The Geopolitical Wrecking Ball Trump Regime

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)

His boorishness and duplicitous bravado, bluster, and bombast appeal to hard-core know-nothing Americans, notably Fox News viewers, a channel devoted to militantly right-wing extremist views.

Wall Street and other monied interests love him for handing them a bonanza of riches. Weapons and munitions makers support him and bipartisan congressional war party members for waging endless wars of aggression.

Big Oil, Big Pharma, other corporate predators, and high-net worth individuals benefitted hugely from his service to the nation’s privileged class exclusively at the expense of ordinary people everywhere.

Apartheid Israel never had a better White House friend, siding with its persecution of Palestinians more than his predecessors, dismissive of their fundamental rights while pretending otherwise.

His hostile to peace, equity and justice policies define him best. Surrounded by neocon hardliners Pompeo, Bolton, Abrams, and their henchmen in charge of his geopolitical agenda, he’s incapable of pursuing cooperative relations with other countries — allies and adversaries alike.

For over a year, he’s gone all-out to undermine Sino/US relations by waging trade war on the country.

Earlier he imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, a counterproductive policy he fails to understand — compounded on Thursday by escalating trade war.

He announced 10% tariffs on all other Chinese imports — worth around $300 billion, effective September 1.

Earlier he threatened up to 25% tariffs on all its exports to the US. An impartial observer might imagine that he’s going all-out to wreck bilateral relations.

Instead of responsibly stepping back from the brink, he made things much worse.

Reacting to his Thursday announcement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “(a)dding tariffs is definitely not a constructive way to solve the economic and trade frictions.”

Additional tariffs came after Wednesday bilateral talks in Shanghai left irreconcilable differences at impasse.

On Friday, Pompeo falsely said “(f)or decades, China has taken advantage of trade (sic). It’s time for that to stop,” adding:

“China’s problems are home-grown, but President Trump’s confrontation of China’s unfair trade practices has helped shine a light on them (sic).”

Bilateral differences have little to do with trade, everything to do with China’s growing economic, financial, industrial, technological, and military development, what the US seeks to undermine, wanting no challengers to its rage for global dominance.

On August 2, China’s official People’s Daily broadsheet slammed the Trump regime for “making troubles,” saying:

“US politicians just want to grab as much as they can. (T)hey have completely forgot(ten) their commitment to ‘restarting economic and trade consultation based on equality and mutual respect,’ in an attempt to intimidate their negotiation partner and force the latter to make concession,” adding:

They fail to understand that “China…has the capability and strength to deal with whatever comes to it, repeatedly resorting to the tactic of exerting pressure will not work at all.”

“China will never break its principles and make concession(s) (violating them), and it will resolutely safeguard its core interests and the fundamental interests of its people. The American politicians had better stop their unrealistic illusion.”

Trump’s MAGA agenda hasn’t and won’t work in dealings with China and many other countries — notably not with Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

Perhaps its one-sidedness is giving most nations pause about how US aims harm their own. Ancient Chinese philosopher Meng Zi once said “arrogant and disdainful attitude and pretentious remarks would repel people.”

Imperial arrogance and disdain for evenhanded cooperative relations with other nations define how the US operates under both extremist right wings of its one-party rule.

Pressuring, bullying, and threatening China to bend to its will risks wrecking bilateral relations, what Trump doesn’t understand.

As long as unacceptable US tariffs remain on Chinese goods and its agenda calls for undermining the country’s development, resolution of major differences will remain unattainable, a wider breach between both sides the likely coming.

Separately on Thursday, Trump threatened to blockade Venezuela, an act of war if imposed under international and US law.

Past US presidents acknowledged it, notably Dwight Eisenhower and Jack Kennedy.

So did the US Supreme Court in Bas v. Tingy (1800), Little v. Barreme (1804), and the Prize Cases (1863) — the most definitive ruling on this issue.

The High Court ruled that a blockade is an act of war, legal only if congressionally authorized, Congress having exclusive authority to declare war, not the president.

The 19th century ruling way preceded establishment of the UN and its Security Council. The latter supersedes the power of Congress on warmaking, permitted only in self-defense if a nation is attacked or an attack is imminent — never preemptively for any reasons.

Asked by reporters on Thursday whether he’s considering a blockade of or quarantine on Venezuela, Trump said: “Yes, I am” — with no further elaboration.

Separately, White House envoy for ending Venezuela’s social democracy Elliott Abrams said the Trump and Canadian regimes aim to get European countries to be tougher on the Bolivarian Republic.

Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Barbara Harvey said Trudeau regime “officials discussed how Canada and the US can work with the broader international community to return democracy to the people of Venezuela (sic).”

They want pro-Western fascist tyranny replacing it. Since January, everything Trump regime hardliners and their imperial partners threw at Venezuela failed.

They continue going all-out to eliminate the hemisphere’s preeminent social democracy.

For the US, it’s also about getting control over Venezuela’s huge oil reserves, the world’s largest, wanting its revenues benefitting Big Oil, not the country’s ordinary people.

The same thing holds for Iran. The US wants to loot its hydrocarbon reserves, along with eliminating Israel’s main regional rival.

It has lots of partners against Venezuela, few against Iran, EU and other nations wanting no part of a possible Trump regime war on the country, their opposition the best chance to avoid it.

Nonetheless, US hostility toward China, Venezuela, Iran, Russia, and other sovereign independent countries keeps global tensions at a fever pitch.

The risk of new wars on top of ongoing ones remains high. Straightaway in office, Trump showed he’s the latest in a long line of US warrior presidents.

Peacemakers in the White House and congressional leadership positions aren’t tolerated by dark forces running the US.

A state of permanent war exists to satisfy their insatiable rage — why endless conflicts continue with no prospect for resolution.

The absence of a nationwide peace movement like existed long ago leaves them free to pursue their destructive agenda unobstructed.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html