Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: One was killed, another injured in a raid by an Israeli drone on the city of Khiam in South Lebanon
London views possibility of setting fire to tanker in port of friendly country to Russia to damage port infrastructure, initiate an international probe: Moscow
One of London's scenarios involves setting up accident with 'undesirable' tanker in one of the bottlenecks of maritime communications: Russian foreign intelligence agency
London plans to organize major sabotage with tankers to declare transportation of Russian oil to international shipping: Russian foreign intelligence agency
UK intelligence agencies plan to use NATO allies to launch massive raid on 'Shadow Fleet': Russian foreign intelligence agency
Palestinian Ministry of Health: Two were martyred in Israeli shelling that targeted a besieged house in the town of Qabatiya in Jenin
At least 68 dead in migrant shipwreck off Yemen: IOM
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.

Is AUKUS the Beginning of a New Cold War?

  • Shafei Moiz Hali Shafei Moiz Hali
  • Source: Al Mayadeen
  • 2 Oct 2021 19:48
6 Min Read

War supposedly provides the much-needed lube to the cogs of the US economy. That is why it is no surprise that a well-timed war or news of a “successful” encounter with a terrorist “mastermind” can be a useful magic pill for a faltering US economy and for a US president’s dwindling poll ratings.

  • x
  • Is AUKUS the Beginning of a New Cold War?

War supposedly provides the much-needed lube to the cogs of the US economy. That is why it is no surprise that a well-timed war or news of a “successful” encounter with a terrorist “mastermind” can be a useful magic pill for a faltering US economy and for a US president’s dwindling poll ratings. After World War II the US has been busy waging war all across the globe. Whether it is in Korea, Vietnam, Latin American, the Middle East, or Afghanistan we can see that these places are permanently mutilated by America’s insatiable compulsion to wage war. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower coined the term Military Industrial Complex (MIC) on January 17, 1961, and warned against it. It seems his warnings went in vain.

Now that the US is wiping the dust of Afghanistan off its boots, the world is witnessing a lack of interest in the War on Terror and a surge of interest in the USA’s new bogeyman (China). The recent AUKUS deal which sprang out of nowhere and even irked one of US’s traditional allies (France) provides evidence for a new Cold War.

Despite waging the war on terror for two decades, the US economy didn’t fully recover from the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic further dented the economy. The war on terror had become messy, with too many destroyed nations to rebuild, catering for refugees and the fast-paced world of social media kept highlighting the US atrocities committed abroad; all this made the war on terror an unprofitable endeavor. This perhaps motivated the planners in the US to expedite the process to start a new cold war as a means for both economic revival and for maintaining global hegemony. The groundwork for portraying China as the bogeyman had been started during the Trump Presidency and now Biden simply has to up the ante.  

Starting a Cold War with China seems like a much more viable option for the US’s Military Industrial Complex as compared to the War on Terror. The US’s MIC is much comfortable in dealing with a cold war as it authored the playbook for the first one. The cold war provides a long-term bogeyman that is comparable in military capabilities vis-à-vis the US, which justifies the extra billions spent on R&D in weapons development and production and keeps the economy going. The war on terror, however, proved to be unsustainable for the US economy as it didn’t justify spending billions on new weapons development to fight against rag-tag terrorists, in comparison a cold war dwells upon an arms race. The war on terror held little promise in weapons sales to allied countries, whereas a cold war holds tremendous promise in this regard and the AUKUS deal is a prime example of such extravagant weapons sales deals to prop up allies against a bogeyman.

Related News

Why the US is unqualified to promote peace between Thailand and Cambodia

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah: Lebanon’s lion roars the truth

The pact, known as AUKUS is a new defense partnership among Australia, UK, and the US that will furnish Australia with eight new nuclear-powered submarines. Australia will enter a select club of nations with such submarines. The others include India, Russia, France and China, UK, and the US.

In addition to the submarine fleet, AUKUS would combine forces of the partner countries on futuristic capabilities like artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and some undersea capabilities. The AUKUS partnership also guarantees the Australian military with new toys comprising of long-range strike capabilities which include; Tomahawk cruise missiles, Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles with a range of 900 km, Long Range Anti-Ship missiles, and precision strike guided missiles for its land forces.

Many analysts in the West are downplaying the AUKUS as a step towards the cold war, they are terming the AUKUS and the US’s other measures like the Quad to counter China as mere mini-lateral forums for cooperation. However, ex-Undersecretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy has been beating about the bush and called a spade a spade when she said, “the best way to deter China from invading Taiwan is to have the ability to sink China’s navy in 72 hours.” The AUKUS deal is not a small deal, in fact, it comes as a replacement to the French Submarine deal worth $66 billion which was for the sale and development of 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines, the deal was termed as a mother defense deal. The AUKUS deal is most certainly broader in scope than the French deal, which means its price tag is going to be much higher than $66 billion. There seemed to be much US desperation and anxiousness behind the AUKUS partnership, which came at the cost of betraying an ally. This certainly makes the AUKUS seem like a step in Flournoy’s direction rather than a mere mini-lateral deal as some in the West are terming it.

The new cold war seems to be very different from the previous one, despite the trade war and the US’s anti-China stance, the trade between the two countries seems to be ever-growing. In the year 2020 alone, the trade between the US and China was recorded at $560 billion. During the first cold war, trade between the two superpowers the US and the Soviet Union was very limited, and the highest level of trade between the two powerhouses was recorded at $4.5 billion in 1979. The trade dependency of one another is both unique for two confronting countries as well as a stabilizing factor. This is why the new cold war seems very different and its future form is difficult to predict. Another differing factor is the fact that, within the first cold war, the Soviet Union advocated socialism as a substitute to capitalism and it became a contest of “isms” and ideas. This new cold war has not, at least till now, been characterized by any meaningful ideological contestation. So far, it seems more like ‘China containment policy’ or a ‘clash of civilizations’.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • United States
  • Afghanistan
  • China
  • Cold War
  • AUKUS
Shafei Moiz Hali

Shafei Moiz Hali

Associate Professor at National Defence University

Most Read

All
Given ample indications Epstein was collating sexual blackmail material on powerful figures for intelligence agencies, comments made by Mirage's cofounder to Ynet take on a chilling character. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Zionist spies innovate AI sexual blackmail tech

  • Analysis
  • 27 Jul 2025
The right wing love affair with Zionism has ended

The right wing love affair with Zionism has ended

  • Opinion
  • 23 Jul 2025
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah: Lebanon’s lion roars the truth

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah: Lebanon’s lion roars the truth

  • Opinion
  • 31 Jul 2025
What is the current state of Resistance forces, after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, the collapse of independent Syria and the ongoing attacks on Lebanon and Iran? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Regional Resistance after the Gaza Genocide

  • Analysis
  • 25 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
The rooftop revolution: Pakistan’s unnoticed solar uprising

The rooftop revolution: Pakistan’s unnoticed solar uprising

Bangladesh at a Crossroads: The Tumultuous Month in the Wake of Sheikh Hasina’s Ouster and the Battle for Regional Influence

Bangladesh at a Crossroads: The Tumultuous Month in the Wake of Sheikh Hasina’s Ousting and the Battle for Regional Influence

Is Bangladesh's student-led uprising contagious for the region?

Is Bangladesh's student-led uprising contagious for the region?

The morning after the elections brought about a bewildering revelation: the PTI secured victory in only one province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), while facing defeat in numerous other constituencies. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

The tale of people's struggle and electoral banditry in Pakistan

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS