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Editorial: Bush, an emperor with no clothes

The Bush administration has proven itself adept at undermining the political and the strategic standing of the US across the globe, and this is as profoundly evident in Taiwan as it is with the "War on Terror."

Most importantly -- from Taiwan's perspective -- the optimism that greeted Bush's outspoken support for this country in 2001 in the face of China's threatening attitude has now disintegrated. Bush and his advisers appear to be at a loss as to the implications of developments in Taiwan's political arena, and this has been reflected in the way Washington deals with such contentious issues as the procurement of US arms.

The Bush administration's attitude toward Taiwan has been the paragon of hypocrisy, as was witnessed again yesterday. US Air Force Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kohler, who in his post as the head of the Defense Security and Cooperation Agency is in essence the top government arms dealer, criticized Taiwan for "turning defense issues into a political football."

Ignoring the obvious fact that "defense issues" are innately "political" in every democracy, especially the US, the more salient point is that Washington blasts Taiwan for not spending enough on defense, even as it refuses to approve weapons systems that the Ministry of National Defense has requested.

For example, the White House has refused to allow Taiwan to purchase the AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (also known as the HARM), which is a missile designed to destroy radar-equipped air defense systems. It has also denied Taiwan's official request for pricing and availability data on the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) -- the package that turns freefall bombs into smart bombs.

The US' reasoning was that these weapons are offensive, not defensive, in nature.

One does not have to be a Clausewitz fanatic to understand that in terms of the strategic application of military power, Taiwan is in no position to launch an assault on China. And since this is the case, why limit the tactical options available to Taiwanese commanders, should they one day have to defend their country?

Surely this situation is not beyond the understanding of Donald "Pre-emptive Strike" Rumsfeld.

Yet this disconnect in US policymaking is not the provenance of the military alone, and it speaks of a misunderstanding of Taiwan's political situation.

Many Taiwan observers in the US have interpreted the Democratic Progressive Party's tribulations, and the subsequent support that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has received, incorrectly.

There is no question that the fortunes of the administration of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) are at a low ebb, and that the status of KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou is (馬英九) rising.

However, analysts should be careful to interpret this phenomenon in the context of domestic politics, and not as an indication of a major shift in Taiwanese attitudes toward cross-strait policy.

There is nothing yet to indicate that Ma and the KMT, should they attain power in 2008 -- as seems likely at this early juncture -- will be willing to sign an "interim agreement" with the Chinese Communist Party, as one US academic claimed earlier this week.

Ma is not KMT former chairman Lien Chan (連戰), and his previous comments regarding a possible rapprochement with China have been suitably ambiguous. And there has been nothing to indicate a shift in Taiwanese attitudes toward China. Instead, the people of Taiwan have remained sturdily cautious, embracing the economic benefits of cross-strait ties while rejecting the stridency of Beijing's military posturing.

Incompetence and crass arrogance have been a hallmark of Bush and his Cabinet since his first day in office. It is only recently that this has translated into a lack of support for him domestically. The lasting effects of his foreign policy blunders may take years to bear bitter fruit for the US, but they are already degrading his country's options here.
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