Ben Rhodes essay in Foreign Affairs magazine was published 18 June 2024. Just a few days later Outlaw US Empire criminal behavior proved it fell on deaf ears, eyes incapable of sight and minds unable to reason or think rationally. Many readers will be unable to read the essay for various reasons, so I’ve copied the text in full below. I’m letting it stand as sis without any emphasis or comment. If you need that addition, the portion
Poor Ben Rhodes tries to sit on three chairs at once and falls from all three.
1. Support for the dementia-stricken Biden. This is rather anti-American.
2. Support for NATO (US) meddling in Ukraine, including the terrorist operations on the territory of Russia. This is an invitation for the thermonuclear phase of the ongoing WWIII.
3. A shyness towards (a) the dominance of AIPAC over US congress, (b) the infiltration of Langley by Mossad, and (c) the inability of EU/US compradors to withstand the pressure from the supranational private banking cartel that relies on and rules the dishonorable MIC and thuggish CIA/MI6/Mossad "security services."
I read that with a kind of suspended disbelief, struggling to rationalize how anyone, anywhere could read this and see it correspond with the reality visible to their own eyes. A feat of sleight of hand, indeed!
Take this little gem, one of many I reckon you could pull from the text and crucify:
"The willingness to share sensitive information, on display in the run-up to war in Ukraine, should be applied to other cases where human rights can be defended through transparency."
Where was America on the human (and constitutional) rights of the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass?
Where was America as Ukraine committed war crimes in the region?
Elsewhere:
Where was America when Russia offered a specific regional security document to Europe and NATO? Oh, that's right, it rejected it.
Where in the document is the reference to FJB destroying Nordstream 2, causing an environmental disaster, and wrecking an ally's economy?
Where is there any recognition of Washington's hypocrisy about defending territorial integrity in Ukraine, but totally ignoring it in Syria to steal the latter's oil?
The whole document, top to bottom, is almost parody. It is Quixotic, and disengaged from reality. In Alice through the Looking Glass we are introduced to the Red Queen Effect, which means that we constantly co-evolve with the systems we interact with, so that if we’re not doing things differently, we’ll pretty much remain in the same place. And frankly, this document admits that the world is moving on, but the author offers no substantive changes with the times that would indicate America wants to move on from the Wolfowitz doctrine in a meaningful way. That remains the only show in town, and this (and any) US administration is absolutely focused on keeping the hegemony standing, Thyucides Trap, be damned!
thanks karl.. i had seen the bit via simplicius the other day... here is what i am getting via the astrology community which others can take or leave as the case may be..
both men are old and suffering from health issues.. none of that is going to change and although trump has been pretty good at hiding them - he has them too, just like biden...
we are in a pluto return if you use the sidereal zodiac.. the cycle is approx 250 years and is often associated with the rise and fall of empires.. this is what i personally think we are seeing here, as simplistic as it may sound... the american empire needs to be reinvented and it won't be via old men wtih corrupt agendas and intentions...
i predict chaos, violence and increasing unsettled dynamics, especially around the time of the usa election - all in keeping with an empire that is imploding.. of course trump stealing the office would speed up this process, but no matter who gets into power - it is coming regardless...
ben rhodes and all the other media insiders can kiss their flawed logic goodbye... they might not like mine, but that is how i see it..
No. No. No. The American Empire needs to die. Empires by definition are essentially vampire societies that live off the lifeblood of their vassal/colonial victim states.
America needs to to throw off its "elite" vampires & reinvent itself as not an empire, but some other form of blended government.
I agree with your comment but know attaining the result you posit will be very difficult because structurally the USA is an Empire, and that will be very hard to devolve.
thanks meredith! here is a youtube video of kenneth bowser from november 2023 making a prediction off his particular approach.. you might find it interesting.
Unfortunately this discussion of Rhodes (who is very shrewd in his deliberate omission) shows no knowledge of how ambitious nation-states finance their war and plunder — everything is a problem of failed understandings, judgements and assessments. As such, arguments quickly become circular.
This does appear to be a classic case of Cognitive Dissonance with associated symptoms of TDS. The narrative re-framing - I cannot think of any other word for it - is breath-taking. Hopefully it's an indication of the mental fragility of its intended audience as was indicted in the Simplicious extract you directed to.
Even WikipeCIA demonstrates the potential vulnerability of such an intended audience or group member.
Politically myopic nonsense but revealing many of the hidden presuppositions he and his fellows work from. My mental blood was boiling. A few more examples of axiomatic perversions:
For like-minded “fit-for-purpose states” read “vassal ready”.
“supporting Israel’s security” - impunity.
In Palestine “development of new leadership”: regime change where there is no regime.
“mobilizing international support for a negotiated, peaceful resolution to Taiwan’s status.” other than as a province of China, recognised by America and its cohort of dependents.
“the civil rights movement did far more to win the Cold War than the war in Vietnam did.” Eh?
“human rights can be defended through transparency” exemplified by Assange.
And the nub: “an attractive destination for American capital”
I'm not as hasty as others in dismissing this piece by Rhodes. Firstly, it is published in Foreign Affairs - which, as we well know, is not MR Online. Secondly, it contains quite a few truths and ... er .. geopolitical facts. Thirdly, Rhodes is a senior honcho in Obama's stable. Fourthly, the editors of FA actually published it, and as far as I know,they have not been fired yet.
In one sense your summary line is 100% correct. But in another sense the second clause is wrong: Mr. Rhodes IS totally serious. This essay is his application for a primo job in the next Biden administration or, if Biden loses, for a primo academic or think tank position.
Like many articles in this magazine, after identifying a few recent international hot spots posing conundrums he offers no realistic proposals for change in US diplomacy or foreign policy goals
Poor Ben Rhodes tries to sit on three chairs at once and falls from all three.
1. Support for the dementia-stricken Biden. This is rather anti-American.
2. Support for NATO (US) meddling in Ukraine, including the terrorist operations on the territory of Russia. This is an invitation for the thermonuclear phase of the ongoing WWIII.
3. A shyness towards (a) the dominance of AIPAC over US congress, (b) the infiltration of Langley by Mossad, and (c) the inability of EU/US compradors to withstand the pressure from the supranational private banking cartel that relies on and rules the dishonorable MIC and thuggish CIA/MI6/Mossad "security services."
I read that with a kind of suspended disbelief, struggling to rationalize how anyone, anywhere could read this and see it correspond with the reality visible to their own eyes. A feat of sleight of hand, indeed!
Take this little gem, one of many I reckon you could pull from the text and crucify:
"The willingness to share sensitive information, on display in the run-up to war in Ukraine, should be applied to other cases where human rights can be defended through transparency."
Where was America on the human (and constitutional) rights of the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass?
Where was America as Ukraine committed war crimes in the region?
Elsewhere:
Where was America when Russia offered a specific regional security document to Europe and NATO? Oh, that's right, it rejected it.
Where in the document is the reference to FJB destroying Nordstream 2, causing an environmental disaster, and wrecking an ally's economy?
Where is there any recognition of Washington's hypocrisy about defending territorial integrity in Ukraine, but totally ignoring it in Syria to steal the latter's oil?
The whole document, top to bottom, is almost parody. It is Quixotic, and disengaged from reality. In Alice through the Looking Glass we are introduced to the Red Queen Effect, which means that we constantly co-evolve with the systems we interact with, so that if we’re not doing things differently, we’ll pretty much remain in the same place. And frankly, this document admits that the world is moving on, but the author offers no substantive changes with the times that would indicate America wants to move on from the Wolfowitz doctrine in a meaningful way. That remains the only show in town, and this (and any) US administration is absolutely focused on keeping the hegemony standing, Thyucides Trap, be damned!
Agree, 100%
Blathering nonsense from start to finish.
thanks karl.. i had seen the bit via simplicius the other day... here is what i am getting via the astrology community which others can take or leave as the case may be..
both men are old and suffering from health issues.. none of that is going to change and although trump has been pretty good at hiding them - he has them too, just like biden...
we are in a pluto return if you use the sidereal zodiac.. the cycle is approx 250 years and is often associated with the rise and fall of empires.. this is what i personally think we are seeing here, as simplistic as it may sound... the american empire needs to be reinvented and it won't be via old men wtih corrupt agendas and intentions...
i predict chaos, violence and increasing unsettled dynamics, especially around the time of the usa election - all in keeping with an empire that is imploding.. of course trump stealing the office would speed up this process, but no matter who gets into power - it is coming regardless...
ben rhodes and all the other media insiders can kiss their flawed logic goodbye... they might not like mine, but that is how i see it..
"the american empire needs to be reinvented"
No. No. No. The American Empire needs to die. Empires by definition are essentially vampire societies that live off the lifeblood of their vassal/colonial victim states.
America needs to to throw off its "elite" vampires & reinvent itself as not an empire, but some other form of blended government.
might be the same thing, lol.. ever thought of that??
I agree with your comment but know attaining the result you posit will be very difficult because structurally the USA is an Empire, and that will be very hard to devolve.
Always good to hear from the astrology community. I agree that it's going to get worse as collapse of US empire accelerates.
thanks meredith! here is a youtube video of kenneth bowser from november 2023 making a prediction off his particular approach.. you might find it interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYv-w8Rw6Ag&t=11s
Unfortunately this discussion of Rhodes (who is very shrewd in his deliberate omission) shows no knowledge of how ambitious nation-states finance their war and plunder — everything is a problem of failed understandings, judgements and assessments. As such, arguments quickly become circular.
Yeah, he hides the guilty.
This does appear to be a classic case of Cognitive Dissonance with associated symptoms of TDS. The narrative re-framing - I cannot think of any other word for it - is breath-taking. Hopefully it's an indication of the mental fragility of its intended audience as was indicted in the Simplicious extract you directed to.
Even WikipeCIA demonstrates the potential vulnerability of such an intended audience or group member.
For those able to decipher, it's educational, which is why I provided it. As someone commented, it's filled with gobbledygook and is reflective of elite intelligence levels. Kit Klarenburg has an interesting article at Al-Mayadeen, https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/-the-franco-british-plot-to-dismember-russia
Just read the article. Seems like deja vu all over again - it certainly rhymes ;o)
Thanks for that. It's bookmarked for future reading.
Politically myopic nonsense but revealing many of the hidden presuppositions he and his fellows work from. My mental blood was boiling. A few more examples of axiomatic perversions:
For like-minded “fit-for-purpose states” read “vassal ready”.
“supporting Israel’s security” - impunity.
In Palestine “development of new leadership”: regime change where there is no regime.
“mobilizing international support for a negotiated, peaceful resolution to Taiwan’s status.” other than as a province of China, recognised by America and its cohort of dependents.
“the civil rights movement did far more to win the Cold War than the war in Vietnam did.” Eh?
“human rights can be defended through transparency” exemplified by Assange.
And the nub: “an attractive destination for American capital”
Read it when linked at MoA.
I'm not as hasty as others in dismissing this piece by Rhodes. Firstly, it is published in Foreign Affairs - which, as we well know, is not MR Online. Secondly, it contains quite a few truths and ... er .. geopolitical facts. Thirdly, Rhodes is a senior honcho in Obama's stable. Fourthly, the editors of FA actually published it, and as far as I know,they have not been fired yet.
A trial balloon of sorts. It also serves to prove Putin and company correct about there being no reasonable minds to negotiate with.
In one sense your summary line is 100% correct. But in another sense the second clause is wrong: Mr. Rhodes IS totally serious. This essay is his application for a primo job in the next Biden administration or, if Biden loses, for a primo academic or think tank position.
Like many articles in this magazine, after identifying a few recent international hot spots posing conundrums he offers no realistic proposals for change in US diplomacy or foreign policy goals
Yeah, self-promo is a good assessment. I was reminded of an early heavy metal hit from my youth by King Crimson--"21st Century Schizoid Man."
Nice. Thanks, takes me back. One ballad from that era that should be revived with modified lyrics is “No More Genocide in My Name” by Holly Near….
Kudos to you for that reference. Great album.
Great one!