The surprises of 2021

With 2020 coming to an end, few can say they know what lies ahead. The pandemic may be dealt with sufficiently by new vaccines that we will see an easing of all restrictions, or there may be new strains that in turn burden health services and cause further public worry. Political turmoil in the US may subside, or increase. The only certainty in any scenario is that the Western governments will increasingly try to harass Russia and China, with increasing focus on China. As the new economic superpower, China attracts the envy and hatred of people who believe they should rule the world. They are the same narrow group of people who regard the bombings of Yugoslavia, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq as a golden age of peace and civilised life. There will be an effort to make that happen again; to make American war criminals great again. Whatever the outcome, this is a time for writers to review the last year and offer our predictions and suggestions about the next.

US foreign policy to be stable, predictable again

If we are to believe reports, Biden is expected to restore the US to similar policies to the Obama era, including when it comes to foreign policy. There have been reports that Biden wishes the US to rejoin agreements such as the Paris Agreement, JCPOA (Iran Deal), and nuclear arms reduction pacts with Russia. A less bellicose approach to China is expected. Unfortunately, Trump may complicate this before his exit. For those unaware: reports show that he asked for a military strike on Iran, and there has been a recent uptick in the regional violence surrounding Iran. These include Israeli strikes in Syria and Iran-allied militias employing waterborne IEDs against a targeted tanker off the shores of Yemen, in addition to a random assassination of a top Iranian scientist. The recent changes to the US military leadership to elevate more combat-hardened experts, and reduction of potentially vulnerable forces in nearby Afghanistan, also point to an impending attack. Something is definitely afoot, but whether it results in all-out war may be under Iran's control. Once Trump is out, these escalations will probably subside, replaced again with the slower and more patient strategies of the Obama years. Despite this, we cannot ignore the power of the Republicans in the US Senate. They will constantly be pushing for rash attacks in the Middle East region. It should be added that both Obama and Trump were unable to reverse the decline of US power. Both depended on symbolic sanctions and failed to consolidate US power in Europe, the Pacific, or the Middle East. The reversal of the US coups in Bolivia and Venezuela suggests the US on a losing streak there, once again. Biden's team likely can't prevent it.

States continue to act the same after elections

Why do elected leaders so often betray their campaign promises? Every time, even the simplest of promises are not honored by leaders, resulting in a failure to serve the people, no matter how obvious the people's message was. An obvious example is that every US president promises to withdraw from the Middle East and subsequently fails to do so. The problem lies with processes devised to deliberately obfuscate the democratic will, in order for it to be consistently and deliberately disrespected, no matter how voters voted. Full article: https://dissidentvoice.org/2020/11/why-do-presidents-break-their-promises/ 

L'Ordre

Friend of the Mont Order

http://dissidentvoice.org/author/lordre/

The Mont Order on the US 2020 election

Mont Order authors and members have expressed a lot of strong views on the divisive US 2020 election. Views have been consistently critical mainly of Trump, and sometimes both candidates. Nevertheless, the Mont Order Code of 2015 held that elections are often of no consequence.* This may be especially true for Mont because Mont members have been so far selected and encouraged based on their foreign policy views rather than domestic policy views, and the foreign policy ideas of Biden and Trump appear to be equally hawkish (although Biden is to be more predictable and more organised). For the individual, it is often a different matter and a lot can be at stake in such an election due to issues of domestic policy. Issues like the environment are important to many dissidents of the Mont Order sphere (such individuals may find it urgent to vote for Biden due to Trump's disregard for both ecological preservation and for carbon reduction targets), while issues of the "deep state" and neoliberalism are important to others (who may be dissuaded from supporting Biden, but unlikely to be convinced to vote for Trump in any case).

* you can see more on the originally agreed 7-point code at: http://www.lordre.net/2015/11/mont-order-decides-on-7-principles.html?m=1

Andre Vltchek died peacefully in Turkey

Anti-imperialist dissident author and friend of the Mont Order, Andre Vltchek, passed away peacefully in Turkey on September 22nd. According to his publisher, he had struggled with illness and "surrendered" to it inevitably. Vltchek's publisher was with him at the time and insisted his death was not "suspicious", despite some media reports saying so and despite an apparently ongoing police probe. A fearless investigative journalist, Andre was also the author of a number of well-received books championing the causes of the world's oppressed peoples, available at https://www.amazon.com/Andre-Vltchek/e/B00JAKU290 In a world without Andre, we must make sure his words still receive the audience they deserve. May he rest in peace.