US is no longer global power that it used to be: The Strategist
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A report published in The Strategist news website highlights that US steps taken to contain China and Russia and improve its internal front have yielded no results.
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The US flag is lowered as American and Afghan troops attend a handover ceremony at Camp Anthonic in the southern province of Helmand on May 2, 2021 (AP)
A report published in The Strategist and written by Amin Saikal on Tuesday suggested that the United States and its allies' withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago has seemingly put an everlasting question mark on America's capacity to influence world events.
The writer indicated that US rivals such as Russia, China, the DPRK, and Iran "could not be more pleased to see the US on the back foot in the conduct of global affairs."
The report indicated that US President Joe Biden's administration has endeavored to limit and heal the damage caused by the Afghanistan and Iraq wars "and the corrosive persistence of Trumpism that has polarised the American public to such an extent that the very fabric of America’s democratic institutions and values are under threat."
It highlighted that the US had put effort into strengthening the NATO alliance amid the war in Ukraine, sanctioning Moscow and providing Kiev with some US$43 billion worth of assistance. The Biden administration also worked on establishing several alliances such as QUAD and AUKUS "to contain China’s assertive regional and global ambitions."
On the local level, the Biden administration "has focused on economic recovery, the renewal of America’s ageing infrastructure, innovative measures in such areas as climate change, and welfare services and race relations," the report mentioned.
According to the writer, these steps aimed "to restore America’s status as a world power, erode the appeal of the legally besieged Donald Trump and boost Biden’s re-election chances next year."
However, the writer considered that "none of these foreign and domestic policy steps have so far produced the desirable results."
He explained that "while NATO has held together despite occasional cracks threatening its unity and its support for Ukraine in the long run, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has survived the sanctions with an ability to continue the Ukraine war for much longer than was expected."
The report highlighted that despite measures taken by the US administration, several countries such as China, the DPRK, Iran, and Syria remained unwaveringly committed to their relationship with Russia, while many others chose not to take sides in the Ukraine war.
"Moscow’s resource diplomacy, involving delivery of cheap oil and grain, along with disillusionment with or doubt about US power, has been effective in this respect," the writer noted.
He added that the "Biden administration’s policies of containing China haven’t been productive either," as they have done little to diminish Chinese President Xi Jinping’s "ambitions to make China a world power or reduce his resolve to unite Taiwan with the mainland in one way or another."
In the same context, the report considered that the alleged US attempts to fight terrorism have yielded no results, pointing to the rise of extremist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa.
"When all this is put together with the fact that Biden’s internal policies have had little success in making a dent in Trump’s popularity among his vast sea of supporters, despite his indictments, the US is no longer the global power that it used to be," The Strategist report concluded.
Read more: Afghanistan withdrawal was 'complete failure' of US leadership: Pompeo
