Jim Inhofe: “in this article, entitled ``As China Threatens Taiwan, It Makes Sure U.S. Listens,'' the Times reporter reports on some…”

“in this article, entitled ``As China Threatens Taiwan, It Makes Sure U.S. Listens,'' the Times reporter reports on some ominous information recently passed to the National Security Adviser, Anthony Lake, concerning measures being taken by Beijing to facilitate military action against Taiwan and statements intended to deter the United States from coming to Taipei's assistance. According to Charles Freeman, former United States Ambassador to China and now an Assistant Secretary of Defense, a Chinese official told him of the advanced state of military planning and that preparations for missile attack on Taiwan and the target selection to carry it out have been completed and await a final decision by the Politburo in Beijing. Freeman reported to Mr. Lake that a Chinese official had asserted that the Chinese could act militarily against Taiwan without fear of intervention by the United States because American leaders ``care more about Los Angeles than they do about Taiwan,'' a statement Mr. Freeman characterized as an indirect threat by China to use nuclear weapons against the United States. I do not think anyone who is watching what is going on in the world today can miss the threats that come both subliminally and directly from various countries. If those people watched Saddam Hussein during the Persian Gulf war, they know that he would not have hesitated to use this capability on the United States if he had had it.”