(This article, written by Mike Glenn, appeared in the Washington Times. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/dec/12/top-retired-us-korean-generals-detail-tensions-indo-pacific/)

If America’s relationship with Europe defined the 20th century, then the 21st century will be marked by Washington’s connections to the Indo-Pacific.

However, the former commander of U.S. Army troops in the region said some people can’t grasp its complexities or immense distances without a map.

In an address to the Gold Institute think tank, retired Gen. Charles Flynn on Thursday noted that the flying time from Hawaii to Guam, America’s farthest western territory, is roughly the same as a flight from Hawaii to the District of Columbia.

“When you’re in Guam, you’re in the second island chain. That’s how big this area of operations is. It’s massive,” Mr. Flynn said. 

The Indo-Pacific encompasses two continents — Asia and Australia — and the Southeast Asia archipelago, which serves as a land bridge connecting both. By some estimates, 7 out of 10 people on the planet will be in the region by 2040, he said.

China, which the Biden administration referred to as America’s “pacing challenge,” is amid a construction frenzy. The buildup is part of its Belt and Road Initiative, a Beijing-led global infrastructure and investment program launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping that aims to connect Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond through land and sea routes.

China is moving ahead with explicitly military building projects as well, including along its mountainous border with India, known as the Line of Actual Control. About 20,000 to 30,000 Chinese troops regularly rotate in and out of the area, Mr. Flynn said.

“In the last five to seven years, they’ve built rail and road infrastructure to move laterally. They’ve also put surface-to-air missile systems there,” he said.

China is continuing to flex its economic muscles by applying pressure to several countries in Southeast Asia, from Cambodia and Laos to Bhutan and Myanmar. Beijing’s coercive campaign is becoming a dangerous security situation, Mr. Flynn said.

“That is why it’s really important for the United States to maintain relations with Vietnam, Thailand and India, the sort of bookends of countries in South Asia,” he said. “And by the way, Thailand is a treaty ally of the United States.”

China’s strategy is to float high-interest construction loans to countries it wants to exploit. When the country can’t repay the loan, Beijing moves in and assumes control over the project, whether it’s a port facility or an airfield. That also means access to its information technology system or electrical grid.

“We have one hell of a time getting them out of these small countries,” Mr. Flynn said.

The U.S. is an Indo-Pacific country not just because of its far-reaching military power, but also because “it has skin in the game.” The people living in Guam and the Northern Marianas are U.S. citizens. 

“We can’t forget about this part of the homeland,” Mr. Flynn said.

Retired South Korean Gen. Leem Ho-young, a former deputy commander of the U.S.-Korea Combined Forces Command, said most discussions about possible military action in the Indo-Pacific seem to focus on whether China will invade neighboring Taiwan.

“It seems like they don’t really discuss much about the threat that exists on the Korean peninsula because the two Koreas — the North and the South — are charging up,” Mr. Leem said.

He said President Trump — whom he called “The Global Peacemaker” — will likely prevent any cross-strait invasion of Taiwan.

The Korean Peninsula is another story. Mr. Leem said he spent most of his military career along the tense Demilitarized Zone between the North and South.

“For 50 kilometers to the north and 50 kilometers to the south [of the DMZ], there are about 1 million soldiers there pointing their guns at each other,” he said.

While North Korean officials mouth communist slogans, Mr. Leem said it would be more accurate to call the country a feudal dynasty. The Kim family has run the country since its founding in 1948 by Kim Il-sung. 

The current supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, has signaled that his chosen heir is his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who is believed to be 12 or 13. That could be a problem for stability in North Korea, Mr. Leem said, where women are looked down upon.

Mr. Kim is overweight, smokes four packs of cigarettes a day and drinks up to 10 bottles of wine daily. Mr. Leem noted that his father and grandfather died as a result of bad hearts.

“It’s in his bloodline. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if he dropped dead today,” he said. “If that happens, there’s going to be a power struggle in North Korea. The power will be given to the person with a gun. China will pick a faction and support that faction.”

Mr. Leem said he wouldn’t be surprised if the other side in a North Korean internal dispute reaches out to South Korea or even the U.S. for backing. 

“If that happens and there are two different military factions in conflict in North Korea, this could lead to a conflict between China, which represents communism, and the U.S. and South Korea, which represent the powers of freedom,” he said. “The issues surrounding Taiwan will seem small by comparison.”

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.

From climate mandates to digital censorship and centralized control, the EU is steadily
expanding its power under the banner of “necessity,” undermining the very Western
values it claims to defend.

Trump has launched a direct challenge to the Brussels bureaucracy. Europe’s openborders policy, the growing pressure on free speech, economically damaging climate and energy policies, and the active obstruction of Ukrainian-Russian peace talks have all become major irritants for the American president. Beneath this confrontation lies an uncomfortable but unavoidable question: does the old continent still share the Western values the United States has always stood for — freedom, sovereignty, and democratic legitimacy?
Anyone who dares to say today that freedom in Europe is under pressure is immediately branded with a label: “extremist,” “anti-European,” “disinformation.” It is a familiar reflex — not to challenge the argument, but to discredit the speaker. And that alone should alarm everyone.
Because let’s be honest: the European Union is not moving toward more democracy, more freedom, or more sovereignty. Quite the opposite. What we are witnessing is a steady centralization of power, justified by fear, crisis, and moral self-righteousness. This is not a plot. It is a pattern.
Take the Green Deal. Under the leadership of Frans Timmermans, hundreds of billions of euros were mobilized to push through a single ideological project. Not through open debate. Not through national parliaments. But through Brussels-driven regulations, subsidies, and coercion. Carbon emissions became not just a measurement tool, but a tool of power. Whoever decides what you may drive, eat, heat, build, or produce ultimately decides how free you are. This has little to do with “saving the climate” and everything to do with behavioral control.
Then there is the Digital Services Act. Officially designed to combat “disinformation” and “hate speech.” In practice, it functions as a legally sanitized censorship regime. Not the state banning speech directly, but the state forcing platforms to remove it. No open prohibition, but silent exclusion — not only in the EU, but even globally. No debate, but algorithmic invisibility. The question of who gets to decide what is true is no longer even asked. That alone is dangerous.
The so-called Media Freedom Act fits the same pattern. Free press, we are told. Yet through subsidies, accreditation, and regulatory frameworks, authorities determine which outlets are “reliable” and which are not. Journalism that aligns with the approved narrative is rewarded; critical voices are marginalized. That is not press freedom, that is state-approved journalism.
And we have not even touched on the technocratic control mechanisms now being rolled out at high speed: a European digital identity, a potential central bank digital currency. Always sold as “convenient,” “efficient,” and “secure.” But the central question is never answered: what happens when access to money, services, or mobility becomes conditional on behavior and compliance? Freedom rarely disappears through force. It disappears through conditions.
Geopolitically, we see the same mechanism at work. The war in Ukraine is being used to spread fear and transfer more power to Brussels. In the EU defense remains a national competence, yet calls for a European army grow louder by the day. Not because it is necessary, but because crises are always used to force integration. A war economy is a bureaucrat’s dream: larger budgets, less dissent, and reduced parliamentary oversight.
Meanwhile, the real economy is being hollowed out. Small and medium-sized businesses are drowning in regulations, reporting obligations, and costs, while large corporations know exactly how to navigate and influence Brussels. This is not a free market. It is corporatism: profits for the few, burdens for the many, all directed from the center.
Some draw historical parallels and are quickly dismissed as hysterical. But anyone who takes history seriously knows that authoritarian systems rarely begin with overt repression. They begin with moral superiority, with “necessity,” with “there is no alternative.” With citizens expected to voluntarily submit to a higher purpose defined by the state.
That was the core of totalitarian thinking in the twentieth century. Not left or right, but anti-liberal. Anti-individual. And that mindset is once again gaining ground in Brussels.
So no, this is not Nazi Germany. But anyone claiming there is no reason for concern is either not paying attention, or deliberately looking away.
Freedom disappears step by step. Always legally. Always with good intentions. Until it is too late. And then people ask: why did no one speak up?
Trump has launched a direct challenge to this Brussels bureaucracy — and that challenge is justified. This is the moment for Europe to choose. Not for more power concentrated in Brussels, but for real democratic accountability. Not for technocratic coercion, but for freedom and responsibility. Not for fear and moral blackmail, but for open and honest debate. Not for a bureaucratic EU, but for a free Europe.
National parliaments must reclaim their authority. Citizens must once again be free to question, criticize, and refuse without being labeled or stigmatized. Europe can only be strong if it is free. And freedom does not require obedience — it requires courage. The courage to say “no” when power disguises itself as “necessity”.

Rob Roos is a distinguished fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, a Washington, DC-based think-and-do tank.

In his January 2025 European Parliament speech, Rob Roos presented that President Trump’s reelection represents a mandate for restoring national sovereignty and reversing progressive policies that have eroded European identities and freedoms. Due to the current tensions between EU bureaucrats and the Trump administration we are republishing the January speech.

Change will not come if we wait for someone else, or if we delay for another time. The words of Barack Obama, spoken during his historic campaign in 2008, still resonate—but today, they carry a very different meaning. It is a rallying cry for patriots, conservatives, and all who believe in freedom, sovereignty, and the dignity of our nations to stand together. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

In 2008, Obama’s words signaled the dawn of a new era: one marked by social justice campaigns and the rise of “wokeism.” For years, these ideas were cloaked in promises of progress and inclusivity.

But what have they truly delivered? Today, we see the devastating consequences—fractured societies, eroded national identities, and an alarming loss of freedoms.

But, the tide is turning. The reelection of President Trump has sent a clear and powerful message from the people of the United States. The message is simple: We want our country back.

We want to be proud of our flag, our culture, and our heritage. We demand affordable, reliable energy to power our homes and businesses. We seek real food from our farmers, not synthetic substitutes dictated by unelected technocrats. We want secured borders, prosperity, peace, and the ability to pursue happiness without interference.

The overwhelming MAGA victory—President Trump reclaiming the presidency, the Senate, the House, and the popular vote—reflects a mandate that can not be ignored

For too long, the radical left has sought to dismantle the pillars of our civilization. Obama’s policies, often presented as ‘progress’, initiated a chain of events with devastating effects. I’ll give you four examples:

1. The Arab Spring, spurred by social media campaigns, unleashed waves of instability that flooded Europe with millions of migrants. Our historic continent—once a beacon of cultural and intellectual achievements—is now grappling with security threats and the erosion of its identity and culture.
2. The war in Ukraine, provoked by Obama’s NeoCon allies, has brought untold suffering. It began with the removal of Ukraine’s democratically elected leader in 2014, setting the stage for

conflict. These NeoCons, in collusion with the Military-Industrial Complex, are as culpable as any aggressor.

• Critical Race Theory, a twisted ideology. It is nothing short of racism repackaged, weaponized to pit communities against each other.
• Censorship and suppression of free speech. Through NGOs and the so-called “Censorship Industrial Complex,” they controlled narratives and silenced dissenting voices.

Their strategy has always been sophisticated—using fear, globalist policies, the illusion of moral superiority, and ‘democracy’ of institutions instead of democracy of the people.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the Green Deal, and the WHO’s pandemic overreach are all symptoms of a broader agenda: a transfer of power from the people to unaccountable elites.

Even NATO, once a coalition of nations united against foreign aggression, has now also become a tool wielded to suppress populist movements among its own people.

But we are not powerless. We the People represent true democracy. If we unite, we can reverse this destructive course. The momentum of the MAGA movement can inspire change across Europe and beyond. Now is the time to build a unified front that transcends party lines and minor disagreements.

We must Make Europe Great Again by:

1. Restoring Free Speech: Reverse the Digital Services Act and protect public discourse.
2. Ensuring Freedom: No Central Bank Digital Currencies. No digital IDs. We are born free and do not need technocratic controls.
3. Dismantling the Green Deal: End this social engineering project that sacrifices our economies and energy and food security for an illusion of environmental progress.
4. Defending Our Borders: Protect our nations from uncontrolled migration that threatens both safety and cultural heritage. National civil rights must take precedence over globalist human rights.
5. Exposing Corruption: Demand full transparency in dealings with corporations and NGOs.

• Deregulating Economies: Empower small and medium-sized businesses—the backbone of our prosperity. Deregulation fuels innovation and competitiveness.
• Restoring National Sovereignty: Renegotiate or cancel harmful international agreements and treaties.

Change will not come if we wait for someone else or another time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Obama’s words, once a banner for radical policies, now serve as a call to reverse the damage inflicted on our nations and it’s people.

Let us unite, work together, and make this a reality. Let us Make Europe Great Again.

Rob Roos is a distinguished fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, a Washington, DC based foreign policy and defense think-and-do tank.

Contact Gold Institute today!