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Something strange about this story.

A “ballistic” missile typically means a multi-stage rocket that is fired almost into space, then releases a warhead that passively drops back to earth at great speed, onto a fixed location, like a city or a military installation.

The warhead may have “evasive” capabilities, but its target is pre-set, and it has no ability to track or follow something that is moving.

Perhaps this means China has targeted sections of the Pacific Ocean for nuclear attack?

Interesting, but no more difficult than targeting Los Angeles.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/glossarytermsm/g/m4173.htm

The contention is, and has been fairly widely discussed, that the Chicomms have manueverable RVs on these warheads.

But, to date, all I have seen has told me that they remain nuclear.

If that is the case, one use of such a weapon would unleash America's arsenal on China. It would play to our absolute strength in terms of numbers, quality, and accuracy in nuclear missiles. Veyr un-Chinese...very un-Sun Tsu.

Without a premptive nuclear strike against our bomber bases and missile silos, they would not, IMHO, consider use of such a weapon. And that would again, play to our strength. In any case, they would not get our SSBN's at sea, which carry many times more missiles than in the entire Chinese arsenal.

So, one of three things:

1) The Chinese would only use such a weapon as a last ditch effort, in the middile of an otherwise disasterous situation at whidch time they would also be launching a general nuclear war against us.

2) The Chinese are waiting for a weak democratic President and believe a weak president would not respond to such an out an out atrocity (and I believe they are wrong here...outside of maybe Obama).

3) The Chinese have a conventional capability for these missiles and guidance systems (which themselves are iffy IMHO) that we are unaware of.

That last is not so unheard of. We have considered the same ourtselves.

Something strange about this story.

A “ballistic” missile typically means a multi-stage rocket that is fired almost into space, then releases a warhead that passively drops back to earth at great speed, onto a fixed location, like a city or a military installation.

The warhead may have “evasive” capabilities, but its target is pre-set, and it has no ability to track or follow something that is moving.

Perhaps this means China has targeted sections of the Pacific Ocean for nuclear attack?

Interesting, but no more difficult than targeting Los Angeles.

I think it is a ballistic missile, or family of them, that are built for attacks on opponent naval assets. A ballistic missile can carry a conventional warhead, I just don’t think the 20th century model really was designed for such an app. They might be thinking they can nuke a carrier battle group. But like I said, with the Obama “peace through handover of Hawaii and other states with few electoral votes” doctrine in play, I doubt the Chinese will have to launch anything.