Posted on 07/16/2004 6:36:27 AM PDT by milestogo
I suppose it depends on definitions.
Finesse? I wouldn't characterize them as overly sophisticated in finesse unless and until they make it a priority. IF they make it a priority in a given discrete area and context, they can be as full of finesse as anyone. Usually, they lean much more on heavy-handed power and arrogant demands.
They are much more prone to the thuggery they treat their fellow citizens with.
They certainly see themselves as leaders of THE MIDDLE KINGDOM etc. They see themselves with a certain kind of manifest destiny carving out their due with rising economic and military clout. With their masses and rising clout, they expect that nothing can stand in their way. They will tend to behave accordingly--somewhat like the elephant or gorilla who will sit wherever it wants and do whatever it wants.
In some respects, their insights on the ACTUAL options vs THEIR PERCEIVED options--their insights are lacking and not always near as accurate as they think they are. But, that doesn't usually slow them down. They will adjust accordingly and still bluster and posture and manipulate as though the new realities were part of their plans all along. And, they have amazing capacities to pull such off more or less successfully in their desired directions.
I know the following point will likely be hotly contested. But I don't often perceive them to even bluster much at all beyond what they will back up with all their political and military might. They don't just make noise for noise sake. They carefully craft every public word. And then their ENORMOUS PRIDE and arrogance and allergies to loss of face kick in fiercely. Even if they get themselves in a binds with their pronouncements, they will ruthlessly behave as though it was part of their plan all along and move heaven and earth as much as they can to come out king of the hill anyway--usually, amazingly successfully.
I'd say, that in the last 34 years, I've seen them achieve many more of their goals over the West than the West has even imagined to achieve over them. In a lot of ways, I think they are the Pied Piper and the West are idiot children following China wherever China leads us by the nose.
They are still, imho, much better at THE ART OF WAR than we are. They still practice it much more at an art level than we do.
I do think that there are many in China who are very hostile to the Party and totalitarianism. And, many are still quite sympathetic to the USA. How . . . much . . . and how dangerously they would behave in China in our behalf during a war remains to be seen. They are not overly suicidal, typically. But they will give up their lives for a valid, heart-felt cause in a flash.
And, they are rather fiercely Nationalistic to a point.
OF COURSE this is all imho. Ignore freely at will. Time will tell.
Who said the containers had to be air tight?
And, there are ways to even manage that with technology not all that advanced or sophisticated.
I used it mostly as an illustration.
For one, they could enter the containers the last hours of the trip.
In some contexts, the containers could be largely omitted and they just come streaming across the gangplank in a beachhead already established by earlier container hidden troops.
I'm mostly saying that folks who contend that China has no way to get masses of troops across the pacific is conveniently forgetting their creativity, inventiveness and
SEEMINGLY FORGETTING COSCO entirely.
Doesn't make sense to me.
I think, in relative terms,
China has A LOT MORE economic and military capacity now compared to Japan then.
AND THEY ARE INCREASING THEIR ECONOMIC AND MILITARY CLOUT, BY THE HOUR, FAIRLY RAPIDLY.
This is not just for appearances, window dressing.
THEY INTEND FULLY TO BE KING OF THE HILL. They won't be--largely because they will attack Israel and Israel will be king of the hill by God's design.
But there will be plenty of hell to pay because they are sooooo intent on being king of the hill.
I still think that Kipling had it more accurately.
Negotiating with any Asians as Westerners is likely to result in their wins to our losses.
Negotiating, relating, fighting China can easily and chronically be like navigating a Chinese puzzle box blind-folded and more than half drunk.
Memo to Chinese Communists: Shove it !
Dubya at the wheel, not Kringtone.
Really? What have the Chicoms created/invented lately? Say in the last 50 years?
They manufacture more and more of our staple goods, not just cheap toys.
They assemble more and more of our smart weapons, which, of course they will never be able to reverse-engineer and manufacture for their own military.
The Fortune 500 has billions of $ invested in mainland China with billions more to come, because, let's face it, slave labor pays off bigtime.
If anybody thought the Great American Bugout from Vietnam in 1975 was a disgrace, it won't even begin to compare to the betrayal when we sell Taiwan down the river.
How about unconventional warfare? How about providing massive (covert/deniable) logistical & intelligence support to Al-Queda, and other enemies of the US?
There is not, said Sun, any basis for American government officials to accuse China of eroding freedoms in Hong Kong.
Hahahaha, how stupid do they think we are? Democrats?
Probably less than the number of young Chinese men of military age that are in the US right now on educational and H1B visas. Think outside the box. It's better to have lots and lots of people already inside, with lots of cached weapons and demolition gear, than to try a conventional move against the US military.
How would the US street gangs react to suddenly being provided with access to heavy-duty weaponry? How would the US economy do if a couple hundred sniper teams with .50 cal tracer/incindiary rounds started taking out gasoline trucks on US highways at rush hour?
Our friends the Chinese. Not.
And didn't they relax the one child rule recently? Trying to get more girls into the child mix. Pretty soon it will occur to them that they could use more land, maybe all of South America and points north...just get rid of the native inhabitants.
No loss, I've never been in a WalMart.
# 3 has been removed. I don't think that word was necessary.
People don't necessarilly have to be have badly.
Yes and we shared it with them. Responsible for our own demise? (We are the greatest nation on earth, we need to elect leaders that reflect that).
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