Wreckage of Chinese spy flight to FBI lab
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin reports on the Pentagon’s allegations that it did not immediately shoot down the Chinese spy balloon because it did not show “hostile action or hostile intent.”
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In a recent memo, General Michael A. Minihan, commander of the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command, said he had a “gut feeling” that the U.S. would go to war with China in 2025. It was expressly intended to inspire them to “achieve the higher readiness, integration, and agility” deemed necessary to win such battles. The aggressive direction of the military, and the sense of urgency, is at odds with the Biden administration’s approach to the threat posed by China.
Minihan has said something provocative before. “Every part of your life is getting better [when] But his prediction that a war with China would erupt in just two years has caused senior officials and national security analysts to scramble to distance themselves from both his prediction and the tone of his memo.
A Pentagon official said Minihan’s comments “do not represent the Pentagon’s views on China.” That’s true enough. Their phrasing and choice of words have consistently been to achieve their security objectives peacefully and keep China out of harm’s way rather than to promote a military posture capable and ready for combat if the need arises. It implies that the emphasis is on building a non-enemy alliance structure.
This is a shame and a missed opportunity.
China overtakes US with missile launchers, Pentagon tells Congress
Rather than condemning the general’s aggressive spirit, defense officials and national security magnates embraced and capitalized on Minihan’s passion for combat readiness and combat effectiveness, leaving the U.S. military marginalized by China and others. Today, many people try to dismiss the story of “peace through strength” as the waning gasps of cold old warriors. The true maxim, repeating this cliche, is what “hard power” is, and not just in physical form such as tanks, ships, aircraft, and missiles, but attitude, attitude, training, and concentration.
The federal government is brimming with agencies that handle all aspects of America’s engagement with the larger world, except military operations. There are the Departments of State, Justice, Treasury, Commerce, and (pseudo) independent agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of International Trade Controls, and the United States Agency for International Development. These organizations presumably ensure that U.S. interests in public health, natural resource and environmental management, trade, international relations, crime prevention, and more are addressed.
What none of them are doing is enabling the United States to outmaneuver its enemies in combat.
With that in mind, you would think we need military leaders to instill in the military the mindset that we need to focus on fighting and that fighting is serious business and that we need to be serious about being ready. When it comes to defending our country and our people, there are military leaders who are more committed to battle and want their people to be ready for battle than those who are in leadership positions are more concerned. Isn’t it better to Generating carbon footprint, equity emperor and gender-confused appalachic stats, and worrying if exercises with allies will be seen as too provocative by the enemy?
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Our military appreciates America’s commitment to civilian control of our military, and it would not be otherwise. does not want But neither do we want armies and military leaders who forget their sole purpose: to defend their country and defeat the enemy in battle. With that mindset and making sure our military is well equipped, trained, and operationally prepared to do it, the war they are ready to win is the one the enemy will lose. This is what deterrence is all about. And it is leaders like General Minihan who create those favorable conditions.
What is the latest example to prove this point? Balloongate claims that China’s intelligence gathering assets have obtained photographs, electronics, and whatever else, unencumbered by US intervention, until the Chinese Communist Party completes its mission. You know, a nationally embarrassing spectacle of Chinese intelligence-gathering assets quietly floating across the United States. China’s authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping, believes Beijing can act with impunity, even in US sovereign airspace. why is that? Perhaps because China believes it has nothing to fear. And what if other countries like Iran, North Korea, and Russia come to the same conclusion?
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Our nation’s leaders and officials should distance themselves from Minihan and people like him and embrace them instead of making excuses for their zeal. For economists, trade professionals, law enforcement and public health professionals, and career diplomats, look elsewhere. They work to maximize the benefits of peace, freedom and prosperity. But to create and maintain the peace that makes all the rest possible, our armies need warriors.
General Minihan, preach! And that’s from career Marines who appreciate when they see military leaders, regardless of service sector.
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