US Decline Happening Faster: Canadian Analyst

Referring to his recent article titled “America's Defeat in Afghanistan; Divine Justice?” Eric Walberg, Canadian author on the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia, explained that he basically has looked at how the US is in decline.

“It is quite clear,” he said. “Afghanistan is an indication of underlying reality. The evil reality of imperialism is that it destroys any culture that stands in its way. It aims for world hegemony. So past empires like the Roman Empire and the British Empire did this and they killed millions of people in the process. So it is not surprising that the US is following the same strategy as an empire.”

“Now even though Taliban are a problematic group because of their very strict harsh interpretation of Islam,” Walberg added, “They were still treated as victors all around the world with the hope that they will not be so strict and severe in their alternative.”

He said although portrayed as the supposed enemy of America, “Islam is not an enemy of anyone or any peaceful system, but an enemy of imperialism. So Islam is really the only main factor fighting this declining empire. And this represents a sense of this post-America.”

Walberg believes that it is time to talk about the post-American world, saying, “America is still in decline and no empire goes out willingly or quickly. I think the US decline will be faster now because the forces are pressing very strongly against its terrible misuse of technology and its destruction of the world environment. However, I cannot put a figure on it just as no one could predict that the Taliban would win virtually overnight when the Americans left. But I think by the end of the 21st century we will be living in a very different world. America is still number one in production, just barely with China edging it out. China will soon overtake the US.”

Regarding other signs of the US’ decline (other than Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq) Walberg said, “An empire is not just economics. An empire is also politics and on the politics side, the US situation is not the same as it used to be over the past 70 years.”

He added, “Since the end of World War II it has been involved directly or indirectly in over 100 coups d'état in countries where it is trying to overthrow governments it does not like. Iran of course knows very well.”

“These clues eventually just create horrible situations that might actually cause revolution or just complete decay,” Walberg continued. “So if we look at the third world and many other countries, it is like a battlefield where people are dying.”

“There is also the culture and it is really frightening to see the rapid decline culturally in specifically the United States, but also Europe as well, with its embrace of sexual perversion as a normal way of life,” he went on to say. “That just accelerates the decline. Americans think that they are above other nations. Chinese also feel a certain chauvinism but they are much more peaceful. I think the cultural aspect is one that really signals the decline very openly.”

“The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is becoming more and more important. It is now uniting all of Eurasia. It is taking the place really of the American-centered organizations like NATO which is under the control of the US. There is also the political BRICS,” Walberg asserted.

“There is a Central American and Latin American Union that is really moving too, without the US control,” Walberg added. “And as the US continues to decline, there are very strong progressive elements, but small anti-imperialist forces, within the US and these will become more and more powerful and eventually they will be able to take the place of the very negative chauvinism that we see.”

“I go back to Afghanistan,” Walberg continued. “I think there was a collective sigh of relief around the world when the Taliban came into the parliament building. And its first act was to read from the Qur’an, the famous Sura Al-Nasr (the victory of Islam). So that was a very powerful moment. And I think that whether or not you are Muslim you enjoyed it. And this was a peaceful takeover and the whole attempt to create a monster out of them really just to deflect the fact that the US is the monster here.”

“That is the way the US has victimized Iran, Russia, China, but the monster is over there,” he said. “So I think that the world is finally waking up to who the monster is. I think we have to really build on this encouraging moment and move forward with the new order that is coming into being and to work towards peace. That is the only way we can survive if we stop doing these horrible things to the world and to each other.”

In conclusion, as regards the nations' role in building a truly new world order, Walberg said, “It is very difficult now, in a way. This COVID has demonstrated how fragile the international relations are. For almost two years most of the people have been isolated. But we do have the internet and just the fact that we can hold this conference and it is a conference sponsored by Iran, but it is bringing people together from around the world to deal with problems in the thoughtful way. So I think that we really have to hope that the internet can still keep providing that role. Of course, countries like China and Russia and Iran are able to use this technology in a more responsible way. And I am sure that Iran and Russia and China will be eager to hold conferences like this, to have meetings with people. We have to be optimistic that we can ultimately prevail. We have to go back to the idea of nation and family as the basis for building a political world in the future.”

The 2nd International Conference on “the Decline of the United States: The Post-American World” will be held on November 2, 2021, by Imam Hussein Comprehensive University and the Secretariat of the Expediency Discernment Council, in cooperation with the universities and research institutes. For more information, interested parties may see the conference website at www.usdecline.ir and the virtual pages of the conference secretariat on social media at @usdecline.