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Commentary
Wall Street Journal

US Shrugs as World War III Approaches

A devastating report on global threats and American weakness is met with indifference.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
The main gun of Chinese guided-missile destroyer Nanchang attacks target during a China-Russia military drill on October 15, 2021, in Russia. (Sun Zifa/China News Service via Getty Images)
Caption
The main gun of Chinese guided-missile destroyer Nanchang attacks a target during a China-Russia military drill on October 15, 2021, in Russian waters. (Sun Zifa/China News Service via Getty Images)

The news from abroad is chilling. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius from Kyiv that Ukraine is “bleeding out” as its weary soldiers struggle against a numerically superior Russia. The New York Times that China is expanding the geographical reach and escalating violence in its campaign to drive Philippine forces from islands and shoals that Beijing illegitimately claims. And Bloomberg that Washington officials are fearful that Russia will help Iran cross the finish line in its race for nuclear weapons.

These stories, all from liberal news outlets generally favorable to the Biden administration, tell a tragic and terrifying tale of global failure on the part of the U.S. and its allies. China, Russia and Iran are stepping up their attacks on what remains of the Pax Americana and continue to make gains at the expense of Washington and its allies around the world.

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