The ‘Unbelievably Small’ Superpower
What an embarrassing, humiliating week this has been for the United States of America. First, Bashar Assad and Vladimir Putin undercut President Obama’s appeal for action on Tuesday night by proposing a farcical plan to disarm Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. Then the Russian dictator, of all people, uses the New York Times to lecture the United States on the virtues of democracy and international law.
As James Robbins noted about the United States, “The unbelievably small superpower no longer matters.”
Podcast links:
Secretary Kerry’s remarks on the size and scope of a potential strike on Syria
AFP: Russia ‘to renew offer to supply S-300s to Iran’
Vladimir Putin: ‘A Plea for Caution From Russia’
Joel Hilliker: ‘Should America Listen to Vladimir Putin?’
Glenn Reynolds comparing American collapse to the end of the Soviet Union
USA TODAY: Syria and the eensy-weensy superpower
