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Blue team

The blue team is an informal group within the United States that has argued that the People's Republic of China is the largest security threat to the United States. The name comes from the color of the United States in wargames, in opposition to the red team, and was invented by the group to describe themselves. The members of the group include members of Congress and some neoconservative thinktanks and publications such as The Weekly Standard. Blue team members tend to be absent from the United States Department of State.

They argue for an assertive United States policy to contain the People's Republic of China and support the Republic of China on Taiwan, and believe that the policies of Bill Clinton and the Department of State toward China amounted to appeasement. Members include neoconservatives such as William Kristol, conservative Republican Congressmen such as Dana Rohrabacher and Benjamin Gilman , members of thinktanks including Robert Kagan and Ross Munro , author of The Coming War with China , and journalists such as Bill Gertz , a writer for The Washington Times.

Although they have ties with the Republican Party they tend to be strongly opposed by business conservatives who argue for greater interaction with China. On many issues such as Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization, the blue team found themselves in an alliance with liberal Democratic human rights activists.

Although the blue team was relatively influential in the 1990s, their influence diminished markedly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which convinced many that China was not a large security threat. Their influence declined even further after the 2003 invasion of Iraq in which China did not actively oppose American actions, in contrast to France and Russia. They were conspicuously silent after President George W. Bush announced a policy in December 2003 that opposes any effort by Taiwan to use a referendum to alter the status quo in the Taiwan straits.

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The Blue Team ("Squadra Azzura") was the team that represented Italy in international bridge tournaments, winning sixteen world titles from 1957 through 1975.

Last updated: 05-22-2005 04:22:37