Islam Times - Pompeo's Globetrotting a Sign of Weakness, not Strength: Scholar

Islam Times - “The writing is on the wall, and it's in Chinese characters, the days of US global hegemony are numbered,” says Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.

US Secretary of State of Mike Pompeo plans to visit India next week to further enhance strategic ties with a nation that remains locked in a military standoff with China as part of Washington’s persisting anti-Beijing campaign in days prior to the US presidential polls.

The top US diplomat will also visit two Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives and will conclude his trip with a visit to Indonesia – a country that also has territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea – in his bid to further exert US influence in the pacific region, Reuters reported Friday.

In an interview with Press TV on Sunday, Etler, a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, said that “Pompeo's frantic globetrotting, scurrying about like a chicken who's lost its head, is a sign of weakness, not strength. He would not be doing so if the US felt secure in its dealings with the rest of the world. Within the last few months he has tried to shore up US relations with a score of countries in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and now East Asia.”

“Why this frenzy of diplomatic activity from a US administration that has scorned it from the get-go? Of course each step of the way he has reiterated US concerns about China and catalogued a litany of its alleged sins, but all of Pompeo's charges are contradicted by the practical experience nations around the world have had dealing with China,” he added.

“Pompeo's helter-skelter itinerary can only be seen as a desperate attempt to counter China's rising influence, especially in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The US has tried to pin the blame for the pandemic on China, and had some initial success in doing so. But, it's becoming increasingly clear that China was not responsible for its spread, but did everything in its power to mitigate its impact,” he stated.

“China and the WHO gave the world ample warnings but the potential spread of COVID-19 went unheeded by most countries. China also successfully defeated the pandemic within its own borders and has reached out to countries around the world to share her experience and provide medical assistance,” he said.

“China's economy, unlike any other, is now growing at a pre-pandemic rate while the rest of the world is mired in recession. The US has fared far worse and finds itself challenged on all fronts by China's success. It is thus lashing out, like a wounded beast, to stave off its inevitable decline,” he added.

“While China continues to strengthen its ties with Russia, Iran, and the nations of the global South, Pompeo's attempts to build an anti-China alliance by defamation and deceit have fallen on deaf ears. All the US has to offer is continued attempts to exacerbate tensions and escalate conflicts so it can fish in troubled waters, practice gunboat diplomacy, and sell its military hardware,” he said.

“The writing is on the wall, and it's in Chinese characters, the days of US global hegemony are numbered and there is nothing they can do about it,” he concluded.