this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2025
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Both are useful in achieveing American political aims abroad, so getting rid of them seems like a bad choice from the perspective of the US government

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[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Another theory I've heard is that this is a strategic shift away from global hegemony, which is no longer sustainable, to hemispheric hegemony. Rather than spreading soft power all around the world, the empire is going to consolidate its hard power in the Americas through more direct control and maybe even annexation.

[–] MarxMadness@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I doubt this because there have been no statements (either publicly or from some think tank) to support it. Big strategic aims like this (e.g., containment during the Cold War) usually have some vocal support even if we're nominally being cagey about it, or even denying it.

It's bad to underestimate an opponent, but it's also bad to conclude that even their mistakes must be part of some plan. It's entirely believable to me that a group as dumb as Trump, Musk, and some crypto kids is capable of making huge mistakes.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago

It's entirely possible they're just stupid - certainly annexing Canada and Greenland and Panama and shit is dumb af

But if there's a logic to this, I think it's hemispheric.