Ah, the New York Times — always with the jokes!
Although they may call it the “gray lady,” never underestimate the New York Times’s capacity for deadpan humor. Like, for instance, their Oct. 16, 2024 story “With Jets and Ships, China Is Honing Its Ability to Choke Taiwan.” On the surface, the piece echoes the official Washington line that China’s military operations in the vicinity of Taiwan “raise the risk of a confrontation or accident that could draw in the United States and its Asian allies.” But can anyone imagine reporters David Pierson and Amy Chang Chien continuing on with straight faces as they wrote, “Some analysts saw China’s drills as aimed in part as a response to military exercises by the United States and its allies in the region. On Wednesday, the United States and the Philippines began their annual war games. Troops from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Britain and France are also participating.” Surely one or both must at least have cracked a smirk as they contemplated the U.S., Britain and France preparing for the defense of their borders — in the South China Sea. And, oh yes, “U.S. exercises with Japan are planned for later this month.”
Reading further along, unless this story is actually an AI product, it’s hard to imagine the writers not doing spit takes on the drollery of their words on China’s ongoing threats to world peace: “China is still trying to teach its army, navy, air force and other military branches to coordinate better. That is a skill militaries like that of the United States have honed over decades of continuous war, whereas the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has not fought a battle since its brief conflict with Vietnam 45 years ago.”
How the U.S. honed those military skills
Since the American news media are not usually so straight forward in acknowledging our “decades of continuous war,” it might be worth listing some of the instances in which our military has “honed its skills” since the 1979 China-Vietnam clash.
In 1980, there was the unsuccessful military operation to free American hostages in Iran. In 1981, U.S. planes shot down two Libyan planes. In 1982, we sent 1200 Marines to Lebanon. In 1983, the invasion of Grenada. In 1985 U.S. Navy planes intercepted an Egyptian airliner. In 1986, we bombed Libya. In 1987, we attacked Iranian oil platforms; actions against Iran continued sporadically. In 1988, troops were deployed to Honduras due to a perceived threat from the Nicaraguan government (whose attempted overthrow we had surreptitiously funded). In 1988, we sent 1000 troops to Panama, whose head of state we kidnapped. In 1989, we sent troops to Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru to combat drug trafficking.
In 1990, a rifle company was sent to Liberia to protect our embassy; we would return there in 2003. In 1991, we deployed about 700,000 troops to the Persian Gulf in the Gulf War. In 1993, we sent 25,000 troops to Somalia. The same year, 350 American troops went to Macedonia. In 1994, we shot down Bosnian Serb planes; the U.S. bombed the country the following year. In 1997, small numbers of American troops were deployed to protect American citizens in Congo, Gabon, Albania, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. In 1998, we sent troops to Kenya in response to the bombing of the U.S. Embassy there, and launched Cruise missile attacks — part of “Operation Infinite Reach” — at suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical factory in Sudan. In 1999, a small number of troops were sent to East Timor as part of a U.N. Peace Keeping mission, and a major bombing campaign was launched against Serbia as part of the Kosovo War.
In 2000, small numbers of troops were dispatched to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Yemen for various reasons; attacks on targets in Yemen would continue over the years. In 2001, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan as The War on Terror began. “Operation Enduring Freedom” endured until 2021; at its height it involved 130,000 American soldiers. In 2002, there was a deployment to the Philippines to enhance the nation’s “counter terrorist capabilities,” as well as one to Côte d’Ivoire to evacuate American citizens. In 2003, it was back to Iraq in a big way in pursuit of the non-existent “weapons of mass destruction.” The government would be deposed and the war would last until 2011. American troop level peaked at 170,000. In 2003, it was off to Georgia and Djibouti to enhance“counter terrorist capabilities.” In 2004, troops went to Haiti to protect American citizens and property. “Anti-terror” operations occurred in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Pakistan, in addition to previously mentioned nations. In 2005, the rescue of American hostages in Colombia. In 2006, back to Lebanon; in 2007, back to Somalia. In subsequent years, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Libya were intermittently bombed.
In 2011, advisers were sent to Uganda. In 2012, troops were sent to Jordan and Turkey in efforts to contain the Syrian Civil War; and to Chad to evacuate American citizens. From 2013 on, missions have continued in Libya, Uganda, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. In 2015, troops were sent to Cameroon to provide intelligence support. In 2017, air strikes in Syria; continue intermittently.
In 2021, air strikes resume in Somalia. In 2024, intermittent bombing continues in Iraq, Somalia and Syria. Troops remain deployed in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Counter terrorism operations continue in Kenya, the Philippines and Djibouti. We bombed Yemen on October 16.
So, as we can see, clearly those reckless Chinese have got some serious catching up to do.
Do as we say, not as we do
Meanwhile, the recent article also noted the troubling fact that a Chinese official “reiterated that Beijing would not renounce the use of force to take Taiwan, if necessary.” Now, we might all hope that China does not resort to violence to take control of Taiwan, but the U.S. and much of the rest of the world has acknowledged that there is “one China.” And we might ask what the U.S. response would be should, say, Puerto Rico attempt to assert its independence from Washington control. But — oh wait, we already know: In 1950, the U.S. military responded to just such an effort, known as the Jayuya Uprising, with artillery, mortar fire, grenades, machine-guns, and 500-pound bombs. 28 people were killed and 50 wounded.
Since the Times generally tries to hire top-notch journalists, we can assume that Pierson and Chang Chien have probably researched this very question and had themselves a good snicker at our government’s “do-as-we-say-not-as-we’ve-done” standard. But then, could it be they haven’t picked up on this? It was, after all, only page 6 news on November 4, 1950, the day’s top headline being “Reds press West-Korea assault.” (By the way, there are monuments to the 1950 rebels in the town of Jayuya.)
Anyhow, back to the present, the more recent Times article also suggests that the Chinese operations “raise the risk of a confrontation or accident that could draw in the United States and its Asian allies.” Can we assume that our presumably historically knowledgeable writers also found that note a bit amusing as well? You know — being so experienced the Americans don’t run the risk of unintentionally starting military conflict, having so much practice in doing so intentionally, plus their military exercises also had the benefit of the participation of French and British forces — as well as the centuries of colonial experience they bring with them.
And, oh yes, one last thing — the October 14, 2024 New York Times reported the U.S. sent “about 100 American troops” to Israel. The story ran on page 8; the China story ran on page 4. Funny.
