US enters 'checkbook war' with China

[flashl]

One might assume that the approaching end of the George W Bush presidency is the beginning of the end of the American empire, at least as empire-building is usually seen - as an attempt to impose power on others by force.

The reason is simple: US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are badly stretched, and the pleas of US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to European countries to send more combat troops have fallen on deaf ears. Still, John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, notes that the war could proceed "for a hundred years".

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From this perspective, the current wars are open-ended conflicts from which the US cannot extricate itself. Therefore, one could argue that the American empire is coming to its end and its global span could well be replaced by other powers, with China as the major candidate. The present situation in Africa serves as a prime example.

Recently, Bush visited Africa. While on the surface this was an expression of goodwill and an indication of US concern for African problems - poverty and the spread of pandemic disease, mostly - there were other purely pragmatic implications of the visit. One of these was Washington's attempt to counter China's growing influence. And in this competition with China, the US employs a weapon quite different from those used in Afghanistan and Iraq: the checkbook.

Financial and economic assistance was widely used during the Cold War. In fact, in Africa, as well as in other parts of the world, attachment to either "socialism" or "capitalism" was directly connected to the amount of cash or assistance received from the respective superpowers. And while the former Soviet Union could often prevail in the case of direct military confrontation between its proxy and the Americans' proxy, it usually failed when the checkbook was employed. The US could easily outspend its rival, as at the time it was engaged in a "checkbook war" on a global scale.

The problem with present-day moralizing is not due to any alleged increase in the US's moral sensitivity, but is much more related to the simple fact that US resources for a "cash war" are dwindling, at least in comparison to the war chests of the other players, such as China.

Asian Times

Among other concerns, in a 'checkbook war', 'our' ability to win is bleak.