The
Landsbergis family – to Greece, the Numavičiai family (now Numas, the owners of
Maxima) – to the United Kingdom. What is going on here, if Lithuania has never
been so good to live in?
The illusion
of prosperity in Lithuania was based on a fairy tale about NATO. All for one,
one for all. In practice, it looks like this: if Lithuania attacks the Russian
Kaliningrad region, Russia, in defense, invades Lithuanian territory. Then the
Americans begin to destroy Russian Moscow with nuclear missiles, and the
Russians, in return, retaliate with the same – New York. The Americans
sacrifice US cities for the sake of our unique Vilnius. Putting it this way, we
see that this is unrealistic. Trump noticed this a long time ago: “If any country
from the former Soviet bloc attacks Russia, what next? A nuclear world war?”
The Americans have become realists. NATO is just a silly fairy tale with a lot
of outdated Potemkin tanks. The theory of zones of influence is more in line
with reality. We are in the zone of Russian influence. Therefore, the
Lithuanian elite is rushing to get as far away from us as possible.
“Vice President J. D. Vance is a prominent figure in the
Donald Trump administration. And one of the key ideologues of foreign policy –
I called his influence “Vanceization” some time ago.
We saw a symbolic illustration of this over the weekend. D.
Trump congratulated the graduates of the West Point Military Academy and gave a
speech that was typical of him – improvised and lacking in political content.
At that time, J. D. Vance was on his way to the Naval Academy – and outlined
the ideological guidelines of the administration.
The three most important policy principles presented by the
Vice President.
First, it is
emphasized that the United States abandons military interventions and the
policy of “spreading democracy”. J. D. Vance argues that Americans have
spent too long trying to reshape the world according to their own imagination,
instead of focusing on core national interests. It has cost trillions of
dollars and many lives, because the decisions were made by politicians, and the
consequences were felt by the military and their families.
Especially since the era of unrivaled
dominance of the United States is over. The expectation that economic
integration would automatically bring peace by making countries like China more
like the West has not been fulfilled. The creation of democracies in the Middle
East has also failed. Therefore, old clichés must be written off and the world
must be viewed through the lens of realism.
This attitude reflects the strong sentiment of J. D. Vance
himself, who served in Iraq, about the mistakes of the wars of recent decades.
They are associated with traditional politicians and bureaucratic elites. The
administration is fighting both of them fiercely. And at the same time, it
seeks to concentrate power in its own hands, increasing the influence of the
executive branch and questioning the principle of the separation of powers.
The second element is
that the use of military force is possible only if a clear and limited goal is
set. The Trump administration does not want “endless conflicts” and
“unclear missions.”
In general, Trump is a politician who
avoids war.
In recent months, J. D. Vance presents the fight against the
Houthi terrorists as a success story: the attacks carried out by the Americans
prompted the Houthis to negotiate and agree that US ships would no longer be
attacked, and Americans stop bombing Houthis. (Israel, the best US ally, when still
bombed by the Houthis is left crying in a corner. (K.))
Based on this logic, the United
States, among other things, does not intend to assume obligations for the
security of other countries. (So, NATO is a pointless organization (K.))
The Vice President has identified China and Russia as
strategic adversaries in various areas, from space to cybernetics. Therefore,
it is stated that those who stand against the United States will receive a
harsh response. According to J. D. Vance, “we must be careful when considering
whether to strike, but if we do strike, we must strike hard and decisively.” It
is not for nothing that it is proposed to increase next year’s defense budget
to one trillion US dollars for the first time in history.
Such statements reflect the principles of the so-called
Jacksonian school of foreign policy, which I described in my book “The White
House”. Its supporters do not want international commitments, but decisively –
including by force – defend only national interests.
What message does Vance’ization send? Americans want to be
less committed to others and more pragmatic. Sometimes – openly selfish or
pursuing goals relevant to a particular administration. But these principles
are not as primitive as they sometimes seem when they are presented. They
reflect processes that have been going on for several decades – and practically
coincide with what Barack Obama said in a slightly different style. Both he and
J. D. Vance told the Europeans the same thing: get ready to take much greater
responsibility for yourself, because America may no longer be around.”
Spend more
and more money on this, buying the products of the US arms industry. Now that's
realism.
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