In Chinese cosmology the heavens form a circle and the earth a square. By shooting down the balloon the Americans showed the Chinese that they were master of none. At the end of the day they lost both their balloon (who cares?) and face (they care). More is going to come out from this Jules Verne new Chinese story. Until then people may think: What the f...?
Despite an overflow of warnings many still inhabit the former Davos illusion, wherein people talk, discuss, disagree in an atmosphere of respect and courtesy. Well, better wake up...
The era of predictable cause and effect is gone. We no longer inhabit a world wherein the post-World War II "offense within reason" prevails. Europeans talk forever about le grand déplacement. They had better wake up to le grand dérangement.
Restraint and rules disappear. The global world is like the movie La grande illusion, the twilight of some sort or other of predictable behavior. We have entered a geo-political nightmare with ever-changing groupings of parties that follow self-interest only, and who will revert to hybrid warfare and disruption whenever their end needs disturbance.
The Western world is mostly exposed to this spooky menace because its power grid is the most vulnerable and its institutions are being attacked from within, too often with the blind support of the intellectually deficient undercover.
The balloon is yet another projection of the ancient Chinese jade disk, just another way to reclaim the heaven. It is not that different from Putin's more earthy claims and will rally a flock that will rejoice in yet another Western humiliation. This balloon will make the Chinese rejoice. They love kites after all.
This should be a wake-up call for the West which should come to the realization that asymmetric models are the new normal and that friendships that are not rooted in a shared philosophy are dubious. Strategy is a work in progress ; it is back to the drawing table. The balloon is only the beginning and not to be taken lightly.
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