Blinken - If you are not at the table, you on the menu

 This quote by Blinken is very revealing on the American devious mindset and policies towards the rest of the world. The Empire treats almost every state as an item in its menu, to be served and eaten. The big question is, are you at the table?

Who are the countries at the table? Some countries, especially American allies, presumed that they are at the table. Countries in Aukus, in the Quad, G7, would also presume, conceitedly that they must be at the table and are safe. Who really are at the table?

When a country is at the table, it may be like being invited to a feast. This is one way of looking at the meaning of being 'at the table'. Or the Emperor issuing out orders. Another way of looking at it is to look at the intent or purpose of the table. At the table is not simply just a dinner table. At the table could mean the negotiating table, where American interests are being discussed and negotiated, or how the world is going to be divided. 

From this perspective, many American allies and crony states are not at the table. When the Americans are at the negotiating table, the allies and crony states are often not invited. So far, there is only one other party at the negotiating table, ie China. At the table there are only two negotiating parties, the USA and China. At the table, they would decide their vital national interests and what they would do to protect their national interests, who would be the scapegoat or sacrificial lamb, who would be dispensed with, to be traded between the two superpowers. At the table, the Americans and the other party would decide the fate of smaller states and world affairs, how the world should be carved out.

This is the American meaning of being at the table, or being in the menu. The rest of the world is in the American menu, America First. The Americans need not invite their allies or cronies to the table. They will negotiate with China and inform their allies and cronies on the outcome.

For those American allies and cronies that think they are at the table or at least not on the menu, this might be a rude shock. They are just an item in the menu. Remember Taiwan, once American's closest ally aka ROC, was an item on the menu when Nixon negotiated with Mao. ROC was sold for China to be on the American side against the Soviet Union. Ukraine is about to be traded for peace in Europe.