philippines, and has generally avoided criticizing efforts by
ruling Japanese politicians to revise their constitution to allow for a
full-scale remilitarization. The United States has threatened North Korea over
their military maneuvers and has bolstered the South Korean military. While
Trump did reach out to North Korea, tension reduction on the peninsula was
short-lived.
On the
economic front the United States was instrumental in building support for the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to challenge Chinese economic hegemony in the
region. While Trump rescinded the TPP approach, he launched a trade war against
China and engaged in attacks on Chinese corporations operating in the West.
Both Trump and
Biden spokespersons have made it clear that a New Cold War against China is
ramping up. Corporations engaged in military production and research
universities have used the China threat as a justification for increased
military spending, research and development, cyber-security and a whole panoply
of tools to fight “twenty-first century wars”.
Conclusion. Voices from the various movements
for social and economic justice, preserving democratic institutions, peace, and
climate change remain vital. All these movements must stand together to reverse
the ticking clock that is moving inexorably toward midnight.
