The resignation of Healey (UK Defence Secretary) exposes a much deeper problem. Britain is no longer debating how much it wants to spend. Britain is confronting the reality of how much it can afford. As we move deeper into the sovereign debt crisis unfolding across the Western world, more governments will face this same dilemma. They will discover that geopolitical ambitions are ultimately constrained by economic reality, and economic reality is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
What interests me is not the daily military count, but the timeline. China has increased pressure on Taiwan for years, while planners across Asia and Europe talk about preparation windows and vulnerabilities running into 2028–2029. We are seeing governments and militaries independently focus on the same time horizon.
Thirty-seven years have passed since the events of June 4, 1989, and yet the Chinese government continues to devote enormous resources to preventing people from remembering it. That fact alone should tell you how significant the event remains.
Zelensky presents himself as the champion of democracy while elections remain suspended.
He speaks about freedom while opposition parties have been banned.
He lectures the world about human rights while draft officers drag men off the streets and force them into military service.
He demands endless funding while Ukraine’s population continues shrinking and hundreds of thousands have fled abroad permanently.