Obama's Asia Pivot

The article below is written by Stephen Lendman. Mr. Stephen Lendman is a well known versatile writer on international affairs and the citizens of the world can read more of his postings at his blog  : Steven Lendman Blog.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Obama's Asia Pivot by Stephen Lendman In late 2011, Obama prioritized reasserting America's Pacific presence. His Asia pivot was announced.  It involves advancing America's military footprint. Doing so aggressively is planned. China's growing economic might and military strength are targeted. So is checking Russia at the same time. Containment is policy. Cold war politics is back. Unchallenged global dominanceis prioritized. Anything goes intends to maintain it.  War in a part of the world hostile to invaders is possible. Vietnam echoes remainaudible. So are Afghanistan ones today. China's a far more formidable adversary. So is Russia.  It's hard imagining any country challenging them militarily. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. America hasn't won a war since WW II. Lessons weren't learned. Permanent war remains policy. War profiteers demand it. In January 2012, Obama expanded the Bush doctrine. Dick Cheney explained it. In June 2003, he said: "If there is anyone in the world today who doubts the seriousness of the Bush Doctrine, I would urge that person to consider the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq." Bush put it his way, saying "You're either with us or against us." Neutrality's not an option. Neither are equity, justice, rule of law principles, democratic values and peace. Supporters thought Obama was different. He exceeds the worst of Bush. He does so at home and abroad. He hardened homeland tyranny. He asserts America's right to replace independent governments with client ones.  Doing so prioritizes global aggression. It violates international law. Washington operates with impunity. Its interests matter most. Obama's biting off a mouthful targeting China and Russia. He rules out no options. Bush addressed "wars of the 21st century."  Obama continues them. Tactics include creating instability, chaos and violence. North Africa, the Middle East, and Eurasia are targeted. It's done to justify America's intervention and presence. Obama prioritizes global belligerence. He's cold-blooded about America's interests. He's mindless of whatever it takes to achieve them. Realpolitik continues Washington's odious tradition.  Waging wars on humanity reflect it. Doing so spurns rule of law principles. Democratic values don't matter. They never did and don't now.  Obama's pivot escalated regional tensions. Challenging China and Russia pose enormous challenges. Asia's on the boil. Japan's a virtual US colony. It serves US imperial interests. Washington treats Asian areas like its own. It has no right to do so. Administrations and Congress believe America has sovereign rights over East Asian waters and territory. It wants to dominate and exploit them. Strengthening America's regional presence is part of its new imperial strategy. It's going head-to-head with China and Russia. It aims to undermine and isolate Beijing and Moscow regionally. It's a recipe for heightened tensions and eventual confrontation. Washington has been rebalancing East Asia for years. Strategy calls for strengthening military, economic, and political ties with Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam. It involves undermining Chinese and Russian influence, isolating them from neighbors, and asserting Washington's dominance over territories and waters not its own.  Echoes of WW I and II remain audible. Never again is possible. Flashpoints have a way of igniting them. Small disputes lead to greater ones.  Obama's Asia pivot encourages them. Military alliances, strategic partnerships, and expanding bases make them more likely. Cold War politics is back. Soviet Russia's dissolution reignited old rivalries. Scrambling for vital resources followed. Marginalizing Beijing's influence is prioritized. So is challenging Moscow the same way. Both countries are rising world powers. America's been declining for years. Its military might is used to offset it. Waging war on humanity is a losing game. Walden Bello calls Obama's Asia pivot "flawed." Critics denounce transgressing areas of traditional Chinese influence. Obama continues the worst of Bush administration policies. His pivot strategy is more than meets the eye.  It's "a faint," says Bellow, "a maneuver to cover up a strategic retreat from America's disastrous two-decades-long engagement in the Middle East and Southwest Asia." It's Washington attempt "to retreat to an area for imperial power projection that it sees as more manageable than a Middle East that is running out of control." It's hard understanding how. It won't work. Realpolitik won't let Washington disengage. It's "condemned to a condition of imperial overreach."  Increasing America's Pacific footprint triggers military competition with China. It prioritizes protecting its part of the world. It's doing so "as it races to become the world's biggest economy."  Its politics reflects centuries of contesting Western intervention. Don't underestimate its capacity to "promot(e) peace, harmony, and respect for sovereignty better than" America's hegemonic madness. Washington uses whatever it takes to advance its imperium. Its Asia pivot encircles China and Russia with bases.  With all related categories included, its defense spending exceeds all other nations combined. It wants dominance over both countries. It wants it regionally and globally.  It wants Beijing and Moscow marginalized and subservient. It wants control over vital world resources. It wants challengers eliminated.  China and Russia are formidable competitors. They're dominant enough to matter. America's grand geopolitical strategy prioritizes Eurasian dominance. China's America's chief economic rival. It's dependent on vital resources. Russia's military might matters. Both countries represent major Eurasian challengers. Washington tolerates no rivals. No-holds-barred tactics target them. Obama declared global cyberwar. China, Russia, Iran, and other independent states are targeted. Draconian cybersecurity legislation is prioritized.  CISPA is back. It's more about destroying personal freedom than online security. It gives government and corporate predators unlimited power. They'll take full advantage. They'll use it to access personal/privileged information online. They'll claim fake cybersecurity threats to do so.  Constitutional protections don't matter. Diktat power replaced them. Big Lies substitute for truth. War on terror is America's national pastime. China is public enemy number one. On February 19, a New York Times editorial headlined "China's Cybergames."  Times editors are paid to lie. They claim Washington "and security experts have long known that China is the main source of cyberattacks on the United States." A new Mandiant report says so. Claims without corroboration don't wash. Mandiant's a private security firm. Kevin Mandia heads it. He's a retired military cybercrime investigator. He specializes in computer forensics. His staff includes former intelligence officials and law enforcement agents. He targets China. He operates like a digital Blackwater. He's well paid to do so. "We're security guys," he says. "We're not diplomats." He claims Chinese hackers are linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). US government agencies, corporations and organizations are targeted from a Shanghai area office tower. It's PLA Unit 61398 headquarters, he says. China denounced his report. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "Hacking attacks are transnational and anonymous. Determining their origins are extremely difficult. We don’t know how the evidence in this so-called report can be tenable." Bet on it having no credibility whatever. Most countries spy on others. They do so for national security reasons. Government hacking is war by other means. Washington does it aggressively. Media scoundrels don't explain. Obama stopped short of accusing China. No one's fooled by who he has in mind. Congressional hardliners say the same thing.  Concerns are discussed privately. Patience is wearing thin, said Times editors. "China-emanated attacks have grown," they claim.  A more aggressive response is warranted, they say. "Publicizing China’s transgressions and blocking Internet access to hackers should be a warning to Beijing. Washington is right to defend its interests." Attorney General Holder weighed in. He warned of "a significant and steadily increasing threat to America’s economy and national security interests." He lied saying so. He's paid to lie. So is Obama and likeminded hardliners. Robert Hormats was Goldman Sachs International chairman. That alone makes him damaged goods. Goldman makes money by stealing it. Hormats was complicit in grand theft.  He's now Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. He said Washington "repeatedly raised  concerns about trade secret theft by any means at the highest levels with senior Chinese officials." Get China is official US policy. Marginalizing, weakening, and isolating it is prioritized. New threats follow earlier ones. Cyberwar opens a new front.  Capability to wage it adds to America's arsenal. Preemption is prioritized. Diktat authority bypasses Congress. Obama's word is policy.  He'll say what he wants without evidence. He's a serial liar so expect it. He's waging multiple direct and proxy wars.  Cyber ones are ongoing. They're aggressive, malicious and lawless. New ones are planned. China is prioritized. Obama's got other targets in mind. Cyber sabotage is policy. It's war by other means. Rogue states operate that way. America's by far the worst. US Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) has full operational control. It's a cyber hit squad. It's part of the US Strategic Command.  It's based at Fort Meade, MD. General Keith Alexander serves as National Security Agency (NSA) director and US Cyber Command head. Obama's Presidential Policy Directive 20 set guidelines for confronting cyberspace threats. Last fall, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned of a "cyber Pearl Harbor." It could "cause physical destruction and loss of life," he said. It could "paralyze and shock the nation and create a new profound sense of vulnerability." US officials prioritize hyperbolic fearmongering. Americans are easy marks to deceive. They're dismissive and don't think. They let Washington get away with murder and much more.  Obama may have WW III in mind. He prioritizes waging war on humanity. He does so at home and abroad. He's the worst of rogue leaders.  He risks what no head of state should dare. Despots operate that way. Impeaching him is a national imperative. Doing it in time matters most. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.  His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour http://www.dailycensored.com/obamas-asia-pivot/ posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:02 AM