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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 28, 2023

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The US wants to pressure Taiwan into spending more on its own military. It wants Taiwan to give the US better assurances because the US holds the cards. By making your support of a nation conditional, you can extract far more.

Vivek isn't making it conditional in a Trumpian "pay 2% or fuck you" way. He is saying, in plain view of everyone, that he will simultaneously work to weaken the current (kinda-moribund) compromise with China based on ambiguity, while weakening Taiwan's strategic value to the US while also telling China that US concern in general is a temporary state of affairs.

There's nothing good about this for Taiwan.

Additionally, a politician is never to be taken on their word, let alone one on campaign trail.

If you're suggesting that the above is just 4d chess to get Taiwan to buck up, then Vivek's stated policy - which is arguably damaging even as a campaign policy - is not his actual policy so what are we talking about?

Are we supposed to assume that he has very smart and secret plans and the best generals and he'll tell people when he gets elected? That's a fraught strategy, historically speaking.