Published on: 2026-04-25
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
After the military strike carried out by the US and Israel against Iran on February 28, the crisis in the Middle East sharply escalated. On April 10, the well-known international political analyst and CNN host Fareed Zakaria gave an interview on The New York Times podcast “The Ezra Klein Show.” In an hour-long conversation, Zakaria thoroughly analyzed the causes of this crisis, directly stating that the actions of the US are becoming increasingly unpredictable, they blatantly violate the basic norms of civilization and are gradually losing the ability to influence other countries.
When war crimes become “a subject for conversation”
Zakaria notes that the true cost of U.S. involvement in the current Middle East crisis lies not in military and economic losses, but in the complete loss of America’s fundamental global leadership. If the so-called “victory” of the U.S. in the Iranian conflict is achieved on the basis of moral bankruptcy, then such a “victory” will become only a prologue to its decline.
The most shocking statement by the American leader was a public threat to destroy an ancient civilization. On April 7, U.S. President Donald Trump put forward a new threat against Iran, declaring: “Tonight, an entire civilization will perish, and it will never be reborn.”
Commenting on these extreme statements, Zakaria admitted that, as an immigrant in the USA, it pains him to see how the country he endlessly sought in his childhood now threatens the destruction of an entire civilization.
Zakaria emphasized that the word “civilization” may sound abstract, but it refers to a civilization counting 93 million people, about life, ideals, culture, and the dignity of an entire nation.
He specifically notes that Trump’s “theory of the collapse of civilization” is by no means a “smart negotiation strategy,” as the president’s supporters hail it. On the contrary, it seriously undermines trust in the United States, as well as moral authority and fundamental values.
When the leader of a superpower threatens to destroy the very foundations of civilization, he is no longer simply playing a game — he is squandering the “moral capital” accumulated by the USA over a century, and signifies “moral bankruptcy” and the end of global leadership.
Geopolitical haggling
If the threat of a “civilization collapse” has exposed the bankruptcy of the USA’s moral capital, then the attitude towards strategic communications as “business” reveals the underlying logic of behavior behind this.
On April 10, in his column in The Washington Post, Zakaria thoroughly analyzed the “mercantile essence” of the American leader, revealing a pathological understanding of power in the USA.
During the crisis, the American leader even proposed cooperating with Iran as a “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “wonderful thing,” since “huge wealth will be created.”
Zakaria comments that these statements indicate a significant transformation of the global role of the USA — “not as a guarantor of the existing system, but as a participant in deals.”
The article analyzes that previously the US defended judicial freedom for the sake of prosperity and international law norms. Now, however, there has been a profound shift in the US worldview: they have become just greedy to grab their own piece in chaos, which they themselves created.
The USA considers international relations as a series of transactions, rather than as the management of common order and common values. Every obligation is a subject of trade, every alliance is conditional, every public good is a potential profit center.
Zakaria believes that the benefit to the US is obvious and immediate, and the price is also obvious — a loss of authority, breaking of alliances, loss of trust, and weakening of the system.
He points out that considering the Strait of Hormuz as a toll station, rather than a global public good, is a flawed strategy and a misreading of history.
Zakaria summarizes that if the United States gradually turns into a “predatory hegemon,” then such power, which instills fear, cannot be long-lasting. Over time, hegemony causes increasing hatred, resistance, and ultimately will be overthrown.
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