The U.S. Can Rise to the Chinese Challenge
The only way to rise to the Chinese challenge in the epic contest now under way is to heed the words of China's great warrior philosopher, Sun Tzu: 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.'
Because we were able to avoid a mutually catastrophic military conflict with the Soviet Union, we won the Cold War through the skillful use of nonmilitary advantages. These included economic power, technological superiority, diplomacy, strategic communications behind the Iron Curtain and around the world, development and humanitarian assistance, security assistance, alliances and ideology. We were lucky that the Soviet Union, while a military superpower, was weak in every other way, economically and technologically most of all. After the 1950s, its ideology had little appeal around the world.
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Business Insider
7 minutes ago
- Business Insider
African countries excluded as China expands visa‑free transit to 55 nations
China has expanded its 10-day visa-free transit policy to 55 countries, but notably excluded all African nations, raising questions about the scope of its global engagement. China has expanded its 10-day visa-free transit policy to 55 countries, excluding all African nations. It facilitates stays of up to 240 hours for travelers transiting to a third destination, with certain restrictions. The exclusion of African nations sparked debates about China's geopolitical strategies and diplomatic priorities. China's visa-free transit policy, which grants a 10-day stay for travelers in transit, now includes 55 countries but excludes all African nations—a move that has sparked disappointment and raised questions about Beijing's travel diplomacy and its Africa policy. The absence of African nations, despite China's strong economic and diplomatic ties across the continent, has surprised analysts and travel industry stakeholders alike. China's new transit policy allows travelers from select countries to stay visa-free for up to 240 hours if transiting to a third destination. Visitors must remain in the city or region of entry and have a confirmed onward ticket. While not a general tourist visa, the policy permits short-term activities like tourism, business, and family visits. Aimed at boosting convenience for businesspeople, tourists, and frequent travelers, it also helps save on visa fees and processing time. China-Africa relations threatened? China's recent visa-free travel policy for over 50 countries has sparked debate over the exclusion of African nations, raising questions about Beijing's stance toward the continent. This move appears contradictory given China's deepening trade ties with Africa, including zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries and import duty exemptions for products from 33 least developed nations. However, the omission may not signal waning interest. Rather, it could reflect strategic prioritization of diplomatic and economic relationships. China's investments in Africa focused on trade, infrastructure, and development, suggest a long-term commitment. Understanding Beijing's approach requires considering the broader geopolitical and economic context in which its Africa policy operates. Observers note that this exclusion could be interpreted as a missed opportunity for people-to-people exchange, especially given Beijing's consistent rhetoric about its 'win-win' cooperation with Africa. With African countries hosting massive Chinese investments and infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, the lack of reciprocal travel ease underscores a gap in the relationship that some believe needs urgent attention. Full list of eligible countries The countries included under China's 10-day visa-free transit policy are: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. These travelers are eligible for entry at any of the approved 60 transit points, which include international airports in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen, as well as a select number of seaports. Authorities have clarified that travelers must be in direct transit, meaning they must travel from Country A, transit through China, and continue to Country B. A return trip to the country of origin would not qualify under this policy.
CBS News
12 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump's military parade today isn't the first in the U.S. — but they're rare. Here's a look back.
Washington — President Trump is hosting a parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army today, bringing tanks and soldiers to the streets of Washington, D.C., for the capital's first major military parade in more than three decades. The event — which is expected to cost between $25 million and $45 million — follows a years-long push by Mr. Trump to host a parade, dating back to his first term. The festivities coincide with Mr. Trump's 79th birthday, which the president says is unrelated. The U.S. has held military parades throughout history, but they're not especially common, and they're typically held to celebrate the victorious end of a war or the return of military personnel from fighting. "There are historical comparisons to be made, but size and scale is tremendously different," Arizona State University history professor Brooks Simpson told CBS News. Here's a look back at past military parades: When was the last U.S. military parade? The U.S. marked the end of the Gulf War with parades in New York City and Washington in the first major military display on the streets of D.C. since the early decades of the Cold War. The festivities in the capital featured around 8,000 military personnel, tanks, missile launchers, fireworks shows and an address by then-President George H.W. Bush. Some 800,000 people attended the event, which cost around $12 million, The Washington Post reported in 1991, or just under $29 million in today's dollars. Hunter Ledbetter, a Marine reservist who was deployed to Iraq during the war, told the Post at the time that it was "the most exciting moment of my life." The parade — which recognized the U.S.'s campaign to drive Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait — was largely uncontroversial, Simpson said: "No one objected to that parade." Troops march over the Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C., as they head towards the Pentagon during the National Victory Day Parade on June 8, 1991. DOUG MILLS Still, the parades drew some pushback. Some critics questioned the D.C. Gulf War parade's price tag, and D.C. officials said the procession of heavy tanks had left tread marks on the city's streets. New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis criticized the New York parade since it followed an uprising by Iraq's Kurds that Hussein's regime brutally suppressed. "Honor is due the soldiers who were in the gulf," Lewis wrote at the time. "But for other reasons — reasons all too painfully evident — it is clear now that a celebratory parade would be inappropriate. Fireworks while Kurdish babies die?" Cold War inaugurations Presidential inaugural parades often include some military personnel, dating back to the first inauguration of President George Washington in 1789. In the early decades of the Cold War, the festivities also sometimes featured tanks and missiles on the streets of the capital. Some military equipment appears in photos from the 1949 parade after President Harry Truman's swearing-in, President Dwight Eisenhower's 1953 and 1957 inaugurations and President John F. Kennedy's 1961 festivities. Kennedy's inauguration featured a replica of the PT boat that the new president served on during World War II. The entire event cost around $1 million in 1961 dollars — or more than $10 million today — paid for by private donors, The New York Times wrote at the time. A Navy PT boat rides high above Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 1961 as the inaugural parade passes the presidential reviewing stand. President John Kennedy waves to sailors aboard. Anonymous / AP Army tanks move along Pennsylvania Avenue during the Inaugural Parade for President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Jan. 21, 1953. Anonymous / AP Simpson says inauguration parades sometimes included a few tanks as an exhibition, but they were typically "much more limited" than the parade planned for this weekend. "It wasn't like Pennsylvania Avenue was lined with tanks," he said. Parades with military equipment became less common after the 1960s. That could be due to the Vietnam War, which was deeply unpopular in its later years, and the eventual easing of Cold War tensions. "After Vietnam, parades get complicated because [parades are always] linked to the outcomes of the wars and the conduct of them," said Aaron O'Connell, a history professor at the University of Texas, Austin. "And that makes it more difficult to cheer and throw a ticker tape parade, when people are coming home in ones and twos, and they're not coming home in large units, and the war hasn't gone as well as we would've liked." World Wars I and II New York City marked victory in World War II with a massive military parade on Fifth Avenue in early 1946. The event included thousands of members of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and dozens of tanks and howitzers, requiring planners to close off the Manhattan Bridge and carefully bring heavy equipment over the East River from Brooklyn. The New York Times reported millions of spectators attended the parade. In mid-1942, months after the U.S. formally entered World War II, the city hosted a morale-boosting "New York at War" parade that the Times said was meant to "give a realistic picture of what the American armed forces and their machines of destruction look like." Soldiers stand rigidly at attention in their vehicles which carry 8-inch Howitzers during the Victory Parade of the 82nd Airborne Division on Fith Avenue in New York on Jan. 12, 1946. HARRY HARRIS / AP Thousand of people line the streets to cheer on military units in New York on June 13, 1942. Anonymous / AP The end of World War I was also celebrated by victory parades in New York and D.C. in 1919. It could've gone smoother: Dozens of artillery tractors that participated in the New York parade took a wrong turn after the event and got lost in Brooklyn for hours, the Times wrote at the time. The 1st Division of the U. S. Army parades beneath an arch at 14th and Pensylvania Avenues in Washington D. C. on Sept. 17, 1919. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images Civil War and 19th century celebrations Washington hosted a massive two-day parade in May 1865 to celebrate the Union's victory in the Civil War, featuring over 100,000 troops, according to the National Park Service. The event — called the Grand Review of the Armies — was made up of military volunteers who passed through the capital on their way home from the former Confederate states, Simpson says. The event featured Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and President Andrew Johnson, taking place months after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. "The place was packed," said Simpson. People watch soldiers on horseback, followed by those on foot, parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington during the "Grand Review of the Armies" on May 23-24, 1865. Matthew Brady / AP Other countries Mr. Trump may have drawn inspiration for Saturday's parade from abroad. The president first hinted at hosting a military parade after attending France's annual Bastille Day parade in 2017. He called it "a tremendous thing," and added, "We're going to have to try and top it" on the Fourth of July. His administration began planning a Veterans' Day parade a year later, but it was called off, with Mr. Trump blaming city officials for driving up the cost. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron attend the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on July 14, 2017. AFP Contributor France has hosted its Bastille Day military parade every July for over a century, recognizing the anniversary of the start of the 1789 French Revolution. Several other countries host regular military parades, including India, Pakistan, Russia and North Korea. But similar events have been fairly rare in the United States. O'Connell says that's probably due to a "long, long strain in American culture, on both left and right, of being healthily suspicious of state power and of military power in particular." "It's certainly deep in the American military character to be nervous about a garrison state, a militarized society," O'Connell said. Mr. Trump's plans to host a military parade this weekend have drawn criticism, with some Democrats calling the idea wasteful and self-aggrandizing. But the White House has defended Saturday's event, calling it "a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice, and selflessness of all who have worn the uniform."
Washington Post
25 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Protests, parades and Pride: One week in June 2025 is drawing stark American fault lines
WASHINGTON — On the first weekend: a vision of the nation built upon inclusivity and the tenets of liberalism — a conception of country that incorporates generations of fights for equity, for compassion, for expanding what it means to be an American. On the second weekend, in the same town: a public show of strength and nationalism constructed on a foundation of military might, law and order, a tour de force of force.
