CHINA

YASHA LEVINE—Since the dot-com bubble, Silicon Valley had been at the forefront of pushing for a new (American-led) global world order — a borderless society with global platforms, global supply chains, and global capitalism. But that’s over. The mood’s changing. Ever since Trump won in 2016, the industry has gotten more nihilistic and militaristic and much more patriotic. It’s part of this new liberal belief that America is an embattled society being attacked through the Internet by hostile foreign forces.

ANDREW KORYBKO—The visit of new Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to Moscow from 5-7 November along with a 50-member military-technical business delegation will continue the trend of improving Russian-Indian defense ties after their comparative weakening over the past few years, though this must be balanced with improved Russian-Chinese connectivity through the Eurasian Union’s planned integration with the Belt & Road Initiative via the proposed vision of N-CPEC+ otherwise Beijing might understandably come to believe that improved Russian-Indian defense ties are aimed at countering its growing military capabilities and thus risk inadvertently triggering a security dilemma.

ZAMIR AWAN—I think the way forward is only to cooperate with China and join the rise of China and maybe become the beneficiary of China’s rise. China believes in Peace and promotes peace. Those nations who accept China’s rise and become a partner in its course of development will be beneficiaries too. Those who miss the train may repent later.

Although Western backing and political ambitions are the reality, it is a challenge to get this narrative out more widely. Too many in the US are confused by the messaging coming from the Hong Kong billionaires, NED-funded NGO’s, bi-partisan politicians in DC and the military-intelligence establishment, all made larger by the corporate mass media.

R S AHTHION—The NED was created when it was becoming too embarrassing for the CIA to be increasingly involved in sponsoring regime change of reactionary elements of society. As seen in Yugoslavia, the nazi state of Ukraine, the umbrella movement of Hong Kong in 2014 to today. The world has largely come to see Western NGOs as synonymous with Western-backed foreign policy. Probably that’s why Russia did the sensible thing and banned them from their country.