Rumsfeld points to military build-up in China

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=3a0a79cc08eeb04e

Big News Network.com Friday 3rd June, 2005

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was advising on China Friday after arriving in Singapore.

China's economy is expanding rapidly, and its defense budget is 'growing apace with their economy,' he said. 'They are a major weapon purchaser in the world, largely from Russia and other countries as well.'

He added that China has been 'deploying a great many ballistic missiles and military capabilities over a period of years now.'

The country is at a crossroads politically and economically. As a free-market economy expands in China, the government's restrictive policies and the people's desire to continue to better their lives with a prosperous economy might cause 'a tension there,' Rumsfeld said.

'To the extent that the People's Republic of China leads toward a freer political system, they will be a considerably more successful country and a more influential country in the world,' he said. 'To the extent they fail to do that, there'll be pressures against their economy; it will grow less fast and be a less influential country.

Rumsfeld also announced he's working to plan a visit to China later this year. Military-to-military contacts between the United States and China soured following the incident in April 2001 when a Chinese fighter jet bumped into an American military surveillance plane over international waters off the coast of China. The U.S. Navy EP-3 was damaged and forced to land on China's Hainan Island, where Chinese officials held the U.S. crew involuntarily for several days
more...

Oh we had a bit of plane bumping going on and Rumsy advice I'm sure will be taken by the Chineese!!! Riiightttt!!!

[NNN0LHI]

1. More of that "the WMDs, they are right over there in Tikrit" thingy?

I wish someone would get this guy into a rubber room where he belongs.

Don

[cornermouse]

2. You'd like to think these people aren't stupid enough to attack

China... That's what you'd like to think...

:shrug:

[burrowowl]

11. I hope they are't

that stupid. For the U$ to efficiently attack China, the would have to use a lot of Icy BMs.
Take the football away from them, PLEASE, GOD OR WHOEVER!

[RPM]

31. Icy BM

My pucker shudders at the thought... :scared:

I See BMs are not too cool either.

ICBMs are also bad, bad, bad...

[burrowowl]

34. Just how many

BMs could China freeze and launch? LOL

[MisterP]

3. the same one they admitted as overstating 150%?

[tmooses]

4. Didn't Iraq have a "free market economy" before we invaded? Weren't

the Iraqi's trying to improve their lives even though we boycotted for over 10 years? What incentive do the Chinese leaders have to allow more political freedom in their country? We've heard this same bullshit for
the last 30 years,i.e., trading with China will force them to become more democratic. These murderers have tortured and jailed dissidents and committed atrocities in Tibet.

[Rose Siding]

5. OK, hold up there just a minute

Did Don Rumsfeld just assert that a society that embraces the free market would be at odds with a military build up by their govt?

:rofl:

[bpilgrim]

6. looking for handouts... just like the CRAZIES did during the cold-war

their policies contribute to the global arms race (as designed) they figure they can't lose.

if weTHEpeople ever wake up to their SCAM they will all be sharing a cage in GITMO.

peace

[Geo55]

7. Warming up for the OIL face off.....

we need the OIL for "a freer political system"

[bemildred]

8. How are things in Iraq asshole? nt

[LynnTheDem]

9. Hey, Rummy, anyone told you lately

you're a total ignorant stupid nasty old man?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. Less than 1/15th of ours.

Blow it out your ass Rummy.

[Rex]

12. Rummy has no credibility anywhere in the world

He caused one of the worst military disasters in American history.

[nightfox02]

13. he needs a big glass of shut the fuck up

his stupid ass couldnt even fathom a campaign as complex as u.s. vs. china..

he should shut the fuck up and go back to playing medal of honor on his ps2...

go home you whore!

[oblivious]

14. 31 billion on defence for China vs. 491 billion for USA. No contest.

[Barkley]

20. I bet the US exports more weapons than China does.

[nightfox02]

24. you can predict the outcome of a war by spending alone?

Hello?

Vietnam, Iraq II...?

War with China would be a bloodbath and would probably go nuclear....

[oblivious]

32. See my post 30 please. And look at the title of the thread.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

27. Yeah? I wonder what the Iraqis are spending on roadside bombs....

...so far, that "contest" is looking a lot like the "contest" we had with Vietnam.

Here's something to consider...thanks to our system of doing business, it costs us a lot more to produce weapons and supplies. It costs China a lot less to produce the same amount of weaponry.

Want to do a conventional war with China? China's 1.3 billion population will support 30-40 million under arms, while our 250 million will support about 15 million.

Want to do a nuclear war with China? China's economy is much more rural than ours. That means when the bombs fall, quite a few of their people will survive the initial exchanges, while we will suffer immense losses due to our urban living environments.

And what if Russia joins the fun and lobs a few thousand nukes over the North Pole?

The bottom-line has to do with the fact that very few humans, if any, will survive a full-scale nuclear exchange between the US, Russia, and China. Budgets won't matter much then, will they?

[Robeson]

28. That about sums it up....

...and tied nicely with a bow!

[oblivious]

30. umm, with all due respect, you kind of missed my point.

The topic of the thread is "Rumsfeld points to military build-up in China".

My point is that when it comes to military build up, there's no comparison: 31 billion vs 491 billion

Perhaps my 'no contest' threw you off.

[NeoConsSuck]

15. Rumsfeld warns on China military

China's military buildup, particularly its positioning of hundreds of missiles facing Taiwan, is a threat to Asian security, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saturday.

<snip>

"Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: Why this growing investment? Why these continuing large and expanding arms purchases?" Rumsfeld said at the conference organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a private, London-based think tank.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/06/04/rumsfeld.asia.ap/index.html

----
Hey Rummy, regarding the bolded text: Are you referring to China or the USA? LOL!

[leesa]

16. Hasn't that been his life, supporting the arms industry?

[Deja Q]

21. US corps exploit China. US govt warns China after selling weapons to use.

If the situation wasn't so critical... :rofl:

Just like we had with Iraq ~20 years ago. We gave them weapons too. Befriended them too. Bought goods from them too. (oil)

[bobthedrummer]

17. They have ambitions about the Moon too.

[Deja Q]

18. Your buddy Nixon opened up the doors in the first place so you and your

fellow neo-commies could exploit them while lowering our livelihoods too.

also

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dionysus]

33. chill out man

you don't have oil, we aren't going to invade you.

So don't fucking threaten to send us home in bodybags, k?

you sound like a crazy troll.

[DubyaSux]

22. BRING IT ON!

Makes me want to puke...

[Barkley]

23. 'deploying a great many ballistic missiles' is b/c of our missile defense

as well as increase air defenses in Taiwan and Japan. Deploying more ballistic missiles is an attempt to out number the number of missiles defense interceptors.

Of course India will react to this in some way.

[4dsc]

25. Resource wars coming

http://www.energybulletin.net/5865.html

US invasion of Iraq was a resource war

Global oil discovery peaked in the 1960s and oil production is likely to peak as soon as 2007. With a world economy based on fossil fuel, the economic and social consequences will be dire.

[Zorra]

26. Hey, redruM! Maybe they got worried when y'all attacked Iraq without

any good reason?

Maybe they decided that they better build their military up before Commander Cuckoobananas decides to invade China?

[number6]

29. hey Rethuglican dumb shits, buy some more shit

from walmart, that -L- help ....(more dollars for China)

[Seabiscuit]

35. So when they're not bombing people to smitherines this is how they spread

demokracy???

:wtf:

Rummy should just blow out the tapioca between his ears with a howitzer.

[gate of the sun]

36. I think this is funny

with all the ass-kissing we are doing with China......what's the spin?