The entire series postulates a couple of things in a fictional sense we have been discussing. (1) A highly motivated enemy. (2) A resourceful enemy who develops high-tech of their own that counters some of our critical advantages.
In the latter case it is the Chinese who put our billions in trade surplus and the hight tech factories we are building all over the place over there to good effect in that regard.
I look forward to your thoughts when you finish.