Here is further proof of the power that China now possesses. This interesting article from Peakoil.com identifies five rare earth elements that America and other developed nations must continue to obtain for use in various highly important technological areas, among them the development of wind turbines, electric cars and new types of highly efficient lighting. It just so happens that China controls most of these resources and currently supplies 95% of the world demand. What will happen if a threatened, infuriated China decides to restrict the supply to the U.S.?
Trouble is already brewing in the South China Sea where China, Vietnam, the Philippines and several other nations are locked in a dispute over territorial rights, involving fishing and the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas. Tension is also growing over freedom of navigation through the Straight of Malacca, the corridor through which 25% or more of the world's crude oil passes into the South China Sea. This is the center of the region in which President Obama has vowed to expand its influence and power. "Let there be no doubt: in the Asia-Pacific in the 21st century, the United States of America is all in," he said. This Obama doctrine of involvement in this region represents an ominous sign of more trouble to come between the U.S. and China.
The Obama administration better rethink this new doctrine before it gets in way over its head. If the U.S. gets extremely aggressive and overly threatening, then China will, even if it damages its economy, take steps to drive America into a financial collapse. And it can, without a doubt, do just that because America is so heavily dependent on continuous Chinese loans. Does the U.S. intend to bite the hand that feeds itself? Does it actually think it can threaten the nation that is keeping it afloat financially? At some point, logic and rationality need to replace hubris and hegemony.
When you find that you have dug yourself into a very deep hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging. But this government doesn't seem to understand that at all. Instead of stopping the digging, it continues to dig and sink into one quagmire after another. So nothing ever changes, no lessons are ever learned and the hubristic blindness to reality continues on unabated. Is it any wonder why America, at this point in its history, has so many critical problems that it has no capacity to address?
With each one of these successive wars and their monumental costs, America becomes ever weaker and financially insolvent. As this military empire expands, America's ability to address its critical domestic needs is further dissipated. This latest movement into China's backyard may well prove to be the biggest foreign policy blunder in this nation's history.
So, we conclude with these words from Bob Marley's "War":
War in
the east,
War in the west,
War up north,
War down south,
War - war
Michael Payne
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