From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The blue team is an informal group within the United States which has argued the People's Republic of China was 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 argued for an assertive United States policy to contain the People's Republic of China and support Taiwan, and believed that the policies of Bill Clinton and the Department of State toward China amounted to appeasement. Members included neoconservatives such as William Kristol and conservative Republican Congressmen such as Dana Roebacher and Benjamin Gilman, and members of thinktanks including Ross Munro, author of The Coming War with China and Robert Kagan and journalists such as Bill Gertz a writer for The Washington Times.
Although they had ties with the Republican Party they tended to be strongly opposed by business conservatives who argued 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 1990's, 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 conspiciously silent after 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.
