This thread is not about Trump, please stay on topic.
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My individual reaction would be that I canât believe that Donald Trump strung together that many multi-syllabic words into a complete sentence.
But try to post quotes in context, please. That paragraph means something entirely different with the preceding one added:
I expect over time that our friends and partners in the region will become increasingly concerned about the possibility of a 19th-century-style sphere of influence in Asia, in which China slowly nudges the United States out and consolidates its power and influence in a way that will ultimately force regional countries to supplicate. However this plays out, it is a good reminder that Americaâs China policy needs to be about more than just bilateral ties, it needs to be about our ties to the region that create an environment more conducive to a peaceful and positive-sum Chinese rise.
Youâre trying to make a point that only exists if you take out of context what Sullivan said. Heâs saying we need to be hooked in with Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, etc. to influence how China grows.
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Like I saidâŚif it canât be framed in a pithy little sound byte, it must be bad.
âoffshore balancingâ is a pithy little sound bite. The âstrategyâ ignores history.
Offshore balancing isnât a pithy little sound byte.
History is not against itâŚitâs how the United States rose to become a world power.
The current environment surely makes it harderâŚbut we will need to try something.
American hegemony is unsustainable. New powers WILL riseâŚChina will be one of them.
The old American hegemony strategy wonât work. The Trumpian twist on that concept wonât work.
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Checking the report cards of JâBidens Clintonista-Obama retread âappointeesâ is a little unnerving beginning with Blinken. He was the âstrategistâ under Obamaâs administration when Putin invaded then Crimea. Not sure what his âstrategyâ was but the Russans waltzed right into the Crimea without firing a shot?
Heâs co-founder of a âpolitical-strategic advisory firmâ called âWestExecAdvisorsâ who under protection of some law loophole are not required to divulge their source of revenue. Interestingly enough WestExec âexecutivesâ seem to have ties to Defense Contractors
Joe Bidenâs New National Security Picks Are Very Troubling (jacobinmag.com)
Are you seeing the return of the Military Industrial Complex Swamp Thing?
Of course it is. Fit very nicely on a bumper sticker.
China is not the US. Itâs not how China rose to power.
Decoupling.
Who is claiming hegemony exists, much less is the strategy? You seem to be advocating imposing US values on China - hegemony.
America First; not only.
This thread is not about Trump, please stay on topic.
Decoupling is untenable for many reasons.
Offshore Balancing is not a bumper sticker phrase. Put that on a bumper sticker and watch people look at you like youâre crazy.
A bumper sticker phrase requires no further explanation.
Offshore balancing requires no imposition of values on anyone.
And Trumpâs version of America Alone is indeed America Alone.
Your bumper sticker sound bite is untenable for one reason.
This thread is not about Trump, please stay on topic.
Where did I mention Trump aside from a descriptor for a type of foreign policy?
I responded to your post where you mentioned decoupling.
I responded to your post where you took issue with my branding America First as Amerca Alone.
Do you want to continue to have a conversation?
There you have it.
America First is not âAmerica Aloneâ.
Are you sure you understand decoupling?
âin a manner consistent with an open, fair, rules-based, regional order,â
is the rest of that sentence.
I hate it when headlines are intentionally inflammatory.
China. 
America First is America Alone.
And I understand decoupling perfectlyâŚwhich is why I understand how untenable an idea it is.
China is on the rise no matter what. There is no changing that.
So the question is what do we do with a large adversarial nation that is looking to elbow into American Hegemony? How is that done so the world doesnât devolve into war?
It isnât a controversial statement. It is a little more nuanced than the normal âCHINA BADâ though.
Itâs so convenient to only be able to talk freely about 1 side of an issue
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Completely wrong. The Embargo Act of 1807 was an attempt at âAmerica Aloneâ. Even thenâŚ
Every day is day zero.
Self-control is a wonderful thing. If you have a complaint about the management of this forum, I highly suggest you avail yourself of the approved methods for addressing it.
I absolutely agree.
I offer that one protects oneâs self and avoids reliance on that adversarial enemy to the greatest extent possible.
