Depending on China for rare-earths is one a dumb mistake we must correct PRONTO

In the 1960s, the conservative intellectual James Burnham wrote a book arguing that the decline of Western civilization was a self-imposed choice.

The volume, famously called “The Suicide of the West,” desperately needs to be updated with an epilogue about the US dependence on China for the mining and processing of rare earths , which ranks as one of the most fantastically stupid and self-damaging strategic missteps of our time.

China is exploiting its advantage in trade talks with the United States, restricting the supply of rare earths to gain leverage.

A focus of President Donald Trump’s just-concluded meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forging an agreement to jointly invest in critical-minerals projects. There has to be more where that comes from.

The U