I’ve heard so many dumbass red hats crying that the US provided too much to other nations while getting little in return. They’re about to find out what we actually were getting in return. If other nations step up their militaries to fill in gaps where the US is abdicating its lead role, we’ll have less use for our own and can lower recruitment incentives/quotas. If we piss on trade deals with other countries, they’ll work more with China and other world leaders, stripping the US of its influence globally. Worst of all, even if their propagandist of choice have then that info, they are literally too stupid to understand.
They’re about to find out what we actually were getting in return.
This is one of the huge under-analyzed aspects of all this. The US “over” invested in defense and foreign aid, and got virtually all the soft power benefits of a hegemonic power, and by simply setting an upper limit on the worst abuses of imperial overlords, it generally had its allies saying “Thank You” for the privilege, with no particular signs that the bloc was weakening.
If the US is not an accessible market or a reliable guarantor of security, or if (for fuck’s sake) it’s threatening the territorial integrity of its own allies and trading partners, then it’s just China with less cheap shit to sell. Hell, even China doesn’t do the last one (offer not valid in Taiwan).
I’ve heard so many dumbass red hats crying that the US provided too much to other nations while getting little in return. They’re about to find out what we actually were getting in return. If other nations step up their militaries to fill in gaps where the US is abdicating its lead role, we’ll have less use for our own and can lower recruitment incentives/quotas. If we piss on trade deals with other countries, they’ll work more with China and other world leaders, stripping the US of its influence globally. Worst of all, even if their propagandist of choice have then that info, they are literally too stupid to understand.
This is one of the huge under-analyzed aspects of all this. The US “over” invested in defense and foreign aid, and got virtually all the soft power benefits of a hegemonic power, and by simply setting an upper limit on the worst abuses of imperial overlords, it generally had its allies saying “Thank You” for the privilege, with no particular signs that the bloc was weakening.
If the US is not an accessible market or a reliable guarantor of security, or if (for fuck’s sake) it’s threatening the territorial integrity of its own allies and trading partners, then it’s just China with less cheap shit to sell. Hell, even China doesn’t do the last one (offer not valid in Taiwan).