End of an Era
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
End of an Era
by William Kristol
Eighty years ago, on September 2, 1945, World War II ended. United States General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, accompanied by representatives of other Allied nations, formally accepted the surrender of Japan aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
In a brief speech, MacArthur looked forward:
It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past, a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance and justice.
Later in the day, in a radio broadcast to his fellow Americans, MacArthur said this:
Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. . . . The holy mission has been completed. We have had our last chance. If we do not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door.
The subsequent eighty years have, needless to say, fallen short of fulfilling all of mankind’s hopes for freedom, tolerance and justice, as MacArthur hoped. On the other hand, the greatest generation, having won the war, did succeed in devising a “greater and more equitable system” of global affairs. A better world did “emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past.”
Over eight decades, American leadership has made possible a system under which we have averted Armageddon. American leadership has made possible a system which has mostly kept the peace among nations. American leadership has made possible a system that has produced far greater prosperity for mankind—and that sometimes, at least, has also fostered more freedom, more tolerance, and more justice.
Yesterday, Xi Jinping was joined by fellow dictators Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-un of North Korea as he held China’s largest-ever military parade commemorating the victory in World War II. The photo of the three dictators side-by-side, walking the red carpet in Tiananmen Square together ahead of the representatives of other nations, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, seemed to provide a bookend to the era MacArthur had ushered in eighty years before—an era in which United States leadership was central and in which the American people can take great pride.
But it’s not an achievement for which Donald Trump feels any pride, or for the continuation of which he wishes to take any responsibility. So, having haplessly rolled out our own red carpet for the war criminal Putin less than three weeks ago, the president of the United States was left to watch and whine on social media: “May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”
At home and around the world, the irony fell flat. The bravado was hollow.
What a precipitous and unforced abdication of global leadership and responsibility Trump has pulled off in the last seven months. What a sad and vivid representation of the world America made coming to an end—with dictators parading in Beijing, and the president of the United States whimpering in Washington.
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There is no evidence that anyone in the world, other than maybe a few drug runners, or Youthi rebels, or perhaps Iran's hierarchy , are afraid of Donald Trump.
There are reports that the rest of the world is laughing at him, and Trumps version of America. China doesnt fear him, Russia doesnt fear him, North Korea doesnt fear him, they all know how to play him.
It's not that hard. Just play to his ego
Just treat him like any other 5 year old.
Do you imagine any foreign power whatsoever has been afraid of a democratic leader this century? Mr Pallets of cash for the islamic republican guard scare anyone?
Trump wants an immense amount of credit for bombing Iran.
We bombed Iran after Israel revealed that Iran's air defenses did not exist to any extent, and after Irans proxies had been decimated by Israel. There was very little risk in what Trump did.
What has the United States dominated in the 21st century?
Hubris.