The Roman Empire lived off its fat for centuries, and no one could imagine that it would ever fall. In 476, however, the Western Empire’s last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed. Citizens deemed that it was not worth the trouble of either killing or replacing him. The Roman Western Empire fell forever.
Drawing a comparison between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the waning American empire is not only premature, but could also be presumptuous. It is not inevitable that the American empire, the free enterprise system, will collapse. But similar to the Roman Empire toward its end, it is certainly not looking healthy. At the same time, one cannot but draw some similarities between the two structures, particularly when it comes to issues such as a grim financial crisis, going into endless wars (and winning none of them), becoming less and less efficient, placing short-term objectives over everything else, and, importantly, blaming someone else for failure and disaster to deflect attention rather than shouldering responsibility.
A month or so before today, I would have called it the Western war on Iran. But not now, after several Western European countries have closed their airspace to American planes. Yet the American-Israeli war on Iran continues to rage, and while no one knows when and how it’ll end, some consequences of this war are already clear. For instance, most analysts agree that Iran will emerge as (at least) a regional superpower despite the destruction it has suffered. Possibly more repressive and less tolerant, Iran will most certainly rebuild its deterrent capabilities. It will also maintain control on the Strait of Hormuz, which will guarantee a lot of resources for Iran. Having failed to achieve the goals it had set out to accomplish, the US will suffer a humiliating and strategic defeat. Israel’s role as the sole supreme power in East Asia will end, with dire implications on its positioning regionally and internationally. Israel’s dream of a greater Israel will be shelved, and the new Middle East it had dreamt of will be closer to a nightmare. Global oil will no longer be traded at around US$70 per barrel; its price will be considerably higher. The Arab Gulf states will need to adapt and learn to live under the shadow of Iran. The US dollar will suffer another major blow, and the Chinese yuan will surge. Consequently, the US economy will take a good beating, and the US national debt will rise even more. Most importantly, however, the issue of Palestine is predicted to come back in full swing.
With a weak Europe and a considerably weaker US, coupled with the rise of Russia and particularly China, the world will witness a new era where Western hegemony will no longer reign. Most people of the world could not be more pleased will this global change. A while ago, a video circulated on social media of a European diplomat claiming that Chinese values do not align with Western values. The response from China was rich! “What Western values?” as they elaborated on the ethnic cleansing, genocides, and meddling in the affairs of world countries while usurping their resources. The Chinese response went on, and on, and on!
Long Live the State of Palestine!
Publisher
Sani Meo
