As the war in Ukraine and tensions with China intensify, more Americans fear we’re on the brink of World War III, according to a new Convention of States Action poll.
The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. voters, conducted Feb. 22-26 by The Trafalgar Group, finds more than 43 percent of respondents worry that Russia’s continued war and threats against other European nations, as well as China’s aggressive actions, have put the world on the precipice of another global conflict. Less than a third (30.3 percent) don’t believe we’re on the verge of World War III, while 26 percent aren’t sure.
“While the Biden Administration and its allies in corporate media continue to downplay the existential threat posed by China, Russia, Iran, and other enemies of the free world, the American people see clearly that we are at a moment of unprecedented risk for our nation and the world,” said Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action.
Communist China President Xi Jinping ratcheted up the anti-American rhetoric this week, blaming his country’s economic problems on what he insists is sweeping suppression by Western nations. Qin Gang, China’s new foreign minister, declared the U.S. is on the road to “conflict and confrontation.”
China’s (spy) balloon incursions into U.S. air space, its bellicose rhetoric over the future of Taiwan, and growing evidence that COVID-19 leaked from a lab in Wuhan are only complicating already complicated — and strained — U.S.-China relations.
“The field of this conflict, in which both sides cooperate with each other, have both competition and confrontation, is very wide and has various military, economic and strategic dimensions,” wrote Amer Ababakr in an October Modern Diplomacy piece headlined “The Rhetoric of U.S. and China Towards the Taiwan Crisis.”
As Russia’s war in Ukraine brutally slogs into its second year, tensions in Europe remain high with legitimate concern over the war’s spread. Meanwhile, the Biden administration and congress have pumped more than $113 billion in aid and military assistance to support the Ukrainian government and allied nations. About three-fifths of that has been allocated toward defense needs, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“The Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations package included an additional $47.3 billion of emergency funding to provide humanitarian, military, and economic assistance to Ukraine on top of the $65.8 billion of funding already approved in three other emergency funding packages enacted by Congress,” the committee noted.
Earlier this week, several news outlets reported U.S. intelligence suggests China is mulling over supplying lethal aid to Russia.
“The multiple threads of intelligence suggesting that China is considering giving lethal aid to Russia, including ammunition and artillery, raised alarm among Biden administration officials, particularly given how such a move by Beijing could shift the dynamic of the war in Moscow’s favor,” NBC News reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also is reportedly looking to upgrade and expand his long-range nuclear weaponry as the war in Ukraine rages on.
Critics of Biden foreign policy (or lack thereof) say multiple miscues by the administration over the past two years — from the border to diplomacy — have made the U.S. much more vulnerable to geopolitical threats.
Meckler says the Convention of States Action poll shows the anxiety of a growing number of Americans.
“Our weakness and incompetence – on the border, on energy policy, and on our approach to China – are increasing the risk of international armed conflict in a highly-nuclearized age,” he said.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Xi Jinping” by Kremlin.ru. CC BY 4.0. Photo “Volodymyr Zelensky” by President.gov.ua. CC BY 4.0. Photo “Joe Biden” by Joe Biden.
