No big surprise there. The report doesn’t find China wholly blameless, either, in terms of capitalizing on the story for propaganda purposes.
The United States has been exaggerating China’s nuclear clout in a process that could lock the two into a Cold War-style arms race, two arms-control advocacy groups said in a report on Thursday.
The Defense Department and U.S. intelligence agencies have portrayed Chinese weapons developments as more threatening than warranted, to justify building a new generation of weapons, according to the study by the Federation of American Scientists and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The report’s main finding is that the Pentagon and others routinely highlight specific incidents out of context that inaccurately portray a looming Chinese threat,” the groups said in a statement.
Specifically, they said, the Defense Department and U.S. intelligence agencies had been “embellishing China’s submarine and long-range missile capabilities.”
….”With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which occupied that role for almost 50 years, the United States has turned its attention to China to help fill the vacuum,” it said.
The report faulted China for cloaking its nuclear forces in secrecy amid what it portrayed as a U.S. government scare campaign bolstered by conservative media and think tanks.
Everybody needs an enemy. James Bond needed SMERSH and SPECTRE; we need Al Qaeda and China. And no, I’m not saying that Al Qaeda and China don’t pose threats (or in China’s case at least a potential threat) – just that our government has blown up the dimensions of these threats into scare-mongering nightmare scenarios that are nothing less than absurd.
1
By THM
Pot calling the kettle black?
Granted, China is a nation ruled by a brutal, party-controlled dictatorship, but how does it look when you have a country with more than 10,500 nuclear warheads, two on-going wars, and an aggressive / coercive foreign policy, questiong the nuclear “prowess” of a nation possessing less than 4% of that country’s nuclear arsenal?
The United States has enough trouble on its hands right now without looking for more.
December 2, 2006 @ 1:37 pm | Comment
2
By snowdog
with today’s access to information at the touch of a key, Im still amazed that people (mainly Americans), still fall for the propaganda their govt spews forth. The problem is that most people cannot think for themselves and dont know how to be critical thinkers. Yes, of course the Americans need to make an enemy out of everyone they can in order to keep their people in mental chains. History has a way of revealing the truth, so our grandchildren and our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be learning about what a brutish system of rule in the last days of the American empire that existed in early part of 21st century.
December 2, 2006 @ 8:05 pm | Comment
3
By garak67
The other thing is – who will China sell to if they go to war with us? Whether we like it or not, both countries are becoming more and more interwined. But the military-industrial establishment (who Eisenhower warned us about so long ago) needs a bogeyman to keep developing new weapons systems.
December 3, 2006 @ 12:18 am | Comment
4
By THM
Don’t hold back now, snowdog. Tell us how you really feel.
December 3, 2006 @ 12:27 am | Comment
5
By Sonagi
snowdog,
Which other usernames have you been posting under? Usernames aren’t even real names, so why keep changing socks?
December 3, 2006 @ 3:15 am | Comment
6
By Jay
The covergance of terrorists and increasing availability and production of WMD is a “scare-mongering nightmare scenario?” Maybe for short-sighted people like you.
December 3, 2006 @ 9:42 am | Comment
7
By snowdog
I couldn’t possibly put it all out there – its far too complex – of course not black & white – and Im far too busy working and family to spend time posting (my first post ever btw) with my thoughts. For the most part, I just try to put blinders on, and go about my life (perhaps like the rest of you), but when I can I always try to do my little bit – a little pressure.
The eye of the storm has been, is, and will continue to be the middle east for control of oil (not to buy oil, America will always be able to buy enough oil), but to control the tap (then can control [leveage], their “enemies” – Europe, China, Japan); and secondly, to bolster the enormously wealthy and influential Israeli state and jews worldwide.
It exciting to witness and be a part of the rise of these new powers (front and center is China). 9/11 was a blessing to the Chinese as it forced the US to focus on the “war on terror”, shadows and invisible ghosts – perceived threats – (that of course is all BS). Even the US only has so many resources and now not enough to go around to manufacture public opinion and sell to their people that CHina is their new and real enemy. (If it were not for the US fixation with the muslims, their focus would be China – I cant believe that would not be the case). Consequently, CHina has been able to continue on its merry way – day by day getting stronger. The US cant even play the human rights card anymore given their recent blatant record, and if there were any grumblings from CHina’s muslem regions, no one would blame them for taking the necessary measures. The rules and players are ‘o changing quickly on this little blue planet.
December 3, 2006 @ 10:57 am | Comment
8
By richard
Jay, trrorism is real. It’s been in our midst since time imemoriam. The danger is more acute with the advent of the global jihadis – they realy do exist, but they are nowhere near as prevalent or as serious a threat as the Bush administratiion wnts you to believe. They are evil and must be contained and, if possible, exterminated. But to live in constant fear of them and surrender what made America great is to admit they have won. It is irrational and it’s dangerous.
Snowdog, you have some interesting ideas and some twisted ones as well. Please use only one user name or I’l have to ask you to leave.
December 3, 2006 @ 11:30 am | Comment
9
By Matt
And then those people will be pretending their own “system of rule” is not brutish as well. It’s all so predictable I’m not sure if we’re dealing with farce or tragedy…
December 3, 2006 @ 11:44 am | Comment