A Canary in the Coal Mine for U.S. Global Leadership?
10.28.2013 at 01:15pm
A Canary in the Coal Mine for U.S. Global Leadership? By Kathleen McInnis, War on the Rocks.
As recently as the 1980s, coal miners would carry a canary with them as they dug their quarries deep in the earth. Canaries are sensitive to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and methane; the birds therefore became a kind of early warning system. When a canary started to show signs of distress, miners knew that they were entering a danger zone.
The Obama administration appears to have dodged a bullet with respect to two critical issues: intervening in Syria and budgetary default. However, as the dust starts to settle, real questions are emerging abroad as to whether the canary is croaking for U.S. global leadership…
