In his last events as Secretary, Pompeo pushed for more sanctions against Russia and China; threatened Iran, Venezuela and North Korea; named the Houthis of Yemen "terrorists", which threatened to cut off what little food aid was being delivered to that nation, putting millions of children in danger of starvation; and gloated as the "Caesar sanctions" against Syria caused food shortages there, raising the hopes of the neocons that regime change might still come to Syria. 

Pompeo may be gone, but Biden's team, led by his Secretary of State Blinken, is sticking with the British imperial geopolitical doctrines which threaten to lead to World War III.  Blinken demonstrated what the Chinese bashed as "imperial arrogance" when he fulminated against what he calls China's "aggressive" military posturing.  He warned that China has the economic, diplomatic, military and technical power "to seriously challenge the stable and open international system -- all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to."  Nearly the same language was directed against Russia by Colin Kahl, Biden's representative at the Pentagon, who accused Russia of seeking to "undermine the rules-based international order", and shows "blatant disregard for the sovereignty of its neighbors."  One might ask about the Biden administration's regard for sovereignty, when it launched a strike on an Iraqi militia base in Syria, killing at least 22 militants, who were engaged in successful attacks against Islamic terrorists of Al Qaeda, ISIS and Al Nusra, who are supposed to be the enemies of the U.S.!

The national security paper released by the new administration demonstrates the continuity of the "Military Industrial Complex" (MIC) in strategic policy, regardless of which party controls the White House.  Its goals and language are primarily unchanged from the National Security Doctrine released by the Trump administration in 2018, in identifying Russia and China as threats to the West.  It states that this administration intends to gather the world’s “democracies” into an alliance against Russia and China and their “malign” influence on the world. Giving lip service to cooperation with “allies” to fight China and Russia, they say the U.S. will “reinvigorate and modernize our alliances and partnerships around the world.”  However, one must consider that if an “ally” crosses Washington, such as Germany’s refusal to cancel the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, they will also be hit with sanctions.

It continues: “Our democratic alliances enable us to present a common front, produce a unified vision, and pool our strength to promote high standards, establish effective international rules, and hold countries like China to account. That is why we will reaffirm, invest in, and modernize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and our alliances with Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea....” In Asia, the countries targeted for “partnership” include India, New Zealand, Vietnam and all of ASEAN, and the Pacific Island states.  Since when does the "North Atlantic" Treaty Organization consider the Indo-Pacific region to be part of its military mandate! 

While asserting an intent to end the "forever wars", it points to a new military buildup, aimed especially at Russia and China. “In the face of strategic challenges from an increasingly assertive China and destabilizing Russia, we will assess the appropriate structure, capabilities, and sizing of the force, and, working with the Congress, shift our emphasis from unneeded legacy platforms and weapons systems to free up resources for investments in the cutting-edge technologies and capabilities that will determine our military and national security advantage in the future.” And while doing this, “we will develop capabilities to better compete and deter gray zone actions. We will prioritize defense investments in climate resiliency and clean energy.” As far as force posture goes, “our presence will be most robust in the Indo-Pacific and Europe. In the Middle East, we will right-size our military presence to the level required to disrupt international terrorist networks, deter Iranian aggression, and protect other vital U.S. interests.”

The document includes a section on addressing "man-made climate change", a topic the administration has made as one of its major strategic priorities, placing the global "Green New Deal" as a central feature of strategy. “We will move swiftly to earn back our position of leadership in international institutions, joining with the international community to tackle the climate crisis and other shared challenges,” the document states. “We have already re-entered the Paris Climate Accord and appointed a Presidential Special Envoy for climate, the first steps toward restoring our leadership and working alongside others to combat the acute danger posed by rapidly rising temperatures.”

Furthermore, “we will make the clean energy transformation a central pillar of our economic recovery efforts at home, generating both domestic prosperity and international credibility as a leader of the global climate change agenda. And, in the coming months, we will convene the world’s major economies and seek to raise the ambition of all nations, including our own, to rapidly lower global carbon emissions, while also enhancing resilience to climate change at home and in vulnerable countries.”

The report makes clear that it will defend the existing global post-Cold War economic order, including the move into the Davos' billionaires Great Reset, as part of its military posture. "We will coordinate the use of economic tools, leveraging our collective strength to advance our common interests,” it goes on, clearly linking economics with geopolitics. “We will work together to impose real costs on anyone who interferes in our democratic processes.

Altogether, “this agenda will strengthen our enduring advantages, and allow us to prevail in strategic competition with China or any other nation. The most effective way for America to out-compete a more assertive and authoritarian China over the long-term is to invest in our people, our economy, and our democracy. By restoring U.S. credibility and reasserting forward-looking global leadership, we will ensure that America, not China, sets the international agenda, working alongside others to shape new global norms and agreements that advance our interests and reflect our values.”

In other words, the rules which must be accepted in this "rules-based order" by the rest of the world are those which benefit the global forces of the City of London, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley, and the Biden administration intends to reward the Military Industrial Complex with  larger budgets, and carte blanche to launch military operations and regime change wars to defend this post-Cold War world order.