Pres's Rebuke of Taiwan Stirs Alarm (conservative reaction)

[DeepModem Mom]

Los Angeles Times:

To conservatives, it was a shocking scene. President Bush sat chatting chummily in the Oval Office on Tuesday with the premier of communist China and harshly rebuked the democratically elected leader of the United States' old friend and ally, Taiwan.

"The only word I can use is 'appalled,' " said John Tkacik, a China specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a staunch administration supporter. "The spectacle of the American president who just gave such an eloquent speech in Whitehall barely three weeks ago, saying the global expansion of democracy is a pillar of American foreign policy…."

His voice trailed off in disbelief. "This just simply belies that."

Behind the jarring imagery, however, was a simple message. The Bush administration believes that it cannot afford a political crisis that could draw the United States into a war over Taiwan while it has its hands more than full with Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea.

So the president expressed his opposition to Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's pledge to hold a March 20 referendum that China finds provocative.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-conservatives10dec10,1,2294148.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[JailBush]

1. How will China and Taiwan play Bush?

Should China attack Taiwan now, before the U.S. has a chance to regroup? Or do they figure George W. Dumbass will just keep digging us into a deeper hole?

If Taiwan perceives that the United States' strength is being sapped by corporate corruption and right-wing loonies, will they bravely declare independence and hope they can make it stick, or will they continue in limbo? If the U.S. continues to decline while China continues to grow in power, Taiwan's days are presumably numbered.

I'd be tempted to call China's bluff and take the plunge, then dig in politically and militarily.

[Mikimouse]

12. This was predictable 2 years ago...

When the barely literate moron in the WH decided to play international cowboy, it became clear that the US would spread its military very thin. China is probably not bluffing about Taiwan, and would have no difficulty taking back control of the island nation. Israel has also been escalating its reprisals against the Palestinians, while the EU is flirting with Russia and Russia is flirting with China. The potential for one helluva domino effect is already there, with a subsequent reorganization of world power.

[Terran]

26. I think China sees more value

in controlling American foreign policy towards China and Taiwan than it does in retaking Taiwan militarily. So I don't think they'll attack Taiwan just because now would be a good time to do it; the value of having that wedge against George Bush is far greater, I imagine.

Bush and all his nonsense from two years ago about defending Taiwan is now showing up to be the cowboy bluster it clearly was. The Iraq invasion has rendered us virtually impotent in all other areas of the world. Way to go, dumbass.

[truthisfreedom]

2. forced to be the pResident of the United States, bush appalls the wingers

by doing something that won't actually cause a war.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

16. The Chimpster's handlers will just tell the goose-stepping faithful...

...that we are lulling the "Communist giant" into complacency until we deal with the Middle East while getting the draft running full-bore.

Global domination means exactly that to the PNACers. First the Middle East, then Asia/China, then Europe/Russia.

Hey, didn't the Chimpster warn us that the "war on terror" would be a long one? He just didn't tell us how he defined "terrorist".

[Democat]

3. Remember when right wingers used to bash Clinton about China

I'm sure they will all apologize now.

[Bhaisahab]

4. what a wuss!

that quote in whitehall goes:

"Freedom, by definition, must be chosen, and defended by those who choose it. Our part, as free nations, is to ally ourselves with reform, wherever it occurs.... We will use force when necessary in the defense of freedom. And we will raise up an ideal of democracy in every part of the world." (whitehall palace london, nov 19, 2003)


not even a month later, with the chinese guy next to him, bush said:

"We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo. And the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose."(the oval office - dec 9, 2003)

and that's official folks. the gutless coward who calls himself the "leader" of the free world doesn't give two bits of shit for freedom.
what a wuss!

[Fitzovich]

6. Thanks

Thank You for posting both of these quotes. Puts everything into the corect perspective. * not only doesn't read newspapers but, also doesn't read what he (or Rove) has written for him.

[truthisfreedom]

7. freedom or money?

you do the math.

[cthrumatrix]

10. Bingo.....a trade war or currency games have the US with few options

I find it hard to believe that many don't see this...we are not the same country we were....thanks to *

[ewagner]

24. You're right......

"freedom" has nothing to do with it.

China depends on Taiwan for trade and we depend on China for trade.

The only objective for Bu$hco is to keep the $$$$ flowing.

Freedom, democracy, choice are just rhetorical tools.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Thanks for the quotes, professor_pot,

and welcome to DU to you, Fitzovich, and kvnf --

[newyawker99]

32. Hi professor_pot!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[kvnf]

5. A great day for democracy!

[newyawker99]

33. Hi kvnf!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[PsychoDad]

8. I hate to say this...

But I knew the shrub would do this...

Taiwan is on it's own. Bush cares nothing for "freedom", doesn't even know what it is.
Armagedon is more important and Taiwan has no oil.

[Fitzovich]

11. Are there splits showing up in the right?

Anyone notice the Gingrich article in Newsweek this issue? Newt seems a bit concerned about the administrations plan (or lack of one) in Iraq. It on the newstands now.

[54anickel]

19. Would love to see the RW draft anyone to run against Shrub n/t

[UpInArms]

13. here's a related article in the Asia Times

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/EL11Ad01.html

WASHINGTON - In an extraordinary split with US President George W Bush, a neo-conservative-dominated think-tank close to administration hawks released a statement on Tuesday afternoon accusing the president of "appeas(ing)" China on Taiwan.

The statement by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was released just a few hours after Bush publicly chastised Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian for planning a referendum on whether to ask Beijing to renounce the use of force against the island and remove the almost 500 missiles pointed at it. The proposed referendum is timed to take place on the same day as the March 10 presidential elections in which Chen hopes to be re- elected.

<snip>

They then went on to attack Bush's statement as a "mistake", adding the dreaded "A" word that neo-conservatives have bludgeoned their worst political opponents with for the past 30 years. "Appeasement of a dictatorship simply invites further attempts at intimidation," they wrote. "Standing with democratic Taiwan would secure stability in East Asia. Seeming to reward Beijing's bullying will not."

The harsh denunciation, which is unlikely to win them many friends in the White House, caps a period of serious reverses for the PNAC crowd over the past several months as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated. As much as any group's, PNAC's recommendations about how to wage the war on terrorism post-September 11, 2001, had been taken to heart by administration hawks, particularly in Cheney's and Rumsfeld's offices. This began with an open letter produced by the group on September 20, 2001, which called for extending the anti-terrorism campaign to Iraq, whether or not Baghdad had any role in the September 11 attacks, and siding unequivocally with Israel in its own "war on terrorism" against the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Indeed, PNAC - or, more specifically, Kristol, Kagan and Schmitt - have often acted as mouthpieces for their friends in the administration, not only with respect to the "war on terrorism", but also on China. During the Hainan spy-plane incident in the spring of 2001, Kristol and Kagan, apparently reflecting the views of their friends in Cheney's and Rumsfeld's offices, repeatedly attacked Secretary of State Colin Powell for his diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis with China quietly and the final settlement that freed the US crew a "national humiliation".

...and so much more stuff worth reading...

[54anickel]

23. Huh? PNAC and Heritage both after his butt. Must read

Great article. Puts so much of what is discussed here at DU in a single article.
Thanks for posting.

A couple of snips, there is so much more to read in this one:

PNAC, whose alumni include Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld among other senior administration officials, reacted with outrage.


...As much as any group's, PNAC's recommendations about how to wage the war on terrorism post-September 11, 2001, had been taken to heart by administration hawks, particularly in Cheney's and Rumsfeld's offices. This began with an open letter produced by the group on September 20, 2001, which called for extending the anti-terrorism campaign to Iraq, whether or not Baghdad had any role in the September 11 attacks, and siding unequivocally with Israel in its own "war on terrorism" against the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon's Hezbollah.


During the Hainan spy-plane incident in the spring of 2001, Kristol and Kagan, apparently reflecting the views of their friends in Cheney's and Rumsfeld's offices, repeatedly attacked Secretary of State Colin Powell for his diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis with China quietly and the final settlement that freed the US crew a "national humiliation".

[salin]

28. His own foreign policy (debacle) - forces him in a corner

He needs China - to help quell the North Korea situation.

What the crazy pnac-ers always have failed to recognize is that other countries wouldn't just stand by and let the US destabilize the world (as is their plan - in order to 'prevent the emergence of another superpower') - without serious attempts to counter balance it. The push to Iraq was inevitably going to force a geopolitican realignment - and these idiots didn't recognize that the danger was an alignment of powers such as China and Russia, and that if at times these powers aligned with the EU (which is now pushing for its own mutual defense organization - seperate from NATO), that the US would not be able to push its agenda.

While this story doesn't show a realignment (though even the blocks coming together in the UN last February/March demonstrated some of that - and they were so successful that the intent to bully their way to a UN security resolution to justify an invasion that was kicked off by Colin Powell's embarassing presentation to the UN in February (embarassing in that he used intel that was shoddy and, over a short period of time, transparent) - that the Bushies decided it would be worse to fail at such a resolution, so they abandoned the farce and went after a "coalition of the willing" and went in sans UN support.

But this story does show that these aggresive stands and policies create situations that the US alone can not handle (eg setting up a showdown with North Korea), and that the US does NOT have the upper hand it assumed that it had with all other countries. Hence this display - that when taken with his policies and "closeness" to Putin in Russia - which should drive the die-hard old cold warriers to distraction.

[Merlin]

29. Famous SNL Bush quote: "Presidenting is hard! It's hard!"

The boy king is in way over his head. This is what happens when you don't think for yourself. You wind up karoming off of the conflicting views of your advisers like a pin-ball.

It'll be interesting to see how cousing Howard plays this. It may be a chance for him to get to the right of Bush.

We may wind up with a modern day equivalent of the similar issue of Quemoy-Matsu that dominated the Kennedy-Nixon campaign of 1960.

[gulliver]

14. Another side effect of Bush's NK bungle?

Bush needs China's help with North Korea. If Bush hadn't unnecessarily pushed North Korea into going nuclear, the Chinese would have no leverage with us now. But thanks to Bush's idiotic "Axis of Evil" moment, China now has a free hand to rape us with their monetary policy and game Taiwan.

Nice job, Bush!

[Ilsa]

15. My conservative paper called it hypocrisy

in this morning's editorial:
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/opinion/editorials/story/1556314p-1827501c.html

Snip
"The United States went to war against Iraq purportedly to prevent Saddam Hussein from using those weapons of mass destruction, which may not have existed at the time of the U.S. invasion, and also to impose democracy on an ancient civilization that has never known this form of government.

On the other wide of Asia, a brutal totalitarian regime massacres its own people, threatens war against a neighbor and aims weapons of mass destruction at that neighbor. And Bush welcomed that dictatorship's premier to the White House on Tuesday, siding with China against its smaller neighbor, Taiwan, which has evolved over the decades from a brutal authoritarian regime into a genuine multiparty democracy."
Snip

Got it right this time! I can't wait to see the slew of pointless hate mail they'll get for bashing *.

[Hubert Flottz]

17. That's great!

They know Texas might be next!

[Bhaisahab]

18. "impose democracy on an ancient civilization"?? really?

u know iraq was the first quasi-democracy in the world, with hamurabi's code governing people's lives. that was back when europeans were still in awe of fire.
and for this newspaper to claim iraq never knew democracy shows the editors of this paper are intellectually lazy.
besides, only with the bush administration's war on terra did the world come to know that democracy can be "imposed." we all thought it was nurtured and home grown.
finally, first time or not, iraq aint getting a democractic govt unless the americans are out and the UN is in.

[Just Me]

20. Bush regime supports profits and power,...not freedom,...

,...not justice, not democracy, not an open society, etc. I seriously hope Taiwan survives.

[Patriot_Spear]

21. Bush* is offering Taiwan up to the Chinese on a platter...

Shrub wants to do 'Bidness' with the Chinese and Taiwan is the carrot.

So long Taiwan, we hardly knew ye...

[pinto]

22. Bush* "Give me democracy or give me Walmart."

Guess he chose Walmart.

And..the neocons are not happy. See article link for response from PNAC in Post #13, above.

ed for horrendous sp.

[NoKingGeorge]

25. Will the Neo party win or the Repub party?

The Neo party , who do not have to raise money or deal with domestic issues,would like to see a single target,China instead of having China AND Taiwon to conquer.The Repub party, who handle the domestic issues,raise money,and do the local propaganda would like to not piss off a business partner. Freedom,Democracy have no say in this facist organization.

[Fleshdancer]

27. serves Taiwan right...

...for not having oil. Democracy is only good when Halliburton can profit from it.

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

30. Bush finally did something right for a change

Hell must have frozen over...I actually agree with Bush on something. Though I am highly amused by the crap he is taking from the rightwing.

[BeFree]

31. Communist China Supports Bush

It's obvious ain't it? The ChiComs want * elected. And * wants the ChiComs to remain in power. No wonder PNAC'ers are po'd. They've been sold down the Yellow River.