China's military and Sun Tzu: What every American should know

brookesnews ^ | 01.19.04 | James Henry

[nightdriver]

"I am not suggesting that Clinton and his kindergarten pals were Chinese agents just because they were liberally rewarded, far from it: only that they have behaved in a way that would classify their actions as those of "inward spies" because their indifference to national security had the same consequences."

We seem to forget that Clinton "loathed the military" and was not interested in maintaining the sovereignty of the United States.

He and those in his administration said as much on many occasions.

[Jeff Head]

Agreed. I believe that the Chinese, if they ever reach the time and position where they are willing to act, will use asymetrical warfare in an attempt to negate our advantages.

They would much rather just continue down the road they are currently on to the point where economically they bring us to a point and we are either unwilling, or not in a position to counter or oppose their dominance in Asia. With our current economic policies, IMHO, we are playing directly into their long-term hands.

[Steel Wolf]

Shipping containers are good delivery platforms for terrorists, but bad for nations. More than likely we would know within short order what country processed the nuclear material, and send them some examples of our own via ICMB. It's a nice sucker punch, but most of our nukes are inland, and retaliation is a mutha&#^&@%.

Also, you're looking at the possibility of being intercepted, sold out by an underling, or in some way compromised. Being caught sneaking nuclear weapons into the U.S. is a nightmare scenario for anyone contemplating the act. That's a long time to leave those arms on the open seas, knowing that you could be found out at any time.

If you're a terrorist, of course, you wouldn't care, but a national leader has a lot more to lose than his cave complex.

[pawdoggie]

I believe that you're correct in saying that the Chinese had an ability to "hit the US" in 1981. It was the accuracy of the strikes, and the type and range of weapons that could be employed, that suspiciously improved during Clinton's tenure.

[SoCal Pubbie]

In Europe of the Middle Ages, laying siege was THE way of conducting warfare. Pitched battles on open fields was too risky- you might lose your whole army in a single day!

Conducting a siege usually meant just surrounding a city and starving it out. Unless a relief force was on the way, there was no need to do much more than fling a few dead horses and diseased corpses over the wall with the trebuchet your engineers just built.

[pawdoggie]

I believe that you're correct in saying that the Chinese had an ability to "hit the US" in 1981. It was the accuracy of the strikes, and the type and range of weapons that could be employed, that suspiciously improved during Clinton's tenure.

[jpl]

I give one specific name as the greatest traitor in U.S. history.

I don't think I would go quite so far as to say he's the greatest traitor in American history, but he certainly deserves a spot in the high pantheon of traitors. I'd say that Tokyo Rose was worse.

[tallhappy]

Americans have a penchant for over-romanticizing mysterious-sounding Eastern wisdom.

Yes.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Sun Tzu's point was it was better to use trickery and stealth and it was always best to hit the enemy when it is not expecting an attack (hit em where they ain't).
Modern business schools teach Sun Tzu to show it is better to spend resources where your advantage cannot be duplicated.

[tallhappy]

Orbiting nukes are banned by treaty.

China doesn't follow treaties, but this was not the issue. It was a nice way on your part to try and change the subject to focus on minutiae and away from the point made concerning reliability of Chinese ICBMs.

[Cacique]

ping

[sharktrager]

Actually, the siege of a walled city is usually wasted effort, and was even then. The best course of action is not so lay siege, but to bypass the city and instead simply insure the inhabitatnts are not allowed to leave to gather resources. The difference is the amount of effort required. You use the defenses against the defenders. This was the principle of island hopping in WWII.

Just because failure to follow this axiom didn't result in disaster for some doesn't mean it is not wise advice.

[cynicom]

Three months after Versailles Von Seeckt was drawing up plans for the next invasion of France and the Low countries. All that was needed was for a Hitler person to step forward on the stage. Time and circumstances.

[HankReardon]

Was Tokyo Rose an American? If so, she did not commit her treason from a lofty, trusted position. To commit treason from the office of the Presidency, the most entrusted, important office in the nation greatly enhances the degree of treason. Try again. Was there in all American history anyone who was a greater traitor than Bill Clinton?

[John H K]

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/icbm/df-5.htm


http://armedservices.house.gov/testimony/105thcongress/98-06-17freese.htm

"Recently, sensational accusations have been made that through nefarious acts of the Clinton Administration since 1993, the United States has sold militarily sensitive technology to the Chinese. Perhaps the most disturbing allegation is that significant improvements in the Chinese ICBM capability are directly tied to the recent U.S. technology transfer. These allegations are based on half-facts that have been distorted and sensationalized to serve a political agenda. The Chinese do have ICBM's, the Chinese do launch satellites for the United States. However, the Chinese began their ICBM program in 1956, simultaneously tested their DF-2A rocket and an atomic bomb in 1966, and first launched their DF-5 ICBM in 1979. American cities have been targeted since the 1980's, and as we all know, with nuclear weapons pinpoint accuracy is not a requirement in a countervalue nuclear strategy."


Anyway, do a search on the DF-5.

You'll not see any debate on the subject. The Chinese have been capable of hitting ANY us city with a 5 megaton warhead since 1981 and have had us targeted since then.

Is the DF-5 the greatest or advanced missle in the world? Nope. Are there a lot of them? Nope. But all indications are that it can do it's designed job.

I can easily see how someone not really paying attention could have gotten the IMPRESSION that China couldn't hit the US with nukes till Clinton was in office, based on the typical articles on the subject that get posted on FR, which are less interested in an objective analysis of the Chinese military than they are in bashing Clinton.

ANY information that doesn't support the idea that the Chinese military consisted of guys using sharpened sticks and throwing rocks on the day before Clinton's inauguration, and that the Chinese military, on the day Clinton left office was about to surpass the US, ENTIRELY because of Bill Clinton, tends to be omitted from your typical article on the Chinese military from World Net Daily or Newsmax.

[John H K]

It was a nice way on your part to try and change the subject to focus on minutiae and away from the point made concerning reliability of Chinese ICBMs.

I was focusing on lies and exaggeration, not minutae.

The US had had perhaps only slightly more to do with the technological development of the Chinese military than the US had to do with the "arming of Iraq," a favored shibboleth of crazed Leftists.

Of course, one looks at the Iraqi military in 1991 or last year, sees a vast sea of Russian and French equipment, and then asks why that is so if the United States supposedly "armed Iraq."

When you look at the Chinese military you see a vast sea of equipment purchased from Russia or based on Russian designs, with a smattering of electronics and avionics from the Israelis and French.

And I, personally, scratch my head at the various fevered claims about US technology transfer to the Chinese.

[HankReardon]

Clinton deserves to be bashed, regardless. Thanks for enlightening me, I now understand that though the Chinese had ballistic capabilties before Clinton, the Clinton administration enabled the enhancement of this struggling Chinese program. I'll continue to learn more. Being a traitor is like being pregnant, you are not "kind of" you are or you're not. I suspect you want to absolve this man of guilt in this matter, are my suspicions correct?

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Good points.