The US Empire: “The Afghanistan Disaster Is Not the End of America as a World Power”

The fall of Kabul would represent the decline of the U.S. empire if Afghanistan was of strategic interest to America. However, it is not. The current world order has not been affected by recent events and the factors governing America’s power have not shifted in the slightest. Just like in Vietnam, the U.S. gradually found itself trapped in an ultimately peripheral conflict. Fighting Al-Qaeda – the original objective – did not require spending almost two trillion dollars.

Should we expect increased American isolationism, most likely supported by the U.S. public?

American isolationism began under Obama, accelerated under Trump, and is continuing under Biden. The three presidents understood their citizens’ diminishing patience for interminable, costly, and ineffective foreign interventions. Of course, true isolationism is impossible in a world made so small by technology, but the time of America as the world’s police is coming to an end. The United States will now only intervene to defend their essential interests, and will have a very restrictive vision of what these are.

Read more at: “The Afghanistan Disaster Is Not the End of America as a World Power”

USA: Status of Online Censorship in the States

In a sweeping victory for free speech rights in cyberspace, the Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act in Reno v. ACLU in June 1997. The Court granted the highest level of First Amendment protection to the Internet, and cyber-activists are still dancing in the streets.

But is cyberspace really safe from the censors?

Despite the Supreme Court's ruling, states are busy crafting censorship laws at home. At least thirteen states have passed legislation since 1995. This year, New Mexico has already passed a draconian censorship law, and bills are pending in 10 other states.

Read more at;
Online Censorship in the States | American Civil Liberties Union