Consumed currently by internal issues, few Americans care about international affairs. Among those who do there is a debate. Some contend that Russia, with its corrosive authoritarianism and ominous threats to European stability is our main threat. Others contend that China, with its abrasive authoritarianism and menacing threats to Pacific stability, is the main threat. Unfortunately, both are correct.
Putin, labeled by President Biden a "murderous thug,” oppresses his own people and threatens the cohesion of the EU, as well as threatening the stability and independence of adjacent, small, and vulnerable states. His military menaces repeatedly NATO forces.
Xi Jinping's China has become even more authoritarian and oppressive. Just ask the residents of Hong Kong and the Uighurs. But of course you cannot. You can, for now at least, ask the citizens of Taiwan. China's military is developing offensive weapons that could threaten at least the Pacific Rim.
These authoritarian regimes threaten our allies, our trade, and – ultimately -- us. The poet John Dunne wrote that "no man is an island" If no person is an island, then no nation can remain an island and remain free. Not today. We must engage with the world in order to remain prosperous, nay, to remain free.
I'm Bob Evans, and that is my Perspective.
