-Caveat Lector-
Not for Commercial Use
Peter Zhang: Clinton's to blame for Taiwan crisis
Source: The New Australian
Published: No. 130, 16-22 Aug. 1999
Author: Peter Zhang
There is no doubt in Asia that Clinton is solely responsible for
the Taiwan crisis. That an American president could be so
incredibly stupid in his dealings with Beijing leaves Asian
leaders both stunned and filled with contempt for the Oval
Office. I have tried to stress that the Clinton's administration
is a foreign policy disaster. And its most disastrous failures
have been in China. Instead of working to strengthen China's
reformist trends it has acted to strengthen its militaristic
tendencies by rewarding bad behaviour. The more Chinese
militarists behaved badly the more the Clinton administration did
everything within its power to minimise their threat to American
security.
The administration deliberately, and criminally, ignored
Beijing's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, its rapid
attempts to try and modernise its armed services, the mischievous
role it has played in nuclear proliferation, its application of
US high-tech imports to military uses. As I said elsewhere, the
effect of brushing aside China's reformists in favour of
appeasing Chinese militarists is to strengthen them at the
expense of US security. Rewarding bad behaviour guarantees more
of the same. This is why China is now engaged in a fierce sabre
rattling exercise over Taiwan.
As usual, most Western commentators have missed the vital point.
China's aggressive noises are warnings to the rest of Asia and
are signalling how much the regime holds the US in contempt. How
the US reacts to these signals could have political and military
repercussions for many years to come. Already the signs are bad.
I pointed out last week that Admiral Dennis Blair's irresponsible
comment that the US should not defend Taiwan would encourage
Beijing to become even more bellicose. And that is precisely what
happened. No wonder the rest of Asia is appalled by White House
stupidity.
Does this mean an invasion of Taiwan? Not in my opinion. Two
fundamentals must be borne in mind. The first is the fact that
for sometime China has been working to undermine American
influence in the region. By showing that America is a "paper
tiger", "an ally without courage", as one official put it to me,
Beijing hopes to weaken the regional powers' faith in America's
willingness to stand by its allies by standing up to Chinese
threats. At the moment it appears it will definitely have some
success, thanks to White House cowardice over Taiwan. In other
words, the sabre rattling is part of Beijing's political war
against the US.
I have stated before that it is Beijing's prime long term aim to
drive America out of Asia and then virtually out of the Pacific,
at least as far back as the Hawaiian islands. As I wrote two
months ago the consensus among China's political elite is that
America is in a state of terminal moral and political decline1,
and that this will eventually be reflected in American political
power shrinking in absolute terms. It is believed that this
decline will be preceded by an increasing inability to project
military power. This is why Beijing believes time is on its side.
(Ironically, Clinton's election wins only succeeded in
reinforcing this dismal political prognosis, as has the insane
process of 'feminising' the US military). Unfortunately, Clinton
and his coterie of '60s misfits are literally incapable of truly
understanding any of this. It simply does not fit their 'liberal'
mindset.
So why should China ruin its long term plans by attacking Taiwan
and thus bring the wrath of the US Congress down on its head? And
it is Congress, not Clinton, that it fears. It knows that though
Clinton is a coward an angry Congress could force him to act.
Regardless of the damage Clinton and his appointees have done to
the American military, Beijing still has a lot of respect for
what's left. This brings us to the other fundamental � the true
state of the PLA.
A PLA general claimed that they could "roll up Taiwan in 10
days." This is pure bravado and he knows it. Though China has
about 2.5 million troops, its equipment is largely obsolete.
Compare this with Taiwan's 400,000 troops, highly trained and
motivated, equipped with the latest hardware and backed up by a
huge reserve of trained personnel. Any attempt to cross the
Taiwan Strait would therefore inflict the kind of massive losses
on China's armed services that no government could survive. As a
token military gesture the PLA could try and invade one of the
outlying islands, Kinmen perhaps. But though success would be
guaranteed the losses would probably be politically unacceptable
and certainly militarily embarrassing.
There will be no invasion of Taiwan. But America will, thanks to
Clinton, have suffered another political defeat in the region,
which brings us to the Democrats. This is the party that Beijing
wants to see control both Houses and the Oval Office. And why?
Because it considers it to be, putting it politely, the party of
appeasement. So I strongly suggest that Americans should ask
themselves this question: Why does Beijing want to see Al Gore in
the Oval Office?
1China's Balkan lesson for the Pacific.
The New Australian
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
=================================================================
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
