On the path to 9/11, many of us National Security wonks were intensely studying and tracking China and its activities before the al-Qaeda attacks of 9/11. Just as so many had our eyes too focused on a single ball then, it is a necessary exercise of experience and wisdom to ensure the same mistake is not made again, simply in the reverse.

We cannot afford to be – neither as a National Security community nor as a society – so critically focused on our terrorist enemies as to lose sight of an equally determined if even more patient strategic competitor. Though the Chinese are much less overt than our terrorist enemies, their grand strategies and ambitions are hardly invisible. One need simply look for them and recognize them when seen.

In a Reuters article, “China PLA officer urges challenging U.S. dominance,” there is a wake-up call for those perhaps needing it.

From the Reuters article:

The call for China to abandon modesty about its global goals and “sprint to become world number one” comes from a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu, who warns that his nation’s ascent will alarm Washington, risking war despite Beijing’s hopes for a “peaceful rise.”

“China’s big goal in the 21st century is to become world number one, the top power,” Liu writes in his newly published Chinese-language book, “The China Dream.”

“If China in the 21st century cannot become world number one, cannot become the top power, then inevitably it will become a straggler that is cast aside,” writes Liu, a professor at the elite National Defense University, which trains rising officers.

His 303-page book stands out for its boldness even in a recent chorus of strident Chinese voices demanding a hard shove back against Washington over trade, Tibet, human rights, and arms sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.

“As long as China seeks to rise to become world number one … then even if China is even more capitalist than the U.S., the U.S. will still be determined to contain it,” writes Liu.

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If there’s anything that should convince China to become more capitalist, and put less faith in socialism, it is American progressives.

Yesterday Matthew Yglesias’ head shook violently and he barked out like Paul Krugman with Tourette’s :

…you could start musing allowed about how many we just won’t pay the Chinese the money we owe them. Or you could reflect on the fact that if the People Bank of China is determined to buy bonds and prevent the dollar from falling at all costs, then we may as well totally forget about the short-term deficit and just not collect any taxes at all for the rest of FY 2010.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe this marks the first time in modern history a liberal has suggested we stop collecting taxes.

Welcome to the naked liberal mind.  Technically, it shouldn’t shock us, Matt is just riffing off the subtext of Paul Krugman’s prescription for what ails us – massive inflation.  Liberal economics springs forth from this assumption: We just keep printing money to payoff Dem voters until our debts aren’t so big any more.

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