loping its economy, and it is building up its military forces, though it spends a pittance compared with what we spend.

The eastern Pacific region is not our responsibility. Our sole interest in the region should be trade and nothing else. There is no reason at all, 61 years after the end of World War II, for us to have 50,000 troops stationed in Japan and another 30,000 or so in South Korea. We should bring those troops home. Both Japan and South Korea are well-established and prosperous countries, and if they can't protect their own interests, then too bad.

The ironclad rule is, never fight a land war on the Asian mainland. Twice we have disregarded that warning, and twice we have paid dearly for it. Korea and Vietnam were the first two wars we lost, and if we ever go to war again on the Asian mainland, we will lose another.

President Jimmy Carter dumped Taiwan in 1979, unilaterally abrogating the mutual-defense treaty. We have agreed with the Chinese communist government on its one-China policy. For war hawks to imply that we will come to the defense of Taiwan should China decide to use military force is both morally and legally wrong. It is morally wrong because such talk might encourage certain Taiwanese factions to declare their independence, and if they do, China will seize the island by military force. That is a certainty. The Chinese are dead serious about that subject.

China's military strategy is clearly to be strong enough to deter or defeat us in the region. There is no indication at all that the Chinese have any desire or intention to attack us, provided we don't get between them and Taiwan. Southeast Asia has a long history of close ties with China, and China properly considers that region as its "backyard" just as we consider the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico our "backyard." We wouldn't be very happy if China stationed 80,000 troops in Cuba or Venezuela and built a large navy base in one of those countries.

There seems to be a lot of civilian idiots in Washington who, deluded by our victories over pitifully poor and unprepared Third World countries, apparently think we are still a great military power. We are not. There is no way we could defeat China, and if we were to use nukes, then the people in California wouldn't have to worry about earthquakes anymore. The survivors would be too busy worrying about radiation.

As for our trade problems, they are of our own making. It is quite clear that big business has bought the government, so if we refuse to enforce existing trade laws and refuse to discourage American firms from relocating their manufacturing facilities to China, that is our fault, not China's.

As I said, China is a giant waking up. It must be very exciting to be a young, educated Chinese in these times. To be sure, China has plenty of problems, including the environment, but it is, I imagine, like the U.S. was when we were on the cusp of becoming a world economic power. China today is full of possibilities for the Chinese people.

As for its communist government, that's China's business. It is long past the time when we should adopt a policy of strict noninterference in the internal affairs of other countries. The days when we could bully other people are ending. The world is changing. If we readopt our republican virtues, then the 21st century may be a century of peace. If we continue our imperial course, it will be a century of war, and we will be the chief loser.