In this age of leaks and whistleblowers, we suspect much more will come out about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. A diehard Democrat, it is hard to believe that she would engage in anything that would embarrass her fellow Democrat in the White House – and a rather fragile one at that – by defying him or jeopardizing his China policy, especially in the run up to the November midterm elections.
So, we suggest that despite all of the fulminations, a Pelosi trip was seen as a real opportunity for Team Biden. Consider that foreign policy experts’ have long predicted the relentless growth of Chinese and Russian military power and the threat they would pose to American national security and the international geopolitical system that security sustains. The recent South China Sea land-grabs by the Chinese government and the Russian invasions of Crimea and Ukraine only served to confirm these predictions and concerns.
It doesn’t take a proverbial rocket scientist to appreciate that something will have to be done to enhance U.S. military capabilities in order to confront either, or Heaven forbid, both powers at the same time. One can assume, therefore, that despite all the noise about investing in the environment and social programs from the pacifist-leaning Democratic hard left, Pentagon planners have doubtless been hard at work – with Mr. Biden’s blessing – figuring out what they will need in the coming years to meet these challenges.
Particularly at a time of rampant inflation, where would the money come from if Mr. Biden, at the risk of losing his Left-leaning base, didn’t first accommodate its spending wish list? The key was getting the Biden Plan promptly through the Senate, a complicated matter given the lethal recalcitrance of Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Next step: Scare the heck out of the American public about a quickly escalating Chinese threat.
Enter Speaker Pelosi and with her Asia itinerary, which enraged China and prompted Chinese military maneuvers and preliminary blockading of Taiwan.
It may all seem far-fetched, but we suspect there is more than one kernel of truth to it.
