I never though I’d end up having some positive things to say about the heads of the Russian government, one of the most corrupt and abusive in the world, but ever since Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, the last few weeks have been full of surprises. Russia recently rejected calls by the US to impose starvation sanctions on Iran, arguing that they are “counterproductive” and that the Western world should rely more on diplomacy.

Bravo to Medvedev and Putin for recognizing the insanity of American bullying in the Persian Gulf. Russia has much more to fear from Iranian nukes than the US does, yet it is pursuing a much more prudent and dovish path of engagement. They are not fooled by US and Israeli propaganda about the supposed “existential threat” Iran faces and the hysteric paranoia about an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Listening to the US media’s coverage, Iran is always just days away from nuking Jerusalem and New York City for fifty years now.

Obama’s calls for new sanctions on Iran and his Secretary of State’s hawkish rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of 2002-2003, when the Bush Junta was warning us about Iraqi WMDs, mushroom clouds, and that evil “Hitler,” Saddam Hussein. We all know how that campaign ended: the bombing and sacking of Baghdad that resembled the Mongols bloody siege in 1258, a million dead Iraqis, $3 trillion down the drain, and the strengthening of both Al Qaeda and Iran.

Moscow’s refusal to follow Washington’s lead is not only beneficial to peace, global security, and access to Iranian oil, it also signifies a growing power challenging American hegemony over the globe. The US does have 100,000 troops near Russian borders in Afghanistan, but US presence and influence in Eastern Europe is diminishing.

This should be a wake-up call to the Obama administration that empire is ultimately an unsustainable path. First of all, we simply can’t afford it. The federal budget deficit for 2009 is $1.42 trillion, more than the combined debt of the first 200 years of our Republic. At least 70% of our yearly budget is directly fed to the Pentagon monster in the name of “defense,” and naturally, Obama plans to increase this military spending by 8% next year. Yes, Obama is a socialist; a military socialist, the worst kind of all, robbing Americans of their wealth in order to expand his empire.

While Russia seeks diplomacy and engagement with Iran, the US is seeking bunker-buster bombs at lightning speed, which would presumably be cowardly dropped from 30,000 feet on innocent Persians. The US has been in a perpetual state of war since 1945, eagerly finding new enemies to bomb or bribe (or both). War is the biggest political racket of them all, and with the US military terrorizing Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan at the same time, another war would be quite the distraction from these quagmires. It’s the only logical explanation on why General McKiller wants 80,000 more troops in Afghanistan and the Pentagon wants middle-school ROTC: more cannon fodder.

One thing our elected officials easily forget is that perhaps the surest occurrence in history is the fall of an empire; not if, but when. The American Empire is sustained by the power of the dollar as a global reserve currency, 1,000 military bases in over 100 countries, and cruise-missile equipped carriers in every ocean. But the world is beginning to reject the US government’s fiat currency and trigger-happy foreign policy.

But peace is difficult; it takes prudent statesmen stressing diplomacy, engagement, trade, and the moral rejection of military force. Unfortunately, the temptation for war is too much to resist for the Imperial City in DC, no matter who is in charge.

_

For more of Robert’s work, please visit his Libertarian Examiner blog.

» You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.