China: Red Menace, or Misread?

Business Week online ^ | JULY 29, 2002 | Bruce Einhorn

[Conagher]

Before September 11, the Bush Administration seemed to be treating China as one of the biggest threats that the U.S. faced worldwide. There was the incident of the U.S. spy plane that went down on China's Hainan Island as well as President Bush's talk about doing whatever it takes to defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression. Republicans talked about treating China as a competitor rather than as the partner envisioned by former President Bill Clinton.

[El Sordo]

Mis-Red Menace?

[sharktrager]

Of course they are a menace. Don't you remember those 20,000 soldiers they sent in to Afghanistan to fight us? Debka told us they were there!

[Captainpaintball]

Quite simply, Red China is the most dangerous threat we have ever faced.

We are arming them with nuclear and satellite technology. We are making them rich through business deals and investments. We allowing their agents and "excess" population into our country to smother us. And I believethey play a major role in the 9/11 attacks.

We can stop the red tide, but the fanatical enemy within has intimidated us with cries of "racist", "imperalist", and "bully." My money on them. Is anyone silly enough to disagree with me?

[Anti-Bubba182]

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[Conagher]

We are arming them with nuclear and satellite technology. We are making them rich through business deals and investments. We allowing their agents and "excess" population into our country to smother us.

We do much the same with a dozen other countries. Are they also "threats"?

And I believethey play a major role in the 9/11 attacks.

Purely unsupported conjecture peddled at NewsMax.com.

[branicap]

And when was that,please???20 000 Chinese in Afganistan?LOOOOL!And,Osama is in Beijing,I suppose!Debka told me,so it must be true.

[sharktrager]

Yet again, I fear srcasm requires a tag on FR.

[headsonpikes]

'Agrarian Reformers' bump

[Jamten]

It is indeed strange how some of my American co-workers say they are no American while carrying an American passport only and being proud of their own racist hertage (not american) while saying they are americans on paper only.
These traitors should be thrown out if I could decide
or at least their citizen ship be taken away until they become loyal citizens. How surreal the situation is here where I work. Borders, Language, Culture.

[Orion78]

PING!

[Dakmar]

I thought China was the Yellow Menace.

[Conagher]

Debka said there were 20,000 Chinese in Afghanistan? One would think they might stand out a bit. In any event, the PRC is fighting its own war against Muslims in Xinjiang; I doubt they'd be audacious enough to turn around and support the same in Afghanistan.

And yes, I'm glad that you said that you're merely being sarcastic. Frankly I was a bit worried!

[headsonpikes]

"I thought China was the Yellow Menace."

There's been an update from Party HQ...there's no-one there now except remnants of Agrarian Reformers and budding Sam Waltons.

"Yellow Menace" is so 1930s. ;^)

[Dakmar]

Now wait, "Yellow Peril" is from the 1930's, I thought "Yellow Menace" was more of a Dulles Brothers thing. Of course, I'm more concerned about the Blue Meanies and the dreaded Oompaloompa Orange Crush.

[headsonpikes]

You're right, of course.

It was 'Yellow Peril' in the 30s.

'Yellow Menace' had something to do with Pepsodent in the 60s, IIRC. ;^)

[Dakmar]

I thought all the toothpaste ads were run by white power advocates.

You may have heard something about this via e-mail recently...Don't worry, it's all lies. Well, most of it...

[Dakmar]

White powder advocates, I meant. You know, calcium.

[headsonpikes]

"'White powder' advocates"

I wouldn't want to see that misinterpreted...;^)

[GOP_1900AD]

And while most (all?) scenario planners focus firstly on PRC aggression against Taiwan (which is good, the threat is indeed real) and secondly on aggressions Northeastward towards S. Korea and Japan (again a plausible threat), as far as I can tell from substantial review of large bodies of literature, "scholarly journals" have not explicitly considered the following. (Well, at least no one has done it and issued anything that is not classified!)

Given the significant infrastructure development (bridges, roads, runway extensions, ports, radars, SRBM bases, ELINT, etc) in Myanmar, aided in no small part by the PRC and Pakistan, and, given a lesser version of this in Laos, combined with increasing interconnection of the PRC and Thai superhighway systems via the Golden Triangle, an amazingly simple and potent possibility exists. One that is pure Hitler. It would indeed be possible, for example, for the PRC to secretly increase numbers of troops in Myanmar and Laos. They might even sneak in tanks and TELs containing DF15s and DF21s with nuclear warheads. Or, alternatively, they might stage the tanks and TELs just north of the Golden Triangle, in Yunnan Pvnc. On the heels of a surprise air strike, done by bombers (perhaps PLAAF, perhaps Pakistani AF) using newly extended runways in Myanmar, a general invasion of Thailand might proceed. Within the mass of this invasion, the TELs might be moved into the heart of Thailand (it would take about one day to do this). As the West would reel from all of this, and possibly, sit overwhelmed by other "events" going on simultaneously in NE Europe, SE Europe, Latin America, Africa, S. Asia and Korea, perhaps some of the nuclear weapons in the TELs might be launched to strike US and allied bases in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. Extended range DF21s, or perhaps missiles we don't yet know about, might even be able to reach our forces in Afghanistan and Oman. Perhaps after such an attack, the PRC might threaten to, with cover by Russian ICBMs essentially promised by the Treaty of Mutual Friendship of 7/16/2001, the West with a massive barrage in case we were to attempt to intervene or attack SE Asia. And naturally, how could we undertake counterforce strikes against TELs constantly moving around in an overtaken allied country? And of course, there would always be that doubt about whose missiles were launched from Thailand, just enough of a doubt to make us hesitate to do a countervalue strike against... well who? the PRC? Pakistan? Russia? Who indeed!

Folks, this is how the game is played. Are you ready?