Those who are familiar with my work know that I have been warning since 2010 that the United States government is laying the groundwork for a third world war, and that ultimately this would lead to a showdown with Russia and China. Back then, most people considered these predictions far fetched and extreme. Today, unfortunately, this probability has entered the mainstream. I say “unfortunately” because this is really happening, and those who didn’t see this coming still don’t see where we’re headed.

With Russia, China and the United States openly declaring that they are preparing for war, propaganda narratives rolling out, provocations escalating, and a new arms race well underway the public is remarkably sedated.

In October of 2018 the Trump administration announced that the United States would be exiting the I.N.F. treaty in part to counter China in the Pacific. Russia made it clear that they consider themselves the other part, and responded with a warning:

“Here recently at the meeting, the United States said that Russia is preparing for war. Yes, Russia is preparing for war, I have confirmed it. We are preparing to defend our homeland, our territorial integrity, our principles, our values, our people. The Russian Federations is preparing for war, and the United States of America is preparing for a war. … That is the fact.”
Andrei Belousov – deputy director of Russia’s Department for Nonproliferation, and economic assistant to president Putin

The I.N.F. or Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty eliminated all short- and intermediate-range land-based nuclear and conventional missiles held by the United States and Russia in Europe. Essentially what the United States is signaling here is that they intend to move nuclear weapons in close to Russia and China to enable much faster strikes.

This move should be understood in the context of the new U.S. military strategy which explicitly states that America’s primary focus is no longer terrorism, but rather “great power competition”.

“We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we are engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of U.S. national security,” U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis – in a speech presenting America’s new defense strategy in January of 2018.

China is also being very explicit in its warnings. On October 25th, 2018 Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the Southern Theater Command to prepare for war in the South China Sea.

This comes at a time when the U.S. is in the early stages of a trade war with China, while sanctioning Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, and geopolitical alliances are shifting radically.

The next two years are going to be pivotal.