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February 3, 2010

Taking a Principled Stance with Your Biggest Creditor

Monique Chartier

... when your biggest creditor has no principles. From UPI.

China, already outraged over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Tuesday warned of damage to bilateral ties if U.S. leaders met with the Dalai Lama.

President Barack Obama plans to meet with the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan spiritual leader visits the United States but no date has been set.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Zhu Weiqun, executive vice minister for the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, said the United States would violate international rules by meeting the Tibetan Buddhist monk, Xinhua reported.

Saying such a move would be both irrational and harmful, Zhu said, "If a country decides to do so, we will take necessary measures to help them realize this."

Is he referencing the $789 billion (as of November) in US Treasury securities that his country holds?

Of course, President Obama is doing the right thing by selling arms to a democracy and by meeting with a religious/spiritual leader. But the President is also proposing a trillion and a half dollars in new spending and two trillion in additional deficits, on top of current spending and deficits. Setting aside for a moment that such an absurd level of spending is completely inadviseable in its own regard, if Congress approves anything like it, the money will need to be borrowed from some place. But if we tick off our biggest lender by doing the right thing, will they still loan us the money we want?

Put it another way. Hasn't our spending reached a patently unacceptable level when we have to ask ourselves: can we afford to stand on principle?

Comments

Can't blame Obama for this one. But I have always been curious, was it simply desperation that drove us to making a communist country our largest creditor? When our largest creditor was Japan, they tried this one a few times. Didn't we learn anything.

Also, few seem to realize it, but, our support of Taiwan is not simply principled. To put it simply, our missles won't fly without Taiwanese chips. Without most Americans noticing, Taiwan has become the "gold standard" for tools and machining. What manufacturing we have left is heavily dependent on Taiwanese "precision" equipment.

Posted by: Warrington Faust at February 3, 2010 10:59 PM

Tee last line of my previous post caused me to wonder, are Brown & Sharpe workers still on strike?

Posted by: Warrington Faust at February 3, 2010 11:01 PM

China is making this move now because they have no respect at all for Obama.Nor do the Russians.Or any other country,including for sure Iran.They see him as the tyro he is in international relations.Well,maybe they respect him in Kenya,but last I looked,Kenya wasn't a potential danger to the US.
Obama's lack of depth and lack of any substantial experience is coming home to roost.Just what we need in these times-a dilettante President.

Posted by: joe bernstein at February 4, 2010 5:02 AM

I don't think it is fair to blame Obama. Although we had similar problems when Japan sat in China's position, the collapse of the Japanese economy in the 90's forced us into the hands of China. I suppose we could try to lay some blame on Clinton. Blaming Clinton would be unfair, there was no other nation that could afford to support us, other than China.

Posted by: Warrington Faust at February 4, 2010 9:09 AM

When push comes to shove, there is no such thing as "international law". The world is ultimately governed by the law of the jungle. The weak get eaten.

The Russians and Chinese are already waging undeclared cyber-warfare against the US, attacking military and infrastructure targets worldwide.

The modern American Left has wanted to weaken their own country for decades, in a quixotic pursuit of "world peace". Their position and actions are nearly treasonous, as they are willfully putting the country and their fellow citizens in danger. We saw a preview of it with Clinton's drawdown of military strength in the 1990s; Obama is an extreme version. He has pinned the needle, gone off the scale, broken the meter.

When American greatness and security are restored some day, today will be recorded as the time we made a u-turn away from the cliff of national suicide.

(I'm in an optimistic mood this morning. :))

Posted by: BobN at February 4, 2010 10:08 AM

BobN says "The Russians and Chinese are already waging undeclared cyber-warfare against the US, attacking military and infrastructure targets worldwide."

What was just pointed out is in fact one of largest threats to our national security/military power. News story occasionally make it into the mainstream, but hardly any detail is given nor is it explained to the public at large. The Chinese and Russians allow private companies and give public subsidies to hack into govts worldwide and American business interests. The govt is allowed to distance itself, while still maintaining control of operations and in targets. Check into Russian youths being made into heroes for breaking into U.S companies/govt sites by the townspeople and govt, there are stories and news reports that can confirm such events. We may still spend more than all nations combined when it comes to defense, but how will our nuclear subs/missiles/missile shields work when our systems our corrupted by the chinese and cannot function properly? One of the most pressing security concerns is one of the least talked about. Its not an Obama/Democrat thing, this has been an issue for close to 20 years. The chest bumping between nations right now shows the immense need for U.S. cybersecurity improvements.

Posted by: steadman at February 4, 2010 1:18 PM

Don't know much about cyber security. But, unless things have changed recently, our Aegis ships still operate the systems with 20 year old MacIntoshes. Speedy encryption must be difficult.

Posted by: Warington Faust at February 4, 2010 4:07 PM

I saw your article about President Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama. What you may or may not know is that I have investigated the Dalai Lama for some time and have discovered very good reasons why President Obama should not meet with him. Below are just a few of the reasons:

* The Dalai Lama has championed a terrorist who planted bombs in Washington and had threatened the lives of FBI agents and their families.

* According to the October 2, 1998 edition of the New York Times, The Dalai Lama headed an organization which was training an army of terrorists to attack the Chinese.

* The Dalai Lama has promoted books for convicted Nazi War Criminals and mass murderers.

* The Dalai Lama had placed two former Nazi SS officers in his government in exile.

* The Dalai Lama took over a million dollars from one terrorist group.

* The Dalai Lama had other close associations with former Nazis and present Nazis.

* The Dalai Lama was a slave owner and the Lamas were very brutal toward their slaves.

* The Dalai Lama was convicted by an Indian Court for being a religious bigot.

All of the above and more is document on my website:

http://www.angelofjustice.org

Posted by: Angel Justice at February 5, 2010 8:51 PM

Angel-tghe things you allege are pretty serious.I've never heard these kinds of accusations against the Dalai Lama.I don't consider him an icon or anything,but OTOH I can't picture him the way you put it either.
The Chinese government has a lot of blood on their hands.The Chinese people are very nice as a rule,and have been the major victimns of their own overseers for a long,long time.
Does the Cultural Revolution,during which both the Holocaust and Stalin's slaughters were eclipsed resonate with you at all?
The Dalai Lama never ordered any mass murders.You sound weird.

Posted by: joe bernstein at February 6, 2010 7:55 PM

Looks like a tin-foil hat site to me.

Posted by: BobN at February 7, 2010 11:59 AM