The U.S. doesn't give a shit about winning or losing any war, as long as their owner operators keep transferring $trillions from the working class to their offshore bank accounts. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc... all paid off nicely for the oligarchs.
they care insomuch as it affects the ability or timing to wage the next one
they care insomuch as it affects the ability or timing to wage the next one
The U.S. has been at war with someone for 99% of their existence, nothing much seems to affect their ability or timing.
well it can cause a shift in war plans so they have to do different wars that they weren't planning on, is what i meant
Of course, capitalists want to maximize profits - so long as their power isn't threatened. And in all three of these cases, they wanted to send a message to any other countries that would dare not toe the line: "you could be next".
While they certainly would have preferred different outcomes in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, they may well have succeeded in "containing" communism and intimidating independent thinking - certainly Gaddafi got the message and hoped letting in western oil companies would be enough appeasement. And we know how that turned out...
So this might be what makes the Ukraine case different. The West is failing so hard to impose any difficulties on Russia that it's sending a different message to the world - that it can be fought and defeated, and that Global South unity might not only be possible but necessary.
Good read
Theoretically, that objective could be achieved either by enticing Russia away from China (divide and subordinate) or totally neutralizing Russia as a world power by bringing down its stiff-backed leadership. The former approach never went beyond a few desultory, feeble gestures. All the chips were placed on the latter.
Crazy how eager Russia was to just join the bad guys. It really is a show of US arrogance that they didn't leap on that opportunity, and demand nothing short of total prostration.
And, yes, USA is collectively unhinged. Deeply, subtly. Sometimes not so subtly.
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