US can no longer afford to be the world’s policeman

“The US debt debacle may signal the end of the American century not only economically, but also militarily and diplomatically,” The Telegraph said in an article published Wednesday.

Under the title “The debt crisis forces the West into retreat” the daily said that the US can no longer afford to be the world’s policeman. “A large slice of the $2.4 trillion cuts package will come out of the defence budget. President Obama is already approaching foreign entanglements more as an accountant than a warrior.”

“There will always be other powers waiting to fill the vacuum. China has announced that it is increasing its defence spending this year by 12.7 per cent, to £56.2 billion. China watchers say that the true figure is far higher. Russia, meanwhile, whose prime minister Vladimir Putin this week called the United States a “parasite”, plans to spend £400 billion of its oil and gas riches on military hardware by 2020. These are troubling developments. The West’s addiction to debt is proving even costlier than we feared,” the daily ended up by saying.