Vladimir, Vibes and Vision

February 24th 2022, the day Russia launched a full-scale attack on its western neighbor Ukraine, will go down in history.

Not just because it marked the end of Russia’s subjugation to the West.

Not just because it was the first attempt by another state (Balkan despots excluded) to challenge the globalist American Empire’s hegemony since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

But because it gave the final, most conclusive proof that America’s rudderless, visionless foreign policy was doomed, and that it risks putting an end to America’s status as a great power - unless drastic changes are taken to avert this collapse.

Firstly, however, I want to explain something; a nation’s foreign policy is its only tool for furthering its interests abroad. A foreign policy, therefore, must be truly national and based solely around a nation’s interests. The Iranian state, for instance, is interested in promoting Shia Islam and neutralizing its enemies, Saudi Arabia and Israel, and so funds Shia militant groups which oppose those countries. France relies on its former empire in Africa for many imported materials, such as uranium, and so promotes pro-French governments in countries like Chad and Cameroon. And so on. Which leads me on to one of the main issues with American foreign policy; it is built off vibes, not off any serious consideration of America’s national interest.

What are vibes? Put simply, they are vague concepts - think “democracy is good” - expressed in the language of the globalist American Empire. To be sure, these concepts are not unique to foreign policy. Every Democrat and Never Trumper parrots them at every conceivable opportunity. But when applied to foreign affairs, they supplant every concept of national interest. The American state no longer advocates for its people’s interests, or its people’s security, it advocates for nebulous ideas which have nothing to do with the American people’s wellbeing. It is built on the intuition of a few careerist politicians, rather than a grand national vision.

We can see the fruits of this policy in Ukraine. A realist - a statesman focused solely on America’s national interest - would never have brought Ukraine into the West’s camp with the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, especially when that brought America no strategic or economic benefit. A realist would not send shells, let alone state-of-the-art tanks, to a nation with no hope of defending itself for no gain whatsoever. But a vibes-obsessed official who wants to defend “democracy” to “the last Ukrainian” would think nothing of wasting American weaponry, and perhaps even American lives, on conflicts halfway across the world. The same, for that matter, goes for the State Department’s Mideast policy, which has seen billions of dollars a year be committed to our “greatest allies” who turn out to be anything but.

So what does the solution look like? Firstly, foreign policy must be based purely on strategic considerations, and “vibes” - ideological commitments - must be left to fall by the wayside.

To this end, we must seek detente with Russia and Iran. No matter what you think of Vladimir Putin and Ali Khamenei, it is clear they have little animus towards America itself - their opposition to the US stems from its foreign policy. A realignment towards them, in the shape of withdrawal from Ukraine and an end to sanctions against Tehran, would give us the breathing space we need and get these two rising powers off our backs.

Secondly, we must oppose every vestige of Chinese power. China, for the past 20 years, has encroached upon our industry and upon our sphere in the Pacific. This is something no sensible American government should, or would, tolerate. Detente with Russia and Iran will isolate China from its allies, and enable us to tighten the screws on the one state that can truly threaten to eclipse the US. Globalism outsourced jobs to China and allowed a dragon to rise up from under our feet; nationalism, like a knight of old, must slay that dragon.

Thirdly, and most importantly, we must build a vision for ourselves. Every serious leader, no matter whether they happen to be a friend or foe, knows what they want for their country and where they want it to be, say, by 2050. Can we say, with any confidence, that anyone in the current administration could tell you what impact they want America to have on the world stage?

It is time to think on a global stage. To let our interests, not some vague ideological pablum, determine our foreign commitments. To choose our friends and our enemies rationally, and act on them. And last - but not least - to create a vision that will guide us through the ages.

It is time to put America First once more.