The winds of war

In the United Kingdom, Britain and the United States have debriefed a high level Iraqi defector who, for security reasons, has not had his name revealed. He has admitted, very specifically, that Iraq is in possession of at least two nuclear weapons, and has over five dozen factories working to produce more.

Iranian troops have been moving into Syria, with Syria's permission. The United States has placed its troops on the alert. It may be a false alarm. But then again, it may be a precursor for an invasion of Israel.

The Chinese have secretly been developing Bull superartillerty. These guns, if functional, would be able to shoot projectiles up to a 1,000 miles. According to E.G. Ross of Understanding Defense, the Chinese have used military technology stolen from us to build projectiles that have deadly accuracy. The biggest danger of these guns is that their projectiles would be virtually impossible for Korean, Japanese, or even U.S. anti-missile systems to destroy because of their small size. Also, the guns have been mounted on modified mobile missile platforms, making them impossible to track from the projectile's trajectory. Our carriers have virtually no defense against them, making it more difficult for us to defend Taiwan. And more to the point, Chinese news organs have been whipping up propaganda against the U.S., claiming that war between our two nations is "inevitable."

The scenario:

The Arab nations once again attack Israel. Iraq threatens to go nuclear, Israel threatens to retaliate. U.S. forces must get involved. While the U.S. is occupied in the Middle East, the Chinese invade Taiwan, almost daring us to stop them. And if we do? World War III.

Maybe this scenario isn't the most likely, but it's certainly possible. And the U.S. can prevent it. We simply need to make a bold, strong stance against aggression. China doesn't think that we'll defend Taiwan. If we tell them, in no uncertain terms, that we will defend Taiwan, at all costs, then China will back down. In terms of the Middle East, President Bush needs to build friendships with the nations his father did in the Gulf War. He needs to convince them that Hussein is a far bigger threat than Israel is. If he begins to make these steps, the situation may be defused.

The fact of the matter is, though, is that the world remains a very dangerous place. And right now, President Bush has not articulated a strong foreign policy stance. So the question is, will he do the right thing, or will the U.S. put its head in the sand and pretend that the rest of the world isn't there? We could do that-and probably not suffer too much. But democracy will. A thriving democracy in Taiwan, and a strong democracy in Israel could fall if we just keep to ourselves and refuse to do what's right. And then who's next? India? Japan? Turkey? Will historians say that the fall of the Soviet Empire sparked an American complacency that led to the end of democracy and a new Dark Age? I hope not.

But if we don't do what's right. Right now. It could happen.