Jeff Childers checks in

Speaker Pelosi’s broomstick, I mean plane, landed hours ahead of schedule yesterday and touched down in Taiwan around noon. The Hill reported around 6:20am this morning that she’d just left. It was a quick trip.

Twitter avatar for @SpeakerPelosi
Nancy Pelosi
@SpeakerPelosi
Our delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy. Our discussions with Taiwan leadership reaffirm our support for our partner & promote our shared interests, including advancing a free & open Indo-Pacific region.
August 2nd 2022

Fortunately, the Chinese didn’t blow her plane out of the sky, nuke any carriers, or otherwise kick off World War III. And — seriously — kudos to all the military members involved on both sides for staying accident-free during the fractious episode.

While Pelosi fans (whoever they are) are excited that the Speaker courageously “showed support for Taiwan,” whatever that means, back at home, the State Department publicly and explicitly announced that the U.S. does NOT support Taiwanese independence, a statement presumably intended to cool down the China situation, but which seems like a net loss for Taiwan. In other words, on the one hand, they got Pelosi (please keep her!), on the other hand it forced the U.S. to formally deny supporting the island’s independence.

Meanwhile, the Chinese might not have started a war over the trip, but they definitely remain less than fully gruntled about the Speaker’s visit. I know just how they feel, Pelosi was in Florida last year house shopping, and blech. I still feel oily. Anyway, the Chinese plan massive military exercises including live fire right off Twain’s coast on Thursday. So China’s going to make Taiwan pay for this trip for a while. Pelosi’s visit also gives China cover to offer more support to Russia with regard to sanctions and Ukraine, making that unfortunate conflict even more difficult and expensive for us.

Now that it’s over, can somebody explain what EXACTLY we accomplished that justifies the expense and the risk? Hello? Anyone?