Also Iraq before the sanctions and the occupation that together killed at least 2 million people (the famine alone killing 500,000 children, which Madeleine Albright said of the price as being worth it) which turned Iraq from a developed country (before the sanctions it was the most developed Middle Eastern country) into a stone age state as some described it (can’t recall who, possibly folks at the UNHRC?), also a solid reminder to countries like North Korea not to believe Western countries when they ask them to disarm themselves or to stop working on powerful game changing weapons.
When you deal with people who hide knives behind their backs, you do so with a gun to their head. Iraq was placed under sanctions on the basis that they had to stop manufacturing WMDs, which they did in 1991, but the sanctions didn’t end (and wouldn’t have ended) until we literally went to war with them despite the UN saying no. When they were accused of manufacturing WMDs, they welcomed UN inspectors, when our government said they didn’t believe the inspectors and wanted to send our own, Iraq complied with us too, and then when our government was absolutely sure Iraq couldn’t do a thing to defend themselves, we attacked.
Seeing China treat our government in good faith is painful, seeing frankly any country treat out government in good faith is painful (except other imperialist governments and their fellow collaborator governments; they can rot in hell).
Just another way that capitalism incentivizes war: Devalue the land and its people (using weapons made and sold by Global North countries) so transnational corporations based in the Global North can later reap the benefits of cheaper land, labour, and resources. In other words, accumulation through war
Seeing China treat our government in good faith is painful
I don’t think that China is treating the US govt in good faith. They often call out the bad faith statements which come from DC and contrast them with their win-win diplomacy. China wants to hang on to the international institutions which the US dominates and circumvents with privileges gained at gunpoint, brute force or complete disregard, until these institutions exist in a context where the US has no ability to enforce such measures. While the US would certainly like a top-down imperial structure where countries are unable to do diplomacy with one another instead of in line with its desired geopolitical economic hierarchies, even in the current “unipolar” moment these institutions are a useful platform for diplomacy. I think China should ditch the IMF at this point as it is clear they won’t allow any actions to be taken to loosen debt subsystems which keep cheap goods flowing into the us for USD. Very profitable too to have for instance the Saudis dumping lobby money & asset purchases on the US in the hopes this produces actual goodwill. This has only taken a turn recently with its accession to BRICS and reopening of diplomatic channels with Iran (a significant blow to the US whatever our opinions of the respective govts (or oil companies in a trenchcoat))
Also Iraq before the sanctions and the occupation that together killed at least 2 million people (the famine alone killing 500,000 children, which Madeleine Albright said of the price as being worth it) which turned Iraq from a developed country (before the sanctions it was the most developed Middle Eastern country) into a stone age state as some described it (can’t recall who, possibly folks at the UNHRC?), also a solid reminder to countries like North Korea not to believe Western countries when they ask them to disarm themselves or to stop working on powerful game changing weapons.
When you deal with people who hide knives behind their backs, you do so with a gun to their head. Iraq was placed under sanctions on the basis that they had to stop manufacturing WMDs, which they did in 1991, but the sanctions didn’t end (and wouldn’t have ended) until we literally went to war with them despite the UN saying no. When they were accused of manufacturing WMDs, they welcomed UN inspectors, when our government said they didn’t believe the inspectors and wanted to send our own, Iraq complied with us too, and then when our government was absolutely sure Iraq couldn’t do a thing to defend themselves, we attacked.
Seeing China treat our government in good faith is painful, seeing frankly any country treat out government in good faith is painful (except other imperialist governments and their fellow collaborator governments; they can rot in hell).
I know the UN has said that israel has caused the deindustrialization and deagriculturalization of Palestine.
Just another way that capitalism incentivizes war: Devalue the land and its people (using weapons made and sold by Global North countries) so transnational corporations based in the Global North can later reap the benefits of cheaper land, labour, and resources. In other words, accumulation through war
I don’t think that China is treating the US govt in good faith. They often call out the bad faith statements which come from DC and contrast them with their win-win diplomacy. China wants to hang on to the international institutions which the US dominates and circumvents with privileges gained at gunpoint, brute force or complete disregard, until these institutions exist in a context where the US has no ability to enforce such measures. While the US would certainly like a top-down imperial structure where countries are unable to do diplomacy with one another instead of in line with its desired geopolitical economic hierarchies, even in the current “unipolar” moment these institutions are a useful platform for diplomacy. I think China should ditch the IMF at this point as it is clear they won’t allow any actions to be taken to loosen debt subsystems which keep cheap goods flowing into the us for USD. Very profitable too to have for instance the Saudis dumping lobby money & asset purchases on the US in the hopes this produces actual goodwill. This has only taken a turn recently with its accession to BRICS and reopening of diplomatic channels with Iran (a significant blow to the US whatever our opinions of the respective govts (or oil companies in a trenchcoat))