Washington Is Preparing for a Long War With China

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DAMN...HERE WE DO AGAIN...

Theo... of MO 2:46AM January 07, 2012

Ad hominem arguments do nothing to support your opinions, Stephen. In fact, all they do is enhance any perceived bigotry.

On that note, let's delve a little deeper. As Benjamin Disraeli has so astutely observed: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Upon reviewing the conveniently planted link to what I assumed would be hard facts intended to eviscerate a specific political party or its members, the real point hit home when looking at the forest for the trees:

Members of both the House and Senate accepted donations. In fact, the amounts should skew in favor of whoever is in the majority. More members means more potential for money to be accepted in donations. However, the figures seem to be in conflict. Republicans have a House majority, and thus represent the most in contributions. But wait... Republicans have a minority in the Senate, yet they still represent the most in contributions.

There is no escaping the fact that the total amounts for both is nearly identical. So I really don't know what point could be made about this except to say that maybe MOST politicians are exhibiting whorish behavior. This disease is not specific to just one party, or even to independents, since they are just as guilty, too.

This is one of the many reasons people have come out en masse on Wall Street and cities all across the country. They are not covetous of wealth. They do not want to seize assets from those who actually worked hard to earn it. They are not a collective of smelly hippies reeking of bong water and B.O. Rather, they are the people of this country who are losing their tolerance with a gamed system.

In the military, it is extremely important to preserve the chain of command. I don't think this point is debatable. Yet, if you circumvent this chain of command to further your own interests then the hammer comes down on you. What does this have to do with anything? It's very simple, if you think about it. Even a child learns that if you ask mom first and she says no, but then sneak over to dad and he says yes, once mom and dad collaborate the end result is a grounding.

Now that the political chaff has been swept out of the way, it is my opinion that all of this fear mongering and constant drum beating is very counterproductive to our security as a nation and our well-being in general. Have you ever seen someone who suffers from paranoia walking about in public? It's not a pretty picture.

Furthermore, the world is a big place. I know that, for example, bees have a home called a hive and that they sometimes share space with me without incident. I know that I only get stung when I go out of my way to seek one out and irritate it to the point that it retaliates. When I am stung, I take it as a personal lesson to be more conscious of my environment. I don't seek out to destroy the hive or surround it with nets to keep them away... until it starts building a hive on my front porch. Who is doing this?

Kyrie Eleison of IL 11:25AM October 10, 2011

JIM: go read the China daily then!!

smash of AZ 2:26AM October 08, 2011

War with China has already began. Today there are many different type's of war in this day and age. The American country will unfortunately fall; anyone who studies history; will already know just what im talking about. One third of the population of the earth will be wiped out; as this has been prophesied from actual prophets of God. War cannot or will be avoided. The only thing we can do at this point is prepare ourselves with life sustaining faculties; such as food, water and so on. Good luck everyone

Scott of UT 12:04PM September 27, 2011

I honestly see China as a threat to the future stability of the world and the United States. There actions have consistently shown that they intend to harm us economically and militarily. Every year billions of dollars in military and economic secrets are stolen by China. They are upgrading there military targeted at specific areas of the US military. They have said to the world that they intend to replace the US as the dominant supper power. I fear the Chinese will provoke a war. There actions speaks volumes.

Ganesh 10:39AM September 20, 2011

I came here to read fact not anti what ever junk. I guess I long for the days of news being news not the writers Personal Beliefs. What a one sided story

Jim of OR 5:55PM September 14, 2011

Stephen, you make a whole bunch of very good points. BTW it's "pare back", not "pair back", just so you know. What you must remember is that the mindset prevalent vis-a-vis China in our Pentagon is a hyper-aggressive "Curtis LeMay" approach, for lack of a better name, that bombs China back to the stone age in about the first 12 hours of any REAL war. The obvious reason that "cooler heads prevail" is that it is neither perceived by US or by China that such a conflagration would be in anyone's best interests, especially considering that the nuclear fallout alone that would drift across the former Soviet Union's constituent republics would kill upwards of 600,000 and possibly as many as 1,000,000, of those republics' citizenry, which would be viewed as a rather extreme provocation not likely to go unanswered. Better for us to A.) put our own fiscal house in order B.) Boycott Chinese, Indian, and Russian goods C.) Put Brazil on some sort of probationary "time-out", and move on with our lives, preferably with someone other than Barack Obama as President.

Jonathan Pulliam of MA 10:49AM September 09, 2011

Stephen, the phrase is "pare back" not "pair back."

Nigella Barbour 6:30AM August 23, 2011

War is the largest indusrry - indeed the only growth industry - the USA has right now.

The military is also the largest jobs program in the USA currently, and that probably is not saying much, as the US military is but a shadow today of what it once was, or what is could have been/should have been without recent (pre 9/11, WOT) savage cutbacks and layoffs.

War with China? Meh. They themsleves describe the notion as throwing an egg against a boulder, and the whole idea cray, but some equally crazy Generals in Beijing do desire nuclear conflict with us and our like minded allies.

Perhaps more prudent to get any regional conflict over and done with in the not too diustant future, while the USA still has viable military resources and resolve and China's can grow much larger, modern and capable than it is today.

Take on China now and they can throw the entire dozen eggs against our boulder and we will still have the boulder, while China will have massive casualties, massive losses of equipment and materiel and massive loss of face.

Such losses might actually trigger the end of the current China administation, with its politbeauro of elderly nutbags, and jolt the untold dissatified millions into action - action to throw off the dictatorial shackles that nearly ruined them and finally take control of their own destiny for a change.

The USA and its allies can still say no to China, but not for too much longer.

Wait for too long and we might find China holding the pinkslip on our country and demanding repayment in full. Or foreclosure.

Steve of CA 4:55PM August 14, 2011

Stephen,

Brilliant, concise assessment of a real world global coming together of events and resulting dumbfounded geopolitical bottle-neck which overall is swiftly getting out of control. You do not realize it, but you are more accurate than you could ever possibly know, as this same assessment may very well have been whispered from God's own breath to his closest...and to do all possible to thwart such a pathway that has the potential for destruction of all mankind.

Sonof Noman of VT 12:50AM August 03, 2011

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Stephen Glain

Stephen Glain

Stephen Glain is a freelance writer with extensive experience as a foreign correspondent in Asia and the Middle East. His latest book, State vs. Defense: The Battle to Define America’s Empire, will be published in August by Crown. You can follow him on Twitter @sglain.

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