Dear Editor
Dear Editor China Policy Michael Lind seems to have forgotten ("Dollar Diplomacy in Asia," NL, June 1-15) that for over 40 years, until the dissolution of the Cold War, United States...
...America's world competitors do not operate under the sort of political restraints Lind would have us adopt, and there is nothing virtuous in yielding markets to others...
...But is it fair that today's most interesting shows are also the cheapest...
...has military supremacy...
...diplomacy in Asia—or elsewhere —can fail to promote our national economic interests...
...rethink its policy because Lind believes China intends to intimidate its neighbors...
...and that (2) it is "doubtful the U.S...
...Cohen's final debating point is the accusation that I am promoting a conspiracy theory...
...For the foreseeable future, therefore, China must base its claim to Asian leadership solely on its military power (which includes its ability to arm other countries, such as Pakistan...
...The country does not have, as yet, a military that poses a threat to the U.S...
...If Lind thinks otherwise, his imagination has gotten the best of him...
...And while Chinese power will increase, it is doubtful we possess the means to inhibit the process, or that there is cause for paranoia on our part...
...There is no Wall Street-Treasury Department conspiracy...
...Our allies would not support such a move, and a unilateral act would engender mutual hostility without bearing political fruit...
...nevertheless, Germany has economic supremacy in Europe and the U.S...
...is the dominant Asian military power...
...now cedes Asia to a poor and barbaric but well-armed China, then those Americans will have died in vain...
...If the U.S...
...they pay too much for Seinfeld and the NFL...
...As the world s military and economic superpower, we can trump China's only card—if we have the will...
...New York City Elliott A. Cohen Michael Lind replies: Elliott A. Cohen argues that (1) China is not "a threat to the U.S...
...To even the balance sheet they are betting on "cost-efficient" newsmagazines...
...Today Russia is the most The New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on any of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words...
...Should the U.S...
...Free Programming In articles like "The Networks' Fight For Survival" (NL, June 1-15), Reuven Frank has done a fine job of alerting NL readers to the television networks' predicament...
...and Western Europe and Japan, rather than merely a vast pool of cheap labor or a huge consumer market...
...It would be remarkable indeed if America's international economic policies were not influenced by bankers and brokers...
...foreign policy is not merely the handmaiden of business interests...
...A modest few million to Clinton's defense fund, the Democratic National Committee, or, in the case of Monica, maybe Garfinkel's department store, would be in order...
...But Lind does not address the very real question of whether an effective U.S...
...As for our allies, they second-guessed us and traded with the enemy during the Cold War...
...America's farm policy, by agribusiness...
...America's health care system, by insurance companies...
...Those soldiers gave their lives in order to prevent Imperial Japan, the Soviet Union or Communist China from creating an exclusive Asian sphere of military influence...
...There is a close link between American investment abroad and domestic employment...
...populous and extensive European country...
...If it is true that Chinese military hegemony in Asia cannot be prevented, then China's intentions need not even be addressed...
...Competition is stiff...
...In the absence of an actual, concrete threat there is no need to mobilize...
...Furthermore, it is wrong to say, as Lind does, that the People's Republic of China is being appeased...
...It will be generations, at least, before China becomes an independent center of technological innovation and finance like the U.S...
...possesses the means to inhibit" China's quest for military power...
...Wilmington, Del RON KORJNE...
...We won anyway...
...Perhaps a network should have to acquire rights from the subjects...
...The British Empire, for example, was the leading military power in North America for several decades after the United States, the continent's most populous nation, became the richest country in the world...
...Moreover, any ultimatum we might issue in an attempt to punish China for suppressing internal dissent is bound to prove futile...
...Lind also errs in suggesting that International Monetary Fund policies are designed to protect the interests of bankers, speculators and multinationals, rather than to promote political, social and economic stability around the world...
...More than a 100,000 American soldiers were killed in the Pacific during World War II, and the total American deaths in Korea and Vietnam represent a comparable number...
...Dear Editor China Policy Michael Lind seems to have forgotten ("Dollar Diplomacy in Asia," NL, June 1-15) that for over 40 years, until the dissolution of the Cold War, United States business interests were subordinated to geopolitical considerations...
...America's liability law is shaped by trial lawyers...
...Similarly, notwithstanding China's population, Japan is Asia's economic leader and the U.S...
...It is important, however, to remember that there are no "natural" hegemonic powers, regional or global...
...Is Columbia University economics professor Jagdish Bhagwati—whom I quoted describing a "Wall Street-Treasury complex"—a conspiracy theorist as well...
...Cheaper still is inviting a bunch of journalists and ex-prosecutors to discuss the news for free, as is happening with Monicagate...
...Why resent the fact that China is a regional power with a legitimate role to play in South Asia...
Vol. 81 • August 1998 • No. 9
