COLLAPSE OF THE WEST (?)
The vanities and arrogance of the elites have no limits and they have shown no willingness to accept responsibility or see the possible consequences of their stupidity.
By Fred Lazar - February 23, 2023
I start with Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize shortly after becoming President. He was awarded the Prize for “future” considerations because he had not accomplished anything by the time he received the Prize.
Did he deserve the Prize?
We all know the answer.
What did he and his brain trust accomplish?
They opened the door for ISIS. They opened the door for Russia to support Syria and gain an important foothold in the Middle East. The Syrian fiasco continues to this day with millions of refugees having flooded into Europe. They allowed Russia to take back Crimea. Libya became an even worse basket case. Afghanistan dragged on. Venezuela collapsed. They negotiated a “deal” with Iran that would have allowed a country run by fanatics to develop nuclear weapons within 15 years. They also did nothing to support the protesters in Iran in 2009 and they removed sanctions even though Iran likely was six to nine months from economic collapse. And I have lost track of how many civil wars continued in Africa throughout Obama’s eight years as President. The endless flow of refugees from these wars continues to this day. Truly an impressive track record. The Nobel Committee should be proud of its decision.
But the worst was to come. Unable to accept the fact that they selected a horrible candidate in 2016, a candidate who ran a terrible campaign crafted by her elitist advisors, they needed a scapegoat for the defeat to the Orangeman. They created Russiagate. Even though every one of their claims was fictitious, they – the elite behind Obama and Clinton – could not accept any responsibility themselves for the defeat in 2016 and continued to believe in their own lies. Russia was to blame and Russia, that is, Putin, had to be punished.
President Trump never had the opportunity during his four years to reach out to Putin and make Russia an ally of the West. Putin likely would have trusted Trump. The geo-political landscape would have changed significantly. But the Russiagate myth tied his hands.
In 2020, after their puppet Biden was elected, many of the same clowns who ran foreign affairs during Obama’s Presidency were back in power. Time for revenge.
The Iran deal which was rightly squashed by Trump was back on the table. Worse yet, instead of negotiating a reasonable deal to prevent the war in Ukraine, the Obama braintrust allowed the war to begin and shows no sign of wanting the war to end. Putin’s demands were quite reasonable – Ukraine was not to become a member of NATO (how would the US respond to any attempt by Russia to create NATO-type coalition consisting of Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, and several other countries in Central and South America and positioning troops and nuclear weapons in these countries); Crimea and the Eastern provinces were to become parts of Russia (remember that there was an eight-year civil war still in progress in the Eastern provinces of Ukraine at the time of the invasion).
The goal of the Obama braintrust appears to be regime change in Russia, and Putin knows this.
This has now opened the door for a China-Russia alliance. What can possibly go wrong?
Let me describe two nightmare scenarios – one military, the other economic.
China invades Taiwan. If the West responds in any way, China and Russia could credibly threaten a nuclear response. China on its own or through its dependent state of North Korea, could nuke a city in Japan to demonstrate its willingness to resort to nuclear weapons. The supply chains of Western companies would collapse. This would lead to a financial crisis and an economic crisis in the West.
But things would become worse. Russia, as a precursor to a massive and decisive attack on Ukraine, could nuke the North Sea oil fields. While there might be few casualties, the price of oil immediately would shoot up to $400 to $500 per barrel and the economic depression in the West would begin.
What would the West do? Would anyone be stupid enough to start WWIII to save Taiwan and Ukraine? As stupid as Obama’s braintrust might be, I don’t believe that they would be this stupid. But who knows.
The economic collapse of the West would be accelerated by the China-Russia coalition expanding their influence and economic relations throughout Africa and much of South America. American and European companies would be left with markets only in North America and Europe and perhaps India. But if you were leading India, which coalition would you choose – the West in decline, or China-Russia in ascendency?
Oh yes, and Iran’s nuclear ambitions would be supported by China and a nuclear war in the Middle East would become inevitable. Whose coalition would Muslim countries choose?
Will any of these scenarios materialize? I hope not. But I do fear for the future of my children and grandchildren. The vanities and arrogance of the elites have no limits and they have shown no willingness to accept responsibility or see the possible consequences of their stupidity.
A Nobel Peace Prize for Biden anyone?
Fred Lazar
One of Canada’s leading experts in Economics, Fred Lazar, has been an Associate Professor at York University since September 1972. This role includes the Schulich School of Business. Lazar has a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from the University of Toronto (1965-69); he furthermore has a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University for Economics (1970-78).
Lazar worked as a government advisor through the 1970s-80s. Most notably, while working in the Prime Minister’s office in 1982, he was involved with economics and policy work that included trade negotiations, pension reforms, industrial policy, taxation, competition policy and deregulation. flazar@yorku.ca