>>507773633building on this, i'd point out that "history being written by the victors" is actually a vast oversimplification. after each big war, the process of assessing blame, assigning responsibility for reparations, and structuring the new global order has fallen on the victors, with the losers having to pay heavily (see: germany post-versailles, which is where we have the Bank for International Settlements, thanks JP Morgan and City Bank of NY, also the Bretton Woods institutions, Japan being under colonial administration, etc)
China and Russia are looking ahead to a world where truth is no longer determined at will by the US, UK, NATO and Israel. they are acting in a way that doesn't make a lot of sense at the moment, because what is "real" and "true" is determined by their enemies.
they are betting on the system changing, a paradigm or phase shift to a multipolar world, which they see as an inexorable process akin to the laws of physics, which is tied in with every part of the current system in a way that you could call fractal or nonlinear.
it's a big bet. basically in order for this gambit to work, the world will have to shift in ways that are literally inconceivable to the head honchos in DC, Brussels, London, Tel Aviv, whose continued dominance depends on their ability to "manage" the ongoing shifts like any other crisis, which they view as episodic, not necessarily inexorable.
As far as who is correct- i have no idea, and none of us here except our friendly intelligence agents possess the information required to assess the feasibility of either side's plans.
Anyway, it might look dumb for Russia and China to sit back while their allies are seemingly disarmed, disassembled, or turned away. and i know it sounds counterintuitive, and like cope. but i think they are playing it smart.
they know that whoever fires the first shots (esp. if nuclear) will lose not only in the court of public opinion but in international arbitration and history as well.