CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, April 1, 2019

Need a new worry? Try Chicom’s BRI

Now that the Russia Collusion charade has been exposed as a total hoax, we can replace that worry with some actual worries, deserving of our attention. For example, the Chicom’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The actual Chinese name doesn’t translate into English very well. But let’s go with BRI. The "Belt" part is the on-going effort by the Red Chinese to encourage the construction of rail lines, highways, and airports along the Old Silk Road linking mainland China with the Middle East and with Europe. The link with Iran is complete. Marco Polo’s Italy is now eager to be connected as well. Are Germany and France next?

The "Road" part is the Red Chinese on-going effort to encourage the construction of seaport and shipping facilities throughout the maritime world, with emphasis on Europe and in Latin America.

So, what is the overall objective of BRI? To displace the United States as the world’s number one economic power, using methodology that is diabolically clever.

Red Chinese operatives are roaming the world offering very low-interest loans, along with free engineering expertise, to entice third-world countries to build the roads, railways, seaports, and airports needed to support the Chicom’s plan to become the world’s dominant economic power.

Are any of these projects being built? Yes, a few are complete and several more are under construction. But wait. There’s more, Even if the projects do not get built right away, Red China has created dozens of debtor nations who have pledged a variety of their national assets and rights as collateral. Being in debt to the Red Chinese means the Red Chinese can have leverage on the domestic and even the foreign affairs of the debtor-trapped nations. On top of that, if the debtor nations default on their loans, the Red Chinese are poised to seize the collateral the debtor nations pledged in order to secure the loans.

If you do not mind losing sleep, dial up the Wikipedia article on the Belt and Road Initiative. You may be stunned to see that the Red Chinese already have, to one degree or another, 152 nations involved in the BRI. The country-by-country list of BRI infrastructure projects is mind-boggling.

Long ago, Panama turned the operation of the Panama Canal over to a Red Chinese operating company. For a fictional, but accurate, account of that see: The Panama Conspiracy by William Penn. Moreover, the Red Chinese already operate port facilities at both ends of the Canal and in the Bahamas.

President Trump’s recent suggestion about including Brazil in NATO, may be in response to Red China’s BRI efforts in Latin America. Drop the word "North" out of NATO and the Atlantic-facing Brazil fits the original language of the NATO charter quite well.

Where does Red China get the money for its low-interest BRI loans? Mostly, from the enormous balance-of-trade deficit the Red Chinese enjoys over the United States. When we buy goods "made-in-China," we taxpayers are playing a role in the success of the BRI. We are, in effect, the bankrollers of the BRI. With that in mind, the reasons for President Trump’s tariffs on certain Chinese-made goods start to come into focus. We report. You worry.

©2019. William Hamilton.

Nationally syndicated columnist, William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame. Dr. Hamilton is the author of The Wit and Wisdom of William Hamilton: the Sage of Sheepdog Hill, Pegasus Imprimis Press (2017). "Central View," can also be seen at: www.central-view.com.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com