US founding father Benjamin Franklin famously said that “nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Today, we might safely add one more certainty to this list: the inevitable decline of a great empire.
Ray Dalio’s book; “The Changing World Order” charts the cyclical rise and fall of empires – and their currencies – alongside the emergence of new world orders. As an empire begins its decline, it often desperately clings to power, resorting to threats over diplomacy to solve problems. This leads to economic and military conflict, back-stabbing allies for economic advantage, and even pressuring countries that suggest moving away from the dominant currency. Does this sound familiar?
By threatening its neighbours, such as Mexico and Canada, with tariffs, despite the existence of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and intimidating Brics nations with possible punishment if they consider trading in currencies other than the US dollar, the United States is displaying clear signs of a nation in decline.
The US is using its military and economic might to maintain its global advantage and delay the inevitable. It makes one wonder: if you have allies like the US, who needs enemies?
According to Dalio, the US is estimated to be 75 per cent through its decline, with a margin of error of around 10 per cent. On Dalio’s chart of global gross domestic product share, the rise of China intersects with the decline of the US. This data is reinforced by the fact that, for the first time in history, the US is paying more in interest on its debt than it spends on the military.
As the rest of the world braces for what will undoubtedly be a turbulent four years under the Trump administration, we are witnessing a pivotal moment in history: the struggles of a declining empire. Only 25 per cent left of the way through its decline, the US faces the challenge of holding on to its former glory.
Mark Tan, Shek Tong Tsui:
“Palestinians cannot simply be shoved out of Gaza
It is outrageous, to say the least, that US President Donald Trump should pledge that the US will take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip after resettling the Palestinians elsewhere”.
A panel of experts on international law in its report dated May 20, 2024, stated that Palestine is a state in accordance with criteria set out in international law.
Twenty years before that, the International Court of Justice rendered the opinion that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination was a well-established fact. The court said: “As regards the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination, the court observes that the existence of a ‘Palestinian people’ is no longer in issue.
Palestine is a state. A Palestinian people exist. They belong in Palestine and not elsewhere.
Mohamad Hafiz Bin Hassan, lecturer, Faculty of Law, Multimedia University, Malaysia:
Gaza issue is a nightmare to resolve.
There are challenging times ahead with US President Donald Trump’s direct involvement in the Gaza saga. While he means well for the parties involved, except for Hamas, he could complicate the safe return of the remaining hostages to their families in Israel.
The Gaza issue is an absolute nightmare for any leader wishing to arrive at an acceptable solution that satisfies all parties concerned. Hamas can never be trusted, being intrinsically a terrorist organisation that does not seem to have the Palestinians’ interests at heart. In fact, Hamas has proved to be quite willing to sacrifice Palestinians for the sake of fulfilling its objective of eliminating Israel.
Hamas diverted a large part of the enormous overseas help over the years for the Palestinian population of Gaza and channelled it towards the construction of a massive tunnel infrastructure that has been used for terrorism. It is structurally linked to houses, schools, at least one hospital compound, refugee camps and even to a base of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Only a naive or seriously biased individual would blame Israel for all the structural damage in Gaza while fighting its sworn enemy Hamas. Using Palestinians as human shields disqualifies Hamas from acting as governor of Gaza.
Shalom Levy, Nelson, New Zealand