US runs on imperialist agenda; turns nations into vassal states: Analyst

The United States establishment runs on an imperialist agenda that only protects countries that it can either fully control or turn into vassal states, says an American journalist and political commentator.

Stephen Lendman, an author and political analyst in Chicago, made the comment in a phone interview with Press TV on Sunday as he discussed outgoing US President Donald Trump’s order to the Central Command (CENTCOM) to coordinate military activities with the Israeli regime.

Trump also designated Persian Gulf Arab kingdoms of Bahrain and the UAE as “major security partners” in his final days in office.

“That's the same relationship the US has with all nations it considers imperial allies. The US will always provide protection for them if it is in its strategic interest to do it,” Lendman told Press TV.

Trump orders CENTCOM to cover Israel, calls UAE, Bahrain key ‘security partners’

The outgoing US president orders CENTCOM to include the Israeli regime in its area of operations, further designating the UAE and Bahrain as ‘major security partners.’

“The US simply doesn't care about other nations, other than what is done for them aids the US. That's what it's all about. So, the US uses Israel as its strategic Middle East partner. Israel is basically a NATO member, even though it's not official, but it's virtually de facto NATO member without official membership,” he added.                                                                       

The American journalist also said Washington is opposed to sovereign and independent countries that give precedence to their interests rather than those of the US.

“The US is allied with these nations against sovereign independent ones it does not control, not that they threaten the US, in a way, simply they refuse to sacrifice their sovereignty to US imperial demands,” Lendman said.

“I'm talking about Iran, China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, and some other countries; these nations threaten nobody. They haven't attacked anybody militarily, in my memory, they haven't done it before,” he noted.

Lendman described Washington as “over-aggressive” against countries that defy its proclaimed dominance and said the practice was entrenched in the American imperialism.

“The US is over-militarized and over-aggressive against all nations that it hasn't been able to manipulate control over because of its long-term aim for unchallenged global dominance. It simply wants to control all of the nations, their resources, their populations, and make them vassal states. That's what imperialism is all about," he said.

“The US wants unchallenged dominance and seeks alliances with all nations that can further those aims,” Lendman noted. “It's against all nations who won't sacrifice their sovereignty to US imperial aims. And of course, Russia, China, Iran, and other countries refused to do it to their credit. It is to the discredit of countries that do it.”

“The US is a one-party state with two right wings waging war on humanity, both at home and abroad; and that policy is hardwired and will continue unchanged when Biden-Harris take over this Wednesday,” he concluded.                                                                

Trump's order, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was regarded as a last-minute push by the lame-duck US president to shore up a regional anti-Iran alliance and convince Arab dictators in West Asia to normalize ties with the hawkish Israeli regime as Washington intends to focus more on countering major military and economic rival China in the coming years.

CENTCOM was founded under the Carter administration in the 1983s and its original focus was to safeguard and expand American influence over global oil supplies, a priority that has waned significantly in recent decades amid growing anti-US sentiments across the region.

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