“I am convinced that if it had not been for 9/11, we would be in a military showdown with China today.”
Wow, um, WHAT??
That’s a quote from Gary Hart, in reference to a discussion raised by Lynne Cheney, wife of current Vice President Dick Cheney. At least, according to James Fallows’ blog (I feel like I’m playing a game of Telephone here).
Fallows writes that during sessions of the U.S. Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (held in early 2001, before 9/11), seven Republicans and seven Democrats would discuss and debate various issues of national security.
At the first meeting, one Republican woman on the commission said that the overwhelming threat was from China. Sooner or later the U.S. would end up in a military showdown with the Chinese Communists. There was no avoiding it, and we would only make ourselves weaker by waiting. No one else spoke up in support.
The same thing happened at the second meeting — discussion from other commissioners about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, anarchy of failed states, etc, and then this one woman warning about the looming Chinese menace. And the third meeting too. Perhaps more.
Finally, in frustration, this woman left the commission.
“Her name was Lynne Cheney,” Hart said. “I am convinced that if it had not been for 9/11, we would be in a military showdown with China today.”
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not discounting any possible military threat from China—I don’t know enough about the issue, though I know that Dick Cheney has watched & criticized China’s military build-up before.
But as a Chinese American, that shit scares me. What would I do if the country of my birthplace went to war with the country of my family? Would there be a backlash against people of Chinese descent in the US? What would happen to the rest of the world if two such large countries went to war?
I know it doesn’t make for much of a juicy blog post, but I can’t think of any good answers to those questions. Plus, I’m still a bit groggy after all that beer from a 4th of July BBQ celebrating the US’s independence.
The Peking Duck picked up this story too, and already a plethora of comments have been made, pro and con this issue. There are lots of conspiracy theories too. While I don’t agree with all of them, reading the varying viewpoints cleared up some of my ignorance on this subject. If you know more, please share; I’d love to hear it.
Let me close with my favorite comment on The Peking Duck, from RuoPan: “And I thought ‘the yellow peril’ was passé.” Hehehe. My beer-infested groggy mind likes funny comment after scary serious topic.
(Flickr photo credit: lobsterstew)
Other posts you might be interested in:
Blog RSS Blog Comments RSS
Ernie! Thanks for showing the love man! I look...
Jesse! wrote:
I wouldn’t be too worried. China will be (is already?) a big contender in the world economy of goods. If anything I see a similar economic fight between Japan and the US in the Eighties. There’s just too much money to be had and war costs money.
Also, if it weren’t for 9/11, we’d still be in Iraq. That was planned out by Cheney and Co. years ago.
PS, since when did Gary Hart resurface? Is he going to run for President or something? Is this was the sound bite he wanted to shock the nation into knowing that “He’s baaaaaack!”
Posted on 07-Jul-07 at 1:02 pm | Permalink
Mike wrote:
Hahaha I know right - it’s been a looong time since I’ve heard the name Gary Hart!
Posted on 07-Jul-07 at 1:19 pm | Permalink
claire wrote:
Is the accompanying photo a Risk board? Old School! On a serious note, I can understand your concerns about your country of birth going to war with the country of your family. There are enough Michelle Malkins in this country to make that a very reasonable fear. Oh, and if a shitload of people think already Asians are Chinese…
Posted on 10-Jul-07 at 9:57 am | Permalink
war wrote:
The thing is every thing is made in china. Even our food as shown by the tainted feed. If we went into a prolonged war with China, we would be the ones cut off. They are where our factories are located. Unlike WWII, when we mobilized our factories for military goods, we can’t necessarily do the same now. I remember that fighter plane incident. I think that was before 9/11.
Another factor is what would China fight the US for? There’s the oil reserves that China is in contention with Japan for. Japan is growing its military and giving them experience by sending them out. China’s military is very inexperienced. The US keeps sharp by entering conflicts now and again. That’s the only way to ensure that we can win a war if it happens. We are stretched thin now.
There’s Korea. China will supply them, but not fight on their behalf. They already have to deal with the Asian equivalent of Mexicans crossing the boarder. If a war broke out, they would be overloaded with Korean refugees.
There’s Chinese Taipei. The US has shown that country is just a dog as it rejected their leader from landing on our land. We don’t want garbage in our country. That’s why we export it to Asia where they can shift through it and extract precious minerals with toxic chemicals. If Chinese invaded the island, it would be over quick and the island would lose its value. Most of the manufacturing of semiconductor stuff is moving to China. The important stuff remains in several locations. They only produce midrange things on Formosa. Any missile strikes directed at the semiconductor fabs would make the island worthless to the US. In fact I would appreciate it more if they stepped up their security so terrorist wouldn’t be able to attack.
There’s Africa. China is basically raping it of all its mineral worth. what’s weird is that Chinese are seen again as superhuman and subhuman by the Africa workers in the accounts I’ve read. Flashbacks to working on the railroad all day and night long. The US will not go into Darfur, they will not fight over some minerals. Oil is another story.
I see nothing that would cause the US and China to go to war. With that said, China is a sleeping giant. From CIA reports, they will likely be more powerful than us by 2050. Maybe even sooner. The greatest thing they are lacking is a good education system for all. That would probably take 2 generations to implement. I fear China. That’s why I started learning Chinese and Arabic.
Posted on 11-Jul-07 at 8:40 pm | Permalink
daniel wrote:
When you are on top of the world, you will do whatever it takes to be stay on top. Everybody else will continue to find ways to prosper regardless of what the top dog says. No one wants to be second best nor do they want to follow orders on how to live.
That’s pretty much the rough summary of how international politics works.
The US is trying to pick on China just because their influence and wealth is getting stronger and bigger each day. There are many other countries that have are having military buildups, mass atrocities, societal issues, some have publicaly stated their dislicking of the US (like Venezuela and Iran)
So whats the fuss about this one country (China)?
Posted on 13-Jul-07 at 5:43 pm | Permalink