(Interview of Ray on The Critical Hour)
By Ray McGovern, August 1, 2022
Nancy Pelosi and her still-up-in-the-air (so to speak) visit to Taiwan remain center stage: Will she or won’t she try to droop in there – perhaps as early as tomorrow – and risk likely military reaction by China?
“What will she do? I’ll leave it to you …” That’s as far as the old song takes us. (Fair warning: I was able to sing a few verses during the interview. Given the serious, high stakes in what we were discussing, it seemed an attempt at some lightness might be in order, if only to catch our breath.)
I expressed wonderment at the 7th grade-level remarks recently by White House national security spokesman John Kirby: (Friday: “There’s no reason for China and the U.S. “to come to blows” should House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visit”. (Today: “There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit … into some sort of crisis or conflict, or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait. And yet, over the weekend, even before Speaker Pelosi arrived in the region, China conducted a live-fire exercise.”)
Easy for Kirby to Say
Quick, someone tell Kirby how China feels about this. And point out that, just as it takes two to tango, it takes two to avoid “coming to blows”.
Our discussion focused initially on the article published this morning ( See: https://raymcgovern.com/2022/08/01/pelosi-taiwan-an-easy-way-out-for-biden/ )
I explained that Biden should be appropriately frightened that, if Pelosi tries to visit Taiwan, things could quickly go bump in the night – this time in waters near China.
On April 13, 2021 amid rising tensions near Russia and Ukraine, Biden had the good sense to cancel the deployment of two heavily armed warships to the Black Sea immediately following a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Again Turn the Warships Around?
After Biden’s unusually long telephone conversation Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden might conceivably be better able to see Xi’s point of view. Might he even order the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and its battle group to stay well clear of the waters around Taiwan for the next few days?
Granted, this would leave Speaker Pelosi hoist with her own petard, so to speak. But, understandably, the White House reportedly is angry at Pelosi for putting Biden on the horns of this distasteful dilemma, with some officials suspecting that Pelosi’s high drama is aimed at discrediting him, one way or another. (He is, after all, damned if he acts, and damned if he doesn’t.)
Perhaps Pelosi expected that Biden would order her not to include a Taiwan on her trip. The President would then be seen as soft on China.
But discredit or sabotage ol’ Dem Biden? Yes. Let’s face it, Democratic Party movers and shakers are bound to be busy these days thinking about alternatives to Biden for 2024.
For additional background on Pelosi-gate, we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity posted Saturday a Memorandum for the President titled “Military Clash With China Over Pelosi Visit”. ( See:
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2022/07/30/military-clash-with-china-over-pelosi-visit/ )