Acting US Secretary of Defense Shanahan and China, by David Archibald.
Now that he is acting secretary of defense, … the first words from [Patrick Shanahan’s] mouth on taking command were “China, China, China” — no agonizing over terrorists whose faith will not be named, no hand-wringing over global warming, no apologia for allies who shirk paying for their defense, and no histrionics on the subject of the impoverished kleptocracy that is Russia. The Mattis era is over.
China is the only country on the planet with the intent, the means, the will, and a plan to kill Americans in large numbers. In a week in which President Xi Jinping called for China to invade Taiwan, Chinese Navy rear admiral Lou Yuan called for the sinking of two U.S. aircraft carriers to cause 10,000 combat deaths of U.S. military personnel. …
The Chinese Communist Party has been biding its time for 30 years, as President Deng Xiaoping counseled, and now Xi views China as drawing too far ahead to hesitate in revealing itself in full. The world is past the point of no return. It’s now a sprint to the finish line before the West has the chance to reorganize its society, economy, and military to effectively counter China. The game is too far along now. …
One thing that Shanahan said on September 19 was “the old adage: don’t tell me your strategy; show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what your strategy is.” It is equally true that you can’t fight your enemy until you have named it. Thank you, acting secretary Shanahan for naming the enemy of civilization as China, China, China. …
Did Shanahan say anything regarding the DOD’s biggest budget item? His words on that subject included “General Goldfein coached me here. He said the F-35 is the quarterback.” And the moderator gave Shanahan a thank you present in the form of a “rolled-up object which will fit in the small bomb bay of an F-35.” The air force insiders had to speak to each other in code because the truth was politically unacceptable. Actions speak louder than words though and the DOD has gone back to buying F-15s.
