Posted on 04/17/2003 3:34:28 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Was Beijing impressed with the US victory over Saddam? Very impressed, very impressed indeed. There was never any doubt in the Chinese leadership's collective mind that Saddam would be defeated. Tactics, weapons and time is what was on the regime's mind
The speed at which the US and Britain were able to muster their forces, the rate at which they advanced while maintaining their supplies, the flexibility of command-and-control decisions, battlefield communications, the quality of troops and their morale, the range, quantity and ingenuity of the weapons systems: all of these factors have caught the attention of Beijing and left their imprint.
The economic factor is also something that Beijing did not ignore. Estimates put the cost of the war at 1 per cent of GDP, a stunningly low figure. That the US was able to mount this historic campaign without the economy giving so much as a burp is a tribute to the country's economic power. It makes clear that a prolonged war with a US that had braced itself for war would be suicidal for any country that was foolish enough to try it.
What has emerged is that Bush's America is no paper tiger. Of course, the regime has always known that America had the means, and has sometimes even demonstrated the resolve, to deal a lethal blow to any enemy. What it needed to know is whether the American people still had the sense and the courage to support a leader who had the will to act in the interest of the US, even if that means war. The regime now has its answer.
Even so, I doubt if the American people fully comprehend the political ramifications of their victory over Saddam. That they supported a man who was prepared to sacrifice his own personal interests in order to wipe out a terrorist state that posed a serious long-term danger to America, and its allies, has told Asian politicians that Americans are prepared to stand by their allies.
This is a message that Beijing did not want Asia to hear and that is why the regime preferred Gore over Bush. Gore recently stated that he would "not have started this war." Ignoring the obvious fact that the US did not start it, Gore is still signalling to Beijing that a Democratic administration would have continued the Clinton policy of appeasement, another eight years of which, or perhaps even four, would have fatally damaged US influence in Asia.
Beijing is certainly not comfortable with a confident and resurgent US. She can, however, take comfort from the fact that a Democratic administration will eventually be elected. With this thought to console her she will feel free to look forward to a more promising time when a more appeasement-minded administration will be willing to accommodate her ambitions.
It is always possible, of course, that in the meantime the Democratic Party will become more patriotic and responsible by ridding itself of its anti-American hardcore activists. But this transformation is one, for some strange reason, that Beijing has made no effort to anticipate. Perhaps Beijing knows something the rest of us do not.
...not to mention the resolve of the American people and the courage, audacity, and leadership skills of their President--George W. Bush.
"It makes clear that a prolonged war with a US that had braced itself for war would be suicidal for any country that was foolish enough to try it."Exactly. So let's all work together to bring peace, prosperity, liberty, and justice to ALL of the people of the world--that is, The American Dream!
"What it needed to know is whether the American people still had the sense and the courage to support a leader who had the will to act in the interest of the US, even if that means war. The regime now has its answer."Let's hope that American "Liberals" and those who are tempted to support them and their misguided positions have understood this.
Peace is the prerogative of the powerful--not the weak.
"Liberalism" is decadence.
Had the American people followed the path advised by "Liberals", instead of the path of courage and self-defense that President Bush lead, the world would have become more dangerous, not less; peace would have become less likely, not more; and the world would likely have descended into the abyss of war and other unspeakable horrors.
President Bush has shown the world the importance of taking a firm, courageous stand for right and against evil and of being prepared to defend that stand.
The war in Iraq is a defensive war. Its primary purpose has been to defend the United States and the rest of the world.
That man was George W. Bush.
LINCOLN
JEFFERSON
WASHINGTON
This article captures only a small part of the perception of the Chinese.
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