Our primary military
adversary over the next few decades will be China. There is little doubt on the
direction the Chinese are taking with regards to their regional and global
ambitions. The military buildup is only
for their own security, they say, no need to worry.
Recently the Chinese installed
navigational light structures on several islands off its coast, gradually
walking its territorial waters claim outward.
The goal is to obtain the rights to several contested islands and areas
with a potential wealth of resources, areas claimed by other nations.
Today the President
meets with the Dalai Lama, which has infuriated the Chinese. Why do the Chinese
have such a consistently extreme reaction to anyone meeting with this man? Insecurity. China demonizes the Tibetan
spiritual leader, claiming he operates in a violent and repressive way – the complete
opposite to reality. Chinese insecurity drives
this position, insecurity with their claim over Tibet as a province of China. The same reaction occurs when the United States
shows any support for Taiwan, again insecurity. (It is a bit curious that the Chinese
on Taiwan have never claimed their desire to unify themselves with China under
a Nationalist banner.)
The Chinese will
never feel completely secure until all those insecurities are resolved. We are one of those insecurities to
China. Therefore, it is unfortunate that
China holds a great deal of our debt and at the rate we are spending, it is
playing more into the hands of the Chinese.
We are doing to ourselves, what Russia hoped we would do and what Karl
Marx predicted. As Russian communism
collapsed in on itself, we are treading the same economic path, one that is not
necessarily a capitalist one. Most
economists agree you cannot spend your way out of a recession and that
government does not create wealth – it redistributes wealth. The role of government in a capitalist economy
is to make policies, laws and regulations that enhance wealth building in a
balanced way (no monopolies, etc.).
Most predictions for
defense spending are grim over the next few years, with the number of ships and
other weapons systems dropping to new lows.
The most important thing our government can do now is to get the economy
back on track, fix the acquisition system and promote navy leaders who
understand both military strategy, business and have common sense. The best thing Congress can do is to stop
acting like partisan politicians and start acting like the patriots who are running
the Taliban out of Marjah, Afghanistan or serving in hundreds of places around
the world. Are they Sailors, Marines,
Soldiers, Airman or Coast Guardsman – or do they consider themselves
Republicans and Democrats?
New York Times
Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/us/politics/02deficit.html?th&emc=th
Chinese Lighthouse
Construction
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINTOE61802X20100209
Dalai Lama
