I'm
proud to say that Jeremy Scahill has featured historian Alfred McCoy
and upcoming Dispatch book, 'In the Shadows of the American Century" in
his latest popular podcast (and at the
Intercept). Do check out their interview and then pre-order a copy of
his must-read book (link below). Tom
"Even as President Donald Trump faces ever-intensifying investigations
into the alleged connections between his top aides and family members
and powerful Russian figures, he serves as commander in chief over a
U.S. military that is killing an astonishing and growing number of
civilians. Under Trump, the U.S. is re-escalating its war in
Afghanistan, expanding its operations in Iraq and Syria, conducting
covert raids in Somalia and Yemen, and openly facilitating the Saudi’s
genocidal military destruction of Yemen.
"Meanwhile, China has quietly and rapidly expanded its influence without deploying its military on foreign soil.
"A new book by the famed historian Alfred McCoy predicts that China is
set to surpass the influence of the U.S. globally, both militarily and
economically, by the year 2030. At that point, McCoy asserts the United
States Empire as we know it will be no more. He sees the Trump
presidency as one of the clearest byproducts of the erosion of U.S.
global dominance, but not its root cause. At the same time, he also
believes Trump may accelerate the empire’s decline.
"McCoy argues
that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was the beginning of the end. McCoy is
not some chicken little. He is a serious academic. And he has guts.
"During the Vietnam war, McCoy was ambushed by CIA-backed
paramilitaries as he investigated the swelling heroin trade. The CIA
tried to stop the publication of his now classic book, “The Politics of
Heroin.” His phone was tapped, he was audited by the IRS and he was
investigated and spied on by the FBI. McCoy also wrote one of the
earliest and most prescient books on the post 9-11 CIA torture program
and he is one of the world’s foremost experts on U.S. covert action. His
new book, which will be released in September, is called “In the
Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global
Power.”
“The American Century, proclaimed so triumphantly at the
start of World War II, may already be tattered and fading by 2025 and,
except for the finger pointing, could be over by 2030,” McCoy writes.
Imagining the real-life impact on the U.S. economy, McCoy offers a dark
prediction:
“For the majority of Americans, the 2020s will
likely be remembered as a demoralizing decade of rising prices, stagnant
wages, and fading international competitiveness. After years of
swelling deficits fed by incessant warfare in distant lands, in 2030 the
U.S. dollar eventually loses its special status as the world’s dominant
reserve currency.
Suddenly, there are punitive price
increases for American imports ranging from clothing to computers. And
the costs for all overseas activity surges as well, making travel for
both tourists and troops prohibitive. Unable to pay for swelling
deficits by selling now-devalued Treasury notes abroad, Washington is
finally forced to slash its bloated military budget. Under pressure at
home and abroad, its forces begin to pull back from hundreds of overseas
bases to a continental perimeter. Such a desperate move, however, comes
too late.
Faced with a fading superpower incapable of paying
its bills, China, India, Iran, Russia, and other powers provocatively
challenge U.S. dominion over the oceans, space, and cyberspace.”
"Alfred McCoy is the Harrington professor of history at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of the now-classic book “The
Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade.” His new
book, out in September, is “In the Shadows of the American Century: The
Rise and Decline of US Global Power.”
"This week, I interviewed
McCoy for the Intercepted podcast. We broadcast an excerpt of the
interview on the podcast. Below is an edited and slightly condensed
version of the full interview. In this wide-ranging interview, we
discuss Trump and Russia, the history of CIA interference in elections
around the world, the Iran-Contra scandal, the CIA and the crack-cocaine
epidemic, U.S. proxy wars, narcotrafficking in Afghanistan, and much
more...."
