America's Founding Fathers warned strongly against entangling themselves in Europe's endless wars. Their counsel was clear: DO NOT mortgage our free republic or sacrifice American lives to manage Europe's endless wars.
If America’s leaders and their supporters want to join Europe’s seemingly insatiable lust for slaughtering each other, they should move there - and let Americans stay home and live in the free republic the Founders promised.
I manage a team in the Philippines and visit at least a couple of times a year. Every bit of infrastructure where they get away with it, the Chinese Govt plaster it with signage saying things like ‘built in conjunction with the Chinese Consulate Cebu’ or ‘Funded by the Chinese embassy in Makati’
I’m not talking giant ports only either, I’m talking like mini overpasses that help a road avoid one set of traffic lights, that kind of thing. So there is this huge PR effort to get the Filipino people to like China, the problem is at the same time they’re ramming fishing boats in Filipino waters or buzzing their military aircraft in international airspace.
What this means is that for all their PR efforts and spending on infrastructure, when you speak to actual Filipinos they can’t wait to take the opportunity to tell you just how much they despise China and the Chinese people, I’m not just talking about my staff here, I mean when you go for a drink in the hotel bar or go out to eat at a restaurant, if you get talking to the locals you won’t even bring up anything remotely political but at some point your Filipino interlocutor will find an excuse to launch into an anti-China rant the first chance they get, it’s really quite hilarious when you think of all the money wasted on infrastructure because of the actions of their wolf warrior diplomats, it’s less funny when you realise the Trumps own wolf warriors are causing the same thing to happen to Americas reputation in the world
Your conclusion is correct Philip. Europe should acknowledge that the USA is no longer an ally. NATO in the form that has kept the peace (mostly) in Europe for the last eight years is no longer a credible deterrent or military force. Europe should accept the NSS and create an independent European capability, something that the USA has been seeking to prevent for the last thirty years. You reap what you sow.
America's Founding Fathers warned strongly against entangling themselves in Europe's endless wars. Their counsel was clear: DO NOT mortgage our free republic or sacrifice American lives to manage Europe's endless wars.
If America’s leaders and their supporters want to join Europe’s seemingly insatiable lust for slaughtering each other, they should move there - and let Americans stay home and live in the free republic the Founders promised.
I manage a team in the Philippines and visit at least a couple of times a year. Every bit of infrastructure where they get away with it, the Chinese Govt plaster it with signage saying things like ‘built in conjunction with the Chinese Consulate Cebu’ or ‘Funded by the Chinese embassy in Makati’
I’m not talking giant ports only either, I’m talking like mini overpasses that help a road avoid one set of traffic lights, that kind of thing. So there is this huge PR effort to get the Filipino people to like China, the problem is at the same time they’re ramming fishing boats in Filipino waters or buzzing their military aircraft in international airspace.
What this means is that for all their PR efforts and spending on infrastructure, when you speak to actual Filipinos they can’t wait to take the opportunity to tell you just how much they despise China and the Chinese people, I’m not just talking about my staff here, I mean when you go for a drink in the hotel bar or go out to eat at a restaurant, if you get talking to the locals you won’t even bring up anything remotely political but at some point your Filipino interlocutor will find an excuse to launch into an anti-China rant the first chance they get, it’s really quite hilarious when you think of all the money wasted on infrastructure because of the actions of their wolf warrior diplomats, it’s less funny when you realise the Trumps own wolf warriors are causing the same thing to happen to Americas reputation in the world
Your conclusion is correct Philip. Europe should acknowledge that the USA is no longer an ally. NATO in the form that has kept the peace (mostly) in Europe for the last eight years is no longer a credible deterrent or military force. Europe should accept the NSS and create an independent European capability, something that the USA has been seeking to prevent for the last thirty years. You reap what you sow.
Spot on
Thank you Alain
Brilliant! - and wise.
Thank you!
A rare bullseye of an analogy
Thank you!
Excellent piece.
Appreciated Martin