By Walt Zlotow
Trump overseeing decline of US world dominance… and that’s good
The global economic consequences of Trump’s failed war on Iran have yet to be fully realized. But even if Trump surrenders to Iran’s sensible demands today, they will degrade the world economy for months to come.
Trump is utterly trapped because he cannot win with either his current blockade or renewed bombing campaign. All US bases in the Gulf States are damaged or destroyed. Gulf States oil infrastructure is degraded. Should Trump renew bombing, Iran will completely destroy the bases, and resume degrading Israeli infrastructure as well.
The Gulf States will never again put their full security in US military might. It has proven a complete failure in winning a war against their imagined enemy Iran. America’s Asian allies Japan the Philippians, Taiwan and others now realize the limits of US power and credibility. European NATO countries are coming to the same conclusion as Trump has largely left them on their own to continue their futile effort to push Russia out of Ukraine.
As horrendous as the Iran war’s consequences are, the decline of US world dominance is an outcome we should welcome. China has passed the US both economically and politically, in part because they have used investment, not intimidation or economic sanctions, and do not exert their power on the world stage by bombing countries at will. Outside of Israel, most countries are moving toward multi-power polarity as evidenced by BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization rather than rely on, even prostrate themselves before US military might.
There is a long way to go before America fully realizes the folly of its quest to rule the world using violence. We’re still bombing countries posting no threat to the US whatsoever. Trump has bombed Somalia over 60 times this year tho most Americans couldn’t find it on a map, much less fear its non existent threat. We killed over a hundred to depose and kidnap Venezuelan President Maduro. We’re killing Cubans with our grotesque economic sanctions, including cutting off most of their oil imports. We’re still providing intelligence and military aid for Ukraine to continue its war with Russia, rather than brokering peace. Of course, worst of all we have not given up on destroying Iran and may resume the futile bombing at any moment.
But US world dominance is inexorably eroding due to its refusal to pivot from war to peace to resolve international disputes. If somehow, some way America accepts this reality of a new world order without US dominance, we can thank, in part, President Trump for making that shift with his launching a war too far against Iran.
Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL
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Thanks.
I’d argue that the US has been in decline for some time in other areas too:
– Education (1). The fact that many US citizens have no idea where other countries are.
– Education (2). Banning of books.
– Public health. Their “health system” actively discriminates against people on low incomes, and denies known help systems such as vaccines.
– Research. Once the envy of other countries for their contribution to scientific research of various kinds, recent decisions have decimated that respect.
– Big Oil. Most of the rest of the world are heading into renewables, but not the US.
– Politics. Many people I know both here and in the US describe their political system as “a cot-case”. Frankly I agree.
– Separation of Church and State. Not happening.
I could go on, and I acknowledge that I’m looking from half a world away, so may well have it all wrong….
@ uncletimrob: Agreed. Even 60 years ago American postgraduate degrees were second rate compared to Australian degrees.
I am reminded that Ancient Egypt enjoyed 100 years of economic prosperity during the peaceful reign of successive Pharaohs, but that happened outside America so is not covered in their curriculum.
The the European Economic Revolution began in England because there had been external peace since 1066, and the domestic population had ballooned accordingly, creating industrial opportunities.
The dominant position of PRC China has occurred because trade and public infrastructure development allows the positive progress of the best interests of more people than continuous warfare, even the 80+ US CIA operations to destabilise elected democracies, including Australia.
Domination by the European immigrants to America may have worked against the many native Indian nations because of technological superiority, especially in killing machines, but long term economic growth occurs during peace, when there is an equitable distribution of wealth.
NEC, you are correct, until we have an “equitable distribution of wealth”, the Trumps of this world will do their darndest to take control.
President Shitmedudz is presiding over rapid decline of the swollen, murderous, thieving, insincere, greedy, often preposterous USA, and may he do this well as his only success. Come on, hearse.
In China,Trump away from the malignant influence of Netanyahu, has been reminded that Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in July 1968 and subsequently ratified it in February 1970.Iran has stressed that it does not want nuclear bombs and it has called on Israel to likewise sign the NPT.
Xi has also called for the opening of the Hormuz Strait shipping channel and reminded Trump that the USA must also remove its blockade of Iran’s ports.
I feel we might be getting somewhere if Trump is listening!
Terry, you’ve given me my next article.
After reading your comment I wondered if this was the possible moment where geopolitical reality was beginning to cut through ideological influence and domestic political theatre.
Possibly not. But worth asking.
@ Walt: “…America’s Asian allies Japan the Philippians, Taiwan and others now realize the limits of US power and credibility…..”
This exactly what Napoleon Marles and his acolytes don’t understand. Worse still Marles sings sycophantic songs about the wondrous technology that Pine Gap provides to the US world wide surveillance system whilst ignoring the reality that Australia has not provided one byte, diode or transistor to that system. We have given them permission to insert US military and intelligence agencies into our national sovereignty. We only provide soil on which to park their secrecy.
US decline or going off piste has been in the making since the ’80s when the GOP decided they couldn’t win elections playing fair, with commensurate rise and influence of both Koch and Tanton Nerwork (= Project 2025), with Fox News, for their strategy.
Fast forward it’s been sped up with Fox News Frankenstein Trump being given protection while the centre is pummeled, ‘the other’ is dog whistled and becoming more authoritarian causing chaos domestically and geopolitically with allies/frenemies Netanyahu and Putin.
No coincidence the same Koch, Tanton & Murdoch have similar ‘architecture of influence’ across Anglosphere, especially UK and Oz, plus a Central European version in Hungary.
Anti-EU or Europe, anti-immigrant, ‘Christianist’, nationalist, Islamophobic, anti-semitic, corrupt, authoritarian and anti-democratic, shared with the Kremlin.
I read and agree with most of the comments posted on the platform, and must get my simple comments off my chest. American vs Australian degrees comments are spot on. As a former writer and editor of scientific articles for various publications, both printed and electronic, I am saddened at just how quickly news readers on TV and radio in Australia and the UK adopt the mangled grammar used by so many in the US. The word ‘amount’ has now replaced ‘numbers’ we now ‘continue on’, not just continue or carry on, we now finish ‘up’ something rather than just finish it, change ‘out’ the oil, rather than change it, and they are obsessed with using ‘of’ at every possible opportunity. The phrase that cracks me up every time is when I hear a person loading a low loader say “Raise me down”, meaning lower it down or they ‘drug’ an old car out of the bushes. Offcuts from steel or timber are ‘drops’. The use of Tenses are an alien concept for many. We see them ‘graduate’ in cap and gown from high school/college and I shake my head in disbelief, it says a lot about the quality of their education and how quickly we are to accept and adopt it. My time on this planet isnot far off and I am gladd to have lived through the best years.
Well worth a read in regard to this article.
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/05/chris-hedges-americas-suicide-pact/