USA

Our empire’s over-extension could be its downfall

The similar destinies of the United States and Rome can at times seem eerie. The three Punic Wars fought between the middle of the third century BC and the middle of the second century BC, constituted the great world wars of ancient Mediterranean civilisation, and ended with Rome’s complete destruction of Carthage. More recently, the two world wars of the 20th century ended with the complete destruction and defeat of Germany and Japan, and with the United States in a position of global dominance. In both conflicts, an empire’s supremacy reached its peak at the moment of victory.

The New York Review of Books joins the chorus of America haters deliberately distorting American history and all those who work to actually understand it.

Igave up reading the New York Review of Books many years ago. I felt that I had served my time, having picked through countless issues of that house organ of arch, mandarin leftism in preparation for writing an essay on the magazine called “A Nostalgia for Molotovs,” an expanded version of which found its way into my book The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America. 

So it was a bit like old-home week when a friend called my attention to “History Bright and Dark,” a long review essay by Adam Hochschild of two categorically different accounts of America and its founding principles: the online “1776 curriculum” put together by Hillsdale College for grades K-12, and the six-part Hulu documentary series on the “The 1619 Project” narrated by its genius loci, the New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones. 

The anti-Western nuclear club — North Korea, Russia and China, with Iran close to joining the club — have become emboldened and empowered as never before, thanks to the Biden administration’s feeble leadership.

China, North Korea and Russia are building up their nuclear weapons. China may have even surpassed the United States when it come to the number of nuclear warheads on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that it currently possesses. On February 21, 2023, the U.S. Strategic Command informed Congress that China now has more ICBM launchers than the United States.

Predicting two terms in the White House should he defeat Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination next year, Ron DeSantis said he would go on to “destroy leftism in this country”.

“I will be able to destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history,” the Florida governor told Fox News.

DeSantis declared his long-expected run last week, in a glitch-filled appearance on Twitter with its owner, Elon Musk.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a warning of “a heightened threat environment,” including possible attacks against such institutions as churches and the police, as the 2024 election draws closer.

Just The News reports that the Memorial Day bulletin issued by the DHS also warned of political violence that could be sparked by “legislative or judicial decisions pertaining to sociopolitical issues.”