Make peace, not war was a slogan protesters used during the Vietnam War, a conflict in which over 50,000 young US soldiers died. That war on the Asian mainland ended in failure, with a Communist government still in charge.
Given that experience, we are surprised and are very alarmed that our President, Joe Biden, seems very willing and open to entering into conflict with a nuclear armed country much bigger and more powerful than North Vietnam. This past weekend, during an interview on Sixty Minutes, the President replied "yes," when asked whether American forces would defend Taiwan if it came under Chinese military invasion: "Yes, if, in fact, there was an unprecedented attack," That’s not the first time he indicated he was willing to risk war over Taiwan. In May, when asked if the US was ready to intervene if China attacked Taiwan: "Yes... That's the commitment we made." ThisisGoogleLink
We find it mind boggling that the President would be willing to enter into a war on an island only 68 miles from the Chinese Mainland. Compare that to Cuba, which is 103 miles from the US mainland. Back in February 1962, then President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba, in response to the installation of Russian missiles on that island. The US announced it “would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the weapons already in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the Soviet Union.”
Why wouldn’t we expect China to respond in the same way to offensive weapons being placed so close to their mainland? What if China quotes President Kennedy and says it will not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Taiwan, and demands that the weapons already in Taiwan be dismantled and returned to the United States? What will we do if China orders a naval blockade?
Speaking of offensive weapons, the US Foreign Relations has voted 17-5 in favor of the Taiwan Policy Act of of 2022, a bill that dramatically increases American military support for Taiwan. This prompted a warning from China that such a policy increases the likelihood of armed conflict. Unfortunately, in our view, the US House of Representatives will probably jump on board. During her visit to Taiwan in early August, Nancy Pelosi, the powerful US Speaker of the House, said that her visit “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.”
There’s that word “commitment” again. What commitment? The United States did sign the US -ROC mutual defense treaty in 1954, which obligated the US to defend Taiwan if it were attacked, but the Carter Administration terminated it as a condition for establishing relations with the PRC in 1979. In its place, Congress then passed the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). According to Wikipedia, “the TRA does not guarantee the U.S. will intervene militarily if the PRC attacks or invades Taiwan nor does it relinquish it, as its primary purpose is to ensure the US's Taiwan policy will not be changed unilaterally by the president and ensure any decision to defend Taiwan will be made with the consent of Congress.
Although the President’s comments have been walked back by the “White House,” (don’t you wonder who has the authority in the White House to overrule the President?); and although we are glad that any Presidential ordered military action theoretically has to be okayed by Congress, we think the President’s words are reckless and dangerous. We should not risk fighting China a mere 68 miles from their shore. In the view of “The Existential Threat,” our country is overextended militarily and economically. The United States already has treaty obligations with 67 different countries around the world. Of the 195 officially recognized countries in the world, the United States has military members deployed to 150. Enough is enough!
In essence, we think the United States has accumulated too much debt and it simply cannot afford to get into another war in Asia that we may not win. Instead of war-like talk, we should be looking for ways in which our two countries should work together. China needs our grain and our food supplies. We need the minerals that China mines – minerals needed to supply the green revolution the President says we so desperately need.
"Make Peace, not War!"
Comments