What an extraordinary juxtaposition of US mastery and impotence on display today. Irony does not begin to describe the yawning chasm between the literal heights and the profound depths of American endeavours and influence in the world.
Fifty years since their last lunar expedition, American technical brio, meticulous preparation and planning has seen the faultless launch of four humans into space for ten days of flying loops around the Moon and our Earth. Watching it live on NASA Plus Youtube almost brought a tear to my eye.
The audacity and apparent cool competence of their teams of engineers, working seamlessly together in mastering all those technical systems and interactions was very impressive. Whether we really need to fly in space and prepare for lunar colonisation is of course a question for another day.
You can probably see where I’m going. Concurrently the US King made more nonsensical, rambling pronouncements about winning the war against Iran, them begging for a ‘deal’, bombing them back to the Stone Ages (sic). And US allies will have to fend for themselves in cleaning up his mess in the Strait of Hormuz after he pulls out.
The faulty, probably non-existent, strategic American war planning is breathtaking, as megalomaniacal destruction in lockstep with Israel continues apace and unintended consequences spread to the Gulf states. Allies are screwed, oil and other trade disrupted, which reverberate around the world, as we look forward to probable inflation spikes and possible recessions. Total US management failure of a ‘war of choice’ and antithesis of the seamless lunar operation!
The pernicious abuse of American power by a determined autocrat at its apex again demonstrates the overwhelming design fault of the US political system, where almost unfettered presidential authority can go rogue.
The rest of the world suffers as it must under Pax Americana.
P.S. *For younger folk: check Ralph bluffing Alice (not Ayatollah) in The Honeymooners.
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