Protective Custody

It has been over 10 years since a foreign country invaded the sovereign soil of The United States, and that incursion is still referred to as 9/11.  It was potently humiliating but humbling to know that Arab Extremists could penetrate our security and defenses. 

And, even though we have resurrected a monument to that invasion and conduct solemn remembrances of that day, for the most part, most Americans go about their daily routines as if it never happened at all.  I am sure much has been written and will be written about America’s ability to disengage itself , that invasion of our privacy, especially among those who do not live in New York City; in fact, I would venture to say that the farther one lives from New York City, the quicker the memory fades about that day.

Is this how we survive or is this how we refuse to admit that we are vulnerable?  It seems almost impossible that with our military superiority in all areas (air, land, & sea) that this could ever happen again.  Our internal homeland security systems and US Coast Guard protecting our shores really nails down reasons for us to feel so safe.  However, it is not as simple as that.

 

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On June 27, a plane carrying Wen Jiabao made a “technical” stop on the island of Terceira, in the Azores. Following an official greeting by Alamo Meneses, the regional secretary of environment of the sea, the Chinese premier spent four hours touring the remote Portuguese outpost in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Wen’s Terceira walkabout, which followed a four-nation visit to South America, largely escaped notice at the time, but alarm bells should have immediately gone off in Washington and in European capitals. For one thing, Wen’s last official stop on the trip was Santiago, the capital of Chile. Flights from Chile to China normally cross the Pacific, not the Atlantic, so there was no reason for his plane to be near the Azores. Moreover, those who visit the Azores generally favor other islands in the out-of-the-way chain.

 

This story was reported by Gordon G. Chang on November 5, 2012 3:00 A.M., in an article entitled:  Red Flag Over the Atlantic China is angling to take over a U.S. airbase in the Azores. The article continues below:

 

If China controlled the base, the Atlantic would no longer be secure. From the 10,865-foot runway on the northeast edge of the island, Chinese planes could patrol the northern and central portions of the Atlantic and thereby cut air and sea traffic between the U.S. and Europe. Beijing would also be able to deny access to the nearby Mediterranean Sea.

 

And China could target the American homeland. Lajes is less than 2,300 miles from New York, shorter than the distance between Pearl Harbor and Los Angeles.

The Lajes airbase is home to the USAF’s 65th Air Base Wing, which supports American and NATO aircraft transiting the Atlantic, and it hosts various other American military units. The airbase, rarely used by the US is shared with Portugal and is currently under consideration for closure due to the current economic situation facing the United States. 

Gordon Chang points out that, in recent years, Beijing has identified Portugal as its entry point into Europe, and Chinese officials now know their way to Lisbon. It is in this context that the Portuguese are already thinking about the planned closure of Lajes Field. They don’t want to invite the Chinese in, but they have quietly indicated they will have no choice if the U.S. Air Force decides to leave the base.

 

home base:  Lajes, Azores

Now, while I admittedly do not know much about military strategy, I do know that if China puts an air force base in the Atlantic, the United States and all its inhabitants will immediately and unequivocally be threatened by the military and economic might of China and that our military can no longer guarantee our protection.