One rather hopes that there is more sound and fury than substance to these remarks, a surmise prompted by the fact that the U.S. won’t be building any bases in Australia (one further surmises this is because the Aussies don’t want us to). Instead, the 2,500 Marines will be stationed with Australian forces, which certainly beats getting shot at in Iraq and Afghanistan. And surely the Iraqis and Afghans are happy for us to leave.
China pronounces itself mightily offended by this action, although how 2,500 jarheads can threaten a nation of more than 1,000,000,000 has yet to be explained to my satisfaction. I can only imagine that the admirals of the Chinese navy are rubbing their hands with delight. “We’ll need at least five new aircraft carriers to handle this threat,” they’re exclaiming, while their American counterparts are likely to have submersible flattops on the boards.
Afterwords
The New York Times explains that the U.S. has quite sensibly been withdrawing troops from the Pacific ever since the end of the Cold War. Sending 2,500 Marines back is hardly a major reversal. But by traveling to Darwin, the President 1) got the hell out of the country while the “supercommittee” was committing kabuki hari-kari, 2) encouraged the U.S. Navy to believe that they’d be getting a new fleet for Christmas, 3) pissed off the Chinese, and 4) picked up some fabulous campaign footage. Who says the guy can’t count?
