Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
It might surprise many of you, but I listen to NPR pretty often on my 30 minute commute to work. This is an equal function of small amounts NPR reporting being of good-quality, and huge swaths of Detroit radio being really, really awful. And by "Detroit radio" I actually mean endless commercials for utility monopolies interrupted by radio hosts sniffing jockstraps.
Anyway, this morning featured an excellent, telling, interview with John Bolton, President Trump's National Security Advisor. I've selected what I feel are the best parts of the transcript (and added some emphasis). Bolton is obviously Tom Hagen to Trump's Sonny Corleone. Contrast this to prior administrations who have been nothing but Fredo Corleone when dealing with the Virgil Sollozzo's of the world.
OK, for those of you who haven't seen the Godfather (!?!?!) it means there is LONG-OVERDUE intelligence behind President Trump's bluster. Read my excerpts or check out the whole transcript here:
Q: [China] is a rising country with an economy that continues growing. Does U.S. national security require that Chinese economic power be limited in some way over the long term?
I don't think national security requires that at all. What I think national security does require is that whatever economic growth China is blessed with, it gets by playing by the rules. And I think the inescapable conclusion is that China, ever since, for example, it joined the World Trade Organization, has not played by the rules. I think we've got a view, whether it's in Japan or the European Union or the United States, thatintellectual property is always at risk from Chinese theft and that these are the kinds of practices that are not acceptable. Whether you're a free trader or not, but maybe particularly if you're a free trader, you should not turn a blind eye when states, as a matter of national policy, are stealing intellectual property from their competitors. And obviously a government that does that, whether they're stealing the design of the F-35 fighter plane to use for their own purposes — and the latest generation of Chinese fighters looks an awful lot like F-35s —whether they're stealing the intellectual property of entertainment companies, manufacturing companies, financial services companies. That's unfair competitive advantage, and obviously the stronger the Chinese economy is, the better its ability to translate that into military force. So it's the fact that they're not beating other countries in fair competition, they're stealing from them.
Q: Vice President Pence in a speech about China some weeks ago essentially said that the United States and the West more broadly made a bad bet. The bet was that if Western countries participated in capitalism with China, that its political system would open up, that democracy would follow. He said that bet hasn't worked out, which does seem plainly true. Do you assume that China will never open up?
No, I don't think we should assume that at all. In fact, I think a very important factor in answering that question isdo we accept that they will continue to pursue mercantilist trade policies in a free trade environment and use authoritarian practices in their government to maintain control. But it's, I think the vice president was completely correct. I've heard going back years: just let the Chinese economy grow a little bit and you'll see democracy spread all through the country, that you can't have economic openness, ultimately, without having political openness. And on the basis of empirical reality, we know today that connection is far from certain.
Anyway, this morning featured an excellent, telling, interview with John Bolton, President Trump's National Security Advisor. I've selected what I feel are the best parts of the transcript (and added some emphasis). Bolton is obviously Tom Hagen to Trump's Sonny Corleone. Contrast this to prior administrations who have been nothing but Fredo Corleone when dealing with the Virgil Sollozzo's of the world.
OK, for those of you who haven't seen the Godfather (!?!?!) it means there is LONG-OVERDUE intelligence behind President Trump's bluster. Read my excerpts or check out the whole transcript here:
Q: [China] is a rising country with an economy that continues growing. Does U.S. national security require that Chinese economic power be limited in some way over the long term?
I don't think national security requires that at all. What I think national security does require is that whatever economic growth China is blessed with, it gets by playing by the rules. And I think the inescapable conclusion is that China, ever since, for example, it joined the World Trade Organization, has not played by the rules. I think we've got a view, whether it's in Japan or the European Union or the United States, thatintellectual property is always at risk from Chinese theft and that these are the kinds of practices that are not acceptable. Whether you're a free trader or not, but maybe particularly if you're a free trader, you should not turn a blind eye when states, as a matter of national policy, are stealing intellectual property from their competitors. And obviously a government that does that, whether they're stealing the design of the F-35 fighter plane to use for their own purposes — and the latest generation of Chinese fighters looks an awful lot like F-35s —whether they're stealing the intellectual property of entertainment companies, manufacturing companies, financial services companies. That's unfair competitive advantage, and obviously the stronger the Chinese economy is, the better its ability to translate that into military force. So it's the fact that they're not beating other countries in fair competition, they're stealing from them.
Q: Vice President Pence in a speech about China some weeks ago essentially said that the United States and the West more broadly made a bad bet. The bet was that if Western countries participated in capitalism with China, that its political system would open up, that democracy would follow. He said that bet hasn't worked out, which does seem plainly true. Do you assume that China will never open up?
No, I don't think we should assume that at all. In fact, I think a very important factor in answering that question isdo we accept that they will continue to pursue mercantilist trade policies in a free trade environment and use authoritarian practices in their government to maintain control. But it's, I think the vice president was completely correct. I've heard going back years: just let the Chinese economy grow a little bit and you'll see democracy spread all through the country, that you can't have economic openness, ultimately, without having political openness. And on the basis of empirical reality, we know today that connection is far from certain.
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