- Trajectory of US-China relations ‘must be altered,’ he says
- Well-known statesman says he’s encouraged by US-China talks
Only problem is, Kissinger has said that he didn’t see war with China over Taiwan for at least another decade. And he’s been very inconsistent with his pronouncements over the China-Taiwan situation. Case in point, some prior headlines:
Kissinger doesn’t see China invasion of Taiwan in next decade
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said he doesn’t foresee a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan in the next decade, though it’s “perfectly possible” that China will seek to weaken the island’s status.
Kissinger doesn’t see China invasion of Taiwan in next decade | The Japan Times
Henry Kissinger sees ray of hope on the China-US front
The veteran American diplomat believes tensions between the two countries may be easing and recent statements by both sides support his view
Henry Kissinger sees ray of hope on the China-US front | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)
So, in a large way, Kissinger doesn’t know a damn thing about a damn thing. He wafts and wanes on the issues for any donor who will pay his next rent check. Yesterday China Good. Today China Bad, Tomorrow China No Problems.
The issues are that China sees Taiwan as its island, and along with the semiconductor industry, it needs and wants Taiwan badly. Kissinger is utilized to paint China in a bad light when he’s paid and needed to do so. That way right wingers can froth and foam over the Chinese threat they pose to the United States. China has one bad ass military though, and it appears they are ready for battle.
However, their ships are not that great, but they outdo American ships by a large enough amount to give the United States pause. Not only that, but their core military strength is also a sight to behold compared to the US Military. Granted they are untested in battle, but what we have on our end in just the Navy alone is a bunch of boats in Newport sitting under RICOH’s that are taking years to complete. So long in fact, that there is no room for other ships to come into port for their RICOH’s. And the morale in that area of the Navy is at such a low point that sailors are committing suicide in larger numbers because of the near insanity going on there.
At least five sailors on the George Washington have died by suicide in the last year, including three within a span of a week last month, military officials said.
The problems we have just in the Navy alone make things very dicey if war breaks out over Taiwan. We don’t have the Navy we once had, it’s been replaced with the Navy we don’t need.
Several current and former George Washington sailors told NBC News that their mental health struggles were directly related to a culture where seeking help is not met with the necessary resources, as well as nearly uninhabitable living conditions aboard the ship, including constant construction noise that made sleeping impossible and a lack of hot water, heat and electricity.
We didn’t have this problem in WW2. Our Navy after Pearl Harbor was decimated, but we went on to win the day at the Battle of Midway, and I doubt very seriously we had sailors who were needing counseling back then. You did your job and were proud to serve. Today, not so.
The sailor said there are several broken toilets onboard, among many other things that are not working but are in the process of being repaired. “It’s stressful trying to get everything back up to standard,” that sailor said.
Other shipmates told NBC News this week that long commutes, lack of parking, and garbage that litters the vessel’s hallways have also contributed to poor living and working conditions.
“You can just tell people are depressed,” said a third sailor, who recently joined the ship. “I’ve heard this is one of the worst commands in the Navy.”
So, when China looks at Taiwan, it will see these issues with our ability to respond, and if we can’t respond because we don’t have high morale and the ships to go into battle, then it stands to reason we won’t be having an easy time defending Taiwan if we truly respond at all. If China attacks Taiwan, the United States may just respond with bluster and outrage and sanctions, which of course China will be easily able to weather.
This is why China may just attack Taiwan at any moment. Not because Kissinger says it, but because the reality is our forces are stretched thin, and our ability to arm others are also stretched thin, and our ability to go in mass to anywhere where it will be a hard slog, especially against China, would really be a difficult process — that may in fact end up with the United States handing Taiwan to China and just saying, well, we tried, and we will continue to try and support the resistance efforts there and resolve it diplomatically.
As for the source of the headline, the article was behind a Bloomberg paywall, and we don’t do paywalls here and won’t do much more than link to it if it was important to the story arc.
