Posted on 01/08/2002 8:10:03 AM PST by Diddle E. Squat
You are probably right - to fight effectively for a cause one must, for the most part, believe in the system demanding sacrifice. From what I see and hear, the CCP (of which the PLA is only their lap-dog) has enough trouble standing on its own merit among its supporters without the added detriment of a conflict with the U.S. which would serve only to quickly alienate the pro-democratic constituency (BTW, pro-democratic is not to be mistaken as pro-western). Besides, the Chinese aren't totally ingorant of the power of the U.S. - they probably know as well as any American citizen. The Chinese arsenal of NW's compared to America's would be much similar to the man going to a gunfight armed only with a pocket knife. Their possession of warheads as a world nuclear power seems to be primarily as an antidotal sense of security and parity. They can't use them offensively in any capacity without a U.S. and/or world reprisal leading to the total destruction of their country.
The real fallacy, I think, is the premise that the Chinese want to take over the U.S. at all. They (their leadership) are not idealogues. They want power and money, yes, but they don't buy Marxism any more than I do. A Chinese attack on the U.S. is unlikely, unless instigated by a lunatic military fringe. Now Taiwan......
The best of the majority of the Chinese military weaponry fielded to date is probably not as good as those U.S. third generation weapons we've already deemed obsolete and have long ago discarded. This case was proven in Iraq and Bosnia. The only new W.S. the Chinese have worth mentioning besides the new-yet-to-be-deployed Dong-Fang 41 ICBM is the Russian-built Shkval V-11 torpedo-missile, and as far as we now know, the Chinese have yet to take possession of any subs having the capacity to launch these fish while submerged. Personally speaking, I'm glad America doesn't depend upon mobile missile launchers as our means of nuclear deterrence because having these things hot and mobile near populated areas is asking for disaster - either from accident (unintentional fuel detonation from wear/exposure or mishandling) or by attack (from agressors).
Perhaps the Chinese remember Clinton accidently bombing their embassy. Just perhaps...
Book says China involved in 9-11 attacks -- Beijing used bin Laden to assault U.S., claims author
Ah knew, ah say, ah knew that looked familiah!
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