In a video interview published on June 11, 2020 on the Non-Beta Alpha podcast, Ryan Morfin questioned IWP Trustee Tidal W. McCoy on the U.S. as an “arsenal of democracy” and about the U.S. Space Command. In addition, during the interview, Mr. Morfin and Mr. McCoy had a discussion on conflicts between the United States and China.
Tidal W. McCoy is a Trustee of The Institute of World Politics and the Former Acting Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, as well as the Chairman of Iron Gate and Chairman of the Space Transportation Agency.
Mr. Morfin and Mr. McCoy began the interview with a discussion of U.S. history, reviewing how the U.S. really began to be an “arsenal of democracy” during World War II, in which it “overwhelmed the enemy.” However, Mr. McCoy commented that many countries, including Russia and China, received new leadership after World War II and were unhappy with their defeat, and Mr. McCoy warns that we are in “a very dangerous period of time,” as some countries, especially China, are coming back now “for a second match.”
The discussion then centered on the military-industrial complex in the U.S., with a discussion of the 1994 budget cut in the defense budget, the failed attempt of placing Silicon Valley as “Arsenal 2.0,” and the rising role of Iron Gate as “Arsenal 3.0.” Mr. McCoy stated that after the Cold War and the budget cut, it became clear that the “ability to field superior technology, superior advancement in secret technology, to our forces in the field, so that they could overcome overwhelming numbers, was no longer there, and . . . that there was no creativity, . . .” Therefore, the need has arisen for capital to be given to entrepreneurs who are interested in making technology available to U.S. companies and companies that have a patriotic orientation, while not sharing such technology or information with large markets or competing foreign powers.
With this background and discussion on technology, the conversation shifted to conflicts between the U.S. and China. Mr. Morfin and Mr. McCoy discussed China’s technological theft through Chinese students in the U.S. and the following technological growth in Chinese power. They also discussed China’s goal of becoming a leading world power, if not the leading world power, and how China’s “empire-building strategy” is currently being implemented with both soft and hard power in many countries throughout the world.
At that point, the topic of COVID-19 and how it was handled in China entered the conversation, with Mr. McCoy mentioning that, in accordance with Chinese history, Chinese leaders have been willing to lose millions of their population in order to “stamp out a pandemic,” contrary to the morals and values of many Western countries. Mr. Morfin also stated that economic productivity in China is back to almost 90% of its pre-COVID-19 status, while the U.S. is still at 25-50% of its pre-COVID-19 status.
In regards to the coronavirus and other issues, Mr. McCoy mentioned that China and possibly other countries “can and will exploit” the internal conflicts and transparency of the U.S.
Mr. McCoy continued by mentioning the defensive steps that the U.S. is beginning to take, including the formation of the Committee on the Present Danger: China and the work of President Trump to prevent the flow of financing and technology to China, as well as to prevent Chinese students from coming to the U.S. to form “Confucius Institutes” at U.S. universities. Furthermore, Mr. Morfin and Mr. McCoy discussed the growth of Chinese power through the Belt and Road Initiative.
Shifting the topic of conversation, Mr. Morfin questioned Mr. McCoy on the growth of space programs in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. has officially begun a Space Force as a part of its military and is also re-establishing the U.S. Space Command. Mr. McCoy clarified that Space Command is the “war-fighting command that takes operations against the enemy,” while Space Force is the military force training men and technology for the Space Command and “war-fighting mission.” While China has not officially named a Space Force, it has been building its program and presence in space. Mr. McCoy mentioned that it is likely that one day there will be a war in space and that the U.S. is looking to protect itself. The U.S. is open to discovering and working in development in space with other countries, while it also needs to be ready to dominate the domain in space if other countries are not willing to share the discovery and development of that domain.
At the end of the interview, Mr. Morfin shifted the discussion back to the earth, and they discussed the difficulty in the use of power, division that is currently promoted by the mainstream media, the possibility of votes being stolen in upcoming elections, and the fall in the U.S. middle class.
The interview concluded with a discussion of recent books read and recommended by Mr. McCoy.