New Cold War adds Chinese Dragon to Russian Bear

One Cold War in a lifetime was enough. But two may be a bridge too far.

Born shortly before Cold War I began, I spent the first 45 years of life keeping one eye on U.S.-Soviet relations, which on a couple of occasions, came perilously close to nuclear winter. The 1962 Cuban Missile crisis left scars that linger till today.

Then in 1990, a marvelous development: the Soviet Union collapsed. Fourteen of the Soviet republics said ‘adios’ and Russia was reduced to a shell of its former footprint. But the 1,500 nukes it retained ensured it was not to be messed with.

Great. We can draw down our gargantuan military and use the ‘peace dividend’ to create a truly egalitarian, nurtured society.

Alas, the ravenous Military-Industrial Complex needed a new cause celebre. They spent the next 30 years ginning up Islamophobia. It generated the 911 attacks which put U.S. militarism back in the saddle, squandering our treasure getting hundreds of thousands killed for nothing.

But with Islamic terrorism a fading memory, the Complex hatched a brilliant plan. They re-imagined a Russian menace, enticing former Soviet republics to join NATO because Russia was a renewed existential threat to the West.

The current flashpoint for possible war is Ukraine. The U.S. inspired and supported a coup which replaced the pro-Russian Ukraine president with an anti-Russian in 2014. This predictably caused Russian blowback, culminating with seizure of Ukraine Crimea to protect their naval base there. If no coup Crimea would still belong to Ukraine. Seven years later the U.S. is still at it, funneling arms and good cheer to Ukraine extremists in their effort to regain breakaway Russian-settled provinces in the Donbas.

But one bête noir was not enough for America’s military adventurers. They’ve added China to Cold War II. Why? China is on track to overtake the U.S. economy by 2028, something that U.S. exceptionalists say makes them an existential threat. They're using the Taiwan issue as the flashpoint. We’ve largely abrogated the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act requiring the U.S. to recognize One China, transferring diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing, and terminating our mutual defense treaty with Taiwan. We’re trying to entice China’s neighbors to join us in this senseless meddling. So far they have wisely demurred saying ‘You’re on your own, Uncle Sam.’

Cold War II has been a godsend to the Complex. As we draw down from our senseless Middle East wars, the Chinese Dragon and Russian Bear ensure increased military spending for 2021 and beyond.

At 76 I’m not as likely to see the end of Cold War II as I did the original…unless it ends with a bang.