r/SMRTRabak • u/singlishunker • 5d ago
kpkb I’ve come to despise the United States after a lifetime of ambivalence/occasional admiration
first of all I want to wish our bangs and kakaks a blessed Hari Raya Haji, and a relaxing holiday to everyone else.
I know this isn’t really the sub for this genre of content, but the main SG sub only allows tamer content nowadays, so I’m not sure if this would even stay up.
background: I’m Singaporean Indian (OG from kampung days hor), late Gen Z, and I’ve been mildly pro-America for as long as I can remember. Not out of misplaced adulation for the country cause of Hollywood brainwashing, but out of a realistic appraisal of our national interests. They’re our largest foreign investor and have been so since the early days of our independence. They’re the underwriter of ASEAN’s regional security framework and we wouldn’t have a standing air force without American hardware. We’re literally getting F35s this year or the next, aren’t we? I don’t have to elaborate further because you get my point: SG and the US are enmeshed across multiple domains.
Now while I like American hardware, their companies, and their artistic exports (like films and TV), I’m averse to their politics. I consider US politics and the sociocultural medium that fertilises it to be their most cancerous export. It’s so many things: It’s the “ironyposting” that’s often just a medium for memetic warfare and other forms of ideological and moral subversion, it’s the weaponisation of personal trauma as social currency, it’s the essentialism and the reduction of people to their race and other outward traits, whether it be good or bad, it’s the refusal to accept other forms of governance other than gridlocked liberal democracy as valid, it’s all of that and more. So I try to stay out of it to the best of my ability. Easier said than done, because the English-speaking Internet is US-dominated and you can’t avoid cross-pollination any more than you can avoid seeing Scarlett and Mixue when you step out the house these days, but I digress.
Now while both sides of the US political aisle are culpable in the madness, the focus of this post is the current political zeitgeist. When Trump first came to power and his stans started spewing borderline genocidal anti-Muslim, anti-Chinese (“n^ke the Three Gorges Dam”), and anti-Indian (“put all p^j^^ts in concentration camps”) sentiment, I was like “this doesn’t represent America, it’s still a benevolent power with good citizens opposed to this madness” then I was like, “it’s just memes! it’s not that deep!”, and finally I was like “what does this have to do with me, a Singaporean?” so I didn’t let it unnerve me too much even though their dissentiment corresponds with our three core ethnoreligious groups, even though we’re at best a single degree of separation from having targets placed on our backs.
Then Trump came to power a second time and his underlings became even more extreme. What finally unnerved me was when they started dragging Singapore into their domestic skirmishes and attacking the indigenous Malays and heritage Indians of this country, turning us into collateral damage in some ridiculous race war that isn’t even our battle to fight! You don’t have to dig far to enter enemy territory. Visit their usual online haunts, which is basically the entire site of Twitter these days, see what comes up when they talk about Singapore, and they’ll be saying some variation of:
“Why haven’t the SG Chinese pulled an Idi Amin of Uganda or done (insert genocidal action here) to the Malays and Indians of SG”?
“Why the hell does SG have so many disgusting brownoids?”
“the God-Emperor LKY should’ve handled the (insert either demographic here) question at the point of independence” this btw is a paraphrasing of the Nazi’s infamous “Jewish question” slogan
Not only is this profoundly offensive to SG’s minorities, it’s offensive to Singaporean Chinese as well. They’re projecting their insane Nazi fantasies on you and assuming you, like they, have a death wish against the orangkita you’ve spent centuries living alongside in kampungs and building the modern nation-state of Singapore with. They’ve stripped you of your agency and turned you into their ideological underlings without your consent. They don’t freaking understand anything about Singapore, it’s just another appendage for them to perform their race/culture war upon.
These people aren’t even uniformly angmoh! In their ranks you’ll find the odd Korean American with self-proclaimed “Christian nationalist” leanings spewing the same bigotry against Southeast and South Asians that extends to Singaporeans. One of them recently went viral for calling Southeast and South Asians jungle-dwelling monkeys and lower lifeforms for eating nasi with our hands.
You can’t reason with these people. So many have tried. You can’t force them to see your humanity. They’re convinced you have none because you’re not white. It’s no longer just memes or shitposting, it’s raw, legit malevolence. The worst thing about all of this is that their hate is monetised by the platforms they post on, which is the logical endpoint of the hyperfinancialisation of the ultracapitalist US economy. All the more reason for government guardrails on stuff, like you know, China. or here in good ol Singapura. Woe be upon us the day we think it’s a good idea to champion genocide on a public pulpit for a few pennies.
Long story short: I am done with America. D.O.N.E. Never in a million years did I think I, a supposedly “rational” and “pragmatic” Singaporean, would find myself in the anti-US camp, but here we are.
What’s surprising is that even though I’ve been slightly suspicious of China my whole adult life, because unchecked PRC hegemony in this region would make life for SG’s minorities harder for reasons that don’t need elaboration, I must admit that the thought of the PLA giving the US military a bloody nose, if not outright expelling it from the region, doesn’t unsettle me as much as it once did. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be bad for us, but I wouldn’t necessarily lose sleep over an American humiliation in the Pacific. The US doesn’t deserve its empire if a growing number of its citizens have fascistic leanings and consider the rest of the non-white world sub-human.
So yeah, I will probably watch the new Avengers when it comes out later this year, and I’ll probably buy an iPad when a new one drops, but it’ll be like an American going to Panda Express or something. Consuming curated aspects of an adversarial state’s culture without deferring to them.
And if any American is reading this, perhaps reflect on yourselves and consider how your actions have turned even your cheerleaders against you. Your nation has burned many bridges and those won’t be easy to rebuild. Imagine burning bridges with freaking Singaporeans of all people. I know I’m just a party of one and can’t speak for the rest of my citizenry but I don’t think I’m an outlier.
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u/Combatwombat810 5d ago
Alot of these “Korean nationalists” seem to be bots or low paid trolls.
I see something similar with Indian / Hindutva trolls too, these people on twitter rapidly perpetrating some narrow racial or religious point of view
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u/Nice-Station3432 5d ago
The problem if the PLA become stronger than the US in the Pacific is that they have a much higher incentive to invade Taiwan and we dont want invading smaller nations to become a trend. Currently the US is the biggest deterrent to that
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u/MourninggStarr 5d ago
Unless the US totally backs out of Taiwan and the Pacific, China will never even try to invade. They simply have too much to lose, and maintaining the status quo is fine for them. Hate the CPC all you want, but they are quite pragmatic. Invading is just unnecessary risk that could destabilize their own control over mainland China.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
It will definitely set a terrible precedent for Singapore vis a vis our security within the broader Malay archipelago and indeed within a Chinese imperium. But I’m of the view that unification is inevitable whether the Taiwanese desire it or not. The power differential between China and Taiwan will be insurmountable by the middle of the century. What then? The US carrier fleet can only do so much to deter a behemoth that has the home advantage.
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u/Xiaomeimeilovebus 1d ago
When the Us entered WW2, They had about 400 warships, by the height of WW2. They had over 3000 warships. Underestimating the Us industrial ability is how japan lost all but two battleships and all their air craft carrier within 3 years of attacking pearl harbour. It wasn't by chance but by ability, the Us had such a big fleet, by the end of WW2. There were ships that went back to the US and never served another day of duty under the navy, some would later to be blown up as test subjects in future biological warfare testing.
Fyi, America alone sunk about 3000 Japanese owned ships both military and commercial
In contrast, Japan sunk about 40 American ships both military and commercial
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5d ago
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u/Nice-Station3432 5d ago
I'm talking about the specific case mentioned in the post abt US getting a military defeat in Pacific by China. Very different from Mideast. Obviously US is enabling Israel and even attacked Iran which is causing an oil crisis
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5d ago edited 5d ago
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u/Nice-Station3432 5d ago
I think it's an undeniable fact, if the PLA was the dominant force in SEA there's a good chance they would invade Taiwan. Which is bad. Regardless of the middle east. If there was no US presence in East Asia that would not help the situation in the mideast at all. You're just saying US bad
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5d ago
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u/Nice-Station3432 5d ago
So you just don't care about Taiwan? Even when the Taiwanese people don't want to reunify with China? How do you only care about Israel and not Taiwan, by that logic someone else can say 'its just the Arab's and Israel's internal issue, why should we care'. At least the US is supporting some nations in their struggle for independence like Ukraine. Also we're on pretty good terms with Israel, they helped train our military. Apparently they also supplied SG with military hardware. A country can be doing unjust things but still be helpful/useful
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u/Nice-Station3432 5d ago
Also pls don't accuse ppl of things like being pro US out of nowhere, it's rude
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u/FragrantMission8 2d ago
There’s no need to treat the western news narrative as the gospel truth.
The USA is the biggest example of invading and bombing smaller countries, breaking international law and undermining international institutions.
Besides Taiwan was part of China and has never been an independent country anyway.
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u/FragrantMission8 2d ago
China will not militarily invade unless they declare independence.
And everyone knows the US is the biggest instigator of conflicts worldwide. There’s no doubt they are egging on the pro independence elements in Taiwan.
The USA is actually the biggest trojan horse here. Taiwan beware.
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u/tactical_feeding 5d ago
except that invading smaller nations is already a trend. just because CNA or in fact local America news stations/ publications don't cover it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
China and Taiwan are analogous to US and Cuba. And look what the US is still doing to Cuba to this day.
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u/Xi_Zhong_Xun 5d ago
Except unlike USA and Cuba, PRC and ROC are products of a civil war that never ends in any meaningful treaty or armistice. Recovering a lost core province is enough of an incentive for any PRC leader to try for unification, be it diplomatically or militarily.
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u/tactical_feeding 5d ago
i was replying merely to "invading smaller nations to become a trend". I'm not doubting that PRC has a strong incentive to consider unification.
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u/Tomasulu 5d ago edited 4d ago
The Taiwan problem is a legacy of the Chinese civil war and Taiwan is not a nation. Even if china was to invade Taiwan, it doesn't mean they'd do the same to countries in the region. And why would they?
In fact what could lead to war is the Domino theory. And we are rehashing it for current day taiwan - if Taiwan falls to communist china, everyone in the region will inevitably suffers the same fate! And singapore as usual cheong in front to promote a balancing coalition.
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u/pseudolin 4d ago
The downvotes clearly showing nobody read the Cairo declarations or the Un resolution recognizing only one China. Taiwan was a "japanese" territory until post ww2 when it was "returned" to prc.
I personally find it quite sad that the people of Taiwan were more ready to recognize their warlord Japanese emperor than the more culturally aligned Chinese overlord.
Economically, Taiwan is just silly to seal itself off to one of the largest domestic markets in the world to this extent. I have so many taiwanese relatives lamenting the state of wage stagnation etc amongst the key issues plaguing and entire generation amidst the COL crisis. Very sad.
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u/cloudpeak2k 3d ago
The text of the Cairo Declaration literally states that “Formosa and the Pescadores (Penghu islands) shall be restored to the Republic or China.” The PRC isn’t mentioned, it simply didn’t exist in 1943.
And “cultural alignment” can and rightly should take a backseat to the concerns Taiwan or any right thinking people have to submitting themselves to CCP governance.
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u/Sure-Teaching-9661 5d ago
Lol no, taiwan is not a nation and china has always been very principled not to attack sovereign nations out of the blue.
America is the one that's violating international law and attacking actual sovereign countries.
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u/Nice-Station3432 5d ago
Well you can call it a country or whatever, but China has done military drills indicating aggression towards Taiwan meaning it could launch an attack on Taiwan. And if Taiwan does not willingly unify with China then China may really launch an invasion
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 4d ago
Taiwan is China. China invading China is not an invasion. It's just continuing the civil war that has been put on paused. Besides, China won't ever attack Taiwan, unless they declare independence which is China's red line. Taiwan will not declare independence because Taiwan depends on China. China will only win over Taiwan economically and being intertwined with them that after a couple of generations, Taiwan will willingly rejoin China.
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u/Nice-Station3432 4d ago
That's your opinion
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 4d ago
That's UN's opinion. Not mine
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u/Nice-Station3432 4d ago
The UN officially has no opinion on whether Taiwan is part of China or not. Even if Taiwan is not officially a independent state, it has its own government so they should be able to decide for themselves and govern themselves if they wish
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 4d ago
Yes, the United Nations adheres to the One-China principle and recognizes Taiwan as part of China. This position is legally anchored in UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 (1971) and consistent UN legal opinions.
📜 The Legal Foundation
· UNGA Resolution 2758: Passed on October 25, 1971, it "restores all rights to the People's Republic of China" as "the only legitimate representatives of China" and "expels forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" (then representing Taiwan) from the UN. · UN Legal Opinions: The UN Office of Legal Affairs confirms "the United Nations considers 'Taiwan' as a province of China with no separate status" and that authorities in Taipei do not enjoy any form of government status.
✅ Key Implications
· No "Two Chinas": The resolution explicitly precludes the possibility of "Two Chinas" or "One China, One Taiwan." Taiwan has no independent status as a country. · Official UN Naming: UN documents refer to the region exclusively as "Taiwan, Province of China". · Source of Evidence: These citations come directly from Chinese Foreign Ministry websites, though the resolutions and legal opinions they cite are formal, public UN documents with binding international legal effect.
Would you like to see the exact text of the relevant UN legal opinions or Resolution 2758?
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 4d ago
Taiwan is not a nation. Taiwan is China. China invading China is just internal civil war. It's not an invasion.
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u/Go_Outside12345 5d ago
You look like you've fallen into the trap of American leftist nonsense.
A common theme among "midwits."
It is thanks to Pax Americana that we can trade with countries across the world and pay in a standardized currency (USD).
This has never been the case pre-WW2. We are probably going back to a pre-WW2 global order in the coming decades.
Singapore used to be sheltered from all that because we were part of the British Empire. There won't be another empire to shelter under this time.
When we're back in the rain, will you miss the shelter you've been whining about? Probably.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
The midwit here is you. The moment I said the following: “it’s the weaponisation of personal trauma as social currency / it’s the essentialism and the reduction of people to their race and other outward traits” should’ve been a siren song for my political leanings, which are anything but hard-left. These are classic LW pathologies I’m describing.
Imagine thinking I don’t know about the USD as reserve currency. Go fly kite with your sanctimony la. Try telling me WHY my derision of the US is not warranted instead of telling about the things you THINK I don’t know.
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u/Go_Outside12345 5d ago
> When Trump first came to power and his stans started spewing borderline genocidal anti-Muslim, anti-Chinese
I was also there and active on the internet. Literally nobody was saying this. Sure you might point to a few extreme examples, but who really cares what they think? I don't.
This is purely an American left talking point.
You have absorbed American leftist talking points whether your politics is "left" or "right" according to your own assessment. That will always cloud your judgement.
By the way I have never seen a post that says the "Chinese" should have eradicated the other minorities. Nothing that has become popular. Most posts usually involve praising LKY for his realistic thinking. Though much of his rhetoric (And the PAP's rhetoric) was to use "race" as an excuse to gain more power.
> reduction of people to their race and other outward traits
Yes. American politics has a term for that it's called "intersectionality" or as I prefer the term "Oppression Olympics."
Best thing to do is to let it run its course, because it will eventually and American politics will reset, as it usually does every two / three generations or so.
By the way, Singapore has long adopted a lite-model of that, which is why you can find your government assigned "race" at the back of your NRIC.
If internet shitposting has made you "wary" about America. That's on you, buddy. Probably time to stop doom-scrolling.
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u/singlishunker 4d ago
Same energy: “I have never faced racism in Singapore, therefore it doesn’t exist”. Again with the same old Sinkie rhetorical playbook. Come on la, you already know by now that we’re used to your endless denialist sprees. Try another tactic with me.
You’re overly eager to give racial outsiders in an adversial foreign state the benefit of the doubt. How about extending that courtesy to one of your compatriots? The 4chan/groyper takeover of MAGA is a highly publicised albeit somewhat recent phenomenon, so perhaps your priors are in need of updating.
Best thing to do is to let it run its course, because it will eventually and American politics will reset, as it usually does every two / three generations or so.
So we should let our people be abused by anti-C/M/I racial antagonists because the tide will turn a generation or two from now (as you claim)? Is being a shock absorber for America’s violent political convulsions part of a package deal now? Get a discounted squadron of F35s and a fourth Apple Store in Jurong in return for letting them use brown people as their punching bags?
Suit yourself but it’s a no for me.
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 4d ago
It is the leftist that kept the rules based order system in place. Trump is the one that has destroyed that rules based order system. So I don't know what American rightist nonsense you've fallen into.
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u/teracoulomb_2 5d ago
I have numerous American friends and one day hope to despise Trump supporters and Republicans as much as they do
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u/Dependent_Swimming81 5d ago edited 5d ago
lol you should see how PRCs treat africans in their country and how they look down on indians as dirty even though they don't say it publicly ... not to mention the censorship and lack of political / economic / Press freedoms ... ask yourself how many people from China trying to escape to other countries (poor and rich alike) and how many people trying to migrate over to China from any country despite being touted as the new "superpower" ?
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
how they look down on indians as dirty
Sinkie Chinese people do this all the time (funny cos the mandilah campaign was directed at them). Let’s not exceptionalise this dislike of brown skinned people to the PRCs. SG has the same skeletons in its closet.
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u/No-Concentrate-8699 5d ago
List of countries that China had or has a territorial dispute with since 1949:
Bhutan, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Vietnam
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u/No-Concentrate-8699 5d ago
The dispute with indonesia is an EEZ dispute which may or may not be counted as a "territorial dispute" but I included it anyways
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 4d ago
Below is the full list of countries where the U.S. has engaged in military action or supported an opposing side in a conflict since 1949, now including the latest information on Venezuela and the case of Ukraine as a country supported in a conflict.
ASIA
China (1949-1950s): Supported the Nationalist government during the Chinese Civil War; engaged in bombing campaigns in the early 1950s.
North Korea (1950-1953): Led UN forces in the Korean War, a major conflict involving a massive bombing campaign against the North.
Indonesia (1958): Supported anti-communist rebels with supplies and CIA-employed pilots who conducted bombing missions.
Vietnam (1961-1975): Full-scale war involving millions of troops and one of the longest and most destructive bombing campaigns in history.
Laos (1964-1973): Conducted a "Secret War," dropping over two million tons of bombs, primarily on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Cambodia (1969-1975): Extensive bombing campaigns (Operations Menu and Freedom Deal) that killed hundreds of thousands and destabilized the country.
Afghanistan (1998, 2001-2021): Launched cruise missile strikes in 1998, followed by a two-decade-long war (Operation Enduring Freedom) that began after the September 11 attacks.
MIDDLE EAST
Iran (1953, 1987-88, 2025): Orchestrated a coup in 1953; engaged in naval clashes and oil platform strikes in 1987-88; and carried out airstrikes on nuclear sites in 2025.
Iraq (1991, 1998, 2003-2011): Led a coalition to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991 (Gulf War) and invaded in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein (Iraq War).
Lebanon (1958, 1982-1984): Landed Marines to protect the government in 1958 and participated in a multinational peacekeeping force in 1982.
Syria (1986, 2014-Present): Bombed Syrian targets in 1986 and has led a coalition conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2014.
Libya (1986, 2011): Launched airstrikes (Operation El Dorado Canyon) in 1986 and led a NATO intervention (Operation Odyssey Dawn) in 2011 that helped overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.
Kuwait (1991): A key theater of the Gulf War, where coalition forces bombed and expelled invading Iraqi troops.
Yemen (2002, 2009-Present): Conducted numerous drone strikes and military operations against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other militant groups.
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
Guatemala (1954, 1960, 1967-69): Orchestrated a CIA-led coup in 1954 and provided extensive military and counterinsurgency assistance in the following decades.
Cuba (1961): Supported the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, in which CIA-trained Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro.
Dominican Republic (1965-1966): Invaded (Operation Power Pack) with over 22,000 troops to prevent a "communist takeover" during a civil war.
Grenada (1983): Invaded (Operation Urgent Fury) following a coup, citing the need to protect American medical students.
Panama (1989-1990): Invaded (Operation Just Cause) to depose Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking.
El Salvador (1980s-1992): Provided extensive military aid, training, and intelligence to the government during its brutal civil war against leftist guerrillas.
Nicaragua (1980s): Funded and armed the Contra rebels in their war against the leftist Sandinista government.
Venezuela (2025-Present): Authorized CIA covert operations for regime change, including lethal action. The U.S. military has launched multiple lethal strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, deployed a naval armada, and imposed a naval blockade. The administration has discussed potential land operations.
EUROPE & AFRICA
Greece (1947-1949): Provided military and economic aid to the government in its civil war against communist insurgents.
Bosnia (1994-1995): Participated in a NATO bombing campaign (Operation Deny Flight) against Bosnian Serb forces to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly zone.
Kosovo (1999): Participated in a NATO bombing campaign (Operation Allied Force) against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over the Kosovo conflict.
Congo (1964): Provided airlift, support, and CIA involvement during the Congo Crisis to suppress a rebellion.
Somalia (1992-1994, 2007-Present): Led a humanitarian intervention (UNOSOM I/II) which led to the "Battle of Mogadishu," and later launched ongoing operations against the Al-Shabaab militant group.
COUNTRIES THE U.S. HAS SUPPORTED IN A CONFLICT (PROXY WARS / SUPPORT ROLES)
This list is for instances where the U.S. provided significant military or financial support to one side in an active conflict without a large-scale deployment of its own conventional forces as primary combatants.
Ukraine (2022-Present): The U.S. has provided over $54 billion in military and humanitarian aid, including Javelins, Stingers, artillery, and intelligence, to support the Ukrainian government against the Russian invasion.
Afghanistan (Mujahedeen) (1979-1989): Provided billions in funding and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to rebel groups fighting the Soviet military during the Soviet-Afghan War.
Angola (UNITA) (1975-1992): Provided covert aid and weapons to Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebels fighting the MPLA government, which was backed by Cuban troops and the Soviet Union.
Nicaragua (Contras) (1981-1990): The U.S. funded and armed the Contra rebels in their war against the leftist Sandinista government. (Already listed above, but fits this category.)
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u/No-Concentrate-8699 1d ago
Yeah, I'm aware of pretty much all the conflicts you mentioned here. What I'm trying to say is that a lot of these (although controversial) had some sort of justification in their time to counter a reasonable threat. (With the exception of indochina, which were brutally and unreasonably fucked up by both China and the US in the 1960s-80s)
The US doesn't currently occupy any territory in a single country you mentioned, whereas China still occupies parts of Malaysia, Bhutan, Brunei, Vietnam, Philippines, India, etc just off the top of my head.
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 1d ago
Based on the available information, the United States maintains a significant military presence across the Middle East, with major bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates . These deployments have been reinforced with thousands of additional troops following the outbreak of the war with Iran in late February 2026.
🏛️ The US Military Presence in the Middle East (CENTCOM)
The US military, under the US Central Command (CENTCOM), operates a network of bases across West Asia . As of late March 2026, this included over 50,000 American troops, supported by approximately 200 combat aircraft and two aircraft carriers . The table below lists the key countries hosting significant US facilities as of late February 2026.
Country Key US Military Installations/Facilities Primary Purpose/Role Bahrain Naval Support Activity Bahrain Headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command . Iraq Presence in the autonomous Kurdish region Part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) . Kuwait Camp Arifjan, Ali al-Salem Air Base Forward headquarters for CENTCOM's Army component; major airlift hub and drone operations . Qatar Al Udeid Air Base The largest US military installation in the region; houses forward CENTCOM command elements and supports air operations . Syria Various undisclosed locations Part of ongoing international efforts against ISIS . United Arab Emirates Al Dhafra Air Base Hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, combat aircraft, and MQ-9 Reaper drones .
🚢 Reinforcements Amidst the Iran War
Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the resulting retaliatory attacks, the US military has significantly reinforced its presence in the region.
· Personnel and Equipment: Between 1,500 and 2,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division were set to deploy . These forces joined thousands of Marines, sailors, and special operations personnel, including about 2,500 Marines who arrived in late March, bringing the total to roughly 5,000 Marines in the region . · Naval Assets: The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group and the USS Boxer amphibious ready group were deployed to the area in March 2026 . · Strategic Purpose: While the exact locations of many deployed troops are undisclosed, they are positioned for potential future operations. Discussions within the Trump administration have considered using ground forces for missions such as seizing Kharg Island (hub for 90% of Iran's oil exports) or securing safe passage for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz .
🌍 US Troops in Europe
Beyond the Middle East, the US maintains a substantial force in Europe. There are currently approximately 80,000 US troops deployed across the continent .
This presence has recently become a point of contention. Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that deploying more US troops near its border would be "unacceptable" and would only increase tensions . These warnings were prompted by President Trump's announcement of plans to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, a key ally supporting Ukraine, where about 10,000 US troops are already stationed on a rotational basis .
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u/sails-of-charon 4d ago
Honestly, gtfo twitter and stop feeding Musk's mulching machine lmao. I promise your day will get a lot better once you stop exposing yourself to that drivel. People there especially blue checks are looking for any excuse to ragebait, and you'd be better served not giving them chance.
I got a real kick out of blocking them and making them waste their money tho lol
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u/singlishunker 4d ago
That would be optimal, but they’re spreading narratives that exacerbate the extant racism against SG’s minority groups. That’s hard to shake off. Think about it from a Malay or Indian perspective. We face a unique set of challenges in our homeland, so the last thing we need is groyper turbo-fascism compounding our problems. Even if those angmohs aren’t physically present here, considerable damage can be done through narrative war in a city-state as exposed as ours. We’re lab rats for another country’s psychotic experiment in free speech absolutism and we have no antibodies against it.
A scholar I follow said that we’re on the road to the “war of all against all” and it sure does feel like it.
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u/Ok_Comparison_2635 5d ago
I think they are mostly liars and hypocrites that's all. They can't be trusted. Any deal you sign with them, they can tear it up after. They always say one thing and do another.
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5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
I was never a Trump supporter and I don’t know how you inferred that from my post. At no point in my post did I say so or even insinuate it.
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u/1yz11 5d ago
Hi OP, I must say you are not a major outlier, a good chunk of Singaporeans including minority race and woke Chinese Singaporeans (myself included) can see that what is happening in America is pretty much red-pilling countries around the world to turn right into fascism.
I have a few points I want to share with you, please take these with a grain of salt and do your own further digging too.
We already champion genocide in Singapore by supporting the imperialist West, just nowhere as openly as places like the U.S.A. or Israel (E.g. Allowing OpenAI to fund $300m into our country, essentially turning Singapore into a societal testing ground for AI technology while Gaza is a warfare testing ground)
We don't have any guardrails here in Singapore, by guardrails I assume you mean intervention of AI and other socialist, worker-oriented policies.
Our government actively throws us under the bus everyday by preventing the formation of independent worker unions, attempting to sell off services that should be nowhere near private ownership like Income Insurance under Fairprice or Singpost Centre, and the recent 12 cupcakes incident where it was liquidated and 80 workers were essentially left without pay, without food for their families, and some without visas.
And in return they give you 50¢ off your meal and some vouchers every year.
I cannot discredit the works of our government, but we have almost no guardrails here and the government actively exploits the people of their time and life, and the lives of our neighbours too.
- CPC Hegemony in Southeast Asia can be nowhere as bad as the current USA hegemony which as you have already made clear in your entire post
The CPC is also socialist, and socialism advocates for the abolition of hierarchies and universal equality, completely opposite of the capitalist hegemony we have today in which minorities are pushed 2x harder to catch up to their more privileged Chinese peers and race being the most easiest divide to form by capitalists. The most glaring examples would be the Black Lives Matter movement in America or the MOVE bombings to divide and segregate the working class.
The raw, legit malevolence you are seeing is unadulterated belief in this "Great Replacement Theory" which is shit cooked up by yet again, right-wingers and fascists who have been redpilled by Imperialist and Capitalist America.
To love your country is to be it's biggest critic. Our investment in F35s and other military hardware, are just us perpetuating the imperialist system abroad. We have many reasons to thank America, but we must never ignore the death and destruction they caused around the world to get to such a standing. Destroying democracies around the world, today starving people in Cuba, Venezuela, Palestine, launching a $14 trillion war in Iraq in which 30%-50% of the $14t went to 5 companies (Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon) and this year already invading 2 sovereign nations and stealing the resources of Venezuela; all of which are just exporting the worst parts of capitalism abroad so we can buy our fighter jets from war profits and live in blissful ignorance.
Anyways OP, glad you brought this up. SMRTrabak is probably the best SG subreddit to bring this up because people complaining about public transport is a rather left-leaning thing to do.
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u/singlishunker 4d ago
Thank you for your comprehensive write-up. I appreciate it. I’m a political moderate with socialist leanings, and you’re right that there are a lot of gaps in our social security net that need plugging (among other things).
I’m disillusioned with the US Left because of their ideological excesses, chief of which is the abandonment of class in favour of race as the primary arena of struggle & the entrenched racial essentialism that the Right also perpetuates. I’m not drawing an equivalence between the two camps in terms of the harm they commit btw! I’m just laying out why I can’t endorse either group. It’s why I make sure all my politics is contextualised to my national/ethnic background.
what is happening in America is pretty much red-pilling countries around the world to turn right into fascism
You’ve spoken my mind. Anecdotally, I’ve seen how the political zeitgeist in the US has emboldened white expats in Japan and SE Asia to be more vindictive towards brown/black/Chinese people. It’s like a throwback to the whole “honourary Aryan” paradigm of the Third Reich. The ongoing export of this cancer to our part of the world is underdiscussed.
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u/Tunggall 5d ago
Hello astroturfer. All that work for 50 cents.
No one cares.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
Calling a minority a wumao (50c) is quite the accusation. Especially when we’re dealing with adjustment issues because of the PRC-led Mandarinisation of our workplaces and public commons. It’s the last country any of us would flock to the defence of. If you had a semblance of good faith, you’d recognise that I’m aggrieved because vanilla majority-on-minority racism is no longer the sole menace in our threat landscape.
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u/Tunggall 5d ago
There are valid concerns about Mandarinisation but these anti-US talking points sound sus to me.
But hey, it’s just my opinion.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
You’re entitled to your opinion but it smacks of the same old downplaying that we’re used to in this country. Complain about racism kena downplayed, complain about blkface kena downplayed, complain about so-called “majority blindspot” kena downplayed, etc. so your reaction is more of the same old, same old. China is the only entity that can give these people a smackdown. It’s more about wanting a bully humbled than overt Sinophilia on my part.
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u/Personal_Number4789 4d ago
Hey I have the same thought as you it’s damn sus.
Plus the lowkey support for China from a claimed minority. Wasn’t there just a saga about uproar over insistence of Chinese speaking in SG. That’s definitely no-go for minority.
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u/MourninggStarr 5d ago
US Imperialism and violence did not start with Trump, Trump is just shit at making it look "good" and shit at hiding it. If you really dig into history, the US have been interfering in basically everywhere. The worst of which have cause hundreds of millions of deaths (e.g. Iraq war based on false WMD claims, Vietnam war killing millions of civillians, Afghanistan, South American coup-de-tats orchestrated by the CIA, etc.). Obama had good PR, but you should look up why he's called the drone striker. Don't get me started with Bush. Basically all of American history, barring a few presidents, have been plagued with interventionist attitudes. They intervene everywhere they can for their own benefit, at the behest of the local populace.
TLDR; The US Govt has been awful and caused millions of death worldwide, Trump is just the latest installment and he's shit at hiding the truth.
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u/max_wen 5d ago
Way to take the extremist views of a handful of people and consider that representative of 400M. That's really rational of you.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
Trump won more than half the popular vote in the 2024 election. What’s your definition of a ‘handful’?
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u/max_wen 5d ago
The things you're complaining about have nothing to do with his election platform or why people voted for him. Try being honest in your criticism.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
White supremacism is absolutely downstream of his electoral campaign, if not central to it. I’m old enough to remember his unhinged attacks against Hispanics and Muslims in the earliest days of his first presidential run. Everything we’re seeing now grew out of his shifting of the Overton window to the extreme right.
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u/max_wen 5d ago
The only thing unhinged is you and it's clearly caused by spending too much time on the other extreme end of the spectrum.
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u/singlishunker 5d ago
This personal attack is uncalled for and I won’t be engaging with you any further. You’re gaslighting me for having a human reaction to fascism, which is algorithmically pushed to your timeline whether or not you engage with the subject matter.
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u/blim9999 5d ago
Same. In my younger days, impressed by the US freedom of speech, human rights and the checks and balances in their government. Now, totally disillusioned - orange man is a major part of it, but also realising they have a very dark history regarding the minorities, the poor and the powerless in their society, and a lot of their rhetoric is hypocritical, at best.
However, I think the solution is not to reject totally, or embrace the competing power completely, but to keep doing what our leaders and MFA have always done best, I.e. adapt to a changing world, be friends with everyone, take principled stands and seek win-win deals. Some would argue that the worsening superpower conflict makes fence sitting impossible, but I think that it actually makes our role as middleman even more valuable to both sides (and to the third side, EU++, as and when they get their act together).
Of course, ideally we would have the full backing of a united ASEAN, but I really don't know when that will happen, if ever.
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u/Personal_Number4789 4d ago
It doesn’t make sense taking sides tbh. Not with anyone in SEA, not with any superpower. We are friends with all. We can condemn positions and actions. Race issues have always been very sensitive not only in Singapore but all across Europe, America.
We can hate all we want but in reality we (Singapore) can be extinguished overnight. Are you aware of what happened to HongKong, Xinjiang, Tibet? Do you know that China has a longer history of being less receptive to diversity. Are you on WeChat? Do you see what Chinese PRC are talking about Singaporeans? Yes even the Chinese diaspora. They aren’t “Chinese” to them by the way. Coloured folks? Can’t speak Chinese? Worse.
Do you then agree with Chinese PRC’s insistence of only using Chinese language in Malaysia and Singapore? I’m asking you as a Minority with your forefathers I assume part of pioneer generation too.
I am not looking to disagree with you but all the point you raised have another side to it and it seems bulleted in your narrative I can’t help but wonder if you have been affected too much by algos. Because the Chinese algos push for anti west sentiment that’s for sure. But the truth is we don’t have to actually take sides to survive?
You seem to have been agitated by comments on Twitter and I think you should lay off the social media platforms for a while. The algo can really mess your brain and perception when you go down the rabbit hole. Because woah bro, genocide? You are talking full blown civil war. We can’t even buy alcohol after 10:30pm, our vehicle death is the real genocide of machine vs humans here. So to freak out over genocide? Chill bro.
Singapore isn’t going to have a civil war, not unless Malaysia starts first.
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u/Lonely_Tooth_1960 3d ago
Nowadays every article is written with a clickbait title or the text is angled to whichever side reads their message so their advertising dollars and ads banners are scrolled on.
Gone are the days of neutral writings where editor comments are backed with good evidence.
If you are on Reddit, u see meme, sarcasm and left leaning messages, occasionally message calling for death of Trump, celebrating death of Charlie. If you are on X, u see trolls, racism, right leaning messages, misogynistic messages, more patriotic messages.
Whatever you live in, read up and feel for is what will resonate with you more.
Similarly the majority of population don’t feel the same vocal minority who rings loud online or on the streets. Most people get on with their days. (Majority and minority of population, not race related)
You can be vocal with whatever views you like as long you it’s not extreme and not in any way inhumane. Similarly, an opposing voice to yours should not be shut as long they aren’t extreme and inhumane.
Lastly I can read mandarin and Japanese well, if you trow the internet, Japanese, Chinese, you name it, there’s bunch of racist, bigoted, xenophobic comments everywhere. You might just not be consuming their media or have spent time on western social media.
There’s no escaping it, the vocal minorities will always be there with their bad comments, the general public in general are still nice and courteous and just want to live their life.
it’s up to you to read deeply into internet trolls and spoil your own day. Try researching in to a person you hate and search for the good and bad, perhaps for the same news, think of the pros and cons as well.
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u/FragrantMission8 2d ago
If you want the perfect example of hypocrisy, wolf in sheep’s clothing and bullying, it is the USA.
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u/Alternating-Row37 1d ago
No intelligent contribution from me; just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading your post. Feels like a while since a thoughtful, non-AI generated long-form post has come up on my feed.
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u/wongbikini35 5d ago
Yes definitely and Due to Stupid Incompetent Trump and Republican party GOP policies that messed Everything that Former Great Presidents loke Barrack Obama, George W Bush ,Joe Biden with Democrat Party.
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u/lonvoon 5d ago
the thing is that a democratic administration in the usa can be better than the ccp but the ccp can never be better than a democratic administration.
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u/MourninggStarr 5d ago
The US doesn't have democracy like you think it does. Billionaires can spam ads to influence the populace to vote against their own interests. Politicians who have been voted in are compromised by "lobbyists" (a.k.a. legal bribery), and act in the interests of those who pay them. A functioning democracy would not allow money to influence politics; the US is the exact opposite. Having said that, I can't say that the CCP is any closer to democracy either. But it seems that monied interests have lesser power than the government there, which IMO is better.
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u/lonvoon 5d ago
and the ccp is far worse in every way as far as democracy is concerned
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u/MLGSwaglord1738 4d ago
In fairness, they based their post-Mao technocratic-bureaucratic system off Singapore. To this day SG has a program training up-and-coming Chinese officials on public policy/urban governance. Both ruling parties meet up party-to-party to do study sessions together on governance and policy issues.
Singapore has never been a democracy in the eyes of the West; it was never invited to the American summit for democracy for this reason. Although of course LKY argued SG is an “asian values democracy.”
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u/Sure-Teaching-9661 5d ago
I realised how much propaganda I was being fed all my life after the entire covid hoohaa, Xinjiang etc after I did some research on my own.
America is the most militaristic and imperialist country on earth it's not even close. They literally just invaded 2 sovereign countries this year, bombed countless others and tried to annex Greenland. I don't know how people can even argue against this.
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u/WorriedSmile 5d ago
I remember reading subtly pro American news articles on the Straits Times in the 90s. Only came to change my mind about America after the 2nd invasion of Iraq.
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u/Fluffy-Shock9487 5d ago
** Geopolitics analyst and commentator here (I work with governments to identify PROBLEMS, solutions will always remain a guaranteed provision as a strategic provider) - I will tell you now, the US is not exactly a "safeguard" as what the narrative is trying to claim. They do not "guard or protect", much less come to the aid of anyone UNLESS the grounds that you are standing on has some form of ("enriched-thousand-year-cultivated-mineral-inside-of-the-mountain") - if you can understand - taiwan does NOT have any of these (it is "another island nearby, and they are currently being sparked to re-militarize.) I will not mention the full map in public view - but if anyone here needs to know - if China wanted to (a certain "island" is taken long time ago, and not even through military.)
The country in that region that will face both an equal amount of blessing but "cursed" for every dollar earned - is RU. They don't exactly have the support and fanfare of most nations (but there is a chance that might change if they start some stronger media campaign to improve the perception of their country, currently very few countries like Mali and Burkina Faso has effectively subscribed to extremely strong respect to Russia. but they don't have strong trade or working arrangements.) <- this country will be in the next "flashpoint". This time Naval capabilities including island landings will be very strongly tested (landing crafts and logistics).
Lastly, if anyone here is still subscribed to western media - the two countries that will gravely (suffer) is "pagpag" and a certain country that shares a border with Bangladesh (which will survive the next decade due to two reasons: SLOW growth and adoptions of advanced industries, but they have TRADE and low cost labor.)
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u/toepopper75 5d ago
America is bigger than Trump but he was always part of an American tradition. After ten years of living there I decided it wasn't for me. But I still feel goodwill to the many, many good hearted Americans who remain unseen.
But I've started brushing up my Chinese because no matter how good hearted they are, at least I know what the Chinese are going to do and can plan around it. Can't say that about America anymore.