The Future of Freedom Foundation
Hornberger's Blog
By Jacob C. Hornberger
27 November 2013
It didn’t take long for the U.S. national-security state’s “pivot” toward Asia, after its disastrous 12-year foray into the Middle East, to produce a new crisis for Americans. In response to China’s decision to implement a new air zone involving a long territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands, the U.S. military sent two B-52 bombers flying over the zone to test China’s resolve, proving that China is just a “paper tiger” given that it didn’t shoot the planes out of the sky.
It was a childishly dangerous taunt. What would have happened if China had shot down the planes? Then what? Would the U.S. national-security state have stood idly by, thereby exposing itself to being accused of being a paper tiger? I don’t think so. To show its resolve, the U.S. government would have had to retaliate with some sort of bombing campaign against China.
Don’t forget, after all, that under our system of government the president can now send the entire nation into war without a congressional declaration of war.
More fundamentally, why should an island dispute between China and Japan be any business of the U.S. government? Would you be willing to give up your life to help Japan win its fight for those islands? Are you willing to sacrifice your spouse or your children for the sake of those islands?
Americans have become so accustomed to living under a giant military empire that it doesn’t even occur to many of them to question the entire concept of a worldwide military empire, one that polices the world with B-52s, pouring fuel on ancient conflicts and taunting nations into doing something about it. Such Americans just continue deferring to their old Cold War national-security state, believing that U.S. military officials know best.
continue reading at: http://fff.org/2013/11/27/the-national-security-states-childishly-dangerous-taunt-against-china/
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