Zeitgeist Zephyr

Spirit of the Westward Wind

Archive for the ‘A Global Perspective’

Next Entries →

Flashback: China Tested Bush in Hainan Too

Published March 10th, 2009 in A Global Perspective, China, North Korea, President Obama | No Comments »

I may have been in 5th grade at the time that George W. Bush was starting his first term, but I do remember an event in his first year as president that got overshadowed after 9/11 and had many, including my 5th grade teacher, talking about he possibility of a conflict with the Chinese.  On 1 April 2001 near Hainan Island in China, a Chinese interceptor jet and a U.S. Navy surveillance plane collided and the Navy plane was forced to make an emergency landing in China.  The crew members on board destroyed all sensitive equipment and data for nearly 15 minutes after landing before being detained until 11 April by the Chinese military.  The nature of the event is still surrounded in speculation, but many view the Chinese response as a test towards George W. Bush and many feared during the event that it could have escalated into a military conflict between the U.S. and China. In their defense, China called the Navy flight a violation of their airspace in accordance with the UN Convention of the Laws of the Sea.  Sound familiar?

Over the past week, the U.S. Navy surveillance ship the USNS Impeccable has been repeatedly harassed by Chinese ships including Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel, a Chinese Navy intelligence collection vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers.  Mind you this is all occurred about 75 miles south of Hainan in the South China Sea.  The Chinese are claiming that the ship was in violation of the Chinese special economic zone in the South China Sea and is thus in direct violation of international and Chinese laws.  

Interesting coincidence?  Perhaps, but it is nearly a tradition of America’s rivals to test new presidents as they enter into their first term.  North Korea is prepping to test a missile, likely a Taepodong-2 akin to one tested a few years ago on the 4th of July, within the next week or so.  Whatever their intentions are, they have put their military on high alert and have warned they are prepared for an all out war should their missile or satellite be shot down.  

However President Obama responds to these crises, it is good to keep in mind these are largely tests on him to determine how he stands up under pressure on the international stage when faced with a crisis.  I don’t really expect much to happen as a result of these events (knock on wood) beyond figuring out how Obama does handle a crisis and how China and North Korea will respond, but anything is possible.  If Obama holds to his campaign promises of how to handle international diplomacy, everything should turn out just fine.  

Xinhua: United States’ superpower status in question

Published December 29th, 2008 in A Global Perspective | No Comments »

uploaded by mockstar on flickr on Aug. 31, 2006

While definitely not coming from what could be considered by even a long-shot the most reliable of news sources, China’s Xinhua news agency, their assessment of the global balance of power, on a fundamental level, hit the nail on the head.  A result of the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the stock market fluctuations this fall, not to mention unilateral international policies the last eight years, have all indicated that the United States’ power is perhaps on the wane.  While too early for this year’s history to say how much the balance of power has shifted, it should be noted that this isn’t unprecedented or surprising.

Fareed Zakaria in his most recent book, The Post American World, details several reasons for the American decline in power and influence.  First of all, the economic situation has changed since the end of World War II.  The United States rode out in front of the wave of the flurry of economic growth that was spurred in the immediate post-war period, also gaining tremendous popularity in Europe as a result of the post-war rebuilding period, The Marshall Plan.  During this period of riding off a wartime economy while maintaining supremacy in the fight against Communism on an economic level among free-world nations, the United States made its most significant rise to global prominence.  Only in recent decades have economic booms in countries like China, Japan, and India occurred that have started to tip the tables of economic power out of favor for the United States.

That’s the view at least from America’s perspective.  For other countries, it represents a rise onto the global stage.  Where during the better part of the Twentieth Century the opportunity and gold in the world lay on the shores of the U.S., countries like India and China are now able to provide their own opportunity.  So rather than it being a decline in U.S. power that we’re witnessing, it’s a rise in the power, influence, and prominence of the rest; hence “the rise of the rest” as Zakaria puts it.  

“The rise of the rest” is not a bad thing in and of itself, in reality what this means is that all of the countries that are now rapidly industrializing have taken note from the U.S. playbook and are following largely by example what we’ve done to get to where we are today.  While some in America might feel emasculated by having so many countries challenging, perhaps legitimately, our economic stature, this really is a good step for the world to be taken.  Industrialization increases the standard of living for people in third world countries and is effectively the bridge that takes them to becoming a first world nation.  The higher the standard of living, the less poverty there is, and the more stable our increasingly global civilization becomes (taking note that some of the greatest atrocities being committed currently are in countries like Sudan, Zimbabwe and Pakistan (harboring terrorists), all of which have high populations living at or below the poverty level.)

The only downside is that this is all happening at a time when the image of America has been tainted abroad.  This is in large part to a very unpopular war in Iraq spurred on by a very unpopular President who’s diplomatic strategy consists of “bring em on!”  Granted that only adds to the appearance that the United State’s is losing power, but just remember this: the whole reason we’re trying to build that missile defense shield in Europe is to defend THEM, not US, from inbound missiles from Iran.  Europe might be organizing into a continental government, but they are still a ways a way from being able to defend themselves without the protection offered by ‘Team America, World Police.’  

Things to keep in mind when our largest Communist rival makes claims about the status of our superpower-dom.    

—————————————————-

Image posted on Flickr by mockstar on Aug. 31, 2006. url: http://flickr.com/photos/58289749@N00/230325961

Terror In Mumbai: The Aftermath

Published November 30th, 2008 in A Global Perspective | No Comments »

 25985992.JPG

First of all, if you’re still unsure of exactly what happened in Mumbai, India last week, I would recommend looking at this analysis of the crisis courtesy of The Long War Journal .  (Thank you to Jaded Sage, which first posted this on his blog a few days ago.)

The death toll from the attacks look to potentially reach to 300, however it could have been much worse.  According to sources, the terrorists planned on killing 5,000 people.  The attackers appear to be tied to terrorist groups based out of India’s neighbor, Pakistan.  This has since created massive amounts of tension between the nuclear-armed states and while everything is still in a state of limbo in the aftermath of the attacks, the response from India has the potential to go in two directions, one of which is engaging in attacks against terrorists based out of Pakistan, which could lead to undesirable consequences for relations between the two countries.

It has been suggested by some in India that immediate actions attune to the U.S. response after 9/11 is necessary in Pakistan.  It doesn’t take much reading of Indian media resources to realize very quickly that a lot of animosity exists towards their neighbors to the west.  These feelings aren’t necessarily new, they’ve just become inflamed as a result of the attacks.  Pakistan broke off from British India in 1947 and was carved out of two Muslim-majority regions.  The primary reason was that disputes were commonplace between the Hindu and Muslim religious groups and their followers.  The result was a mass migration of Hindus from Pakistan to India and Muslims from India to Pakistan.  This then lead to the First Kashmir War in 1948 as both countries fought over who would control the Muslim-majority region.  While India maintains control of the region, it is still a sticking point for both countries and is theorized to be the most likely trigger to a nuclear war between the two countries, still the most volatile nuclear situation in the world.

The terror attacks in Mumbai this past week will no doubt only add fuel to this fire.  While I hope and pray that the two countries can work things out peacefully and that India, through cooperation with Pakistan, can find those responsible for the attacks in an equally responsible manner.  Their relations are currently strained, but during the interim time period now before India makes any serious response to the attacks, steps should be taken by both countries to ensure that a rebel group of terrorists doesn’t cause an irreparable rift in relations that could lead to an all-out war between the two countries.

Ding Dong, Castro’s Gone

Published February 19th, 2008 in Cuba | 1 Comment »

Fidel Castro 'strikes out'In a move that surprised, but didn’t shock me, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro resigned from his post as leader of Cuba and handed over all of his powers to his brother, Raul Castro.  Fidel had temporarily ceded powers to Raul in 2006 after undergoing intestinal surgery, making few appearances in the time since.  While I don’t want to undermine what is really a good day for Cubans everywhere, we should be careful how we choose to perceive, interpret, and more importantly respond to this event.

 Many Cuban residents in the United States are calling for a Cuban-led revolution to overthrow the communist government that has been in power since 1959 and replace it with, of course, a democracy.  President Bush also announced during his tour in Africa that if the Cubans are ready to overthrow the government, that the U.S. will be there to help, and that this marks the beginning of a “democratic transition” for Cuba.

His remarks should come as no surprise.  We’re living in a time where many nations in the Western Hemisphere are beginning to give the cold shoulder to the U.S., which in recent years has not lived up to its end of the bargain in playing a positive role in the region.  Any additional friends that we can find would be nice!  Not to mention overthrowing the communist regime in Cuba has been near the top of the wish list of Presidents since Kennedy. 

Leading the charge of spreading anti-American sentiment is, of course, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a big fan of Fidel.  Even with Raul in power, I have a feeling that Hugo’s relations with Cuba will likely strengthen, especially in light of recent encouragement from the U.S. to overthrow the Cuban government.

 This time around, lets learn from our mistakes (Bay of Pigs) if we choose to support any sort of pro-democracy movement in Cuba.  We must walk cautiously.  Venezuela is still one of our primary suppliers of oil, and they are already prepared to sever those ties if need be.  All the more reason to look to alternative energy!  Plus, if this falls under Bushie’s control, it could make or break his presidency. 

 On the bright side, for cigar connoisseurs out there, the day when you can go out and purchase legal and authentic Cuban cigars is perhaps just over the horizon.  

Next Entries »