recent
London Telegraph article reported, ‘Beijing
secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites.’
Hell-o!
It
is bittersweet to find documentation of previous
speculation and analysis.
I’ve been grousing about China for a long time…so have a
lot of people smarter and wiser than me.
So
now, “China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons
designed to disable American spy satellites by
‘blinding’ their sensitive surveillance devices.”
Over a year ago, [Read]
I wrote, China continues to build its military and
technology. The Clinton administration provided China
with a 10-year boost in satellite technology (either as
a bribe or gratuity), and the immediate result was
China's move to create a Chinese GPS system separate and
apart from the current U.S. global system.
‘Preparing the battlefield' is a martial basic. Once
upon a time it consisted of archers attriting the enemy.
Later it became artillery ‘softening' the enemy.
Delivery systems have improved with laser designators
and now GPS ‘smart bombs'.
In
the future, ‘preparing the battlefield' will include
disrupting command and control mechanisms. With two
rival GPS systems in place, we can anticipate that prior
to any tanks or missiles being deployed, phase one will
consist of trying to take out satellites. ‘Preparation
of the battlefield' isn't going to happen just ‘on the
battlefield' but also in space. And now it HAS….
Much of our contemporary military command and control,
navigation and weapons systems are linked to GPS.
Navigation and fire adjustment skills are at risk of GPS
dependence…and just when it is most needed GPS might not
be around.
The unreported Chinese attacks on our satellites were
kept secret by the Bush administration, ‘apparently’ for
fear it would undermine vain efforts to co-opt China in
diplomatic moves against North Korea and Iran. It was a
fool’s errand…epic bureaucratic brain flatulence.
If
China had been the least bit interested in chilling
North Korea’s jets (and nukes) they could have done it
in a New York minute (and the still could). They didn’t.
They’ haven’t. And they won’t. And the why is not big
secret: Because it is not in their strategic best
interest to do so. Smarter men and women than me ought
to know that.
According to Defense News sources “there had been a
fierce internal battle within Washington over whether to
make the attacks public.”
"After a contentious debate, the White House directed
the Pentagon to limit its concern to one line," Defense
News said. One line?
This is a BIG honking deal!
Senior American officials report, "China not only has
the capability, but has exercised it." American
satellites like the giant Keyhole craft have come under
attack "several times" in recent years. And still there
have been no negative consequences? OUTRAGEOUS!
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was half right and half wrong
when he said he does not think any country threatens
China (THAT is true), but when he said the United States
does not see China as a threat, he is either being
disingenuous, uncharacteristically myopic, or dumber
than a box of rocks to say it poses no threat to the
U.S.
-
China has
repeatedly SAID it is a threat.
-
China has said it
will attack Taiwan if Taiwan tries to declare
independence.
-
Unchecked, within
15 years Communist China will control over 80
percent of the South China Sea.
-
By 2010 (four
years from now) China will have a navy FIVE TIMES
LARGER THAN OURS.
-
After the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, China told the
elder Bush there was now a new cold war … between
China and the U.S.
-
Chinese President
Jiang Zemin told his central military commission it
should "prepare for war with the United States by
the year 2008."
China is a threat because IT HAS SAID SO! Not only has
it said so, but also its plans, actions to implement the
plan, and what it has done and not done, are evidence of
a threat. An old Army buddy who attended the Naval War
College in Newport, Rhode Island, puts a fine point on
the China threat. He reported in 1994 "war games" (which
were played out in a 2010 environment) the U.S. Seventh
Fleet getting crushed by China.
This isn’t chicken hawk saber rattling ranting. China IS
a threat … a for-real, you damnbetcha threat. So, what
are we doing about it?
Saddam Hussein posed a ‘potential’ threat and we invaded
Iraq. China attacks our satellites and they don’t even
get a snotty Foggy Bottom letter? And if they did get a
snotty note, why keep it a secret?
©
2006 Geoff Metcalf - All Rights Reserved
"Geoff Metcalf is a nationally syndicated radio talk
show host for TALK AMERICA and a veteran media
performer. He has had an eclectic professional
background covering a wide spectrum of radio,
television, magazine, and newspapers. A former Green
Beret and retired Army officer he is in great demand as
a speaker. Visit Geoff's
Web Site:
www.geoffmetcalf.com. While you're at it -
pick up a copy of Geoff's latest book!
E-mail:
geoff@geoffmetcalf.com
