Check Mate

America’s current adversaries, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, are making great efforts at expanding their international influence. Russia is pushing heavy on its “near-abroad” like Georgia and Ukraine, Venezuela and Cuba are inviting the Russians in America’s backyard with promises of military cooperation, weapons purchases and oil drilling. Iran continues to meddle in Iraq and threaten Israel.

They are working on two elements of leveraging their power- America’s current economic crisis- including the election of a liberal President and their increased revenues from the past two year run up in oil prices.

Is it a “multi-lateral” world now ? Hardly,, they are regimes without futures, without positive ideas for their populations. They are themselves, basket cases of failed ideology and policies, thus, they are hardly a long term strategic threat to American power or influence.

How should America react- ? Check mate them by dropping the embargo against Cuba, trade and investment will bring down the communist regime there within a year, if not six months. Venezuela should be then squeezed by economic sanctions and full support given to opponents of Chavez’s dictatorship. Iran should be checked by establishing American military “super-bases” inside Iraq, that will bristle with air force fighters and bombers, as well as land based missiles that would be able to obliterate Iran should they chose to take action on any of their offensive threats.
With this overwhelming show of force, you begin to extend the peace feelers to all our adversaries- to negotiate from a position of strength.