Why China’s ‘unstoppable’ £175billion military is now the biggest threat to world order – and the West can’t keep up

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

This is not at all clear — indeed is almost certainly untrue. The U.S., for many reasons, must NOT adopt a jingoistic or extreme militarist policy toward China. Mainland China is an unsinkable aircraft carrier with a growing military and a great industrial power in Asia. It will probably remain the most powerful regional hegemon in East and Southeast Asia for the foreseeable future. Our policy must not be to seek war with it, nor to encourage it to seize Taiwan. For now China’s leadership need only be convinced that a straight-out invasion of Taiwan would kill the Golden Goose it covets, and is in no way worthwhile.

Yes, it can, and I wonder why you are degrading our military capabilities.

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

Yes, it can, and I wonder why you are degrading our military capabilities.

With all respect, I think you should spend your time and energy in “wondering” about more important matters … than my supposed “degrading” of “our military capabilities”!

Do you really want a world war? Do you really think it will be an easy U.S. victory, where “The US can at the same time wreck China's AF and navy, then concentrate on Russia, while Israel bombs Iran into the Stone Age….”?

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Your capability in analyzing Vietnam and American capability are nil, Tom.

I do know that Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea combined do not have the ability to conduct a successful WWIII against the US.

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

John Edgar Slow Horses , there will be no “successful WWIII” … for anybody.

We are not talking about Vietnam here. But iirc your own (romanticized) view of that terrible U.S. mistaken “war of choice” showed precisely the danger and horror of overestimating our military prowess and underestimating numerous other political, economic and social factors.

What has suddenly gotten into you???

 

[Mushroom]

@John Edgar Slow Horses , there will be no “successful WWIII” … for anybody.

Those that have never served and would never serve in the military seem all too often to be the ones that want to use the military the most for their own crazy purposes.

And no, we do not have the ability to win WWIII, short of nuking any country we are fighting. And that would be a completely pyrrhic victory, likely only done if other nations launched against us first. But we have long known that if a future war goes nuclear, nobody wins and everybody loses.

Oh, but also do not confuse wars like Vietnam as "military defeats". Those were political defeats, caused entirely by our own politicians. The modern State Department and Congress have this amazing ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and forbid the military from doing its job without so much interference to degrees that would have seen the US lose every war since 1775.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Yes, Vietnam was a political defeat.

It's interesting to watch Tom Paine and Musroom opine away.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

John Edgar Slow Horses , there will be no “successful WWIII” … for anybody. We are not talking about Vietnam here. But iirc your own (romanticized) view of that terrible U.S. mistaken “war of choice” showed precisely the danger and horror of overestimating our military prowess and underestimating numerous other political, economic and social factors. What has suddenly gotten into you???

Those are not my words only yours, Tom. You don't get it, and that's fine, but make sure you separate your opinion from my words. Facts will help you, too.