Thomas Barnett: DC Area November 2
- From: "Jack Linthicum" <jacklinthicum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 27 Oct 2005 13:39:32 -0700
Thomas Barnett will discuss his two books and his concepts for
reorganizing the U.S. military so that the "Shock and Awe" Leviathan
force and the "Police and Order" SysAdmin force can exist separately.
Note the date for the RSVP, October 28, tomorrow.
DC Area? RSVP now for Nov 2nd
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005
Dr. Thomas Barnett
The Pentagon's New Map:
War and Peace in the 21st Century
6:00-8:00PM (1800-2000)
Marriott Residence Inn, Arlington, VA
550 Army-Navy Drive
Dr. Barnett (biography) will discuss a developing global perspective
integrating political, economic, and military elements in a model for
the post-September 11th world. He will argue that terrorism and
globalization have combined to end the great-power model of war. He
will also describe the types of transformation required to bring the
out-dated Cold War military to a position where it can deal with new
and expanding threats.
Full text: http://www.jhuapl.edu/POW/rethinking/events.htm
RSVP: By COB, Friday, 28 October to peggy.harlow@xxxxxxxxxx /
240-228-7427
http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/
The China Caucus in the House: that's ALSO all about money
¦"China's Rising Clout Splits Republicans: In U.S. Congress, One
Faction Stresses Benefits of Trade, While Other Fears Military Threat,"
by Murray Hiebert, Wall Street Journal, 27 October 2005, p. A4.
Interesting profile in WSJ on the struggle between the "realists" in
the China Congressional Caucus, led by China hawks, and the Norman
Angell types ("Great Illusion," 1910 and Nobel Peace Prize 1933) who
believe peace comes through trade (U.S.-China Study Group). Both are
House groups. Rummy favors the hawks, and John Snow favors the traders.
But the real "realism" unites the two sides far more than the hawks
would care to admit. The Caucus is chock full of House Armed Services
Committee types whose districts are chock full of defense contractors
threatened by our growing economic alliance with China (can't wage war
if we get too tight), and their economic self-interest differs not one
whit from the traders whose districts are commensurately benefiting
from China's economic rise. The leader of the Caucus (Randy Forbes)
naturally hails from the Navy's major shipbuilding center, located in
Virginia. Guess what his answer to China's rise is? Lots and lots of
naval ships built in his district. The bigger and more high tech the
better, and if they have no real use in the GWOT and don't do a damn
thing to keep Americans alive on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan and
all the other places we'll wage war in the future, well that's just too
damn bad. The man's got jobs to protect in his district, our soldiers'
lives are somebody else's business.
But of course, I say something like that and certainly I'm "soft on
defense." I'm "naïve" because I believe wars are to be waged in the
Gap instead of the Taiwan Straits.
Yes, yes, I've got nothing on these "realists."
This is trade winners and losers, plain and simple. The hawks just
dress their version up as "national security" when it's really all
about the all-mighty buck in the end.
Both sides want to profit from China's rise. It's your job as voters to
decide which route makes more sense for America in the long run:
public-sector defense spending and arms trafficking (.e., we sell
abroad what we can't use here in the Pentagon) versus moving our
economy on to new levels of high technology that keep us competitive
versus the rising manufacturing powerhouse that is China, and finally
investing in the SysAdmin force that will create lasting victories in
the GWOT instead of simply waging driveby regime change.
But don't kid yourself. Money makes the world go around, especially in
Congress. This is not a serious discussion of national security, which
in Asia would focus on Taiwan and North Korea. This is all about who
makes the most money off China's rise. One side is honest about their
greed, the other is not.
And don't get me wrong. I don't have a problem with greed. I prefer it
to racism and nationalism and hatred any day of the week.
I just like mine unvarnished, minus the hypocrisy and the flag-waving
dress-up by national security "experts" who are simply in-House
lobbyists for defense contractors.
.
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