PATRICK LAWRENCE: Voting in a De-Facto Military State
Between Biden and Trump, U.S. voters have no alternative to our anxious empire’s lawless conduct abroad. What are we in for on the foreign policy side come Nov. 3? Whoever wins this election, Joe Biden or Donald Trump, the answers…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Huawei, Tik Tok, WeChat & Other Handy Targets
Washington is now committed to preventing any non–Western nations that do not conform to the neoliberal order from rising in any field wherein they threaten to best U.S. companies. The Trump regime is taking Huawei, Tik Tok and WeChat, three…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: A United State of Delusion
Americans are caught in a kind of national psychosis, wherein little of what is said about foreign conduct — from Germany to the South China Sea — can be taken at face value. Let’s face it: The Trump regime has from the…
Bravate di Guerra Fredda nel Pacifico
This Italian translation appeared on Sakeritalia. Prima è arrivata al Congresso la richiesta formale [in inglese] da parte del Dipartimento della Difesa per un assegno di 20 miliardi di dollari per aumentare la propria presenza in tutto il Pacifico. Un mese dopo la…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Cold War Escapades in the Pacific
There is a lot to read into this moment, but one thing’s clear. The U.S. doesn’t know what time it is. First came the Defense Department’s formal request to Congress for a $20 billion check to upgrade its presence across the Pacific. That…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Embracing the Equality of Nations
The decline of the West should come as no surprise, yet the U.S. still wages a ferocious fight against the prospect of equality among nations. The signs of America’s decline are ubiquitous now such that the phenomenon is no longer worthy…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Iranian Tankers & the Age of Interdiction
Two forms of interdiction — the steady expansion of U.S. sanctions and our stunning drift toward unmasked censorship — have begun to intersect. Over the weekend, a sixth Iranian cargo ship entered Venezuelan waters and is due to dock shortly. It follows…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Failed American Experiment
Here comes the front edge of a new era, one in which America finally falls off its horse, its global standing properly diminished. “The American experiment” is a familiar phrase among us. When we reference it, we do so fully…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: US, China & Hong Kong’s Betrayal
The territory’s likely loss of autonomy is a tragedy made worse because it could have been avoided. China’s announcement last Thursday that the National People’s Congress has placed new security legislation on the table that provides a legal basis for…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Mike Pompeo’s Cold-War Fever
As this dreadful year draws near its close, the top U.S. diplomat has put us at far more risk of war than we were at its start. Will we start a war with Iran? Will we invade Venezuela? Will we…