The First 48 Hours of a War With China ‘Could Be Ugly’

National Security Journal ^ | 10/18/2025 | Andrew Latham

[whyilovetexas111]

In a war with China, the U.S. must prepare to absorb a massive opening punch of over a thousand missiles and drones aimed at paralyzing its forces. The key to victory is not preventing this first strike but building a resilient force that can “fight hurt.” This requires a radical shift to strategies like Agile Combat Employment, which disperses aircraft across many smaller bases, and developing resilient command networks.

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TOPICS: Government; History; Military/Veterans; Politics
KEYWORDS: ccp; china; southchinasea; taiwan; usnavy

[whyilovetexas111]

Would America lose?

[gundog]

We’d definitely get our hair mussed.

[HYPOCRACY]

The Three Gorges Dam is the largest target in history. Blow that up and half of China’s population dies. This isn’t the Hoover Dam in the middle of nowhere. The 3GD is upstream from major cities and vital farmand. China would cease to be a country.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

Blog flogging....

So mnay of your threads exhibit ZERO engagement with other Freepers. 10/17/2025, 2:48:20 PM · 1 of 15

10/3/2025, 11:40:09 AM · 1 of 21

9/30/2025, 1:26:29 PM · 1 of 31

9/27/2025, 11:26:42 AM · 1 of 56

9/25/2025, 1:04:49 PM · 1 of 42

[gundog]

Nobody wants to come in second. We know that, going in. That you ask if we’d lose means that a Chinese.first strike would constitute an existential threat. A nuclear defensive response would be on the tanle. Would sooner be better than later?

[DIRTYSECRET]

Hitler didn’t stop with the Jews. He was on a roll so he added dissidents, mental patients, prison inmates and 400k Gypsies.

Would we win? I don’t think anybody will win. The living will envy the dead. Should it happen we, like Hitler should take out a few ayatollahs as well as Mecca/Medina. Did I leave out anyone?

[larrytown]

Looks like the good ol’ MIC-mouthpiece “National Security Journal” is now showing with the MIC wants more than anything - the existential scare of a hot war with China.

SOOOOooooo much money to be made for decades with this one.

[The Great RJ]

A small salvo of nuclear missiles aimed at China’s infrastructure and a few major cities should be the first response of an attack on US forces and should China attack the US homeland with its nuclear missiles a massive US nuclear response aimed to devastate China.

[Captainpaintball]

Yes. 100-200 THOUSAND agents are in this country right now, and tough talking turkey neck tom homan and his boss, Mr. Stable Genius, who never met SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND Chinese student spies he never liked, are doing NOTHING to stop them from setting up the farmland they bought next to military bases to stage lightning strike devastating, fatal blows to our airfields, barracks, and other installations. And they know where EVERY substation and water supply is, so all at once they can put enough fentanyl to kill every man woman child dog cat horse in the country. This will be on them as well. But at that point, it will not matter.

[crusty old prospector]

IBTZ.

[faithhopecharity]

And the remainder of that war (if it weren’t over and done with in the first 48 hours) wouldn’t be any bed of roses, either.

[Reily]

I view these Chinese visa holders you just named as a far bigger threat then the Indian H1b visa holders.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Too many of them to keep secrets. One would blow the whistle.

As for retaliation we could wait a week to do that. A week to assess the guilty and to see which countries are the cheerleaders.

[George from New England]

Week — ha ha
Minutes at most

[gundog]

To say nothing of the undocumented....

[CodeToad]

Numbers. Quantity is a quality all its own.

[Judge Bean]

Don’t forget Jehovah Witnesses. They targeted anyone who couldn’t be mind controlled by others.

[ripnbang]

‘Zactly....

[philman_36]

The Golden Dome, if completed before the first missile salvo, would reduce the damage and aid in quicker counterstriking as launch sites would be known.
It could, possibly, negate the whole prospect of a massive missile volley doing mass damage completely.
Also, enhanced early warning systems would enable aircraft more scramble time to launch, even with hypersonic speeds involved (approximately 100 miles in two minutes), which could become critical on day two as the author presupposes.
Some might even be able to help destroy missiles en route.

JMO, YMMV

[Salgak]

If the ChiComs pop a nuke, drop a big, dirty bomb, say 20 megatons, about a mile behind the Three Gorges.

And watch a supersonic wave of highly radioactive live steam literally scour the Yangtze valley of life and industry, and leave it uninhabitable for decades.. .