[Strategerist]

Actually the closest parallel to the Chinese military at the moment is the perception of the Iraqi military (the million man, battle, hardened, blah blah blah) in the Fall of 1990.

A great many people with a great many axes to grind and precious little understanding of military matters have frantically overhyped it.

[servantboy777]

Your not even comparing apples to apples when you speak of Iraq and China in the same conversation.

There is ample research from various media sources that could throw cold water on any notion that China is just blowing hot air.

China is indeed a formidable enemy, to discount their capabilities is nothing short of ignorance.

Logistically speaking, do you really feel we could sustain a protracted war on or near the mainland of China? They have the largest standing army in the world. They may still be behind in some technologies (what they haven't bought, stolen, or had handed to them), but shear numbers and familiar territory is certainly on their side.

China is NOT the poor lil nation it once was. Think also, we have so much manufacturing capital in China, an all out war would not only hurt their economy, it would devastate ours.