Is China preparing for war with America? Is China Already At War With Us?

Just using China to deflect attention from one's own failings. And massive failings at that. America's problems and current global positioning are the consequences of its own decisions and actions and nothing else - not China, not any other country. Sun Tzu's principle of not having to fight unnecessarily comes true in this case because as the American empire slides into oblivion, of course other societies that are less affected by economic ills become ascendant. In this case China did not have to do anything, just keep going.

It is more a case of envy than a true reflection of what is going on that such sentiments about China and speculations about a war with China are produced.

The reality of the situation is that China is actually screwed by the current economic woes the world is suffering.

But in a different way to the US. China's problem is that it got too big too fast and has no where to sell its products to. It is like a company that expanded its factories and they were being run efficiently but the managers forgot to look at the market forecast and instead just focused on the here and now. As a consequence, they did not see the market shrinkage coming and the imminent collapse of America, its premier client.

And not only that, but China has now given its citizens a taste of free enterprise and the promise of people making unlimited wealth and it is difficult now to make the people to go back to another mindset.

And another mindset is what is needed.

Communism's greatest triumph was its ability to ensure the survival of the people during times of extreme economic hardship. Of course some people will not agree and point to the great famine that hit the people of China in the twentieth century but would capitalism have worked better than communism for China?

Now that China, as the rest of the world, is entering uncertain and harsh economic times, it makes sense for the Chinese to revert to the policies of socialism, that guaranteed that everyone had a bowl of rice and a roof over their heads. Quite an achievement for a country that hosts billions of people within its borders. Such a nation that pursues these policies will weather the financial and economic maelstrom that will hit the world very soon.

But the structures for China to enter this emergency mode have been weakened perhaps irreversibly by the adoption of capitalism.

The other immense problem that faces China was that China calculated wrong. China was successful in selling its products because they were dirt cheap. They undersold the market and they also undersold themselves. That is, they sold their products much too cheaply. This was done because of the thinking that it was OK to make the sacrifice in forgoing big profits because these big profits could be made later, that there was time, and that the main strategy for most of the eighties, nineties, and the first decade of the current century was to gain market share and ultimately wipe out the opposition.

So the factories to which the work was contracted to by Apple, PC companies, clothing companies and many other American corporations, were making some money for their workers and the owners, but not as much as what the true market would have paid them.

A lion's share of the profits were actually going to the corporations, mostly American, that were giving the labor contracts to the Chinese. In effect, the Chinese were the factory employees. All the management were foreign, mostly American, European, and lately Japanese.

Why would the Chinese consent to this unfair division of the profits with the Chinese receiving a pittance of the profits and the majority of them going to the management?

Because the Chinese had a plan. And this was that the Chinese were going to take over the management of these industries themselves. They were going to learn about the technology and the marketing and all the know-how of how to run a successful enterprise. And part of that success is having access to dirt-cheap labor. The Chinese had that part about labor covered, they just now had to master the other part - the know-how.

And by the time, the US, the biggest market for these corporations that had their factories in China, started showing cracks in its economy, China still had not acquired that know-how. China was still the labor-providers, and not the brains of the enterprises.

"Made in China" was a deceptive label that was put on products to mislead people. People assumed that the corporations that sold the products were Chinese themselves, from the management to the factory-floor employees. That was certainly not the case. Only the laborers were Chinese, the management was still foreign for the large majority. A more accurate labeling would be "Made by an American corporation using labor of the Chinese".

So essentially now that the truth is out, what it has come to is this, the Chinese were EXPLOITED to make profits for the WESTERN business owners who, I will repeat, got the lion's share of the profits. The Chinese were led on by the promise of FUTURE wealth and eventual stewardship of these enterprises (the Chinese were quickly trying to learn the know-how and everyone knew what they were up to).

So as things shake out, the owners of the corporations have gained everything and the Chinese have gained relatively little. The Chinese have been exploited and were actually cheated into giving their labor too cheaply. And they have nothing to go on at this point. In these hard times, the corporations will go into nascent mode, with the owners using their money to consolidate their wealth, buying bargains for the pennies on the dollar, stripping the remaining wealth of countries now that countries are putting everything up for sale to survive. The corporations' owners will sit on their assets until they see an opportunity and economic times change to embark on a business enterprise again.

In the meantime, the Chinese are seen as the culprits for America's decline - people see "Made in China" everywhere and make their false assumptions. And people even talk of China attacking the US militarily so brainwashed are these people about China.

New article by the same writer, Zachary Hubbard.

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_174112513.html

He writes:
Nazi Germany instigated a war with Poland by staging a fake attack on a German radio station at Gleiwitz, near the German-Poland border. Germany blamed Poland for the bogus attack and used it to justify its invasion of Poland.

The China-Taiwan scenario could play out similarly.

If China succeeds in having the dollar replaced as the global reserve currency, the United States must be vigilant. Not long thereafter, China’s leaders could claim Taiwan had performed acts of aggression against their country, providing justification for China to retaliate. A lightning-quick invasion would follow.

What would this mean for America? We can only guess.

However, one surefire remedy to help prevent our nation’s demise is term limits.

It’s time to clean out Washington, D.C., of the rotten apples on both sides of the aisle. They got us into this mess, and they need to go.

The next American Revolution must sweep away every incumbent in the U.S. Senate and House. Such purification is an essential first step toward ensuring our future.

Flawless Sun Tzu logic.

Did I say Morons running our country? You be the judge.

Ancient China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independently, the others being Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilization, the Mayan civilization, the Minoan Civilization of ancient Greece, and Ancient Egypt. Meanwhile, New home sales have taken the first upward turn in months. New home sales and housing starts have both increased in the last month, and the evidence suggests that it isn't just the typical post winter bump. More people are responding to the drastic drop in prices, and getting personal loans to obtain a new home or first home. Economists are pointing to a rebound of demand since the supply has dramatically increased, and prices subsequently dropped to far more competitive levels. The forecast of gloom and doom hasn't subsided completely, but stock market and new home sales rebounds indicate that we might be almost out of the woods.

Our military thinks, they can take on Chinese military in the future, because we did that to Japanese long ago. Well we no longer are a technological society. The Chinese will bide their time and in 15 years (the long march!) will have twice our capabilities. By then U.S. will be so dependent on the Chinese funds that we could very possibly be a stallite to the Chinese global domination.

The only solution is trade balance with the world and internal growth, then we could live under MAD! The tipping point is now.

Our government buys critical defense electronics from The People's Republic of China.

The People's Republic of China is our military adversary.

That's right.

We are depending on The People's Republic of China to protect us from The People's Republic of China.

A lot of lobbyists were paid a lot of money to make this nightmare a reality.

Now, if you were The People's Republic of China, what would you do?

Right again.

You'd ship used, re-marked, counterfeit, failure-prone junk to American military and security forces.

Last year, this happened more than 7,300 times--that we know about.

And who knows what "special features" are built into the defense components that actually pass inspection, or into the Chinese telecommunications equipment replacing our domestic infrastructure?

Quoted from the Chinese military manual "Unrestricted Warfare":

"One hacker + one modem causes an enemy damage and losses almost equal to those of a war"

"Warfare. . . re-invaded human society in a more complex, more extensive, more concealed, and more subtle manner. . . . In other words, while we are seeing a relative reduction in military violence, at the same time we definitely are seeing an increase in political, economic, and technological violence."

"It is likely that a pasty-faced scholar wearing thick eyeglasses is better suited to be a modern soldier than is a strong young lowbrow with bulging biceps."

This month marks the tenth anniversary of "Unrestricted Warfare," a manual for the defeat of the United States, by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, Senior Colonels in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. (Beijing: PLA Literature and Arts Publishing House, February 1999)

Some excerpts:

"Nuclear weapons have already become frightening mantlepiece [sic] decorations that are losing their real operational value with each passing day."

"Trade war [can have] a destructive effect equal to that of a military operation."

"Financial war is easily manipulated and allows for concealed actions, and is also highly destructive."

"The world's number one debtor nation, a country which relies on the inflow of foreign capital to support its economic prosperity, the United States, would definitely have. . . heavy economic losses. Such an outcome would certainly be better than a military strike."

It's fascinating and frightening to read this book and realize how many of its strategies and tactics have actually been implemented by China since its publication.

Don't say "Dollar to the Giant" didn't warn you.

China owns factories and cheap labors, but one most important thing China has no control is the sales channels in the US. If the major mass merchandise companies don't buy, or buy only a small percentage, from China, we will not have today's problem. However, why those companies buy from overseas instead of from our own country, because the consumers can spend less money and enjoy the same standard of living as they used to.
We have actually imported heavily from other countries for the past 40 years. If China still stays in her Culture Revolution era, I bet other countries will step up and become the major trade deficit countries to us. Blame China is not going to help the situation. Are we willing to cut our salaries and benefits to become competitive to the world. Is our government over protecting certain people so our small businesses have to suffer the unnecessary cost increase. If we want to compete in the manufacturing environment, to make ourselves competitive is a must. American people will continue to suffer until we reach the balance point where our labor + cost of quality = their labor + their cost of quality + freight.

Let's not forget Ronnald Reagan's failures. Probably the worst president before Bush II.

Thanks to Reagan's cowardice in the middle east, we now have given the keys to the terrorists to destroy us.

When the Marine
barracks were bombed in 1983, Reagan effectively tucked his tail between his legs and pulled out. What a coward! This not only made our marines look like sisses, it made America look like a whimp in the world and showed the terrorists exactly what they needed to do to defeat America.
Suicide bombing became Jihad course 101.

Reagan's unconstitutional and illegal attack of Grenada in 1983 and arming of the contras also weakened our stance in the world and turned public opinion against us in central and south america.
How? It turned the central and south American countries against us because they realized that they too might be victims of American imperialism. Reagan effectively gave a win to Castro, and paved the way for Hugo Chavez. Was it Reagan who also helped support dictator Pinochet?

Reagan's battle to destroy and bankrupt the Soviet union not only caused extreme hardhship to the Russian people and bitterness towards us, it also opened the floodgates to the sale of nuclear technology and proliferation worldwide.

Because of Reagan's stupidity, North Korea, Pakistan, Libya, and Iran all got access to nuclear technology making the world far MORE dangerous not less dangerous.

Reagan opened trade with Saddam and allowed WMD's to be sold to help Saddam fight the Iranians? Result? Gassed Kurds, less democracy, more death, more religious extremism and greater worldwide misery and suffering for humanity. All to make a quick buck for corporations.

See DemocracyRising.us for list of profiting companies.

Another failure of Reagan was his amnesty program for illegal aliens. Thanks to Reagan, the floodgates for the Mexican invasion have been turned on full. Result?
Lower worker wages.Broken unions. Jobs shipped out of the country, illegal drugs have a freer flow and network into American, Billions wired out of the country tax free, and US sovereignty is threatened.

Thank you Mr. Reagan for helping wreck a once great nation.

Published: March 21, 2008 09:29 am

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_081092906.html

For America and Europe, a sticky oil situation
BY ZACHARY HUBBARD

Commenting on the damage to America’s international image caused by the war in Iraq, France’s foreign minister Bernard Kouchner recently told the International Herald Tribune, “It will never be as it was before.”

Kouchner went on to say that for America, “the magic is over,” meaning our country will never again be widely admired around the world.

Perhaps he is correct.

Kouchner should be worried, however, because if the magic is really over for America, France and the rest of Europe can’t be far behind.

Since the end of World War II, Europe has made a habit of letting the United States do its heavy lifting. It was U.S. generosity and leadership that, through the Marshall Plan, rebuilt war-torn Europe.

Thousands of Americans gave their lives to liberate France from Germany in World War II. Many Americans lie buried on the shores of Normandy today. To show its gratitude, France withdrew from NATO’s integrated military command structure in 1966 and gave the United States one year to remove all U.S. military forces from French soil.

While the first generation of German baby boomers protested in the streets against the presence of U.S. forces in West Germany, it was U.S. leadership and sacrifices that ultimately brought down the Berlin Wall and caused the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In early 2003, as the United States was planning for the Iraq invasion, a troika comprising France, Germany and Russia hurriedly maneuvered in the U.N. Security Council attempting to thwart the U.S. plan. Two years later, the world learned that many high-level political and civilian officials from the troika had been implicated in paying billions of dollars in kickbacks to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein through the now-infamous U.N. Oil for Food program.

China’s Chairman Mao Zedong was right when he said, “Power proceeds from the barrel of a gun.”

The world has changed a lot since Mao died in 1976. Today, power proceeds from a barrel of oil. Unfortunately, the United States and Europe alike have bet their futures on oil.

This has left both in a position where any unscrupulous oil-producing nation can employ economic blackmail to impose its will on the petroleum needy.

This is nothing new. The Soviet Union used energy as a tool for controlling its satellite nations. Most electric power generation plants were built in mother Russia and in dependable allies, such as Belarus and the Ukraine.

Major transmission networks carried electricity to less-reliable countries such as Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. If a Soviet satellite nation got out of line, the Russians could literally turn off the lights.

Since the 1991 Gulf War, the United States has maintained a large military presence in the Persian Gulf. While ostensibly about liberating Kuwait from an Iraqi invasion, the war was more about keeping Hussein from seizing Saudi Arabia’s oil fields and potentially disrupting the supply to the West.

When I served as a military planner, every order I saw for the Middle East included the requirement to “maintain an uninterrupted flow of oil from the Persian Gulf” as one of its objectives.

In the years since the Gulf War, many European countries have sought to lessen their energy dependency on the Middle East, turning instead toward Russia.

This strategy was called into question during the early days of 2006, when Russia shut off a major natural gas pipeline over a political dispute with the Ukraine. The pipeline to the Ukraine also serviced Germany and other European Union nations. In 2007, Russia temporarily cut off oil to Belarus. This again impacted many EU nations.

Today, even as German Prime Minister Angela Merkel proclaims that her country must cut its dependency on Russian oil, a natural gas pipeline is being built beneath the North Sea to carry Russian natural gas from Western Siberia to Germany. From Germany, the gas will be distributed throughout the EU.

As Europe’s oil and gas dependency on Russia grows, so will its susceptibility to Russia’s use of energy as a tool of foreign policy. The EU is therefore bound to grow more politically supportive of Russia and its surrogate Iran with respect to Russia’s foreign policy.

Today, the United States continues to maintain a large military presence in Iraq and the Persian Gulf region, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of oil for America and the EU. Most EU nations are nonpaying beneficiaries of that U.S. presence.

As an American war with Iran appears increasingly possible, Russia will continue to back Iran in order to prevent U.S. hegemony in the Middle East.

Because Russia can deny oil and gas supplies to Europe, the EU nations will come under increasing pressure to support or at least remain neutral toward Russian foreign policy in the Middle East.

While the United States remains stuck in the Middle East, the EU will be stuck paying tribute to Russia’s political will.

In many ways, the EU position is even graver than that of the United States. Europeans have known extreme pain at the gas pumps for years. Despite EU solidarity, when push comes to shove, national interests will take precedence during an energy crisis.

America has a significant Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We have at least a century’s supply of coal still in the ground.

In a national emergency, the United States could resume production from domestic oil and gas wells that today are not deemed cost-effective to operate.

America has more energy options than Europe. So I ask you, Monsieur Kouchner, who is the magic really over for if not the EU?



Zachary Hubbard is a retired Army officer and freelance writer. He is a member of The Tribune-Democrat Readership Advisory Committee.

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_326091707.html

He/She that might still think that the USA is a world power needs to wake up fast. We have been loosing ground at great speed! Since we can't count on our govermental officials we must stand together and start making a change. We must support our Economy, we must support our Country. Refuse to buy "Made in China" products. Educate your friends and families!!!!!

Really... this is more likely a scheme coming from the U.S. to help debilitate the trade. I don't see China gaining by destroying its export sales. The U.S. has a bigger reason to posture "bad imports" (Seriously, did Barbie all of a sudden get a new coat of lead paint -this would have been going on for years - we are acting politically to raise the awareness to serve our agenda.)

The US should not be in any contract with Taiwan to protect the island against a Chinese take over.

Taiwanese are essentially Chinese heritage people and share a history with China unrelated to the USA.

Additionally Taiwan is not in the American region of influence and the land mass rightly belongs to China as Block Island or Nantucket Island belong to the USA.

America should get off of its short sighted selling out to China and become totally self dependent again as much as is possible.
Otherwise the Chinese will beat us economically without even firing a shot.

Financial power in the modern world is at least as important as military power, and China can more effectively undermine the USA financially rather than militarily at this point.

If world dominance is their goal, they can have it.

The USA has no right, duty, obligation or responsibility to interfere in the sovereign affairs of other nations who have not declared hostility towards us nor have implored our help for aid.

America should promote and protect its own people and industry first and foremost without reliance on any foreign government or entity.