China’s polluted skies aren’t filled with smog — it’s camouflage — if you believe Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily.
The claim that polluted skies can be beneficial to a nation in times of war is rationalized as follows: Tiny particles in the air can throw off the accuracy of missile guidance systems, and any other weapons dependent on human sight are be put at a disadvantage; reconnaissance equipment doesn’t work well when it’s tasked with navigating through poisonous brown clouds.
“Smog may affect people’s health and daily lives … but on the battlefield, it can serve as a defensive advantage in military operations,” said an article on the Global Times website, the South China Morning Post reported.
One blogger on the People’s Daily website reportedly made the observation that enemies wouldn’t need to use missiles if China’s pollution does in its own people, according to the Morning Post.
The paper went on to say that China currently is experiencing smog so bad that residents are referring to the experience as “airpocalypse.”
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• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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