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Webb warns of ‘Munich moment’ with China

By Philip Ewing Monday, June 27th, 2011 9:30 am
Posted in International

Virginia Sen. Jim Webb said all the national attention paid and money spent on the Middle East over the past decade has distracted Washington from an area of equal or even greater importance: The Western Pacific. Webb told David Gregory on “Meet the Press” Sunday that the U.S. had kept too little watch on China’s expansion at its peril, and things today are moving so rapidly that they could come to a head:

And we, right now, are in a situation where we have to look at this in terms of our broader national security interests in addition to the nation-building questions. We still have 45,000 troops in Iraq. They’re supposed to be out by the end of the year. I’m not holding my breath. We have this new situation in Libya where the president made a unilateral decision, which I, among others, have serious problems with. And most importantly, because this is something that does not get discussed, as we have focused for the last 10 years on this part of the world, our situation in East Asia with respect to China and China’s expansionist military activities has deteriorated. We are at a point in the South China Sea right now where we are approaching a Munich moment with China, and it’s not being discussed.

In other words: Is Washington going to step back and let China continue the show of force it has been making against Vietnam and the Philippines? Or will it say or do something about it? You haven’t heard any politician a anything about it — they have been to eager to hammer President Obama on Libya or his planned troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

What do you think — is a “Munich moment” approaching between Washington and Beijing?

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	Gregory Savage June 27th, 2011 at 9:31 am If we don’t get it right war is approaching. We better get our act together and show them what’s up somehow. Not sure how we can at this point? Iraq was such a waste.
	freefallingbomb June 27th, 2011 at 9:56 am Munich was harmless. The secret Polish-British Common Defence Pact‎ in turn was FATAL ! We French and even you U.S. Americans did wisely to keep out of Greater Germany’s voracious, megalomaniacal, expansionistic plans, but the British had to drag us all into a real World War over Poland… Didn’t these stupid bastards understand that the Nazis necessarily HAD to overrun Poland to liberate Communist-occupied Moscow later = the REAL threat to the West, not Hitler? In relation to this historical analogy: A Third World War over Taiwan? Are there really no non-lethal ways to keep the Red Chinese out? What are we hiring diplomats for: To subsidize the catering industry?
	orly? June 27th, 2011 at 10:05 am How much are you willing to gamble on your “hunch?”
	muscimol June 27th, 2011 at 10:11 am It will be inevitable some sort of conflict, sort of what we observe between India and Pakistan, local and not full broad war. China will gain Taiwan back using soft power with a mix of corruption. Imagine sending Chinese pacifically to install in Taiwan for decades, like the Albanese did on Croatia, Serbia etc .…or what the Arabs are doing in the Netherlands, or the Mexicans in the US, … for decades these minorities (in the begining) can overturn the locals, at least in some parts of the country, then a few decades after they will ask for an approximation to China, etc … the script is already the same seen in other “movies” before.… some of those “movies” end with a full war, others not (for now). I wander one thing, the world in the past was shaked by unseen problems, that is kind of expectable.…SO WHAT CAN BE AN “UNEXPECTED” FUTURE EVENT?? .…. a civil war in china??? .…. a civil war in the US??? …a fascism government in the US??… (ops…almost there with Bush) … an UFO landing in the Pentagon?.…. I wander what event may be that one!
	momomimamo June 27th, 2011 at 10:49 am USA live in one movie, the good (USA) fight the bad (the rest of the world)
	kyle June 27th, 2011 at 11:24 am Because its true. We fight the mass killers, we fight and give poor countries food and democracy, we honor agreements, we respect other countries, we are the greatest county on the god dam earth, oorah!
	Nikolai Vatutin June 27th, 2011 at 11:42 am Hitler wanted to murder at least 150 million of the 190 million of the population of USSR. He said this intention in other words in Mein Kampf.it is not Poland, it is not even the desire to dominate Europe, it is not even the desire to gain space living in the east– it is the ideology of annihilation that was the essence of the Nazi ideology that had roots not only in Wagner, Nietzsche (Nietzsche’s Superman) and other, but back in the medieval age and before. All this is backed by genetic structure that characterizes the Germans (or if you want, you can call them the White Man that is actually the men from German origin) that make them what they were and still are in these days and what they can do and will able to do in the future.
	Drake1 June 27th, 2011 at 12:32 pm No,but t something has got to give eventually. You can’t continue to have the U.S. military occupying nations in the manner we are with a 14 trillion + debt. U.S., China Holding Talks on Rising Sea Tensions http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6924346&am… U.S. to Boost Philippine Intelligence, Manila Says http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6922654&am…
	Lance June 27th, 2011 at 3:04 pm More fear mongering. Te US has troops in the Philippines and has the 7th fleet in the area to deter Chicom aggression the Chinese don’t have mobilized forces ready in the Spartly Islands or the China/Taiwan straight so this is a attempt by the Pentagon elite to save the DoD from big budget cuts coming. Remember China owns the US financially so they make millions on the US, so why screw that up over a dumb thing like the Spartly islands.
	Maxtrue June 27th, 2011 at 3:09 pm You sound like Patton after the war. He said he had fought the wrong enemy. Of course, such a view is completely wrong in my opinion. Hitler was doomed by the alliance of Stalin and Roosevelt. In your scenario Hitler gets the bomb, keeps its scientists and the Nazis are in control of 3/4 of the world and resources today able to reach us with the nuclear Super Sanger or V-24 anytime we think to liberate the enslaved masses of the Uberworld.….. First shift the 1.5 trillion debt to those allies who need us and start selling them weapons. Asian allies know personal sacrifice and are calling us. A totally different situation with the ME. And as long as NK can fuel Islamist regimes, both regions are connected in a dangerous nuclear game.….… Webb is right to show concern, but did he cut the DEW and RAIL that we need? Does he support MD? Of course Virginia benefits from an increased NAVY.……
	DaveO June 27th, 2011 at 4:10 pm Who let Webb wander off the asylum? Or did his announcement that he’s not running for office suddenly free up his independence? He said nothing and did nothing since his election — so this sudden flare of intelligence is nothing more than negotiating to get a job with a defense corporation after leaving the Senate.
	Tracy June 27th, 2011 at 5:43 pm France’s betrayal of Czechoslovakia might have been harmless in the immediate term for France. For Czechoslovakia, not so much. So those poor Nazis had no choice but to invade Poland in order to pursue their real goal of “liberating” Moscow. And in order to do that, they allied themselves with the Soviets. And once they had finished with this humanitarian mission (and liberated us from many Jews and other untermenschen), then surely their “voracious, megalomaniacal, expansionistic” goals would be sated. And if not, well, what could the Wehrmacht possibly accomplish against the mighty Maginot line? Or in shorter form: dude, WTF are you smoking?
	Go Jim! June 27th, 2011 at 6:02 pm Other politicians aren’t saying anything about it because they expect China to continue with its past policies that were almost like US isolationism before the world wars. But WAL-MART and other US corporations changed that when they decided to move so much manufacturing over there. Now China has loads of money to spend, and a very centralized power system that doesn’t give the people much say in how it’s used. That means that a few decision-makers over there can change things for the worse whenever they want. But preparing for it? Wal-Mart and other companies have integrated China into their business plans. How can you prepare for it while giving them all the money they want at the same time?
	Custer reincarnated June 27th, 2011 at 6:07 pm I think you might want to check with a Native American for a SECOND OPINION.
	kyle June 27th, 2011 at 6:46 pm I think you UN– American , and i wasn’t talking about that far in the past.
	DanS June 27th, 2011 at 8:30 pm We fight mass killers, unless they serve our purposes or don’t fit our geopolitical strategy. We give poor countries food and democracy, democracy is one form of government and not all people even agree on what democracy means, and the bit about food is just too funny as compared by GDP the US is one of the least giving nations. We respect other countries, unless they don’t agree with us than we overthrow their frequently democratically elected governments and install dictators (see Chile and Iran for solid examples). Pull your head out of the sand junior, we’re just another country and nothing special in the history of the world.
	Praetorian June 27th, 2011 at 9:18 pm Wrong, its not GDP, it was GNI ( Gross National Income ), and at 28.67 billion givin, id say thats a pretty giving nation. Not to mention that was in 2010, not one of the best economic years. Where is China on these lists?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_charita…
	VF 143 Pucken Dog 01 June 28th, 2011 at 1:15 am Fucking Warmonger.…. Webb, was useless as the Sec of the Navy and continues his priestly why’s.… Keep those integrators that pay his way through life rich.… Webb does not give a shit about the Military or this Country. Hell, Congress cannot even keep up with who is buried where at Arlington Cemetary.
	freefallingbomb June 28th, 2011 at 4:52 am To the poster Mr. Nikolai Vatutin You wrote: “All this is backed by genetic structure that characterizes the Germans(…)” Before you vociferate against the “dangerous genetic structure of the Germans” : 1) Analyzing the genetic structure of peoples – as you did – is an extremely interesting topic. And so actual, too. Don’t you think? In the 1920s the U.S. Americans, and after them the Nazis, pioneered several related Sciences. I hope you woke up on the right side of life, too. 2) Communists assassinated far more people all over the World than the Nazists did. Internally and externally. (Right now in the defendant’s dock: The last four surviving Khmer Rouge leaders) Communists even threatened to nuke this planet several times over only to create “the perfect, property-less, egalitarian society”. Hey Ivan: What were YOUR grandparents doing back in the hey-days of the “isms” ? Fighting against the Bolsheviks?
	freefallingbomb June 28th, 2011 at 5:47 am To “Miss Tracy” ———————- Part 1 / 5 You wrote: “France’s betrayal of Czechoslovakia might have been harmless in the immediate term for France. For Czechoslovakia, not so much.” You’re splitting hairs over judicial minutae. Meanwhile we’ve moved on to the nuclear age, most nukes are American, all nuke attacks against defenseless, civilian cities were American (evil, evil Germans…!), and although China and the U.S.A. will never invade (or “Pearl Harbour”) each other directly, like the Soviet Union and the U.S.A. didn’t for 46 years, conflict between these two Super-Powers could still arise if the U.S.A. deny China any sphere of influence (“backyard”, “satellites”, “pariah states”). Like they denied vital space to overpopulated Imperial Japan, too ( = the underdeveloped regions of Manchuria, Korea, Oceania, India, etc., and why not Siberia). And in the middle of the teeth-gnashing power wrangling an aircraft carrier gets sunk with a single, well-aimed ammunition, “H.M.S. Hood”-style. Oops… (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 28th, 2011 at 5:47 am Part 2 / 5 But if the White House states a new Doctrine that that’s precisely the kind of military support Vietnamese fishermen in the Paracel Islands deserve, then press all the buttons FOR Vietnam! In relation to the rest of your post: The independence or existence (or not…) of Alsace-Lorraine, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland etc. was immaterial to the defense and safety of the British Empire. None of them were British colonies or trading partners, or even historically related. The cynical Anglos of yore merely viewed Germany’s neighbours as tripwires to war, “to contain Germany”, precisely the reason why the modern Anglos, the U.S.A., invite Russia’s neighbours – including former Soviet Republics – to become N.A.T.O. members and missile launch pads, too, and even pursue an identical policy against China! (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 28th, 2011 at 5:47 am Part 3 / 5 But the COMMUNISTS in Great Britain (djoow Marx lived and wrote in London) were an uncomparably greater threat to the inhuman, feudalistic, obsolete, British, Industrial-Revolution-type Capitalism than eastwards-looking Nazism, ESPECIALLY DURING THE RESTLESS INTER-WAR YEARS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION (eery analogy with today, again). And Joe Stalin had his own invasion plans for Capitalist Europe, too. That’s why Churchill’s sudden decision to draw against Nazi Germany over “Poland” perplexes me to this day. What a f.….g mental short-circuit! (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 28th, 2011 at 5:47 am Part 4 / 5 Several respected historians defend the thesis that even the Nazis never expected THAT outcome from a mere German-Polish border conflict, and that therefore the Second World War happened COMPLETELY ACCIDENTALLY as a result – Hitler’s personal Pan-Germania dreams apart. Glad it definitively wrecked Britain’s centuries-long global dominance. Electing Britain to “victor” status after the War was only meant as an insult to the vanquished in the West and in the East. (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 28th, 2011 at 5:48 am Part 5 / 5 Leap forward to the present U.S. American jealousy and BAD FAITH towards new-comer (and creditor) China = EXACTLY the same reaction which the British displayed in the 1850s towards a newly unified, quickly modernizing Germany: How many billion human lives is a self-immolating Tibetan monk worth, or Bill Gates’ copyright fees? Depends on how much money they can raise for lobbyists, huh?
	Peter June 28th, 2011 at 9:10 am It is USA which needs to restraint itself. US have 11 active aircraft carriers. China has just started having the first one. Financially, US are not qualified to be the world policeman, and in fact to be a hegemony nation. Only the military which keeps it going. US aim to contain China, that is not doubt about it. US are trying to maintain their hegemony status in the world. As China’s leaders said, Chinese military cap. is about 20 years or more behind that of US. So, US don’t need to worry. They better spend their energy to improve their debt level. China is just trying to do catch-up (not moderization) to its military tech.
	STemplar June 28th, 2011 at 9:28 am I think the Chinese are doing a pretty good job of ******* all their neighbors off and we’re doing a pretty good job of using that.
	Peter June 28th, 2011 at 5:39 pm US has started a third war in Libya. They have killed more civilians in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan in the last ten years than what they claimed those dictators of the countries killed. Besides, those dictators did not kill Americans, but their own countrymen. Why US need to muddle other countries’ business. All these are because oil and US’s hegamony behavior. Therefore, US’s policies are the real threat in this world. US is still planning to rage wars every opportunity it sees, even with 14 trillion dollar debt and messy economy in its own country.
	seesthrubs June 28th, 2011 at 7:05 pm Bomb you seem to fail to understand that Nazi aggression empowered the Soviets and allowed them to expand by liberating Nazi occupied countries, thus allowing them to move West into Germany itself. If Nazi Germany had of stayed where it was the Soviet Union would have likely not moved beyond its original borders. The only feasible possibility is that they may have tried to promote Communism into baltic states but flat out invasions of countries westward would have brought them into conflict with Germany which they were keen to avoid.
	freefallingbomb June 29th, 2011 at 8:12 am To the poster “seesthrubs” ————————————- Part 1 / 5 You wrote: “…you seem to fail to understand that Nazi aggression empowered the Soviets and allowed them to expand by liberating Nazi occupied countries (…)” (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 29th, 2011 at 8:12 am Part 2 / 5 1) It didn’t have to be like that. Remember: The three Allied summits in Yalta, Casablanca and Teheran about Europe’s post-War future did NOT empower the Soviets in the slightest way to colonize “liberated” Eastern Europe after a German capitulation, not even for a single minute. Only a weak Truman let it happen – although he was even the only national (World) leader until 1949 with nuclear weapons! That’s why later both the Warsaw Pact and much of the Cold War were solely the U.S.A.‘s fault, not the “Nazi aggression’s fault” ! I bet they don’t exactly teach these points of views in U.S. schools during history lessons, do they? (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 29th, 2011 at 8:13 am Part 3 / 5 2) You can’t exactly pin the rise of post-War Soviet power on “lousy” Wehrmacht performance in the East either. Compare Germany’s initial scores against a vastly superior enemy (the Soviet Union) with the U.S.’ incredible difficulties against a few, surrounded, entrenched Japanese in Peleliu, Manila, Okinawa, etc., etc.! (Vietnam? Afghanistan?) Without Logistics ( = M.I.C. + vast mineral reserves), U.S. military power would be NOTHING , at ANY given time! I won’t deny that at least on two crucial, historical occasions for Civilization precisely this sort of collective input from the U.S.A. was decisive and righteous (do I hate myself for saying that), but if you ask me about how skilfully the average, INDIVIDUAL U.S. soldier uses his weapon, his aircraft controls and his front chart… (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 29th, 2011 at 8:13 am Part 4 / 5 There were times when the German Army in the East didn’t drive faster towards Moscow because it was unprepared to cope with the vast amounts of war prisoners after each major battle, no kidding! If Germany lost in the END , it had more to do with a) the weather and with b) Hitler’s dilettante meddling in military affairs (invading Russia before finishing off Great Britain for good, letting the British Expeditionary Force escape from Dunkirk, seeing no value in strategic bombers, jet interceptors and A-A– missiles, etc.) than with Allied bombings of civilian cities or with convoys to Russia. (Hitler’s former ally Stalin made crass strategic mistakes during the War, too) (Continued)
	freefallingbomb June 29th, 2011 at 8:13 am Part 5 / 5 3) Which brings us back to the initial question: Why did Churchill have to compound Hitler’s problems in the East by refusing half of Poland to him? (Churchill never refused the other half of Poland to Joe Stalin – and to this very day nobody criticizes him for that, not even the Polish!) Before that, Germany had ALWAYS kept out of all totally unjustified British colonial conflicts, from the British ultimatum to France’s Africa expeditions to the Boers Wars to the Rose-Colored Map ultimatum, etc., etc., etc. ! Maybe a large navy (first the Royal Navy, and now the U.S. Navy) just isn’t enough to protect a Super-Power’s status forever…
	orly? June 29th, 2011 at 9:10 am lol Again, how much are you willing to bet on your little “hunch?”
	Matt June 30th, 2011 at 7:29 am Right, we’ll have a war with China. Then a week in, when there’s nothing on the shelves at Wally-Mart, every redneck in the country will be in open revolt against the government. Not a good plan…
	Neal June 30th, 2011 at 9:03 am Wow, such a fascination with Bush being an almost fascist, when we have a Communist Prez already named Obama. When will you libs wake up and smell the coffee?
	GoatPusher42 June 30th, 2011 at 10:49 pm China is not about to move against the USofA anytime soon. They can see the USofA is allowing the decay explode in the country and the USofA is doing such a fine job at it, why upset a good thing? China will wait approx 20 years when Mexico has poured enough people into the country with their ways of corruptions and population growth and when the USofA is on it’s knees with 65 trillions in debt, the freebies are exhausted for illegal aliens coming in from all over the world, the division of the original 48 states into four sectors is being requested. China is not about to do anything that will throw their new-found middle class working population into 50%+ unemployment by shooting at their number one buying customer. Thats my view from Texas, changing everyday more like Mexico. The people up north are so numb to the situation. 063011.
	wlodell July 1st, 2011 at 9:17 pm The “Munich Moment” is a parallel that’s been discussed in the last two decades already! Idiots. One thing’s for certain, China can spin clever and effective circles around some American politicians and American businesses. But, not all of them. I think the current US administration is not pinpoint focused on China as a threat. Our economies are too much tied together. This fact goes a long way to keep peace.
	Beaker2 July 4th, 2011 at 2:28 pm Lance, How sure is the USN that we can sail CVBGs into that area with confidence that we don’t take hits from diesel subs? If that should happen, we’d be looking at a very steep escalation curve. The last time we did that in anger was October, 1996 when Clinton did that and stopped a PLA exercise of an amphibious landing which could have been big enough to hold a beach head. The Chinese said then that they will never allow themselves to be bullied like that again. So, that was why we are funding ABM technologies for TW, JPN, and SK, so we don’t put our CVBGs into harms way. The Nimitz in HK last month was just a way to show them how far behind they are in carrier development, to make sure no one thinks they are even close enough to dare try something. Neither side wants a shooting war, but our little friends there want a piece of that natural gas, and China defines each of those islands as the center of a 200 nm Special Economic Zone. The danger would be that the US could dragged into a shooting situation we did not want, by coming to the help of a little friend. It could start like this: What we thought of as a show of force, the PLA might consider our ships violating their seas. With two difference definitions of what constitutes international waters, it could escalate. That was what sort of happened with the P3 and the Mig31 collision.
	aSDF July 6th, 2011 at 7:30 pm with a rifle hehe
	mARK July 16th, 2011 at 3:52 am Finally someone gets it that those damn Brits got us into two wars that we didnt belong in and we are still paying the bill in blood for both. Churchil was so afraid of the Germans that he bankrupted the empire trying to keep them in their place. Hitlers world view was that Communism was the worlds enemy. He also had to go through Poland firstly to recover territory that was given to Poland to make it more than the small country it was and off set Germany. It also had to invade to get to the Soviet Border. The UK was given assurances it would not be attacked. Hilter had no interest in attacking a “like” nation. Why didnt that crazy Churchill declare war on Russia when they invaded Poland???????

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Webb warns of ‘Munich moment’ with China

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