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MAY 23,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

SIR, PLEASE BE QUIET – The president is speaking again.  That is a matter of regret.  From Fox:    President Biden said that the country is going through an "incredible transition" away from fossil fuels via the high gas prices being experienced nationwide.  Biden made the statement on gas prices during a joint press conference with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday. "Here’s the situation. And when it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over," Biden said, seeming to justify or praise those sky-high prices Americans face at the pump.
Biden's comments come amid a stretch of record-high gas prices which the American Automobile Association says is "unprecedented."  Is the man serious, or even aware of what he's saying?  We won't have effective green energy for transportation for decades, if ever.  Is the president of the United States saying that we should pay these ridiculous gas prices until that day comes?  He seems to be saying that.  I can't believe what I'm hearing.

May 23, 2022       Permalink

A GRIM TRUMP – OVERNIGHT:  The former president may or may not run again in 2024, but he is increasingly speaking out on the issues, although rarely on foreign policy.  He has just broken that mold by speaking out very firmly, and very grimly, on world affairs.  He's not a happy man.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Former President Donald Trump said he believes the United States is now facing an unprecedented threat of nuclear war.

The explosive observation was made Monday during a phone interview with conservative radio talk show host John Fredericks during a discussion about this year's midterm primary contests, in particular those set to take place Tuesday in Georgia, the 2024 presidential election, and the state of the country under President Joe Biden.

"Our country has probably never been worse than it is right now. I think we’re in the greatest danger ever of a nuclear war," Trump said on Outside the Beltway.

The last time nuclear weapons were used in war was by the U.S. against Japan at the end of World War II. However, there have been periods of significantly heightened tensions between nuclear powers since then, such as the Cuban missile crisis between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1962.

At the moment, the U.S. and many other Western nations have rallied behind Ukraine as its forces try to fend off an invasion by Russia, leading to renewed apprehension about nuclear strikes of some variety. For instance, former Joint Chiefs Chairman and retired Adm. Mike Mullen warned over the weekend that the U.S. should prepare for the "possibility" of Russia using a nuclear weapon. There is also the Biden White House having to perform cleanup duty after the sitting president said the U.S. military would defend Taiwan if China invaded.

Fears of nuclear conflict also popped up during the Trump administration. The current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who also served under Trump, Gen. Mark Milley, warned military leaders that Trump could "go rogue" and took steps to secure the nuclear launch process after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the 2021 book Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of the Washington Post. While president, Trump also sought to rein in North Korea's nuclear weapons program (after famously warning that threats by the hermit nation would be met with "fire and fury") and pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump said Monday that he "never thought" the imminent threat of nuclear war would happen. "We're in the greatest danger of a nuclear war where it’s just a great danger," he reiterated. "We’re not a respected country anymore."

COMMENT:  Well look, it's really hard to assess how accurate Trump's concerns are, but I think he's a man whose wisdom has been underestimated, and somewhat undermined by his personality.  He seems to be speaking about an international mood.  Before Ukraine, few thought we would ever see again a major land war in Europe.  We are seeing it, and it was started by Russia, a major nuclear power.  Once that "no land war" barrier was broken, people began to realize that other horribles could also happen – including nuclear warfare.

Our greatest obligation to ourselves and the world right now is to remain calm, but also to remain strong.  It is weakness that can bring on a miscalculation that could invite the use of nuclear weapons. 

We need far better leadership in this crisis than what we're getting.  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are part of the reason that Americans are so apprehensive.

May 23, 2022       Permalink   

MAY 22, 2022

A MAJOR COMMITMENT – OVERNIGHT:  President Biden appears to be committing the United States to defend Taiwan.  We have no written commitment, and no treaty to that effect, so this may constitute a change in policy, or it may not.  We need clarity here, and we're not getting it.  From Fox: 

President Biden stated that the U.S. will send the military to defend Taiwan if the People's Republic of China were to invade the island nation.

"Very quickly, you didn't want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?" a reporter asked the president during a news conference in Japan.

"Yes," Biden replied.

"You are?" the reporter pressed.

"That's the commitment we made," the president said.

A White House spokesperson told Fox News that the administration's policy "has not changed."

"As the President said, our policy has not changed," the spokesperson said. "He reiterated our One China Policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself."

The "One China policy" refers to the U.S. recognition of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, but only acknowledges, without endorsing, Beijing's claim that Taiwan is part of China.

Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine a part of historic Russia, and Xi considers Taiwan a part of China.

In October, Biden said the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China attacks. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson responded by saying, "No one should underestimate the strong resolve, determination and capability of the Chinese people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China has no room for compromise."

China launched military exercises in the disputed South China Sea as Biden's trip to East Asia began Friday. 

Asia expert Gordon Chang, author of ‘The Great US-China Tech War," said the Biden administration is trying to backtrack previous indications that America fears China by proceeding with Taiwan discussions in the face of public warnings from Chinese officials.

Chang told "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday that China's recent military drill is "connected" to Biden's Asia visit because his joint statement with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol mentioned Taiwan directly. 

"They are connected because, before Biden touched down in South Korea – the first stop on the trip – the Chinese publicly warned him not to talk about Taiwan and so there was the joint statement between President Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, which specifically mentions Taiwan," Chang said. "There are going to be a lot of Taiwan discussions in Japan, the second and last stop on this trip - and so really what the United States was saying to Beijing is, "'I'm not afraid of you anymore.'"

COMMENT:  Okay, we back the president on that.  We should never signal weakness to the Chinese, who are not friendly.   At the same time, the American people must understand exactly what Biden is talking about when he says we will intervene militarily if China invades Taiwan.  Words have meanings.  How far does our commitment go?  Equipment?  Troops?  Good wishes?

Congress will want to have a say.

The United States has fought two bitter wars in Asia – in Korea, and in Vietnam.  The costs were high, the outcomes open to interpretation.  This site favors a defense of Taiwan as an entity independent of China.  But we want all the details.

May 22, 2022       Permalink