Posted on 04/06/2014 1:30:46 PM PDT by Olog-hai
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered a two-pronged warning to Asia Pacific nations Sunday, announcing that the U.S. will send two additional ballistic missile destroyers to Japan to counter the North Korean threat, and saying China must better respect its neighbors.
In unusually forceful remarks about China, Hagel drew a direct line between Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea region and the ongoing territorial disputes between China, Japan and others over remote islands in the East China Sea.
“I think we’re seeing some clear evidence of a lack of respect and intimidation and coercion in Europe today with what the Russians have done with Ukraine,” Hagel told reporters after a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera. “We must be very careful and we must be very clear, all nations of the world, that in the 21st century this will not stand, you cannot go around the world and redefine boundaries and violate territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations by force, coercion and intimidation whether it’s in small islands in the Pacific or large nations in Europe.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
IOW, he’s weak. Strong leaders act rather than talk.
Military power is useless if you are politically incapable of using it. The American public will not tolerate thousands of casualties for some islands between Japan and China they can’t pronounce or spell. China surely would.
Therefore any differences in military might are irrelevant.
Unfortunately the US brass seems incapable of understanding that war is an extension of politics.
Like it or not, most Africans prefer China to the West. There is a history there.
He merely wants to do enough to pacify domestic constituents who might look askance at the raised middle finger he is extending to our military dependents allies abroad. I think in addition to his domestic objectives, his long term foreign policy objective is to convert the US either into a super-sized Switzerland that doesn't fight anybody else's wars or a super-sized Canada that only does peace-keeping operations. I think that's a demonstration of inner strength, given the misguided view among many Americans that our First World status relies on having a military that's big enough to throw its weight around - an outgrowth of Russian propaganda about the US being an overweening Western imperialistic power that claws unearned tribute from its vassal states that has since become conventional wisdom.
No they don’t. Majority are slaves to Red China and have no say; construing the opinion of the big men colluding with China as the opinion of the slaves is specious.
In fact, many African countries are wondering why the USA is showing zero interest in mining over in Africa.
He’s still going to fold and look weak.
Like it or not, I think Obama views our military dependents treaty allies the way the average motorist views the squeegee men who work certain stop lights in the big cities. Is he strong or weak for not giving them money?
More and more, especially in the wake of Iraq and Afghanistan, I think domestic public opinion is turning towards the view (typical among the public in most countries outside of the US) that foreign wars really are foreign wars, and not worth the expenditure of young American servicemen or our hard-earned dollars. The noblesse oblige attitude of a country that once had far higher average incomes than even the wealthiest European countries is fading, now that they have caught up, even as American incomes have stagnated. Obama is catching the wave, which is why his handling of the Arab Spring has not affected his poll ratings.
I guess it means that Hagel and this administration need to go kick the Russians out of Crimea (?)
He said this will not stand . .
Warning rivals about "the twenty-first century" way of doing things will not replace the effective projection of force around the world. The big stick beats the big mouth every time and only the most supine moral coward would think otherwise.
In 1936 France had the biggest Army and the best tanks in the world. In violation of the Versailles Treaty, a ragtag proto-army from Germany re-occupied the Rhineland. France did nothing. The rest is history.
Yep. It appears that most Chinese folks have always yearned for an emperor of one kind or another, in my opinion. And yes, on average, they’re quite nationalistic. But the way they see it, that’s different. And the way they see it, they’re different. The way they see it, the Japanese, Taiwanese and quite a few others around them are and always have been Chinese.
Agreed and the reason being is that he and his entourage of street hustlers don't have a clue how the game is played. Since Truman, I can't recall any other administration so completely immersed in ignorance and ineptitude.......................
LOL!
Quite a few of the Burke destroyers and I believe all the guided missile cruisers have the Aegis software upgrades and the later model Standard missiles that allow them to track and engage ballistic missiles in flight and destroy them. I would assume that’s what they are talking about.
“OK folks here is a chilling thought. How long before we see a USS Obama?”
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Just the thought of that almost made me barf.
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