Russia: the Powerhouse of the World

Salvete.

Imagine that you are the leader of a third-world country. In this scenario, your country is anywhere outside of Europe in the Eastern Hemisphere. You get two conflicting demands by the Russian Federation and the United States. Let's consider your options.

You could choose the American contract. However, Russia is more economically important; it can and will destroy your economy, with force if it has to. Sure, you can pride yourself that you're out from under Russia's thumb, but you get no incentive from the United States of America, unless you consider sporadic financial aid "incentive." America will not help you when enemy tanks roll in, nor will it stop meddling with your affairs and your people, perhaps even against the will of your government.

You could also choose the Russian contract. America will do nothing, because no one messes with Russia. You can be assured that strengthened ties with Russia may not mean more freedom but lots of economic gain (including oil), military aid, and general prestige and influence. Your neighbors are also under Russia's thumb, so you would have a large array of friends instead of a large array of enemies.

Most nations would choose and have chosen the Russian side. The few nations accepting America's side (Israel, Georgia, South Korea) are isolated, abandoned, and in a horrid diplomatic position. We've turned on our allies in exchange for good feelings in diplomacy. We've met that No Man's Zone between isolationism and imperialism. We don't shoot to kill; we give false threats and dignified boundaries for other nations to laugh at and cross. We turn our backs on Israel while flipping over Syria (at least in thought), Egypt, Iraq, and Libya. We make things worse for people in the hopes of making things better.

Meanwhile, Russia shoots to kill. Russia has strong ties with most if not all of the Middle East, reasonable relations with China and the European Union, and a surprisingly strong grip on the territories that previously made up the Soviet Union. We see this clearly in Ukraine and Georgia, but we also see hints in the Baltics (I heard from the ERR that the Baltics will come next after the prior two countries).

What is the result? Sure, Russia still has both a pathetic military and a pathetic economy in the eyes of the United States, but it has been able to use its might (second in the world) to do things. Russia has advanced her interests to the demise of American interests, and Russia is now the diplomatic beacon of the world. It pays to be on Russia's side, while it hurts to be on America's side. The Russian government has done more than the Soviet Union ever could: it has humbled the United States while securing its boundaries and sphere of influence. Of course, this has terrible, long-term effects for the United State's international interests.

Now let's in turn weigh our options as the United States. Honestly, we can take all the mockery of our enemies with a grain of salt and move on. We can choose isolationism, batten down the hatches, and let Russia do whatever it wants. We have the resources to do this, so we can execute this lockdown at any point we please. We could also be interventionist; we could look Russia square in the face and say, "Listen, punk, we're the United States. We defeated you once, we'll do it again." Of course, this would demand a follow-up action, like moving troops to Ukraine, and leaders with spines, but this too is possible. Finally, we need the support of all United States citizens. We can't have this war be another Vietnam or Iraq because we will lose in that case. We could be imperialist; we could strike a deal with the Russians and promise to let them invade Ukraine if the Russians let the United States invade, I don't know, some Russian minion that we want. Recently, our administration wants Syria, but we probably should settle for something more advantageous to us.

Whatever we choose to do, what we do currently does not work. We need better foreign policy badly, before we lose our prestige and our chance to rise.