China is following the path that Japan took in the years leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor 77 years ago.  Of course, China has been much more subtle, but no less aggressive.  Indeed, the outcome may be worse.

Some background is in order.

In the year (1918) immediately after the First World War, a war in which Japan was a member of the winning alliance, the Japanese expected to take their place on the world stage as a major player.  They were awarded many of the formerly German territories in the Pacific, but they demanded more.  They demanded the formerly British and American markets in China.  The Chinese resented both Britain and the U.S., but when the Japanese military arrived, the Chinese wisely allied themselves with their former oppressors and waged war against Japan.

Once the U.S. recognized the danger, the policy was to stop supplying Japan with the resources it needed to commit its crimes against humanity.  To achieve this, an embargo was imposed, but the effect was the opposite of what had been hoped for.  Instead of ceasing its aggressions, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

Today, we face a powerful, rising nation, a dictatorship called China.  Its stated intention is to surpass the U.S. as a world power.  Its likely aim is to subjugate the U.S. and, by extension, the entire world. 

Instead of overt military invasions of their neighbors, the Chinese are using technology, economic ploys, and diplomacy to gain footholds inside the U.S. and other rival nations. 

In a sense, the Chinese are hijacking the American system, harnessing it for use against us.  China has enlisted American corporations, politicians, and even public opinion to create a Trojan Horse effect inside our borders.  It has sent spies in various disguises, ranging from low-level observers to high-profile executives, to steal our secrets, to insert malware into our computers, and even to sell us communications equipment designed to allow them to listen in.

President Trump was among the very first to recognize what is happening, and now, as president, he is at the forefront of defending the U.S. against the multi-pronged attack.  One of his methods is to impose tariffs that threaten to devastate China's economic performance and therefore to cripple its aggressions against the U.S., much as the embargo against Japan was intended to curb its power to oppress its victims.

How will this all play out?  I wrote this on December 6, 2018.  Exactly 77 years ago, we had no idea that the very next day would plunge us into a catastrophic war.