Clinton/Obama Kowtowing to China.again
At the expense of an ally. B http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/30/inside-the-ring-899975726/ Inside the Ring By Bill Gertz <http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/bill-gertz/> - The Washington Times 7:35 p.m., Wednesday, March 30, 2011 State blocks Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> arms The State Department <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/department-of-state/> is holding up final approval of Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> 's request for a multibillion-dollar arms package to upgrade Taipei's fleet of aging F-16 jets. U.S. national security officials close to the issue said the arms package, along with a report to Congress <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/> on Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> 's air power that is more than a year late, is being delayed by senior Obama administration officials, including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/james-steinberg/> , who are seeking to avoid a third rupture in U.S.-China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> military relations over Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> arms sales. The report's delay is prompting at least one senator to threaten the expected nomination of Mark Lippert <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mark-lippert/> , a friend of President Obama, to be the new assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs. Lawmakers want the report, which the administration has linked to the F-16 upgrade deal, before allowing Mr. Lippert <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mark-lippert/> to take the strategic Pentagon <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/pentagon/> Asia policy slot. One administration official said the Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> arms and report issues are simply one of "timing" and that the lengthy delay in formally approving the F-16 upgrade package, worth an estimated $4 billion, forced arms sales officials to go back and re-price elements of it, causing further delay. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/20110330-193311-pic-1368698 18jpg/> U.S. national security officials say the Taiwan arms package is being delayed by senior Obama administration officials, including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, who are seeking to avoid a third rupture in U.S.-China military relations over Taiwan arms sales. (Associated Press)U.S. national security officials say the Taiwan arms package is being delayed by senior Obama administration officials, including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, who are seeking to avoid a third rupture in U.S.-China military relations over Taiwan arms sales. (Associated Press) The official said the air-power study, required under the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, is being held up along with the F-16 upgrade package because "you don't want to present a problem without a solution," referring to what the Pentagon <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/pentagon/> has said is a rapidly shifting balance of air power in China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> 's favor. China's government <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/chinas-government/> twice in the past cut off military relations with the Pentagon <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/pentagon/> over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> , most recently in January 2010 over a $6 billion arms sale. The Obama administration and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/robert-m-gates/> have made improving military relations with China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> a key element of its military diplomacy. China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> 's leaders, according to defense officials, have exploited that desire by trying to hold military exchanges hostage and forcing an end of arms sales to the island Beijing regards as its unconquered territory. Asked about the delay, State Department <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/department-of-state/> spokesman Mark Toner <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mark-toner/> said "no decisions on foreign military sales, including anything related to F-16s, have been made." "Ever since the Taiwan Relations Act was passed, the entire interagency has been and continues to be involved in the ongoing process to evaluate Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> 's defense needs, which informs the [U.S. government <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/us-government/> 's] decisions on foreign military sales to Taiwan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/taiwan/> ," he said. Mr. Toner <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mark-toner/> said it is inaccurate to say that State is delaying release of the Taiwan Air Defense study because it is a product of the Pentagon <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/pentagon/> . The Pentagon <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/pentagon/> already signed off on the F-16 upgrade deal last year and agreed to put off an announcement until after the summit meeting that month between Mr. Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hu-jintao/> . The arms package includes offers of new electronics, engines and missiles for the island nation's arsenal of 145 U.S.-made F-16 jets. Chinese crackdown Samantha Power <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/samantha-power/> , the White House National Security Council <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/white-house-national-security-council /> staff director for multilateral engagement, said this week that the Obama administration is stepping up diplomatic efforts against China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> over its major crackdown on dissidents. Asked to comment on U.S.-China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> relations after a speech Monday at Columbia University <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/columbia-university/> in New York, Ms. Power <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/samantha-power/> quipped: "Should I leave now?" She then went on to say the administration sought to use the recent summit meeting between President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hu-jintao/> to press China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> to improve its human rights record, by "using the fact of the summit to draw greater attention to the plight of political dissidents and ordinary Chinese who are unjustly incarcerated." There are no plans to cut off dialogues on security or economic issues to protest the crackdown, she said. "I think what we've seen in the last few weeks is very, very disturbing," Ms. Power <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/samantha-power/> said. "An already grim human rights situation has deteriorated as the Chinese government appears to be fearful of the Arab spring spreading" "So we're stepping up our diplomacy on human rights grounds and maintaining the security and economic and the other dialogues that are also critical for our national interests," she said. The comments followed an hourlong speech by Ms. Power <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/samantha-power/> that included how the Obama administration decided to use military force in Libya after diplomatic and other efforts could not stop attacks on civilians by Col. Moammar Gadhafi's military. "We obviously have a long way to go in the cause of human rights promotion and protection," Ms. Power <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/samantha-power/> said during the speech. "But the president, Secretary [of State Hillary Rodham] Clinton and the rest of his Cabinet, I think, have charted a course that we are confident will over time help bend the famous arch of history toward justice." China <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/china/> 's communist government arrested dozens of prominent dissidents in recent weeks in an effort to stem what is being called a "Jasmine Revolution" by pro-democracy advocates seeking to replicate the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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