No. of Recommendations: 3
"What will they do differently?"
I have a hard time believing you think there is nothing they would do differently, but here's a list.
OMG!
They won't do any of that stuff substantively.
Some of that is trivial and the US won't care.
And a lot of it is stuff that I *wish* they would do!
A lot of this list is things that countries should do, stand on their own two feet and stop leaning on the US for.
Avoid supporting U.S.-backed resolutions at the UN or WTO.
Nobody cares. "US out of the UN & UN out of the US" had seen a chant for almost as long as I have been alive.
WTO? That would be the same WTO that the US is planning to withdraw from? Good.
Dedollarize trade—shift from USD to other currencies (e.g., yuan, euro, or local currencies).
Unlikely, although BRICS is making a run. Which I don't have a problem with. That's a bit like a toxic girl saying she won't date you.
Buy weapons and defense systems from non-U.S. sources, like Russia, China, or domestic suppliers.
Develop indigenous military tech to avoid U.S. surveillance or sabotage risks.
Ban U.S. military bases or reduce military cooperation agreements.
I support all those things. MAGA-bros mostly support them. Especially closing most US bases in foreign countries. Stand on their own two feet and stop leaning on the US.
And, really, Russia & China? Although, Russia seems to have a lot of arguably hot weapons these days.
Diversify energy partnerships away from U.S. oil and gas interests.
Push back on U.S. climate policies seen as hypocritical or coercive.
Develop strategic reserves (oil, rare earths, etc.)
Agree with all of those, especially with the climate crap.
There is a real problem if your country is utterly dependent on another country for critical resources. You have to dance at their tune.
Use soft power to delegitimize U.S. leadership in the “rules-based order.”
Well, first of all there is no such thing as the “rules-based order.” That's just certain parts of the West saying words that make no sense. Turn out the "rules" are whatever they (we) feel like saying at the time. The "rules" are whatever the claimant feels will be to their advantage at the time.
Oddly enough, nobody can point to a piece of paper that lists out these "rules".
Oh, reduce reliance on U.S.-led coalitions like NATO.
LOL. NATO should have been disbanded when the Soviet Union fell.
Also LOL, NATO is just the US with a bunch of pipsqueaks brought in to make them feel like they are players. They are not. NATO is the US. And it should be disbanded.
All in all, pretty good list. Now that we 30-40 people here on the BRK board need to do is present it to the rest of the world and tell them to get to it.
Sigh, the big dogs of the world are currently the USA, Russia, and China. That's it. That's the world that all the other countries have to work around. Like it or not, that's reality.
And, frankly, I think that probably one of those, which I will not name, could take over most of Europe in a couple of months if they really wanted to, if they put the kid gloves aside.
