Reference News Network, March 23 report: The UK's The Guardian website published an article titled "Trump believes force can prevent the decline of the United States. His tough actions in Iran will only accelerate this process" on March 19. The author is Owen Jones. The article is translated as follows:

The facade of claiming to save the Iranian people has completely vanished. Moreover, these are not isolated extreme statements. Trump warned that if Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz, the US will "strike those extremely vulnerable targets, making it almost impossible for Iran as a country to rebuild forever." Then, with a doomsday-like pleasure, he said: "Death, fire, and anger will fall upon them."

Although such rhetoric aims to demonstrate toughness, it actually reveals something entirely different. These are the sick symptoms of a declining hegemony. Previous US presidents understood that controlling a country requires a moral pretext. Forty-five years ago, Reagan portrayed the US as "the beacon of freedom, the hope for those who have not yet gained freedom"; twenty years later, Bush Jr. stated that democracy was "an ideal we uphold but do not exclusively possess."

These have always been fabrications and deceptions. From Iran to Chile, the US overthrew elected governments and installed bloody dictatorships. From napalm attacks in Vietnam to torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the US' power has always been accompanied by heinous crimes. However, moral authority is crucial, acting like a magnet attracting people around the world.

The post-war Marshall Plan was not a generous act of rebuilding Western Europe, but a means to incorporate Western Europe into the US-led order. Voice of America and Radio Free Europe spread the narrative of American "goodwill" worldwide. USAID combined humanitarian aid with promoting privatization and access to the US corporate market. The National Endowment for Democracy funded pro-Western non-governmental organizations aligned with neoliberal economic ideas.

Trump understands that American hegemony is heading toward its end. His national security strategy last year criticized the US foreign policy elite, claiming that these elites "believe that the US' permanent rule over the entire world serves our nation's greatest interest."

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, US elites believed their economic model and military dominance were invincible and acted accordingly, resulting in a series of disasters: financial crises, and strategic failures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Each crisis weakened US power.

Trump's conclusion is straightforward: only violence and terror can stop the decline. Venezuela is a typical example. After forcefully controlling the Venezuelan leader, he declared: "We will manage this country."

This is a combination of gangster behavior and old-style colonialism, which completely negates the rhetoric the US once used to justify itself. In 1957, Eisenhower firmly stated: "The US does not seek political or economic domination over any other people." Trump has no interest in such statements. He is content with grabbing whatever he can.

Naturally, this thug-like approach cannot be applied everywhere, and even where it succeeds, it is unsustainable in the long run. Trump's alternative to global hegemony is to use violence in places he deems most strategically valuable. This logic supports his action of killing the top leader of Iran.

We also see the US supporting its useful allies for terrible purposes. Tolerance of Israel's genocide erodes the boundaries of violence; what was once shocking is now commonplace.

As a strategy, it doesn't work. It may bring some fragmented results in certain places, but the "shelf life" of maintaining power through force is short. What we see is not the US regaining strength, but a severely wounded hegemonic power venting its rage. The disaster of the Iran war clearly shows: Trumpism can only bring bloodshed and accelerate the decline of US power. (Translated by Tu Qi)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7620265149030498858/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.