Why Ratchet Up International Tensions?

As tensions between China and the United States rise, U.S. military equipment is flooding into Southeast Asia, in places like the Philippines, Okinawa, Australia, and Guam.

Some suggest that building embassies, so as better engage in diplomacy, is a stronger idea than increasing the our firepower of weapons of war.

To many of us, this military build-up defies common sense.  To the degree that China feels threatened, the probability of war increases, and vice versa.

As novelist Margaret Halsey said, “The crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness, and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o’clock.”