Is the current financial crisis the latest bit of evidence that the final collapse of American power is at hand? If these weren’t the fears of Joschka Fischer, a former German foreign minister that knows the debt that Europeans owe the United States, one could perhaps more easily dismiss these sentiments as ‘schadenfreude‘ [taking pleasure in the pain of others].
For Germany’s Die Zeit, Fischer writes ominously:
“In a few weeks, it’ll be the 19th anniversary of the night that the Wall came down and the Cold War came to an end. In the following years, the United States stood alone at the summit of global power. Today, just 19 years later, we are witnessing the decline of American power. This decline can be traced essentially to a mixture of arrogance and blindness. … The grave crisis in the American financial system is a provisional climax in this decline in power, which can be compared in its magnitude only to the global crisis of 1929.”
Reflecting the exasperation of much of the world with the Bush White House, Fischer writes:
“Certainly, this process didn’t begin with the election of George W. Bush as 43rd President of the United States. But since he took over in 2000 – and with him the neoconservatives of the Republican Party – the U.S. government has been headed rapidly into decline. … Under the banner of a “New American Century,” Bush and the neoconservatives chose a policy based on sole American predominance. The results are now clear to be seen:
Due to Guantanamo and torture, America has lost her moral credibility; Thanks to the Iraq War, Iran has achieved regional supremacy in the Middle East; American military power has become overstretched due to a wrong and unnecessary war; Bush inherited a balanced budget from Clinton and has since acquired a huge mountain of debt; China is now America’s largest creditor; the dollar’s role as the dominant global reserve currency is seriously endangered; the American financial system is threatened with collapse; and the only answer to this crisis, an existential threat to the entire global economy, is nationalization by Washington’s Republican government!”
“Considering the negative consequences of declining American power, one must hope that it’s only a temporary phase of weakness and not the beginning of America’s final downfall. However, we Europeans must finally wake up and unite politically and responsibly to prepare for tougher times and greater responsibility.”
By Joschka Fischer*
Translated By James Jacobson
September 22, 2008
Germany – Die Zeit – Original Article (German)
In a few weeks, it’ll be the 19th anniversary of the night that the Wall came down and the Cold War came to an end. In the following years, the United States stood alone at the summit of global power. A new American century emerged, designed and determined solely by the global power of the United States.
Today, just 19 years later, we are witnessing the decline of American power. This decline can be traced essentially to a mixture of arrogance and blindness on the part of the active participants in the United States.
The current grave crisis in the American financial system is a provisional climax in this decline in power, which can be compared in its magnitude only to the global crisis of 1929.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated and English coverage of the unfolding financial crisis.
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