Saturday, June 13, 2020

Now it's a Cambodian trying to shag America

First it was the British who, seeing America rise and replace them as the leading power in the world, thought that if they can no longer lead, they'll ride on the coattail of America rather than be left behind.

And while on the coattail, the British reached out to America's ear and whispered instructions that motivated America to spark the Cold War by starting the process of encircling the Soviet Union with military bases.

Then it was the French who, seeing their military being shredded to pieces in the quagmire of Vietnam, thought that if they cannot win the war themselves, they'll drag America into it so that they can get out, and maybe see the Americans win the war for them.

Then it was the Jews who, seeing that the four thousand-year-old promise of the Almighty He'll make sure they'll own the planet and everything in it –– had not been fulfilled and may never be –– thought it was time to find a substitute for the God that abandoned them, and have the new God fulfill the old promise.

To that end, the Jews ran around looking for a willing sucker to shag, and found a few who served for a while but did not last long enough on the job to make a difference. And then, the Jews got lucky as they hit the jackpot upon the discovery of an America that was more than willing to be shagged. The Jews recruited their new find, and put it to work on messing the Middle East, turning it from the Garden of Eden that it was, to the land of pain and sorrow it has become.

In-between, there came minor players who shagged America hoping it will help them realize such fantasies as the seizure of Cuba and Taiwan. They did not see the result they were hoping for, but America is still trying to deliver for them. So now, comes a guy named Sam Rainsy, and he asks America to help him seize Cambodia, the land of his birth. He had founded a political party and called it Cambodia National Rescue Party. It was banned in Cambodia and so, he went into exile where he now fantasizes about seizing Cambodia with the help of the American military.

To that end, Sam Rainsy wrote an article (actually written in the style adopted by American public relation firms) that came under the title: “China Has Designs on Democracy in Southeast Asia,” and the subtitle: “A base in Cambodia is only the beginning.” The article was published on June 10, 2020 in Foreign Policy.

Those who are old enough to remember the Vietnam War, or too young but interested in the history of that era, know what it is that incited America to get involve in a war that cost it nearly 60,000 dead soldiers, hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers, many of whom committed suicide after their return home, and countless others who saw their lives so ruined, they ended up on drugs and on skid row.

The thing that incited America enough to get involved in Vietnam, was called “Domino Theory.” It is that America was told Vietnam was the cornerstone that kept together the entire geopolitical structure of Southeast Asia. It was further explained that if Vietnam fell to the Communists, the remaining countries in the region, will fall to the Communists one after the other like dominoes. America bought this piece of nonsense, and reacted without thinking. The rest is history, like they say.

Look now at the opening paragraph of Sam Rainsy's article, and note the similarities between what was said in the early years of the 1960s about Vietnam, and what is said in this year of 2020 about Cambodia. Here is that deceptive paragraph:

“In January 2019, Dan Coats warned that Cambodia's 'slide toward autocracy' could enable China to establish a military presence in the country. Such a move would pose a grave threat to regional stability and to the political independence of many Southeast Asian nations”.

Like they say, the more things change, the more they remain the same. In fact, the article borrows much from the arguments of the 1960s to incite America on three fronts: political, economic and military.

On the political front, the article says that the people of Cambodia wish to live freely under a democratic system of governance but that China will not let them have it.

On the economic front, the article says that China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will drive away everyone else and dissuade them from doing business with Cambodia as well as the neighboring countries, thus give China total monopoly on the economies of the region and make it the local undisputed hegemon.

On the military front, the article says that China's ever-growing navy will dominate the oceans, seas and waterways of the region, thus acquire the capability to deny passage to the vessels of the nations that China will want to punish for whatever reason.

Will this persuade America to repeat the mistake it kept making since the end of the Second World War? Or has America learned the lesson and will refrain from playing the role of sucker one more time?