It looks like we’re back to the narrative of major friction between Washington and the EU/Ukraine as they desperately try to a get Russia to pause the fighting and prevent a Ukraine collapse:
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Kyiv Post now reports that Witkoff and Kushner offered Putin the frozen Russian assets held in Europe and sanctions relief in exchange for a limited energy and maritime truce.
You read that right: they offered someone else’s funds to appease Putin in exchange for a truce that probably wouldn’t even last.
I’ve never seen such levels of idiocy and arrogance in one package.
— Vatnik Soup (@P_Kallioniemi) October 11, 2026
Meanwhile, last week with the Parthenon in the background, Secretary of State Marco Rubio shed some more light on Europe’s role. There Rubio delivered a pretentious diatribe on Western superiority that requires fighting for and encourages Europeans to make sacrifices necessary to reclaim this supremacy once and for all.
Let’s first dig into Rubio’s speech before turning to how this “civilizational struggle” is on one hand a failure (thus far) on the traditional battlefield but has been enormously beneficial to US commercial interests at the expense of Europe.
On ‘Western’ superiority:
Here, in Athens, we found the first full realization of all the essential traits that would come to define the West: fierce individuality and relentless ambition; daring exploration and invention; a yearning for discovery, for adventure, risk and glory. An insatiable curiosity about the world and the principles by which it operates, a hunger to know the mysteries of nature and grasp the secrets of the cosmos. An impatience with the notion of impossibility, chafing at all boundaries and limits, straining to peer into the depths of the unknown.
…Where others looked inward, the Greeks were the first to direct their focus outward, to chase the thrill and glory of seeing all that was strange and new. It was this trait – it was this trait that would push the West to create and build things that others could not, marking us out from so many other cultures and civilizations where stability and subsistence were the highest ends of life.
On ‘Western’ Downfall:
Over time, we in the West came to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional. We felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world. Our prosperity somehow became a source of guilt. We no longer believed we deserved and had earned our greatness.
The word “nationalism” became a dirty word. And so we tore down our monuments; we condemned our own history. And in too many places, we taught our children to be ashamed of the countries they would inherit. In the process, we opened our borders and outsourced our industry, and allowed our militaries to wither and to decay.
And with every passing year, we seemed to outsource more of our sovereignty, transferring our decisions to global bureaucracies far beyond the reach of our control.
But others were all too happy to fill the vacuum that we left – the vacuum left behind by our weakness. And as the West’s confidence faltered, its adversaries and its rivals only grew more assertive, building up their own wealth and their own power in our stead.
On Western Rebirth:
Because the next decade and the decisions we make will write the story of the next century. The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy and servitude and decline. We will either choose to act now or lose the choice to act at all.
Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice. We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power: to take back control of our critical supply chains, to reindustrialize our economy, to rebuild our defense, to fight for dominance of the technologies and industries of the future.
On Europe Militarization:
[The ancient Greeks] understood that statecraft requires prudence and diplomacy, but they also understood that it requires the ability to wield force when prudence and diplomacy fail. They understood that power requires not only having the means to defend yourself, it requires the credibility that you are willing to use it.
This is the classical understanding of politics and of statecraft that the Trump Administration hopes to reclaim – reclaim not just for our country, but for the whole of our civilization.
We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago.
…Across this continent, we are witnessing what we hope will be the beginnings of a generational shift: skyrocketing defense spending, a flurry of new partnerships and programs, expanded manufacturing and production, following on the historic defense commitments made last year in The Hague.
On Civilizational War:
We are at an inflection point – an inflection point not only in the history of my nation, but an inflection point in the whole of our civilization.
The threats we face today are every bit as real as they were on the dramatic stage of antiquity.
National interests did not vanish in the face of international institutions. War did not disappear simply because we preferred peace. Other states continued to arm, to seek influence, to compete for territory, and technology, and resources, and markets, and energy, and power.
And now, there is war again. There is new competition between great powers again. There is vulnerability, aggression, terrorism, a whole universe of new threats and attacks again.
And finally here, I think, is the key part for European readers. Rubio equates nationalism with allegiance to Western civilization, which is of course led by the US. And he asks the Europeans to sacrifice themselves:
[The ancient Greeks] believed – fiercely – in the ideal of the great man: the exceptional individual who obtains immortality through his own deeds. But they believed that glory and fame, those things were won through striving, sacrificing and achieving greatly for something larger than yourself. The recurring hero of the ancient Greek world was the man who was willing to pay any cost for a cause worthy of his loyalty.
…It is from the Greeks that the West inherited its sense of duty – an unbreakable loyalty to one’s code, one’s cause, one’s country. Our heroes, the heroes of the West are those who choose to remain faithful to their duty precisely when it is most difficult and painful to do so: the man who is bound by his word, the soldier who will not abandon his post, the captain, the proverbial captain, who goes down with his ship.
To the last European!
‘Nationalism’ In Service of the Empire
If Trump I was marked by resistance, the second go-round is headlined by an embrace.
The oligarchs and permanent government have turned the page on the woke imperium back to a more honest embrace of authoritarian capitalism and colonization. It is a more in-your-face celebration of state violence headlined by a bipartisan genocide and filled in with other daily reminders:
Hegseth wants to livestream a public execution for the same reason ISIS livestreamed/posted their public executions: to radicalize & recruit the same demographic of downwardly-mobile, low IQ, credulous 17-27 year old males that ISIS snuff films attracted.
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) October 9, 2026
It’s important to highlight that this is not simply the result of Trump’s whims. It comes from higher places:
The AI Summit ends in rupture. AI accelerationists want pure expansion—more capital, energy, private infrastructure, no guard rails. Public interest camp supports labor, sustainability, shared data. safety, and oversight. The gap never looked wider. AI is in its empire era.
— Kate Crawford (@katecrawford) February 11, 2025
American capital has always been in its empire era. What’s different now is what Rubio describes in his Athens speech: competition from other states (namely China) on technology, for resources, and economic power.
It’s now been a few years since the message in the West shifted from woke warriors spreading peace and prosperity in the rules-based-order to the civilizational/racial/religious struggle. Despite that informational sea change it largely remains an economic war being fought on Europe’s terrain and one which the Europeans have already lost.
And so we now see an acceleration of American fascist geopolitics. What’s occurring in Europe is exactly what Rubio demands in the shadows of the Parthenon: ‘nationalism’ in service of the empire.
Italy, like so much in the EU fiscal straitjacket era, offers a preview of what’s likely to come. Giorgia Meloni’s government just became the longest serving in post-WWII Italy. It’s easy to forget now, but she was originally a firebrand anti-EU, anti-NATO nationalist.
Then Meloni immediately became one of Rubio’s Greek heroes: a neoliberal and imperial servant branded as nationalist thanks to anti-immigrant positions that make sure immigration still benefits capital.
Others across EU nations have followed similar paths, and it looks as though the two EU giants in France and Germany are about to join them electing immigration nationalists who wrap themselves in the flag while they cut social spending and send more money to the US for energy and weapons.
We’re currently seeing widespread pushback in France and across the EU as the standard of living decline reaches a breaking point. An optimist might see this as the prelude to breaking free of the US imperial boot and the rearmament fever dream.
We should also entertain the idea that the pushback to ever deepening neoliberalism will lead to another pushback. Here’s a piece in Essential Europe by Ruben Cober revealing how the groundwork is being laid for more law and order in the face of “anti-French violence.”
Meanwhile, centrist and right-wing politicians point to the role that the radical-left party La France insoumise (LFI), or “France Unbowed”, is said to have played in stirring up the unrest. According to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the government and intelligence services shared the assessment that LFI and its ideological allies had “organised” the student protests. The intelligence services described it as “an organised operation by LFI and its far-left allies”.
…France’s silent majority is increasingly backing Marine Le Pen. Even before the protests, Le Pen was already well ahead in polls for next year’s presidential election. According to a poll by Toluna Harris Interactive, she would receive around 33 to 36 per cent of the vote in the first round and then defeat all the other possible candidates in a second round. According to many polls, Mélenchon would come second in terms of votes in the first round and therefore face Le Pen in the second round, an absolute nightmare scenario for “centrist” France.
That’s the usual playbook, and it would be expected that centrists would align with a Le Pen that wants to continue cuts to the bone as opposed to a Melenchon favoring debt cancellation. “Centrist” politicians have no guiding principles other than allegiance to markets, and if that means alignment with the “far-right” which they’ve demonized for years, so be it.
Limits of Faux Nationalism
Rubio’s calls for nationalism in service of the empire dovetail neatly with the rise of the faux nationalists in Europe.
Judging from the secretary of state’s speech, it would appear imperialists believe they can have their cake and it eat it too. The looting of Europe under the guise of “supporting Ukraine” leads to the rise of “far right nationalism” since there’s no alternative to pro-war market fundamentalism.
Vassal leaders rebranded as nationalist heroes can then redirect anger at declining living standards towards immigrants and foreign adversaries as they prepare for the great civilizational war.
One point in favor of the latter theory is how quickly these purported nationalists abandon positions so clearly in the national interest and become, in Rubio’s words, the “proverbial captain” who goes down with the ship.
Weidel, formerly of Goldman Sachs, leads the “far-right” Alternative for Germany (AfD) party that initially emerged as anti-EU only to later become staunchly against immigration. It has recently begun backtracking on its positions against Brussels, although it still maintains it wants to explore peace and energy deals with Russia—perhaps with a US markup via Nord Stream.
Regardless of whether these politicians self-defenestrate or do so in response to overwhelming pressure, they highlight a major issue with Rubio’s vision. Civilizational leaders they are not.
If you really wanted to gear up for a prolonged armed struggle, real nationalism would probably be the way to go. The fake version that makes life worse for the majority of the population and serves Washington’s interests first is going to have a hard time inspiring the populace to fight, asking for the necessary sacrifice, and avoiding insurrection when people start coming home in body bags.
As of now the EU remains nowhere close to having the weapons, nor the soldiers to engage in a civilizational struggle. The imperial core also isn’t faring much better.
Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council offered an important reminder following Rubio’s kitschy Athens speech:
“When they go to Athens after defeat and humiliation before Iran to shape a narrative of a civilizational war, it would be better for them to read another important part of history: where the Roman emperor knelt before Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire.”
So will a union of faux European nationalists—a fake civilizational Europe—make progress in preparation for civilizational war? So far, despite the rise of right wing parties largely in response to on the ground economic conditions and recent years’ surge in immigration, the dogs aren’t eating the dog food. Enlistment remains low, as does support for war against Russia and other imperial adventures in support of America. That despite the encouragement of the elites like this guy:
“In the next few years we may face a war…we will need people who will join the armed services and who will go out and do their duty… people have to die to save their country as they did in the First and Second World Wars.”
~ Jacob Rees-Mogg
As always, it’s the pompous politicians who bang the drum of war, while sitting in their luxurious ivory towers, comfortably away from the line of fire while demanding the sacrifice of the lives of thousands of young people.
— James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) September 21, 2026
Could economic deterioration, endless harping on hybrid warfare, and potential false flags move the needle? We’re probably going to find out.
Or maybe the gang of von der Leyen, Merz/Weidel, Macron/Le Pen, and company will convince themselves that their warriors will emerge once the real war begins or that Europe is a necessary sacrifice in America’s grand plan for a civilizational struggle.
Surely they can go off to the UN and teaching positions at Columbia University like former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, one of the most vociferous early supporters of war with Russia.
If they were complicit in or dumb enough to bring Europe to this humiliated state, they’re just as likely to wade deeper into a conflict in which they’ll get smashed.
Meanwhile, the endless gaslighting serves other purposes, namely entrenching a police state to aid in the looting of collapsing states.
In today’s Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff warns that Russia, Iran and China are coming for us, and worries we may have to sacrifice our liberal principles and become a “securocracy” to ward off these Eastern malevolents.
Aside from a bit of hand-wringing, the column would sit comfortably in the Telegraph or the Daily Mail. It’s a classic example of the liberal press being used to prepare the public for war, and to justify the erosion of civil liberties at home.
The article is overflowing with inconsistencies and tropes.
US bombers have spent the summer flying from a British airbase to bomb Iran, and the Guardian tells us that Britain “wants no part in the war” but that “we cannot quite escape the consequences”.
Then the alleged plot against RAF Fairford, in which Burnham says there are “strong indications that Iran played a part”. None of these “indications”, of course, have been stated. I rather suspect Tehran has bigger fish to fry right now. But even if the allegation turned out to be true, the substantive point is that Britain is a potential target because of its participation in Trump’s criminal war. Stop that, and any threat disappears instantly.
The same goes for Russia. Britain has spent the last four and a half years as one of the most enthusiastic sponsors of the proxy war in Ukraine, and now feigns surprise that Moscow isn’t terribly favourably disposed to us. Again, stop the war and the threat disappears.
“Russia, Iran and China” are threats to Britain only to the extent that Britain has made them threats. Reviving a George W Bush-style “Axis of Evil” serves solely to justify the drive to war, the vast increase in military spending that Trump is demanding of his NATO vassals, and the erosion of civil liberties at home.
Hinsliff slips in a sentence or two warning against xenophobia, and reminds us that Jewish refugees were interned as “enemy aliens” in 1939. Well done – liberal consciences duly eased. But the whole thrust of the piece is to prepare the Guardian readership for a harsher, more paranoid, more militarised Britain. It accepts the war and the enemy list, and simply asks that the repression come with “safeguards”.
In summary, this is part of a wider attempt to reconcile liberalism with the rising tide of militarism and fascism.
— Carlos (@agent_of_change) October 9, 2026
Regardless of whether there is an eastern front in the future, there is a very real front right now.
It’s economic and European people are getting ambushed.
“Are we really such idiots already?”
Slovak PM Fico concerning EU’s decision to cut off direct Russian energy to EU in 2027, only to then buy this same Russian energy, from America, with an American surcharge.
Full statement
10 May 2026
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico: “According to the decision of the European Union, [Russian] gas will end in 2027. We can still make some reserves, I think. In November of 2027 and according to the decision of the European Commission, Russian gas will end.
We have filed a complaint against it. Whether the relevant court will decide by 2027, I do not know.
But our official stance is, let’s diversify the supply options for all fuels, but let’s keep open the possibility when it comes to Russian oil and Russian gas.
We were at a meeting yesterday, where it was clearly stated to us that the Americans have a huge interest in buying all transit infrastructures.
So, that will be really great fun!
So, the Russians will supply the Americans with gas and oil at standard prices and the Americans will sell it to us with an American high market surcharge.
Are we really such idiots already?”
Video: @RT_com
https://t.co/nbVb0VAZrr
— the Lemniscat (@theLemniscat) May 10, 2026
As the US takes control of energy routes to Europe in the Caucasus, discusses a stake in Nord Stream, and makes diesel deals with Russia, we have a resounding response to Fico’s question (although I think it was rhetorical).
That brings us back to Rubio’s Hollywoodized version of history delivered in Athens. He didn’t touch on theatrical genres of ancient Greece, but he was unwittingly delivering a masterpiece in tragedy.