By Ray McGovern, Feb. 24, 2022
On today’s program I was asked to comment on what Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine actually means for a “New World Order”. It means a helluva lot, actually.
The biggest — and most significant — surprise/shift is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s unmistakable support for what Putin has done, DESPITE China’s long-standing, consistent, principled policy on the importance of non-interference.
I had titled my Feb. 22 article What Accounts for Putin’s Assertiveness on Ukraine? ); the short (but game-changing) answer was China. ( See: https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2022/02/21/what-accounts-for-putins-assertiveness-on-ukraine .)
I did not think at the time that Putin would order an invasion of Ukraine, partly because I “knew” China would not countenance such a violation of its oft-stated policy against violating another nation’s sovereignty. Wrong. It turns out to be pretty clear that Xi approved the invasion. This is BIG.
In a fresh piece I penned after this interview, I suggest that this is a liminal time, and that the old Soviet concept of the “world correlation of forces” remains of key importance. Owing to the new Sino-Russian alliance, that balance has now shifted to the West’s disfavor. See what you think.