(Ken Silva, Headline USA) It sure looks like the Biden administration is preparing for World War 3.
A day after the White House announced Friday a $345 million military aid package for Taiwan, the Washington Post published a profile of a four-star Air Force general who is preparing his 110,000 troops for war with China within the next two years.
“I hope I am wrong,” Gen. Michael Minihan said of the possibility of a U.S.-China war. “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025.”
According to the Post, Minihan has told his troops to “get their personal affairs in order” and to “fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most.”
“Aim for the head” when doing so, the general directed.
The White House is reportedly upset at Minihan’s outspokenness. One senior U.S. defense official reportedly said that he was incredulous upon learning about the memo and wondered whether Beijing would see it as escalatory.
But while the Post claimed that the Biden administration is working to repair diplomatic relations with China that were frayed under Donald Trump, the White House’s actions suggest otherwise.
And indeed, its $345 million aid package to Taiwan marks a significant escalation in support for the island. As noted by antiwar.com editor Dave DeCamp, the US has sold weapons to Taiwan since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979, but has never before financed the purchases or provided arms free of charge.
Beijing views both Minihan’s remarks and the weaponization of Taiwan with alarm.
The Chinese Global Times reportedly cited analysts decrying what they called the U.S. military’s prevalence of “super-hawkish war maniacs.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also reportedly said Saturday that the new US military aid for Taiwan was turning the island into a “powder keg” and said it wouldn’t stop Beijing’s goal of “reunification.” China’s policy is that it seeks peaceful reunification but won’t rule out the use of force.
“No matter how much of the ordinary people’s taxpayer money the … Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many US weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” said Chen Binhua, the office’s spokesman.
“Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
