RealClearDefense has an article by Francis P. Sempa which - synthesizing three other articles - indicates the existence of a second Cold War, this time with China. This conclusion, while neither new nor particularly shocking, is one many have been reluctant to draw.
Their reluctance isn’t surprising. The original Cold War was not a fun time. Its end was widely celebrated, if not precisely by mobs dancing in the street.
My immediate concern is whether the incoming administration understands Cold War 2.0 is underway. Given the Biden family’s economic involvement with China, I fear the president-elect and other top Democrats may not be willing to accept the constricting policy consequences of another Cold War. Particularly since their predecessor - Trump - obviously did so and thereby tainted the conclusion for them.
In recognizing the existence of the first Cold War with the predatory Soviets we said “there really is a bear in those woods.” A similar tag line for Cold War 2 with a hostile China might be “there really is a dragon in the woods.”
