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Blood-red Paris Charles R. Smith Chirac Wants to Sell Arms to China
France has lost some of its best customers lately. French military exports are at an all-time low after the fall of Saddam in Iraq and the sudden turnaround by Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Yet faster than you can say truffles, French President Jacques Chirac is courting another brutal dictatorship with ambitions of global domination. Paris declared that 2004 is the Year of China, making a special welcome for the four-day visit of Chinese officials. In fact, the French president recently met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, taking time to pose for a photo op in front of an Eiffel Tower bathed in blazing blood red. Chirac is lobbying the other European Union states to drop a ban on arms sales to China that was imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. According to Chirac, the embargo "no longer makes sense today." Of course, Jacques the dictator lover failed to mention that French arms, aerospace and nuclear companies are hoping that China will buy a la Carte. "When you look at the countries subject to similar EU sanctions, the question is whether China should be in the same company," stated a French diplomat at the European Union meeting in Brussels. The European Union maintains a weapons embargo against China, Sudan, Myanmar and Zimbabwe for human rights reasons. Democracy Not Welcome in Gay Paris Chirac also had harsh words for the democratic state of Taiwan, which is – horror upon horror – scheduled to stage a voter referendum on its relations with Mainland Communist China. The plebiscite is "dangerous for everybody and therefore irresponsible," stated Chirac during a news conference. Chinese President Hu thanked Chirac for his stance against Taiwan and gave the French headwaiter a big tip for his fine service. Hu announced that China Southern airlines had "very recently" agreed to purchase 21 Airbus aircraft, in a deal worth at least $1.3 billion. Despite the petting zoo staged between Chirac and Hu, the French attempt to lift the European Union arms embargo against China was rejected by the EU ministers in a 14-1 vote. It should come as no shock that France voted "oui" to selling weapons to Beijing. Chinese Brutality "The linkage between human rights violations and not selling arms is typically wrongheaded to begin with," stated Scott Newark, a Canadian security commentator. "Let's face it, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and the Sudan are no doubt nasty places but we really don't need to be that worried about what they might get up to with French fighter jets or German submarines," noted Newark. "China's brutality to its own people – Party members, gangsters and 'businessmen' excepted, of course – is, however, a warning of what the rest of the world can expect if they ever get the wherewithal to flex their muscles in a more technologically sophisticated fashion," stated Newark. "That's why the Clinton administration and corporate America's 'anything for a buck' approach to China was so dangerous and why old Europe's current display of similar myopic greed is a cause for concern for everyone not keen on the advance of tyranny," noted Newark. U.S. Arms for China Newark's concern over U.S. sales to China is not without foundation. The Clinton administration openly assisted the Chinese army with a wide variety of military technology exports ranging from supercomputers for nuclear weapons development to sophisticated fiber-optic communications networks. The Clinton administration also offered to provide training for Chinese air force officers. Documents obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration showed that the Clinton administration actively courted the Chinese military. According to the documents, PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) officers toured Edwards Air Force Base in May 1999 for military purposes. The PLAAF officers were given training on U.S. Air Force combat missions, including "bombing and strafing" and "combat readiness." In 1999, the Clinton administration offered the PLAAF the latest in advanced "mobile radars," command and control systems, GPS navigation and "surveillance avionics" such as "air to air," "air to ground" and "surface area movement" surveillance radars. According to a U.S. Air Force May 1999 report, the PLAAF was given details on USAF "Special Airspace" areas inside America used for military training, research and national security zones. The details include Edwards Air Force base and a mapped tour of the facility. Edwards AFB is a test center for USAF and NASA research aircraft, including the space shuttle. The materials also include training manuals from the USAF 334th Training Squadron in both English and Chinese. The documents show that Clinton administration officials proposed to train PLAAF military air controllers. The USAF documents show that PLAAF officers were given a "simulated" training mission. The training included a "two ship formation of F-16s from Luke AFB, Arizona" on a "bombing" and overflight mission in a training area, code-named "Baghdad," northwest of Prescott, Ariz. The simulated exercise also included "in-flight refueling" with a tanker aircraft under control of a USAF AWACs plane. In addition, the export of secure fiber-optic systems to China resulted in the development of the PLAAF’s "Tiger Song" air defense network. The Chinese later re-exported the system, using U.S. and French components, to Saddam Hussein in Iraq during the 1990s. The wholesale export of advanced U.S. military technology finally halted after the Chinagate campaign finance scandal erupted. The scandal showed that the Clinton-Gore White House took donations directly from the Chinese army. French Arms in China Our friends in Paris, however, have not had second thoughts about China. The so-called ban on arms sales from France to China is not an absolute ban. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) already sports French-made equipment such as the Crotale air defense missile system and French-made towed sonar arrays installed on attack submarines. China has also used a variant of the French Navitac command and control network for its newest warships. Ironically, Navitac is based on a U.S. Navy tactical command and control system shared with NATO ally France. The Chinese version of the Navitac appeared in service shortly after the U.S. shared its system with France. The latest Chinese warship, the Jiangnan destroyer, dubbed the "magic shield of China," is reportedly outfitted with a wide array of French-developed electronics and stealth features. The warship is armed with a Russian missile defense system modeled after the U.S. Aegis battle platform, using French-made electronics. Bribes and Murder Also ironically, France sold a large number of Mirage jet fighters to Taiwan. France has not made any further weapons sales to Taiwan, but the reason may not be political, however. France was implicated in a major Taiwanese weapons scandal involving a follow-up sale worth over a billion dollars. According to reports circulated by a Taiwanese naval officer, France had bribed both Taiwanese navy and communist Chinese army officers in an effort to approve sales of more Mirage jet fighters to Taiwan. The Taiwanese navy officer was later found murdered. In the end, France lost the bid to sell additional Mirage jet fighters to Taiwan, and the United States agreed to sell F-16 Falcons to help defend the tiny island nation. The curious arrangement presents the possibility of French weapons fighting French weapons. "What happens if Taiwan-based Mirages tangle with attacking PRC Mirages over the East China Sea?" asked author and national security analyst William Triplett. The question of European arms sales to China is certain to come up again. French diplomats intend to continue to press the issue during EU meetings thoughout the spring and summer. The recent EU vote has given heart that reason will prevail over greed – even in Paris. "Hopefully, the newly eyes-wide-open U.S. foreign policy approach can make the case to others that this latest display of bad judgment from the 'Two Towers' in Paris and Berlin is something to be rejected, not embraced. Only time will tell," stated Scott Newark.
RADIO AND TV SCHEDULE Charles Smith will be on: The Charlie Smith Show on the American Freedom Network on Friday, 1/30/04, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.amerifree.com. The Jerry Hughes show on Friday, 1/30/04, at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.cilamerica.com.
Editor's note:
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