Confronting China

I started reading an article on the new policy of confronting China, when I came across a quote that, quite frankly, struck me as hilariously naive.

“Should we simply let ourselves fall into the Thucydides trap?” asked J. Stapleton Roy, a retired U.S. diplomat who was ambassador to China from 1991 to 1995. “Or is it possible that with skillful diplomacy, China could be stronger and more prosperous in 2025 and not a strategic threat to the United States?”

The short answer to the first question is "It depends." The short answer to the second question is "absolutely not."
There is no scenario where a People's Republic of China stronger and more prosperous than the US is not a strategic threat to the US. It's possible that we might avoid the Thucydides trap, but if we do, it'll be because something other than war caused China to stagnate or even lose power. The Republic of China wouldn't be that sort of threat, but there's nothing short of war that'll leave us with ROC control of the mainland. Assuming that the ROC even WANTS control.

The nation that cracks down on Tibetans, builds concentration camps for Uighurs, persecutes religions, and even squashed the completely inoffensive Falun Gong movement (c'mon, they're basically Yoga practitioners) with awful brutality isn't going to play nice on the national stage. They have territorial disputes with pretty much every regional power within their sphere of influence, and blatantly violate international law and the law of the sea in trying to enforce their territorial claims. This is not a country that is just going to rise into power without abusing it in ways that impinge in the strategic security of the US, or, for that matter, pretty much anyone else. This is a country determined to become top dog, by any means fair or foul, and which intends to use that position for it's own gain, to everyone else's detriment.

When in Doubt, blame the US

Putin is currently accusing the US of helping the Chechen terrorists. I think he's just sore because no matter how hard he tries to disarm the Chechens, the black market and shadetree gunsmiths conspire to keep them armed.
He also claims that "The west is only friendly with Russia when it is on its knees." If true, it might have something to do with such places as Crimea and Georgia, which showed that a Russia that isn't on it's knees makes a really bad neighbor.

Putin defended the annexation of Crimea as a response to the will of the people, which restored "historic justice."

If Putin gets to defend the annexation of Crimea as "historic justice", then we should just resurrect Manifest Destiny and reconquer Mexico. I mean, if that's all the justification that you need to forcibly annex large chunks of land, then we need to get back into the conquering business and really build an American Empire.

Polarization of Foreign Policy?

From CBS:

Former White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who just left his job at the White House Friday, told "CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose that the country is "at a very dangerous point in our polarization of foreign policy."
Pfeiffer thinks the letter is an attempt to undercut President Obama's authority.

That's cute. They think that the Senate doesn't have the final say on foreign policy. The president can sign treaties, but only the Senate can ratify them, and until the Senate ratifies a treaty, it has no force of law.

The US Constitution
Article 2 Section 2 Paragraph 2 (referencing the Executive power to make treaties)

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

FCC Fools

Because fools would think that using a hostile nation's resources to replace critical infrastructure would be a good idea. The reasoning for this is that the current 911 system has a hard time locating people using cell phones indoors. The proposed solution to the problem is to utilize GLONASS, the Russian version of GPS, to figure out where the distressed person(s) is(are).
Why even mention GLONASS? While it does offer complete coverage of the Earth, so does GPS (something none of its other competitors, can offer), and GPS is unarguably US. And if the FSB cant figure out some use for this information, I have a nice piece of land for sale in Nye County, Nevada.

Hamas vs. Egypt

Rather than deal with Hamas using tunnels to get into and out of Egypt, the Egyptian government has decided to build one hell of a moat.
And I quote:

And unlike the fierce resistance and international public relations campaign Hamas mounted against Israel in August, the terrorist group that governs Gaza appears to not be seeking a head-on fight with Cairo.

The difference is, Israel cares about what the international community of the very caring and sensitive says and thinks about them.  The Egyptian government doesn't.

Let's play Pretend...

I have a pellet gun and an 83 Chevy S10 with severe problems. You live all the way across the country, over two thousand miles away. You own multiple cars, all new Corvettes and a couple of trucks, both new F-350s, along with enough enough firearms to arm a company of Marines. I tell you that I'm going to drive all the way across the country and drive all the way into your driveway waving my pellet gun, just to prove that I can.

This is essentially what the Iranian navy is planning upon doing. And this is why we should just ignore them.

On Civil Disobedience

If your government is doing something wrong, then there is nothing wrong with engaging in public civil disobedience in protest, as long as the civil disobedience is nonviolent, does not betray a trust, and the individual accepts the consequences that goes with the violation (if you're going to violate a law, you need to be willing to take the punishment - if you're boycotting a company you need to be willing to do without any product by that company, including products and services already purchased). Note that when a person's actions endanger the lives of others they cannot be considered nonviolent. Violent protest on the other hand is immoral, because it endangers the lives of others.
There is are a few exceptions to the rule:

China and dubious territorial claims.

China is attacking Japan for their possession of the Senkaku islands, claiming that the islands in question are actually part of Taiwan - which China also claims, but doesn't control.

In addition, China is trying to pressure Japan by also claiming Okinawa.

Rather than achieving their goals, this incredibly dubious claim over an island that has been a Japanese possession since 1879, is inhabited not by Chinese, but by Japanese, and which was not actually ever controlled by China - the kingdom of the Ryukyus, while a Chinese vassal, was an independent country, has just made the Japanese even firmer than before.

Given how numerous Chinese territorial disputes with other countries are, and how much tension is generated over its unjustified claims, I'm thinking that someone is going to go to war with the PRC before too long.

The Middle East and Southeast Asia are the two biggest world hot spots at the moment. The middle east because of Iran and Syria, Southeast Asia because of China and North Korea. The next war that the US gets involved in is going to be in one of those four countries, barring an unforeseen change in the situation.

One of the world's mad dogs

North Korean leadership have repeatedly demonstrated a propensity for provocative language towards a nation capable of turning their country into a smoking parking lot - without resorting to any sort of WMDs. They have continued to ramp up the rhetoric, even occasionally shooting live weapons into South Korean territory. They've managed to piss off their sole powerful and reliable ally, and have continued to act in a manner that, in any other time or place would result in a war of serious proportions. One day the leaders of North Korea will be put down, like the mad dogs they are.

Wars are Better than Certain Kinds of Peace

North Korea continually threatens South Korea and the US with nuclear war. Its makes propaganda videos about nuking Washington D.C. It has fired artillery into South Korean territory without provocation.
If North Korea was any other country, we'd already be in the process of uniting the Koreas. Unfortunately, North Korea's closest ally is China, with one of the largest armies in the world, and as the Chinese demonstrated in the Korean War, quantity does have  a quality all of its own.
However, despite the US's reservations about going to war on the PRC's front porch, the North Korean government seems bound and determined to end up in a war of some kind. Either the US and South Korea are going to attack in order to end the threat of North Korea, or China is going to intervene in order to prevent nuclear war.
The current "peace" is unstable, dangerous, and will probably not last much longer.

Pride

Being an American, a citizen of the US, is something that I'm very proud of. Yesterday was the anniversary of an event that, though sad, is yet another reason to be proud of the US. We didn't participate in the Al-Anfal Campaign (or Kurdish Genocide), nor did we have anything to do with the Halabja poison gas attack which occurred 25 years ago on March 16, and was part of the Al-Anfal Campaign.
 Instead, we deposed the mad dog who was ultimately responsible for those atrocities and brought him to justice. No matter your opinion on the US's former presence in Iraq, one must admit that the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein and Ba'ath party that he led.

North Korea leads...

In the unofficial contest to see which dictatorship is the biggest mad dog. War may not be far behind.

Nuclear Insanity

North Korea is starting to piss off its single close ally. They should realize that, while they can get away with pissing off the US so long as they have support from the PRC, the instant they lose that support the US will begin planning for Korean reunification.
They should also realize that if they piss off the PRC, the best that they can hope for is a short, bloody, destructive war that they'll lose, and which will be conducted entirely on their soil. Kim Jong-un and the rest of the North Korean leadership have drank deeply from the fountain of insanity.

Capture of Al Qaeda Spokesman makes Headlines

BBC:

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith to be tried in New York

CBS:

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law caught, brought to N.Y.
Fox News:

Bin Laden's son-in-law captured, charged in US with conspiring to kill Americans

Every single one of them is treating it like a victory. It isn't. Unless the enemy organization unravels without that leader, all you've done is leave an opening for someone. With Osama bin Laden's death, Al Qaeda has not gone away. As we take out Al Qaeda leaders, others will rise to take their places. The media needs to stop trumpeting their deaths/captures and let others do something constructive, such as killing all the terrorists, without obstruction, and without giving the enemy any media coverage at all. The enemy depends upon media coverage, take that away and they're just a bunch of murderers and bandits. Do the world a favor and ignore them entirely.

Also, we're trying this *sshole in a civilian court when we should be trying him for violations of the laws of war.

Just one member of Al Qaeda has died

When a high ranking member of any enemy organization, be it military or terrorist, dies, it should not be celebratory news. Celebration should be saved until the enemy has surrendered and troubles you no more. The Soviet Union survived the deaths of Lenin and Stalin. The People's Republic of China survived the death of Mao. The Macedonian Kingdom survived the death of Phillip II. Rome survived the death of Julius Caesar. Carthage survived the death of Hamilcar. The British Empire survived the death of Nelson. When Osama Bin Laden died, Al Qaeda continued on.
Sometimes, as in the case of the Macedonian Empire, the structure does not survive without the one who built it. Often however, all that has been done is to clear the way for another to take over. This other might be more or less capable than their predecessor (compare Phillip II to Alexander the Great), but you cannot count on the threat to end with the leader.
So don't tell me when Al Qaeda leaders are killed. I just want to know when they're no longer a threat. That is when I'll celebrate.

China's navy

China launches stealth frigate amid ocean tensions

 China has launched the first ship in a new class of stealth missile frigates, state media reported Tuesday, amid ongoing tensions with neighboring countries over Beijing's maritime claims.
The People's Liberation Army Navy is building a total of 20 Type 056 Jiangdao class frigates to replace older models and bolster its ability to conduct patrols and escort ships and submarines in waters it claims in the South China and East China seas.
...

There's no telling how stealthy this new frigate actually is, but given the description I really doubt that its all that stealthy:

...
 The helicopter-equipped ships feature a sleek design to reduce clutter and make them harder to spot by radar and are armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
... 

From the description, the new frigate design doesn't actually incorporate stealth technology, it just has a somewhat reduced radar cross section - from reducing clutter aloft. In reality, making a naval vessel stealthy requires that one: Reduce noise as a precaution against passive SONAR, find a way to defeat or reduce the threat of active SONAR and radar, and finally reduce the wake to prevent detection by satellite or plane. As far as the article concerned, the Chinese have only reduced the radar threat, and there's no telling how well they've actually done that without having the US Navy check them out - and even if the USN did that, it would no doubt remain classified for a long time.
 Even so, China is gearing up to become a naval power, and given their past proclivities, current actions, and system of governance they bear a lot of watching, especially as our own military gears down.

We're finally doing something about the UN

Its nice to see that someone is finally doing something to combat the UN's inefficiencies and corruption. 

US, other nations quietly maneuvering to rein in sprawling, inefficient UN system

Frustrated by the epic inefficiency, sprawling disorganization and free-spending of their money by the United Nations, a group of Western donor nations, including the U.S., has been meeting quietly to develop a strategy to rein in the world organization’s more than $20 billion a year in anti-poverty assistance – which even parts of the U.N. concede hasn’t done much to relieve poverty.
...

The U.N. organizations themselves — including such high-profile entities as the United Nations Development Program, UNICEF, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization and more than 30 others —are not invited to the meetings.
...

I doubt that they'll be able to do enough, but this might bring some sorely needed reform to the UN. Unfortunately, they aren't trying to clean house on, for example, the UN Human Rights council, which includes members who have a scant regard for human rights.
As I've said in the past, the UN is not a pro-freedom organization. When the UN does something, we really need to take that into account and consider what their real motives might be.

The Stupidity of Cutting Military Spending

From Fox:

Foreign adversaries ramp up defense spending as Pentagon cuts back

..."Instead of being a first-rate power in the world, we'd turn into a second-rate power. That would be the result of sequester," Panetta said. Sequester is the name for the automatic cuts first passed into law in the summer of 2011 as part of the debt-ceiling deal...  

The world is a dangerous place. We cannot afford to "study war no more" or cut military spending, because if we do, we'll lose our place as the premier power in the world. Congress needs to get its act together.

France will Rebuild Mali

From BBC:

French President Hollande pledges to help rebuild Mali

It makes perfect sense for France to help rebuild Mali - after all, France may have "given up" its colonial empire, but it backs the currency of a large portion of that former empire, giving it a great deal of control and influence over those countries. They may have given up de jure control of their empire, but they still retain de facto control - and helping Mali rebuild will help with this.

Russia returning to dictatorship?

From BBC:

Russia's freedoms crackdown 'worst since USSR fall'

Amid accusations of electoral fraud, Putin cracks down on freedom. Opposition leaders face jail on charges that the opposition claims to be fraudulent. Russia might not return to communism, but it is well on its way back to totalitarianism. If things continue to get worse, Russian citizens will learn one of the few modern political absolutes as said best by Mao: "All political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."