What kind of support would we want to be able to give the US in a war with China over Taiwan?Umm, Hugh? Why would we want to give the USA any support? Sure, we would join the UN in condemning any Chinese attack on Taiwan, and of course we would immediately impose trading sanctions on China, right? No more coal and zinc going out, no more cheap toys coming in! Right?
Because it's not about money, is it? It's about principles, right? And honor! And morality! And defending international law! BWAAAHHAHAHA!
But if the USA and China go to war, which they won't, but just to indulge the old A.J. fantasy ...
NO NO WAIT!!!
Why should I indulge that fantasy?
THE USA AND CHINA WILL NOT GO TO WAR, OK?
THE WHOLE IDEA IS STUPID!
So we don't need to "factor it in" as part of our national defense spending plans. And Kevin Rudd can spend his time thinking about more productive things!
Sigh! The Wise Men In Canberra are finally admitting that the Howard government made some mistakes, well lots of mistakes actually, and even though they were complicit in those mistakes (Hugh White helped draft the 2000 Defense Dept White Paper, which lead to a 47% increase in the budget and two intractable military quagmires) they still insist they have the answers - to questions that don't even exist!
Just to show how stupid this whole line of thinking is, here are some other Big Questions from White to Krudd:
How much would we be prepared to spend to give us the ability to confront China alone if it ever tried to secure a foothold in Solomon Islands?Got that one, Kev? Now he wants us to take on China alone, without US help! To defend the Solomon Frickin' Islands, no less!
Should we have an army big enough to take military control of Papua New Guinea if civil order there broke down?Do I laugh or cry at that one? Do I start working out how many soldiers would be needed per inch of dense jungle foliage, or do I Google the words "civil order" and PNG simultaneously? And if I did, would I get any results back? Maybe I should just get on the phone to BHP Billiton Bouganville and ask their advice?
Would we want to be able to send major land forces to support the US if it ever decides to invade Iran?Ummm.... NO. NO NO NO NO NO!!! Has anyone actually told Mr Hugh White what happened in Iraq?
Jeebus.
