XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT: Xi Stresses Military Unity After Purging Rocket Force Chiefs.

While the Chinese leader has regularly stated the need for stability within the nation’s military, including during a trip to Inner Mongolia in June, his comments come after a series of abrupt personnel moves in the PLA.

Earlier this year, Xi abruptly purged two generals leading China’s secretive rocket force, which manages the country’s nuclear arsenal, without explanation. That came shortly after the Chinese leader ousted Qin Gang from the role of foreign minister, after the latter disappeared from public view for a month.

On Friday, Rahm Emanuel, the US Ambassador to Japan, linked Defense Minister Li Shangfu to those unexplained personnel moves, saying in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that the Communist Party official hadn’t been seen in public for two weeks.

He still hasn’t been seen.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): I find this worrisomely like the way Japanese officials opposed to war with the US were assassinated in the runup to Pearl Harbor. I don’t know that Xi is clearing the decks of people who think starting a World War is a terrible idea, but if he were it would look a lot like this.