10

The Revealed Cynicism of 'Benevolent Hegemony'

by Mark Citadel, via Katehon

Since the collapse of the USSR, and the inception of the unipolar world order with the United States at its center, the term ‘benevolent hegemony’ has entered the lexicon of international relations and geopolitics. The full fleshing out of this idea was revealed in the 1996 essay by American neoconservatives Bill Kristol and Robert Kagan, ‘Toward a Neo-Reaganite Foreign Policy’. Its essence is an excuse for the United States to pursue whichever diplomatic and military means are believed to forward the goals of an American Empire, on the basis that unlike past empires, this one is not based on the prestige of the American people, or indeed any given leader, but instead on a set of ‘universal values and principles’ which are supposedly positive for all who live under them. One need only look at the neoconservatives themselves and come to the conclusion that they certainly do not represent the interests of the American people, as their international operations rarely have any positive impact for working men and women, and in fact very often engender negative consequences for them. Nor could it be said that neoconservatives aid the prestige of a given leader, as their legacy of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan destroyed the presidential legacy of George W. Bush, and notably his British ally Tony Blair.
This is excusable of course, because it has never been claimed by the neoconservative establishment that their policies are crafted with these people in mind. They are in aid of an ideology, and because most Westerners suffer under the delusion that this ideology is itself benevolent, then the means that America uses to propagate and expand its influence must also be benevolent. Slowly however, this facade is beginning to peel away.
Tom Rogan, a foreign policy analyst for the neoconservative publication National Review recently penned an article describing ‘Three Ways the US Can Save Syria‘. Obviously this is in response to the fact that America is being defeated in the country, the Syrian Army’s gradual recapture of Aleppo being just the latest blow to the terrorist rebel groups agitating against the legitimate government. If President Assad ends the insurgency of terrorists, then the American Empire loses not only in terms of its original geopolitical goals which spurred its meddling, but in terms of international prestige, especially among the nations of the Middle East. In light of this, Rogan’s urgent recommendations make sense, but in his zeal he gives the world a very clear picture of what ‘benevolent hegemony’ looks like.
The first recommendation concerns the oil market. Russia, the key counter-force to the United States in Syria, has been economically harmed by a dramatic dip in global oil prices, Russia is presently in talks with OPEC members about capping oil production, which would raise the price back up to reasonable levels. Rogan proposes diplomatic interference with this effort (mainly involving Saudi Arabia) in order to do as much economic damage to Russia as possible. The carrot he wishes to lead the Saudis with is the proposal for surface-to-air missiles given to allied rebel groups in Syria, but could just as easily be more rockets for Saudi aircraft to target funerals in Yemen.
Consider how benevolent this is; the stated aim being to wound a sovereign nation’s economy and by extension its people, the means being to arm dangerous groups within a sovereign nation in order that they can kill more civilian and government targets.
The second recommendation is perhaps the most alarming, as it can be perceived to be a direct terror threat against the nation of Turkey and its president, Tayyip Erdogan. Rogan acknowledges that after the failed July coup orchestrated against America’s own supposed NATO ally, the country does not trust the US, and is seeking to mend relations with Russia. For a long time, the relationship between Syria and Turkey was decidedly negative, but as the war has dragged on and millions of the displaced have flooded across borders with no checks on their movement, Ankara knows that stability in Syria is in fact vital to its own national security interests, and has thus moved away from its previous position on the conflict. In response to this setback, Rogan has the following proposition:

Here America’s golden ticket is the Kurds — specifically, U.S. armament support to Kurdish militias such as the Syrian-based YPG. At present, the U.S. carefully qualifies its support to the YPG to mollify the Turks. Erdogan fears U.S. support will enable the YPG and other Kurdish forces to destabilize Turkey’s southern frontier. And to some degree he is right. But if Erdogan wants to play us, we should play him.”

In case the severity of this is not clear, the insinuation is that if Turkey does not end rapprochement with Russia and pursue an aggressively anti-Assad agenda, the American military should arm groups it knows may conduct violent attacks against the Turkish state. Is there any way this cannot be taken as blackmail via terror, and if so how benevolent is such a proposal?
The third recommendation is to supply “humanitarian airlifts” to rebel-held areas of Syria. Rogan recollects the Bush-era airlifts to Georgia during the 2008 crisis, but there is a key difference between the two scenarios. In 2008, Georgia was a sovereign nation undergoing an incredibly complex regional dispute with breakaway provinces, but nevertheless the government there invited American assistance. This is not the case in Syria, where the government has expressed no permission for America to even enter its airspace, an international norm which the American Air Force has been violating for over a year now. In fact, in the wake of the brutal air-assault on Deir el-Zour which killed 62 Syrian soldiers, President Assad has been even more strident in making its long-held case that Western powers are working hand-in-glove with ISIS. This proposal more than the other two brings the world dangerously close to a conflict that nobody wants to even entertain, as Rogan recommends escorting these “humanitarian airlifts” with “fighter patrols” who would challenge Russian air superiority. Is laying the groundwork for WWIII benevolent?
Rogan finishes his essay by explaining that the goal of these dangerous pieces of foreign policy advice is to express “that America is unwilling to cede Syria to Russia”, apparently indulging in a fantasy that America ever possessed Syria, and indeed with a staggering sense of authority that the entire nation of Syria is something which can and should be possessed by America.
This is the not the first example of this kind of rhetoric coming from mainstream Western think-tanks and foreign policy journals which are intricately tied into the workings of the US State Department, however it is one of the less varnished ones. There is not even the mask of benevolence present in these proposals; they are dangerous, lawless, and cynical. If Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, she has made clear that this is the course she will take.
In a secret speech to Goldman Sachs which was revealed by Wikileaks, Clinton admitted the following regarding a no-fly zone in Syria:

They’re getting more sophisticated thanks to Russian imports. To have a no-fly zone you have to take out all of the air defense, many of which are located in populated areas.  So our missiles, even if they are standoff missiles so we’re not putting our pilots at risk—you’re going to kill a lot of Syrians.” 

And yet, even with this understanding, Hillary Clinton maintains support for the institution of a no-fly zone. Donald Trump of course represents the antithesis of such a hazardous foreign policy, abandoning the commitments of neoconservatives and their ideology, in order to focus on the various internal problems that his country faces. Even so we cannot rely on a Trump victory, for by now we are all aware of the Clinton campaign’s ability to martial all of her friends and colleagues in the Orwellian media, as well as stoop to even more subversive means to steal an election result. We must assume the worst, and thus we must assume and anticipate President Clinton and her craven approach to geopolitics. De-constructing the myth of ‘benevolent hegemony’ is an important part of this anticipation, and writers like Rogan help with this effort in their bungling inability to bejewel the ugly reality of the Atlanticist designs upon the Middle East and indeed the wider world.
Dropping the pretense of benevolence, this is just hegemony, and when we look at its consequences not just for the suffering people of Syria, but also Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, etc. then  perhaps these outlets ought to be more accurate and deem such projects ‘malevolent hegemony’ instead.
Cover photo copyright The Nation


SUPPORT OFFGUARDIAN

If you enjoy OffG's content, please help us make our monthly fund-raising goal and keep the site alive.

For other ways to donate, including direct-transfer bank details click HERE.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

10 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jim Porter
Jim Porter
Oct 23, 2016 1:18 PM

These ‘recommendations’ are more like a ‘wish list’ which completely ignores anybody else’s more legitimate wishes for their own countries. Where Benevolent Hegemony fits in is anyone’s guess when it is suffocated by greed for power.

damien
damien
Oct 23, 2016 11:19 AM

People might also be interested in Tom Rogan’s Jan 5, 2016 post at CounterjihadReport.com on the Saudi execution of Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr.
He rightly notes the Saudis executed al-Nimr for political reasons and not judicial ones — they were sending a message to Iran. But Rogan gets his key facts wrong:
“In recent months, the Saudis have witnessed both President Obama’s acquiescence to Iran’s nuclear-deal non-compliance…In short, by subordinating Saudi Arabia’s concerns to his legacy project with Iran, President Obama has eviscerated America’s tempering influence against Saudi sectarian paranoia.”
There never has been any Iranian nuclear “non-compliance.” It’s complete BS from the neocons and Israel intended to scuttle the US-Iran deal agreement.
And I like the bit about the US’s “tempering influence” on Saudi sectarian paranoia. They were sending jihadists into Syria with US approval.
Khamenei’s threat to Saudi politicians deserves special scrutiny, because we cannot assume the danger is limited to Saudi Arabia. After all, in 2011, Iranian leadership ordered the assassination of Adel al-Jubeir, who was then the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.
A complete falsehood, a manufactured false flag incident specifically designed to demonize Iran.
Tom Rogan produces lies as fast as he can break wind. He’s a fraud.

damien
damien
Oct 23, 2016 10:51 AM

Thank you Mark Citadel and Katehon for this outstanding piece!
I hadn’t heard of Tom Rogan before but a bit of research shows up this fraud’s neocon membership and complete intellectual dishonesty.
He says Obama’s foreign policy is a failure because he has been “giving in” to the Russians and Chinese.

Yesterday at NRO, I noted: “We should expect worse to come, . . . Unless the United States accepts keeping Bashar al-Assad in power, Putin will continue to burn Syria.” Today, launching a massive bombing raid of Aleppo, Putin and Bashar al-Assad took their fight to President Obama’s five-yard line. According to the reliable Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the latest pummeling of eastern Aleppo involved 14 air strikes and Assad’s favorite weapon: barrel bombs. Such weapons do not discriminate between children and fighters.

It goes downhill from there… bombast, lies, hyperbole… all of this from a supposed academic scholar. Here’s the fun bit:

Regardless, it should be clear that we cannot continue on our present course. That bloody road is crushing U.S. global credibility. The Sunni-Arab monarchies think that Russia is the new power broker, and they are increasingly fearful of Iran. As a result, they are abandoning America and our moderating influences against extremism.

The guy’s a fraud and a liar — either that or the biggest fool walking. He’s 30, so I’m leaning towards the second alternative.

Bryan Hemming
Bryan Hemming
Oct 23, 2016 10:09 AM

The dangerous simplicity of Rogan is breathtaking in its stupidity. He seems to start from the point that the Turks and the Russians aren’t nearly so smart as he is. A sophistcated blackmailer himself. Erdogan is well aware of the art. He knows that the blackmailer only gives temporary relief, and will soon be back for more. He also knows that Turkey is a lot closer to Russia than it is to the United States. The real fools here are the Europeans, especially those in the East. They seem to have forgotten how close they are to Russia and how far away Rogan and hs neocon pals are.

archie1954
archie1954
Oct 23, 2016 4:55 AM

Rogan is an American monster. Where do they unearth these creatures? Do they look under every rock?

Brian Harry, Australia
Brian Harry, Australia
Oct 23, 2016 4:58 AM
Reply to  archie1954

Joe Rogan?………He’s ok, and very funny…..(You Tube search Joe Rogan Hugh Hefner)……

damien
damien
Oct 23, 2016 12:08 PM
Reply to  archie1954

It’s Tom Rogan, who’s 30 and lived most of his — clearly limited — life in the UK.
As I mentioned above, he has published in CounterJihadreport.com, which is a favorite haunting ground for neocons touting the Muslim “menace” against the West — the Gatestone Institute, Henry Jackson Society, John Bolton, Frank Gaffney, Douglas Murray. Look ’em up.
Douglas Murray was the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion from 2007 until 2011, a UK group whose principal idea was that Islamism (as they saw it) was a threat to Western society. In 2011 it merged with the Henry Jackson Society, Douglas Murray the current director. He is also the author of “Neoconservatism: Why We Need It (2005)” and writes at the Gatestone Institute, the John Bolton bastion of all things anti-Muslim In 2012 Gatestone published an incendiary report on a (non-existent) Islamic threat to bring sharia law to the US.
Douglas Murray also writes regularly at Counterjihadreport.com, a site which also outlines The Muslim Brotherhood’s “Global Project for Palestine” and “General Strategic Goal for North America”.
You get the idea. Massive Israeli backing for anti-Muslim hate speech. Tom Rogan mixes in these circles and spouts a smooth line in the reasons why we should go to war against Iran, Russia and China and why Obama is a wimp.
He’s also an economic libertarian (no surprise there), believing that “Welfare States are Unfair States”.

Brian Harry, Australia
Brian Harry, Australia
Oct 23, 2016 7:26 PM
Reply to  damien

Sorry, I got Rogan and Kagan mixed up……2 beers too many…..

Brian Harry, Australia
Brian Harry, Australia
Oct 23, 2016 4:40 AM

“Benevolent Hegemony”? Benevolent = ‘desiring to do good for others’……Hegemony = ‘leadership or predominant influence exercised by one state over others’. It’s unsurprising that Bill Krystol and Robert Kagan would resort to using ‘Orwellian’ language to disguise the true intentions of the Neocons. Try telling the Afghanistan, Iraqi, Libyan, Syrian and Yemeni people that, “Hi, we’re Americans and we’re here to help you” and see what their response is.
Here’s a great idea, why doesn’t the American Military round up all these Neocons, put them in Gitmo, and show them the justice they deserve.