Asian alies say US can't defeat China

[Cornellianintel]

Ok boys there was a great article in The Economist that made an interesting point that China really isnt that big a threat right now. Their threat status is inflated by the "Military Industrila Complex" you know the guys who want to sell stealth bombers rather than have another Army division funded. The biggest threat is in terrorist/rogue states much more so than China.
China though I do believe have regional/world superpower ambitions are our number one trading partner, why risk that.
I cant find the link but read the article.

Though I'm terribly wary of China, I'd have to say I fundamentally agree with you concerning their ability to threaten us militarily. I'd like to see some evidence that it's the M-I-C pushing fears about China (I mainly hear it from conservative academics) but I certainly don't find that contention outlandish. Economically, however, we have to get our trading relationship under some control.

Great post, Recitivist.

 

[Cornellianintel]

It's been said several times. General Zinni in "Battle Ready" wrote about that quite a bit... that so many in the Pentagon's top brass have no appetite for asymmetric warfare, low-intensity combat and counter-terror operations... they want to get back to 'real soldiering' where you charge the castle, fight Rommel mano-a-mano, plant your flag on the battlements, and declare victory. Hence the fantacization over an up-and-coming China who can provide us that "near peer" competitor and the obsessive waste of money on weapons designed to fight that imaginary war (the F/"A"-22, anyone?)

Now THAT is interesting. I haven't read the book, but I'd be interested in knowing if he argues that this attitude is a perpetual quality of the Pentagon culture, or simply a view held by some particular big-wigs under the Bush administration.

Best