Posted on 01/15/2022 5:50:36 AM PST by dynachrome
Syria on Wednesday joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which experts said is a great achievement of the BRI as it now has connected with the whole Middle East, demonstrating its influence and appeal.
The achievement comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping's phone conversation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in November, 2021 and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Syria in July, last year. It also comes amid intensive visits of six other Middle East countries' foreign ministers to China. The move also demonstrates that China is playing an increasingly important role in coordinating the Middle East as the region is seeking development and stability via looking to the East amid COVID-19 and changing ties with the US.
(Excerpt) Read more at globaltimes.cn ...
Make a deal with the devil and the out come is never in your favor.
In an attempt to impose Western morality and values on another culture, we may be making it over into something a hundred times worse. I don’t know the “answer” and there may be none. It might be that there’s no good outcome in Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, et. al. But what we and Saudi Arabia have done in Syria is certainly not contributing to the wealth and stability of the world. For those who don’t know, it’s Saudi money and backing that creates the Jihadists and they’re doing that to keep Iran busy far away from SA. The US I think has just blundered along with alternatively good and bad intentions. I’m wondering if the US has any plan at all, good or bad. We’re just “there.” Why are we there? If that question has an answer that changes every few weeks or months then maybe we should just turn our backs and try to contain whatever comes out of the region.
Not always with the BRI, but the Chinese are quietly making inroads all over the world including our hemisphere, including the USA. They control some 50 ports around Africa and reportedly planning to build a navy base on he west coast of Africa.
To me it is worrisome, but our government leaders say it is unimportant and for everyone to keep our eyes on Russia, Russia, Russia.
Not always with the BRI, but the Chinese are quietly making inroads all over the world including our hemisphere, including the USA. They control some 50 ports around Africa and reportedly planning to build a navy base on he west coast of Africa.
To me it is worrisome, but our government leaders say it is unimportant and for everyone to keep our eyes on Russia, Russia, Russia.
Now, it appears we are no longer, just there. Now we are worrying about Russia and the Ukraine. Also, to what extent has Putin been developing an alliance with China using the BRI as the Trojan Horse, or the camel’s nose under the tent. We need to wake up our Congresscritters to wokeness about this serious threat. Putin is certainly doing a good job of keeping our eyes off China in Africa and South America.
We need to make better use of our international development funding agencies. Many years ago my late husband was escorting various foreign transport industry labor leaders around the US. We took one west African visitor to the US history exhibits on the Mall in DC. He became very excited about the displays of 19th century agricultural developments. He exclaimed, “This is what we need, things that are better than we are using now, but things that our own blacksmiths can make.” He was talking about primative harrows and other metal tools for individual farmers. He then explained how all John Deere, and International Harvester did with their giant tools, was to promote the rich and impoverish most of the poor who were driven off the land and into the cities. Better education for women, and public health with spacing of children also contributes to poverty reduction and stability.
Western values are far better then the rest.
It is a liberal communist myth that other cultures are as good as ours.
The spread of Christianity is what tamed the tribal cultures.
Without that they would be and in some places still waring and killing each other.
Do not believe that all cultures are equal or the same.
“Better education for women, and public health with spacing of children also contributes to poverty reduction and stability.”
My parents, born in ‘16/17, had three children. We were spaced at six years and eleven years. I asked why and my mom said, “We wanted to send you all to college and we didn’t want to have two of you there at the same time.” They did send us to school and as I was leaving college the price was going up about fifty percent each semester because Uncle Sam had gotten involved and when people aren’t directly paying the bill they don’t ask about the cost.
“The spread of Christianity is what tamed the tribal cultures.
Without that they would be and in some places still waring and killing each other.
Do not believe that all cultures are equal or the same.”
I agree 1oo%. My point is, we don’t have any policy. We aren’t (Liberals forbid!) converting anyone to Christianity. We aren’t doing anything that seems to have any positive effect. I have no idea what we are doing, and I suspect there’s no one in the US government who has any idea either. So, why are we there? Is whatever we expect to gain, which is apparently undefined, worth the blood and treasure?
IMHO this will backfire on China in many ways.
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