[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 174 (Friday, December 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2294-E2295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     LETTER TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2001

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully submit the following 
correspondence for the Record.

       Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: We must consider the likelihood 
     China is preparing a sneak attack upon the United States. The 
     flashpoint will be Taiwan. Holding immense strategic value 
     for the United States and Japan, as well as China, the stakes 
     will involve more than Taiwan's 23 million people who have 
     achieved a democratic form of government and freedom. They 
     will involve the leadership and security of the United 
     States.
       Contrary to the belief of many analysts who think in terms 
     of a Cold War balance of power and who would view China as a 
     threat only as it increases its military power to a level 
     equal to the United States, China's strategic military 
     planning distinctly calls for seizing the initiative when 
     facing a superior opponent such as the United States, taking 
     advantage of special circumstances.
       China plans to take full advantage of a surprise attack 
     like the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. Its strategy is to 
     conduct lightning warfare, or blitzkrieg, using ballistic 
     missiles and information warfare to seize the initiative, 
     letting the momentum of its attacks overwhelm its opponent. 
     Surprise imparts immense tactical advantages, and its value 
     should not be discounted. For six months after Pearl Harbor 
     the Japanese ruled the Pacific.
       China's ballistic missiles, which have achieved an accuracy 
     within 50 meters, give it, contrary to a number of views, the 
     ability to launch a surgical strike deep behind lines, 
     attacking radar, communications, intelligence, and air and 
     naval bases with a high degree of precision and confidence. 
     U.S. ballistic missile defenses are non-existent except for 
     the short-range Patriot.
       China's information warfare capabilities, including 
     capabilities against satellites or ASAT, will enable it to 
     conduct strikes against U.S. satellites, communications, and 
     computer networks. Its attacks on satellites may use a 
     variety of weapons, ranging from high explosive and nuclear-
     generated electromagnetic pulse, to parasitic satellites, 
     high-energy lasers and jamming and cyber-warfare against 
     ground communication links.
       China's strategy calls for dismantling the U.S. Revolution 
     in Military Affairs, which relies heavily on satellites for 
     intelligence, communications, navigation, and weather 
     forecasting. China's ASAT could disable the effectiveness of 
     U.S. forces in a sudden blow. This blow would go beyond 
     immediate repair as satellites take years to build and launch 
     into space.
       In January 2001 the Rumsfeld Space Commission noted that, 
     ``U.S. Satellites are vulnerable to attacks in space and the 
     government must step up efforts to protect them and the 
     critical services they provide.'' In February 2001 CIA 
     Director George Tenet noted, ``Our adversaries well 
     understand U.S. strategic dependence on access to space. 
     Operations to disrupt, degrade, or defeat U.S. space assets 
     will be attractive options for those seeking to counter U.S. 
     strategic military superiority.''
       The CIA Director added, ``China is developing ground-based 
     laser weapons and electronic pulse weapons that can blind or 
     destroy U.S. satellites.'' In July 2000 the Chinese news 
     agency Xinhua noted, ``For countries that could never win a 
     war by using the methods of tanks and planes, attacking the 
     U.S. space system may be an irresistible and most tempting 
     choice.'' This irresistible and tempting choice would prove 
     highly effective against U.S. forces, as verified in the U.S. 
     Space War Games held in Colorado Springs in January 2001.
       In March 2001 Air Force General Ralph Eberhart, then head 
     of the U.S. Space Command and promoted to Chairman of the 
     Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted China is developing cyber-
     warfare capabilities that could put at risk the computer 
     networks U.S. military forces increasingly rely on. His 
     observation as Space Commander, in charge of the U.S. 
     information warfare program, is especially pertinent.
       China's strategy of nuclear deterrence plans to seize the 
     initiative with inferior forces, believing that the threat of 
     nuclear retaliation upon just a small number of U.S. cities 
     will be sufficient to ensure deterrence, and prevent the 
     United States from deep involvement with Taiwan. As recorded 
     by Bill Gertz in his book Betrayal, in 1995 PLA General Xiong 
     Guangkai told Charles Freeman, a former Assistant Secretary 
     of Defense,

[[Page E2295]]

     that ``In the end, you care a lot more about Los Angeles than 
     you do about Taipei.''
       China'a war planning will take advantage of its strategic 
     alliance with Saddam Hussein. With Saddam as an ally, China 
     will be able to threaten the flow of oil from the Middle 
     East, and threaten Israel. Iraqi troops have infiltrated into 
     Jordan. To further threaten the flow of oil from the Middle 
     East, China has formed alliances with Pakistan and Myanmar, 
     providing itself with access to the strategic strait of 
     Malacca, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Far East.
       China is preparing for direct military confrontation with 
     the United States on its own terms. It plans to take 
     advantage of the element of surprise, seeking to attack U.S. 
     satellites, intelligence, communications, and forces in a 
     sudden blow of lightning warfare, seizing the initiative. The 
     effectiveness of China's strategy will be heightened by the 
     lack of U.S. ballistic missile defense and China's 
     corresponding buildup of ballistic missiles of all types--
     short, intermediate and long-range.
       The United States needs to ask itself if it is ready for 
     China's attack especially in a simultaneous confrontation 
     with Saddam Hussein. We must prepare accordingly. Urgency is 
     required.
           Very truly yours,

                                                 Bob Schaffer,

                                                Member of Congress
                                                    from Colorado.

     

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