Bob Kagan

So I don't rule out that.

But right now, what you're saying is certainly true.

As a longstanding, you know, defense hawk, I'm in favor of increased spending.

You have to ask what exactly it's for now, given the new strategy of the United States, because we've basically ended the alliance with our NATO allies and therefore we will not be engaged, I presume, in the defense of Europe anymore.

We are going to hand over the Persian Gulf to a consortium of powers, including China and Iran and others.

And we will be exiting, apparently, after we finish blowing the place up.

Our Asian allies are now basically deciding that they also have to go it alone.

The relationship between

with South Korea is a total disaster.

And I don't think we're far away from them basically sort of saying they're going to go nuclear and be on their own.

So at the end of the day, we are going to be, as a result of this, a very, very lonely country without allies.

So that doesn't seem to me to be a great triumph.

Well, we're at the beginning of a period in which things that we used to get basically for free, in the sense that we didn't have to fight for it, like...

open access to the oceans around the world, basing in many, many, many, many countries around the world.

The countries allow us to use their territory for bases, not only to protect them, but to project power in various different ways.

Our substantial control of the international financial system is going to be severely undermined.

And we've given Putin the greatest prize that he could possibly have, which is the destruction of NATO.

That is what he's been seeking for 20 years.

The Chinese are...

improving their position globally at our expense.