51吃瓜

Donald Trump may not care, but there is no time to spare and no more burning issue on planet Earth than climate change.

Sixty-six million years ago, so the scientists聽, an asteroid slammed into this planet. Landing on what鈥檚 now Mexico鈥檚 Yucat谩n Peninsula, it gouged out a crater 150-kilometers wide and聽聽so much soot and sulfur into the atmosphere that it created what was essentially a prolonged 鈥�.鈥� During that time, among so many other species, large and small, the dinosaurs went down for the count. (Don鈥檛, however, tell that to your local chicken, the聽聽鈥� it鈥檚 now believed 鈥� of Tyrannosaurus Rex.)

It took approximately 66 million years for humanity to evolve from lowly surviving mammals and, over the course of a recent century or two, teach itself how to replicate the remarkable destructive power of that long-gone asteroid in two different ways: via nuclear power and the burning of fossil fuels. And if that isn鈥檛 an accomplishment for the species that likes to bill itself as the most intelligent ever to inhabit this planet, what is?

Talking about accomplishments: As humanity has armed itself ever more lethally, it has also transformed itself into the local equivalent of so many asteroids. Think, for instance, of that moment in the spring of 2003 when George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the crew launched the invasion of Iraq with聽聽of setting up a聽Pax Americana聽across the greater Middle East and beyond.

By the time US troops entered Baghdad, the burning and looting of the Iraqi capital had already begun, leaving the National Museum of Iraq聽聽(gone were the聽聽on which Hammurabi first had a code of laws inscribed) and the National Library of Baghdad, with its tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts,聽. (No such 鈥溾�� had hit that city since 1258, when Mongol warriors sacked it, destroying its many libraries and reputedly leaving the Tigris River running 鈥渂lack with ink鈥� and red with blood.)

In truth, since 2003 the greater Middle East has never stopped burning, as other militaries 鈥� Afghan, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Russian, Saudi, Syrian, Turkish 鈥� entered the fray, insurgent groups rose, terror movements spread and the US military never left. By now, the asteroidal nature of American acts in the region should be beyond question.

Consider, for example, the聽聽retired general and former secretary of defense, Jim 鈥淢ad Dog鈥� Mattis, the man who classically聽聽of an Iraqi聽聽(including musicians) that his troops took out in 2004, 鈥淗ow many people go to the middle of the desert 鈥� to hold a wedding 80 miles from the nearest civilization?鈥� Or consider that, in the very same year, Mattis and the 1st Marine Division he commanded had just such an impact on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, leaving more than聽聽of it in rubble.

Or focus for a moment on the聽聽caused by some combination of US air power, Islamic State (IS) suicide bombers, artillery and mortars that, in seven months of fighting in 2017, uprooted聽聽from the still largely unreconstructed Iraqi city of聽听(飞丑别谤别听聽of rubble are estimated to remain). Or try to bring to mind the聽聽city of聽. Or consider the destruction of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the former 鈥渃apital鈥� of the IS caliphate, that left more than 80% 鈥渦ninhabitable鈥� after the US (and allied) air forces dropped聽聽on it. All are versions of the same phenomenon.

And yet when it comes to asteroids and the human future, one thing should be obvious. Such examples still represent relatively small-scale local impacts, given what鈥檚 to come.

The Wars From Hell

If you happened to be an Afghan, Iraqi, Libyan, Syrian, Somali or Yemeni in the 21st century, can there be any question that life would have seemed asteroidal to you? What Osama bin Laden聽聽with just 19 fanatic followers and four hijacked commercial airliners in 2001, the US military continued across the greater Middle East and North Africa as if it were the force from outer space (which, in a sense, it was).

It doesn鈥檛 matter whether you鈥檙e talking about cities turned to rubble, civilians slaughtered,聽聽obliterated, populations uprooted and sent into various forms of exile, the transformation of former nations (however autocratic) into failed states or the spread of terrorism. It鈥檚 been quite a story.聽More than 17 years and at least聽聽after the Bush administration launched its聽, can there be any question that the wildest dreams of聽聽have been more than fulfilled? And it鈥檚 not faintly over yet.

More remarkable still, just about all of this has largely been ignored in the country that functionally made it so. If you asked most Americans, they would certainly know that almost 3,000 civilians were slaughtered in the terror attacks of 9/11. But how many (if any) would be aware of the聽several hundred聽civilians 鈥� brides, grooms, revelers, you name it 鈥� similarly slaughtered in what were, in essence, US terror attacks against multiple wedding parties in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen? And that鈥檚 just to begin to mention the kinds of destruction that have gone on largely unnoticed here.

In the first 18 years of this century,聽聽of people have been uprooted and displaced 鈥� more than聽聽in Syria alone 鈥� from what had been their homes, lives, and worlds. Many of them were sent fleeing into聽countries like聽Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Sooner or later, more than聽1 million聽Syrians made it to Europe and 21,000 even made it to the United States. In the process, Washington鈥檚 wars (and the conflicts that unfolded from them) unsettled ever more of the planet in much the way those particulates in the atmosphere did the world of 66 million years ago.

So consider it an irony that, here in the US, so few connections have been made between such events and an unceasing series of American conflicts across the greater Middle East and Africa 鈥� or that the thought of even the mildest sorts of retreats from any of those battlegrounds instantly leaves political and national security elites in Washington (and the media that cover them) in an聽聽of horror.

Consider this a tale of imperial power gone awry that 鈥� were anyone here truly paying attention 鈥� could hardly have been uglier. And no matter what happens from here on, it鈥檚 hard to imagine how things won鈥檛, in fact, get聽聽still. I鈥檓 not just thinking about Donald Trump鈥檚 Washington in 2019, where such ugliness is par for the course. I鈥檓 thinking about all of those lands affected by America鈥檚 unending post-9/11 wars (and the catastrophic聽聽Saudi one in Yemen that goes with them) 鈥� about, that is, the region and the conflicts from which Trump sorta,聽, in the most limited of ways was threatening to begin pulling back as 2018 ended and about which official Washington promptly聽.

We鈥檙e talking, of course, about the conflicts from hell that have long been labeled 鈥渢he war on terror鈥� but 鈥� given the聽聽of terror groups and the rise of the anti-immigrant right in Europe and the US 鈥� should probably have been called the 鈥渨ar for terror鈥� or the 鈥渨ar from hell.鈥� And it鈥檚 this that official Washington and much of the mainstream media can鈥檛 imagine getting rid of or out of.

Naturally, doing so will be ugly. In functionally admitting to a kind of defeat (even if the president insists on calling it victory), Washington will be tossing aside allies 鈥� Kurds, Afghans and others 鈥� and leaving those who don鈥檛 deserve such a fate in so many ditches (just聽聽in Vietnam long ago). Worse yet, it will be leaving behind a part of the world that, on its watch, became not just a series of聽聽or semi-failed states, but a failed region. It will be leaving behind populations armed to the teeth, bereft of normal lives or often of any sort of life at all, and of hope. It will be leaving behind a聽聽robbed of their聽聽and undoubtedly mad as hell. It will be leaving behind those cities in rubble and a universe of refugees and insurgents galore. Even if IS doesn鈥檛 rebound, don鈥檛 imagine that other horrors can鈥檛 arise in such circumstances and amid such wreckage. Ugly will be the word for it.

And for some of that ugliness, you can indeed thank Trump, whether he withdraws American troops from Syria, as promised,聽. After all, here鈥檚 the strange thing: Though no one in Washington or elsewhere in this country had paid more than passing attention to it, the recent Syrian 鈥渨ithdrawal鈥� decision wasn鈥檛 The Donald鈥檚 first.

In March 2018, he 鈥渇roze鈥澛犅爐hat had been promised for Syrian aid and reconstruction, money that assumedly might have gone to derubblizing parts of that country. And rather than being up in arms about it, rather than offering a crescendo of criticism (as with his recent decision to withdraw troops), rather than resignations and protests, official Washington and the media that covers it just shrugged their collective shoulders. It couldn鈥檛 have been uglier, but Washington was unfazed.

As for countermanding the president鈥檚 order and staying, we already know what more than 17 years of endless American war have delivered to that region (as well as subtracted from the American treasury). What would another two, four or eight years of 鈥� to use a fairly recent聽聽鈥� 鈥渋nfinite war鈥� mean?

Here鈥檚 one thing for sure: Ugly wouldn鈥檛 even cover it. And keep in mind that, despite Trump鈥檚 recent Syrian and Afghan decisions (both of which are聽), so much of what passes for American war in this century, including the particularly grim Saudi version of it in Yemen and those Air Force and CIA聽聽across much of the region, has shown little sign of abating anytime soon.

Using Up Precious Time

And then, of course, there鈥檚 that other issue, the one where withdrawal can鈥檛 come into play, the one where ugly doesn鈥檛 even begin to cover the territory. In case you haven鈥檛 instantly guessed 鈥� and I suspect you have 鈥� I鈥檓 thinking about what鈥檚 happening to the place known to its English-speaking inhabitants as Earth. It no longer takes a scientist or a probing intelligence to know that the planet that welcomed humanity all these thousands of years has begun to appear a good deal less gracious thanks to humanity鈥檚 burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

By now, no matter where you live, you should know the聽聽well enough, including (just to start down a long list): temperatures that are聽聽and only promise to rise yet more; a record聽 of Arctic ice; a聽聽of ocean waters; ever聽; ever聽听(补苍诲听聽fire seasons); rising sea levels that promise to begin聽聽coastal cities sometime later this century; and the coming of聽聽and devastating heat waves (that by 2100 may, for instance, make the now heavily populated North China plain聽).

Nor do you have to be a scientist these days to draw a few obvious conclusions about trends on a planet where the聽聽are the hottest on record and 20 of the last 22 years qualify as the warmest yet. And keep in mind that most of this was already clear enough at the moment in planetary history when a near-majority of Americans elected as president an聽聽climate-change denier, as were so many in the party of which he became the orange-haired face. And also keep in mind that the very term climate-change denier no longer seems faintly apt as a description for him, 鈥渉is鈥� party or the crew he鈥檚 put in control of the government. Instead, they are proving to be the most enthusiastic group of climate-change聽听颈尘补驳颈苍补产濒别.

In other words, the administration heading the country that,聽, has been the largest emitter of greenhouse gases is now in the business 鈥� from leaving the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to opening the way for聽, from expanding聽聽to encouraging聽, from聽聽coal plants to release more mercury into the atmosphere to聽聽its own climate-change study 鈥� of doing more of the same until the end of time. And that’s certainly a testament to something.

Ultimately, though, what it鈥檚 doing may be less important than what it isn鈥檛 doing. On a planet on which, according to the聽, there are only perhaps a dozen years left to keep the long-term global temperature rise under 1.5 degrees centigrade, the Trump administration is wasting time in the worst way imaginable.

An Asteroidal Future

Even 18 years into a series of 鈥渜uagmire鈥� Middle Eastern wars, the US could still withdraw from them, however ugly the process might be. It could indeed bring the troops home; it could ground the drones; it could downsize the special operations forces that now add up to a secret army of 70,000 (larger than聽the armies of many nations) at present聽聽to much of the globe. It could do many things.

What Washington can鈥檛 do 鈥� what聽we聽can鈥檛 do 鈥� is withdraw from the Earth, which is why we are now living on what I increasingly think of as a quagmire planet.

In the 1960s, that word, quagmire (鈥渁 bog having a surface that yields when stepped on鈥�), and its cognates 鈥� swamp, sinkhole, morass, quicksand, bottomless pit 鈥� were picked up across the spectrum of American politics and applied to the increasingly disastrous war in Vietnam. It was an image that robbed Washington of much of its responsibility for that conflict. The quagmire itself was at fault 鈥� or as historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., put it at the time: 鈥淎nd so the policy of 鈥榦ne more step鈥� lured the United States deeper and deeper into the morass… until we find ourselves entrapped in that nightmare of American strategists, a land war in Asia.鈥�

Embedded in the war talk of those years, quagmire was, in fact, not a description of the war as much as a worldview imposed on it. That image turned Vietnam into the aggressor, transferring agency for all negative action to the land itself, which had trapped us and wouldn鈥檛 let us go, even as that land was devalued. After all, to the Vietnamese, their country was anything but a quagmire. It was home and the American decision to be there a form of hated or desired (or sometimes, among America鈥檚 allies there, both hated and desired) intervention. Much the same could be said, of course, of the greater Middle East in this century.

When it comes to this planet in the era of climate change, however, quagmire seems like a far more appropriate image, as long as we keep in mind that we are the aggressors. It is we who are burning those fossil fuels. It is, as our president loves to put it, 鈥溾�� that is threatening to submerge Miami, Shanghai and other coastal cities in the century to come. It is the urge of the Trump administration to聽聽the development of alternative energies, while promoting coal, oil and natural gas production that is threatening the human future. It is the acts and attitudes of Trumpian-like figures from聽聽to Saudi Arabia to聽聽that threaten our children and grandchildren into the distant future, that threaten, in fact, to turn the Earth itself into a rubblized, ravaged planet.

It is Vladimir Putin’s Russian petro-state that is at work creating a future swamp of destruction in聽聽and elsewhere. It is a Chinese inability to truly come to grips with its聽聽(not to mention the way it鈥檚 exporting coal plants to聽聽and elsewhere) that threatens to make our world into a morass. It is the lack of any urge on the part of fossil fuel CEOs to 鈥渒eep it in the ground鈥� that will potentially take humanity down for the count.

In that context, think of the man who, from his earliest moments in the Oval Office, wanted to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement,聽聽his cabinet with climate-change denial aiders and abettors, was desperate to聽聽his predecessor’s modest steps on climate change, and never saw a coal mine, oil rig or fracking outfit he didn鈥檛 love as the latest asteroid to hit planet Earth. Under the circumstances, if the rest of us don鈥檛 get ourselves together, we are likely to be the dinosaurs of the聽.

Donald Trump himself is, of course, just a tiny, passing fragment of human history. Already 72, he will undoubtedly be taken down by a Big Mac attack or something else in the years to come and most of his record will become just so much human history. But on this single subject, his impact threatens to be anything but a matter of human history. It threatens to play out on a time scale that should boggle the mind.

He is a reminder that, on this quagmire planet of ours, we 鈥� the rest of us 鈥� have no place to go, despite NASA鈥檚聽聽to send humans to Mars, the rise of聽聽for space tourism and a Chinese spacecraft’s聽聽on the far side of the moon. So, if we care about our children and grandchildren, as 2019 passes there is no time to spare and no more burning issue on planet Earth than this.

*[This article was originally published by .]

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.