Monday, March 10, 2014

Disturbing to Who?

The NY Times article reads: China's Disturbing Defense Budget. Why is the editorial board of the NY Times, a US company concerned about the defense budget of China?
China is causing new anxieties in Asia with a defense budget for 2014 that totals $132 billion, up 12.2 percent over the previous year. These numbers should not be used as an excuse to ratchet up America’s military spending. But they do raise legitimate concerns about China’s motives that Beijing should seek to dispel, especially at a time when regional tensions are rising.

Although China’s overall economic growth rate has declined, the new defense budget reflects the biggest increase in three years and continues a several-decades-long trend of double-digit increases. Many experts assume that the real total is higher. Even so, the budget is far below that of the United States, which was $526.8 billion for fiscal year 2014 and finances the world’s largest, most expensive and advanced military program. It is reasonable to expect that as the world’s second-largest economy, China, over time, would invest more on defense to protect its security and economic interests.
[My Emphasis]
So the editorial board of the NY Times a company based in the United States; the same United States that they write:
the United States, which was $526.8 billion for fiscal year 2014 and finances the world’s largest, most expensive and advanced military program.
is "disturbed" that China is raising it's defense budget. Surely this is bizarro world. That's like a bully declaring that he or she is "disturbed" that it's potential targets have decided to invest in self defense classes and perhaps a knife or two. How many sovereign nations has the US run into and toppled the government? Isn't there a commercial in which the Navy tells us point blank that they are on patrol everywhere? Aren't there hundreds of US military bases all over the world? And the editorial board is concerned about China's defense budget?

The Times thinks that the problem is China's aggression with it's neighbors. *cough* Cuba! *cough* *Cough* Panama *cough* *cough* Grenada *cough* *cough Venezuela *cough* *cough* Nicaragua *cough*

I can do this allllllllll day.