Authored by Pepe Escobar, Op-Ed via RT.com,
In his seminal 'Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization,' Bryan Ward-Perkins writes, "Romans before the fall were as certain as we are today that their world would continue forever... They were wrong. We would be wise not to repeat their complacency.”
With 29% of young Americans having lost faith in 'The American Dream' (for good reason as we detailed here), it is hardly surprising that a new poll by The Associated Press finds that just 10% of people believe 2015 was a better year for the world than 2014. That is half the number from 2013 and appears to confirm what we already tongue-in-cheek noted - that 2015 was perhaps the worst year ever.
Via ConvergEx's Nick Colas,
Our quarterly survey of “Off the Grid” economic indicators finds that the U.S. economy is still growing, but the pace seems to be slowing from Q3 2015.
On the plus side, used car prices remain robust and dealer inventories of new cars are in good shape. Americans are driving more, with the growth rate for miles driven (and gas consumed) running at levels not seen in +10 years. Lastly, workers are still quitting their jobs at a healthy clip.
Defeating ISIL in Iraq requires coordination between the Sunni tribes and the Shiite dominated Iraqi government. The problem is however that the U.S is empowering both the Shiites and the Sunnis and thus is able to direct the course of events. The Sunni tribes were the ones who defeated the original Al-Qaeda in Iraq and are now the ones capable of eradicating ISIL. They need to be free of the threat of sectarianism in order to free their own towns and villages.