The Moribund vs. the Nascent

Tariq Marzbaan 

Source: Al Mayadeen English

Much of the world is tired of monsters and seeks not a "re-set" but a rebirth of its original identities and historical legacies… which have been held too long hostage by a ruthless all-devouring Empire.    

Since the early 1900s, Mackinder's "Heartland doctrine" dominated the geopolitical mindset and actions of the West (primarily the British, but also Nazi Germany adopted this obsession). The strategy initially envisaged the undermining, dismantling and total takeover of the "Russian Empire"… the domination of the entire European and Asian continents would follow… and then the rest of the world. As Zbigniew Brzezinski and George Friedmann of Stratford pointed out, it was always about controlling the rich resources and geopolitical position of Russia and Asia.

But following WW2, during the ensuing Cold War, this essentially British agenda no longer seemed to be the order of the day, as the imperial and colonial centre of power had shifted away from the UK to the US… and the US had already begun pursuing its many imperial ambitions in other parts of the world to expand its own influence (through various wars, proxy wars and conflicts around the world (Vietnam, Korea, West Asia, Africa, Central, and South America).

For a while (in historical terms: 1945-1989) it seemed as though the "Heartland Doctrine" no longer had any relevance. In reality, it led a shadowy existence, as no one spoke about it openly… because a certain group – the neocons – did not yet have enough sway over the politics and public opinion of the US… But we know now that they remained engaged in this agenda behind the scenes.

The global geopolitical situation began to shift in the late 1980s. (And the big change came abruptly in 1989 with the Fall of the Wall in Berlin and the end of the Soviet Union.) The haste and zeal with which first Gorbachev and then Yeltsin sought to bring about and implement changes and "reforms" in the giant Soviet empire proved later on to be counterproductive, if not fatal, and not only led to the collapse of the USSR but also severely debilitated Russia. This was compounded by the Soviets' ingenuous belief that, with the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the enmity and the ideological conflict with the West would also disappear… and that "normality" would take its place. (Yeltsin to Jeffrey Sachs, from 1:19:08: "We want to be normal.") But exactly what the Russians (or the Soviets) understood back then by "normality" (with regards to capitalism/US imperialism) remains unclear to this day.

Following this dramatic downfall, Russia was economically, militarily, politically, culturally and socially devastated. 

The Western elites around the neocons, intoxicated with the unexpected "victory" over their "enemy", set out to devour Russia and the rest of the former USSR. They saw themselves as the undisputed autocrats of the world according to the motto: "winner takes all". Now nothing stood in the way of the true "American dream", namely the domination of the entire world –  excepting perhaps those few smaller states that had not yet recognised this paradigm shift or were not prepared to accept it. To deal with those pesky obstacles, neoliberal tools came to the rescue: infiltration, the corrupting of governments and their elites, colour revolutions… and, if those didn't help, bombing and terror.

The first bombs fell on Iraq in 1990; in 1999, NATO, helmed by the US, bombed Yugoslavia; then followed the bombing and occupation of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria… According to US General Wesley Clark (link), seven countries were to be invaded within five years and subjected to "regime change": Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.

In the meantime, the unstoppable eastward expansion of NATO began, despite the promises made to Russia. Russia's offer of a partnership between equals and even its participation in NATO was rejected. Instead, the US demanded Russia's subordination to its hegemony… but this was rebuffed by Yevgeny Primakov (1999 – "the U-turn across the Atlantic") and again by Vladimir Putin… who has now set Russia on a whole other set of sovereign tracks.

Today, while the neocons remain "stuck behind at the Mackinder station" of an outdated, festering British imperialist agenda… the locomotive of The Grand Eurasian Project is speeding ahead on newly laid tracks - not seeking hegemony but harmonic partnerships in a new and multipolar world.

The descent into irrationality

The centuries of imperialist hegemony of the Western elites, which had secured a life of progress and prosperity for themselves and their subjects at home by deliberately preventing these very advantages for others - a key principle of colonialist ideology that guaranteed them success - led to the moulding of their psyche, general mindset, personality and ultimately their identity, the effects of which can be seen in their supremacy, racism, fascism, and hubris.

However, the Western elites began to fear that their liberal capitalist system would collapse sooner or later, with the consequence that they (the elites) would be confronted with serious and dangerous economic, political and social upheavals, revolts, revolutions at home, and a loss of power and hegemony on a global scale.

Their wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the bellicose tensions created by them in the South China Sea, as well as the actions, statements, and reactions of Western politicians and their media, clearly demonstrate their desperation.

In the face of resistance and opposition from other nations, Western elites have always responded with threats, sanctions, and the corruption of their leaders, and if these were not effective they resorted to covert terror ops, proxy wars, and ultimately hot wars.

But now they are standing on the edge of their own abyss, and the abyss is gazing back into them. The mere thought of losing power and prestige is fuelling their insanity.

Their growing panic led them to become increasingly irrational in their decisions, leading them to make reckless misjudgements and grave errors.

Their own states became saturated with Russophobia, Islamophobia, cancel culture, the arming of police and security agencies for counter-insurgency purposes, detrimental immigration policies, the defamation and persecution of opposition figures, the synchronisation of the media, the breakdown of infrastructures, of education, of society itself, a general erosion of morals and ethics… and a Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab, who are concocting deranged plans for the future of mankind.

The agony of the Empire: it cannot win, and it cannot walk away…

The "Cold War" was "cold" because a kind of military balance was created between "East" and "West", as both sides consisted of territories with nuclear powers. Today, not much has changed from a nuclear-military point of view with regard to the possession of nuclear weapons. However, the situation back then (during the Cold War) required politicians and elites in the West to think and act realistically and rationally, which is no longer the case today – and that is the critical point at which we find ourselves.

The point has been reached where the West can only decide in favour of a retreat… or a fight to the finish, as it is ultimately an existential battle for them. And - seeing as there are currently too many insane people, contemptuous of human life, in political and military leadership positions in the Western camp who operate according to the motto "all or nothing" and "if we don't get to have it, no one else should get it either" - it seems they are deciding in favour of fighting to the bitter and final end, which could lead to nuclear Armageddon.

With such a mindset, the West has led itself into an extremely desperate situation that is typical of people who are suicidal, with one difference: the West has chosen to play the role of suicide bombers.

But a third potential option for the Western elites might be - if they still refuse to admit their defeat but were at least able to finally feel deterred by a nuclear threat - that they create a new division in the world between "the West and the Rest" by erecting sine Iron Curtain of their own and … a kind of new "Cold War", during which they would go on living in a bubble where they could remain under the illusion of preserving their supremacy in a delusional manner… like a patient in a psychiatric clinic who cannot be cured but has at least been pacified.

This sorry state of affairs is best manifested in the figure of the "most powerful man in the world" (as promulgated by the Western propagandists): Joe Biden (aka Genocide Joe). The figure of Biden – almost by some "cosmic coincidence" - embodies today's Western world. He is in fact its icon... moribund and rotting... with a zombified view of the world, clinging not to life but only to ruthless power… and completely out of touch with reality.

Without realising it, Tucker Carlson just described in this video (in which he says: "Biden is dying in real time") not just Biden's condition, but the condition of the entire Western hegemony.

The Hegemony has nearly reached its end… but it is not going quietly.

The other side… entering an era of new global perceptions and visions for harmony and cooperation

The decaying state of the West has led to the empowerment of more and more non-Western states, starting with China, Russia, Iran, India, South Africa, Brazil… all of whom already had their own bitter historical experiences with the supremacist and violent nature of Western colonialism. Following the formation of BRICS and other such alliances, other non-western countries have begun to turn away from the West and seek more opportune alliances and harmonious partnerships.

In Asia and elsewhere in the world, a multi-nodal, poly-centrist, multipolar system is now emerging, spearheaded by a resurgent Russia, that is not per se "anti-West", but rejects its several centuries old colonial hegemony and its "rules-based order" and yearns for a new world founded on justice and equality.

Much of the world is tired of monsters and seeks not a "re-set" but a rebirth of its original identities and historical legacies… which have been held too long hostage by a ruthless all-devouring Empire.