Russian naval bases for world peace

 

The face of Old World incursion into the Americas, 1860s-style. Emperor Napoleon III of France and Empress Eugenie. Painted by Jean-Leon Gerome.

The times, they are a-changin’.  Five years ago this month, at the very dawn of the Obama Epoch, there was a flutter in the dovecote where the armchair military analysts hang out.  A rumor circulated that Russia planned to secure the use of the Yemeni island of Socotra, in the Indian Ocean, as a naval base.  The old Soviet navy had used Socotra

US Army needs a motorcycle stunt team

… and other reflections on the post-Pax Americana crack-up

As the world takes off on its own, the directions it is going are predictable, but still poignant.  In some ways, it is as if the great paroxysms of the 20th century – World War I, the socialist revolutions, national socialism, World War II, the Cold War – “never even happened.”  In other ways, it’s as if the joke has ended up being on the victors from these turmoils.

With the guarantee of US supervision lifted, the old-style power and seniority that were once castigated as oppressive begin to look like sources of security.  Absurdities like the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations gain no traction because everyone’s gut sense is that something much bigger is going on.  The silly, ephemeral premises of the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd are a relic, a superannuated adolescent whine from an era when there was a sense of resignation about being able to afford a little bit of sophomoric foolishness.  No more.  Papa’s broke, and we can’t afford the waste and clean-up effort.

Germans are losing patience with the chronic dysfunction of the Southern European economies.  Russia – Russia! – is stepping in to help bail out the overextended.