I am sure many of our citizens and military personnel are confused and upset over the recent "misunderstanding" that occurred with the Kitty Hawk. For those of you living in a vacuum, an American battle group lead by the USS Kitty Hawk was recently turned away from a long-scheduled Thanksgiving R&R break in Hong Kong by Chinese officials who gave no explanation. This may not sound like much of a problem, however many of the sailors and soldiers on board had "hundreds" of family members who had flown in from all around the world to Hong Kong to meet them.

The Chinese government certainly has no love lost with our own here in North America, however they seem to have periodic brain farts when it comes to the American Military. I am sure everyone remembers the "spy plane" incident back when Clinton was POTUS, that very nearly could have lead to an armed conflict had Clinton decided to forgo diplomatic negotiations and sent in the Marines ala the Operation Eagle Claw of April 24, 1980, which concerned the Iran Hostage Crisis. One has to wonder if the Politburo Standing Committee which manages international affairs for the Mainland is aware that they are now dealing with a POTUS who would be more than happy to go to war over such matters as not complying with international treaties?

Many are speculating that the reasons behind the spur-of-the-moment decision to turn away our battle group are centered around our protective stance concerning Taiwan and the recent visit to Washington by the Dalai Lama, who received a Congressional Gold Medal from G.W. Bush. Of course, this should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the madness that erupts spontaneously from time to time from the Chinese Politburo, such as the recent threat to destroy our economy by dumping what amounts to 1.3 trillion dollar. And the Chinese Government should also keep in mind that regardless of who is in power, the citizens of the USA will never stand idly by while their livelihoods are being disrupted, as evidenced by the massive recycling, rationing and bonds-purchasing during the worst parts of WWII.

Further clouding the already murky political waters, the US Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently traveled to China where both sides "agreed to establish a hotline between the two military commands and spoke of other ways to strengthen ties and build confidence"

To be kind to China, they did change their mind and offer to host the battle group after all, but not until the whole group was close to crossing the Taiwan Strait, which the US considers international waters and China of course claims as their own. However, egos bruised and tempers soaring, the group continued on to Japan, snubbing the offer as they pranced through the Strait. Thankfully I am not Admiral Timothy Keating, as I would have had all hands on deck during the traversing of the Taiwan Strait, all standing at attention and giving the ol' one-finger salute to the Mainland whilst singing 'Dixie'.