Gorbachev Again Warns American Triumphalists of Their Mortality ~ THE 5TH ESTATE ASIA

Monday, December 08, 2014

Gorbachev Again Warns American Triumphalists of Their Mortality

Monday, December 08, 2014

Gorbachev warnings fall on deaf ears of the Obama criminals, as they believe they can ride out WWIII in their luxury bunkers built with taxpayer money to emerge and rule what is left of the world

WORLD NEWS
By Dallas Darling
12/05/2014

Mikhail Gorbachev had every reason to blame American Triumphalists for bringing about a new Cold War, warning that "militarists" are pushing Europe to the brink of conflict by building fences around Russia. In 1988, when he declared that the Cold War was over and the use of force could no longer be an instrument of foreign policy, the U.S. and West Germany delivered a series of ironclad promises that eastward expansion would never be permitted. This also included NATO.(1) But when the Clinton and second Bush Administrations continued to exert U.S. dominance around Russia, even expanding NATO right up to its doorstep, Russian leaders expressed outrage and a sense of betrayal.(2) In time, they also understood that Russian interests would never be taken into consideration.

Obama a proven madman, and has shown by example

that if he cannot rule America and the world like a

dictator then he will destroy both

In the interview, Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union, warned how American "triumphalism" continues to cause rising tensions between East and West. Accordingly, the recent standoff over Ukraine was due to a "tortured"America, that is, an America tortured by "triumphalism." Admitting that Russia has made some mistakes, he asserted that the U.S. was the major threat to global security and peace. The former leader, responsible for "transforming an economy of armaments into an economy of disarmament," then praised President Vladimir Putin for strengthening Russia's defense forces and developing new weapons.

He again called for a new history to be written between Russia and the U.S., hoping the latter would fulfill its initial promises to de-escalate and demilitarize.

It appears, though, that trying to encourage the U.S. to write a new history which rejects global militancy and universal triumphalism is nearly impossible. From the beginning, American ideologues have sought to replace the historical realities of others with their own realities. This has often occurred through a series of violent conflicts, wars, even genocides, backed by the belief that they were fulfilling God's providential design. Some have still come to view themselves as a "chosen people" of God and beyond reproach, and that American history is the culmination of the past, present and future. This is what Francis Fukuyama expressed in the1990's when writing about the end of history, or America's supposed triumph over the Soviet Union and Communism and the end of the Berlin Wall.

When the Berlin Wall did collapse, the first Bush Administration did not "jump up and down on it" because they were already doing so behind closed doors. While lauding Gorbachev's restraint in Eastern Europe, they were already implementing plans to use force in Russia's backyard.

Neither did they hesitate to expand NATO membership by courting Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. American triumphalism would also rejectGorbachev's courageous overtures to ban weapons in outer space, put an end in exploiting developing nations, and to demilitarize Afghanistan and other regional "hot spots." Nor could American triumphalists ever commit to a joint effort in ending an era of wars.(3) The nature of triumphalism allows for only one victorious winner. For triumphalists, there can be only one unilateral superpower.

At the same time, triumphalists are extreme and rabid moralists. The Defense Planning Guidance, an annual pamphlet published by the U.S. government, might admit that America cannot "assume responsibility for righting every wrong," but it also asserts that "we will retain the preeminent responsibility for addressing selectively those wrongs which threaten not only our interests but those of our allies or friends, or which could unsettle international relations." Triumphalists also stress that, "Our first objective is to prevent the reemergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. We will continue to generate global power."(4)

American triumphalism has its roots in the ancient Roman Empire. Romans celebrated their expansionist aims by honoring generals who had conquered territories, brutally subjugating entire populaces. Riding through the Roman capitol, the general was dressed in the robes of Jupiter and Capitolinus, a purple tunic, with golden shoes and an ivory scepter with an eagle on the top.

Beside him on an ornate chariot was a public slave, holding a golden crown of Jupiter and uttering in the general's ear: "Remember thou art only a mortal."(5) The message is clear: Triumphalists are not larger than history. Neither are they divine or eternal. From Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, including Ukraine and many other areas across the globe, unless American triumphalists realize their own mortality they too will be history. The same goes for American triumphalism.

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Readingon Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context ofJohn's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas' writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.

(1) Stone, Oliver and Peter Kuznick. The Untold History OfThe United States. New York, New York: Gallery Books, 2012., p. 463-469.

(2) Ibid., p. 464.

(2) Ibid., p. 469.

(4) Morris, Ian. War! What Is It Good For? Conflict And TheProgress Of Civilization From Primates To Robots. New York, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014., p. 340.

(5) Bunson, Matthew. A Dictionary Of The Roman Empire. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991., p. 429.

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