First Short Quiz – Kevin Rudd’s Apparent Belief (per the NY Times) That The United States is A Proverbial “Paper Tiger”

[johnkarls]

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1. Is it usually a good idea to read book reviews before the book itself so that you know what to expect and can be thinking about it in advance?

2. Was the book review of “The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China” in the U.S. Naval War College’s Volume 76 of its official review (similar to a 76-year-old law review) by the Naval War College’s since 2006 Professor of National Security Affairs A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT???

3. Did the Prof essentially find a few diplomatic things to say without saying anything about National Security Affairs???

4. In stark contrast, does the NY Times review have quite a bit to say about Kevin Rudd’s view of Pax Americana – the nearly-century-old world peace established by the United States following the end of World War II in 1945 (which succeeded Pax Britannica, the century of world peace established by British global dominance 1815-1914 from the end of the Napoleonic Wars fomented by France’s Hitler until the beginning of World War I)???

5. Does the NY Times review start by envisioning the END OF PAX AMERICANA with a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in which America joins the fight AND IS DEFEATED???

6. Does the NY Times review posit that this –

“…..is not such a far-fetched scenario: According to Kevin Rudd’s penetrating and sensible new account of the United States-China relationship, some reports have shown Washington losing to Beijing as many as 19 straight times in desktop war games simulating a conflict over Taiwan.”

7. Since Rudd provides no citations in his book and the NY Times reviewer either doesn’t say or doesn’t know, are we left wondering WHO CONDUCTED THESE “19 STRAIGHT…DESKTOP WAR GAMES”???

8. As previously mentioned, the U.S. Naval War College’s official book review says nothing about “National Security Affairs” – and wouldn’t the results of any “war games” conducted by the U.S. Navy or U.S. Defense Department be highly classified???

9. So were these “War Games” conducted on the “Desktop” of Kevin Rudd at the Asia Society where he was President when “The Avoidable War” was published???

10. Or even more distressing, were these “War Games” conducted on the “Desktop” of Kevin Rudd when he was Prime Minister of Australia more than a decade ago???

11. If the latter, does it imply that Australian Prime Minister Rudd was evaluating Australia’s relationship with the United States??? Possibly with the idea of switching sides to the Chinese???

12. And does it imply that Rudd believes that Taiwan should be given to the Chinese without a whimper in order to perpetuate the myth that the United States with its Pax America is still A Paper Tiger???

13. And if so, whether Australian Prime Minister Rudd believed the United States would, and should, surrender Australia to China without a whimper in order to maintain its “Paper Tiger” façade???

14. Does the last paragraph of the NY Times review begin –

“The core of Rudd’s argument, however, remains unimpeachable: The consequences of a full-scale war with China are almost too grave to contemplate.”

15. Isn’t this an obviously-stupid statement??? That our military planners should “turn a blind eye” to the possibility of “a full-scale war with China”??? If not studying this, then what should they study???

16. BTW, hasn’t Sec. 3 of our website (Possible Topics for Future Meetings) contained a posting since 12/3/2023 entitled “Realpolitik - Has Taiwan Been Prudent Enough To Buy/Develop Sufficient Nuclear Weapons To Deter China?”???

17. Is Rudd so myopic that he hasn’t even considered the possibility that Taiwan could deter China on its own???

18. Doesn’t the current fate of Ukraine demonstrate the truth of the maxim that “any country stupid enough to give up its 1,900 multiple-warhead nuclear missiles (in order to be a “good world citizen” upon the break-up of the old Soviet Union) doesn’t deserve to be a country"???!!!

19. Did this maxim originate with the three pupils of Abdul Qadeer Khan (aka A.Q. Khan, and aka “Father of Pakistan’s Nuclear Bomb”) who provided all Pakistan’s nuclear-bomb technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya???

20. In December 2003, when it had become clear that A.Q. Khan had provided Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi with a nascent nuclear-weapons program, did Qaddifi agree (like Ukraine in 1994 but without any formal agreement) to surrender his program???

21. Did Qaddafi’s STUPIDITY result, in 2011, in President Obama “green lighting” Britain’s and Italy’s program to colonize Libya’s oil industry with a military invasion which would have been impossible without U.S. military support???

22. Did Obama dismember Libya and has it been an Al Qaeda “hot bed” ever since???

23. In contrast, did Kim Jong-il (Supreme Leader of North Korea 1994-2011) KEEP HIS NERVE???!!!

24. NOT STUPID like Qaddafi in 2003 (and Ukraine in 1994), did Kim Jong-il proceed to develop successfully North Korea’s nuclear-weapons & nuclear-missile programs???

25. ALSO NOT STUPID like Qaddafi in 2003 (and Ukraine in 1994), has Iranian Supreme Leader since 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proceeded to develop Iran’s nuclear-weapons & nuclear-missile programs???

26. Indeed, did Obama’s 7/14/2015 “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (aka JCPOA) guarantee Iran nuclear weapons by 2030???

27. And didn’t Obama’s JCPOA fail to even address Iran’s development of ballistic missiles which, when tested, bore slogans like “Death to Israel” and “Death to the Big Satan (i.e., the U.S.)” echoing what Ayatollah Khamenei loves to lead crowds in chanting???

28. Did President Trump in his first term withdraw from the JCPOA and impose a worldwide boycott on Iranian oil which effectively bankrupted Iran and its anti-Israel proxies (Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.)???

29. Did Pres. Biden upon entering office immediately halt the boycott???

30. Did Pres. Biden also grovel unsuccessfully to be permitted to rejoin the JCPOA, even suffering the indignity of Iran’s insistence that Russian President Putin be Biden’s negotiator???

31. SO BACK TO RUDD AND CHINA – does Rudd even seem to have any appreciation of “Realpolitik” and “Nuclear Diplomacy”???

32. BTW, were both terms coined by Henry Kissinger whose seminar on Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy when he was still a Harvard Poli Sci Prof was attended by Yours Truly who was a law student who spent more time on this than his other courses combined???

33. Indeed, does the first paragraph of the NY Times book review’s description of Rudd’s vision of the end of Pax Americana with a military defeat over Taiwan end with a reference to an “American Waterloo”???

34. Does this characterization belong to Rudd or to the NY Times reviewer???

35. If Rudd, doesn’t it betray an appalling lack of knowledge about history other than Chinese history???

36. In other words, isn’t there attributed to Napoleon the famous palindrome “Able was I ere I saw Elba”???

37. In other words, France’s Hitler was “able” when he invaded the rest of Europe???

38. And after being defeated and banished to the Italian island of Elba in 1814, he never regained his “touch” while returning and being defeated at Waterloo 6/18/2015???

39. But wasn’t the French Hitler’s real defeat memorialized in Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” when Napoleon was defeated at Moscow and forced to retreat???

40. And exhibited the EXTREME STUPIDITY of retreating along the same route as his invasion???

41. Because before American armies in World Wars I and II brought their own supplies, armies around the world had always “traveled on their stomachs” – stealing food from farmers they were passing and raping their wives/daughters???

42. So, of course, Napoleon’s troops starved as they re-traced their steps over the farms they had already ravaged???

43. So yes, either Rudd or the NY Times reviewer used the slang meaning of “Waterloo” which is historically inaccurate???