More potentional US warmongering in the far East?

[graypencil]

Heres something I got yesterday to illustrate the possible lengths this proto-fascist administration may go to assure continuance of a "perma war " ( ala George Orwells' 1984 )

Although I cant vet the province of the following, I can't IMAGINE any circumstances where congress would permit this ( given the chance , that is ..)

>>
That Bush is down in the polls has
caused a number of people to speculate
on an "October Surprise" in an effort to 2004 Election
boost his run for a second term. Lets
also remember that Bush's strong suit is
supposed to be that he is decisive and
more likely to keep us safe. In that
vein lets put on our tin hats and look
at an editorial by Chalmers Johnson in
today's LA Times entitled .
Sailing Toward a Storm in China.

Quietly and with minimal coverage in the GOP
U.S. press, the Navy announced that from
mid-July through August it would hold
exercises dubbed Operation Summer Pulse
'04 in waters off the China coast near Taiwan.

This will be the first time in U.S.
naval history that seven of our 12
carrier strike groups deploy in one
place at the same time. It will look
like the peacetime equivalent of the
Normandy landings and may well end in a
disaster.

At a minimum, a single carrier strike
group includes the aircraft carrier
itself (usually with nine or 10
squadrons and a total of about 85
aircraft), a guided missile cruiser, two
guided missile destroyers, an attack
submarine and a combination ammunition,
oiler and supply ship.


So what is the reason for such a massive
deployment?. There appears to be a
number of possibliites. From Johnson's
editorial.


According to Chinese reports, Taiwanese
ships will join the seven carriers being
assembled in this modern rerun of 19th
century gunboat diplomacy. The
ostensible reason given by the Navy for
this exercise is to demonstrate the
ability to concentrate massive forces in
an emergency, but the focus on China in
a U.S. election year sounds like a last
hurrah of the neocons.


The neocons have been pushing hard for
Bush to take a strong stand against
China. I am going to try an put
something together on that aspect of the
story later.


What is China's response. Again from
Johnson's editorial:


Needless to say, the Chinese are not
amused. They say that their naval and
air forces, plus their land-based
rockets, are capable of taking on one or
two carrier strike groups but that
combat with seven would overwhelm them.
So even before a carrier reaches the
Taiwan Strait, Beijing has announced it
will embark on a crash project that will
enable it to meet and defeat seven U.S.
carrier strike groups within a decade.
There's every chance the Chinese will
succeed if they are not overtaken by war
first.


If left alone by U.S. militarists, China
will almost surely, over time, become a
democracy on the same pattern as that of
South Korea and Taiwan (both of which
had U.S.-sponsored military
dictatorships until the late 1980s). But
a strong mainland makes the anti-China
lobby in the United States very nervous.
It won't give up its decades-old
animosity toward Beijing and jumps at
any opportunity to stir up trouble ?
"defending Taiwan" is just a convenient
cover story.



However, I think there may be a more
likely scenario, that is, a strike
against N. Korea's nuclear facilities.
Clearly this is speculation on my part,
but lets look at some other information.


From the July 01, 2004 Stars and Stripes
Stealth fighter-bomber unit is
temporarily deployed to S. Korea


YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea ? As part
of a high-tech commitment to enhancing
military capabilities in the region, a
squadron of F-117 Nighthawks ? more
commonly known as stealth
fighter-bombers ? has been deployed
temporarily to South Korea, U.S.
officials said Tuesday.


The squadron, from the 49th Fighter Wing
at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.,
arrives this week at Kunsan Air Base in
central South Korea.


"In coordination with the Republic of
Korea government, U.S. Pacific Command
and U.S. Forces Korea have identified
certain forces to deploy to the ROK from
June to September 2004," said Air Force
Lt. Col. Deborah Bertrand, a USFK
spokeswoman.


This is the first time this equipment
has been deployed to S. Korea and is
scheduled to be there through September.


In addition it has been reported that
the US has pulled its troops back from
the DMZ. Link


Whether it is meant as a show of force
against China or is in fact a prelude to
a strike against N. Korea I can't image
anything but bad coming from it in the
long term. Both scenarios are in perfect
harmony with neocon thinking. However, a
show of force against China would have
little impact on the election and Bush
needs a way of bolstering his image as a
protector of the US.
OK, hats off and stay tuned.
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