Lou Dobbs(CNN) airs footage of Chinese Military

What CNN aired today on Lou Dobbs tonight really didn't set well with me...so i bring it to you the ever vigilant members of ATS.

What they showed was several Chinese Ships(not sure of class but they had rear doors like on a B-52)and from those ships tanks were being launched....reminecent of WW-2 D-day invasion. Now I can think of no logical reason for China to be doing these kinds of Maneuvers, short of some form of sea to land invasion, if that be true there are only three likely targets, Tiawan, USA, or Japan...japan being the absolute least likely.

Now I do realize that the American Military Industrial complex has been pumping out fear mongering propoganda since before the Cold War....now China does make a suitable replacement for Russia as our next major enemy. Thier people are different than ours in numerous ways, the American people know next to nothing about the Chinese, prollyeven less than they do about the Middle East and Arabic culture, and of course they are far enough away that the United States can keep a monopoly on the information reaching its citizens. That being said I dont want to fall prey to Fear Mongering by our "Elected/Appointed Officals"....So what do you all think, does China pose a credible threat to the United States...and with the exclusion of our New Pre-emptive war doctrine....how do you think the United States should respond, I.E Diplomacy, Internation Pressure(Forget international support for the US weve successfully pissed just about everyone off with the exception of the Brits....and thats only cause Tony Blair is GW's lil whipping boi).

These are interesting times we live in....with the threat of war and mushroom clouds used to assage and incite public fear and support for programs that they might not ordinarily support.

The problem with most major world powers is that they subscribe to a "Realist" political plan.

Let me sum up this plan for you:

Rule 1: Everyone responds to force.

Rule 2: The only reason that countries go to war is because one thinks that they can have more force than the other, and so win.

That essentially sums it up.

And so the United States tries to intimidate others into doing what it wants through fear of that force. Since they're the strongest world power, everyone listens, because to not listen means that they'll be pushed aside either militarily or economically or politically.

Now, China is a threat to the United State's power, and the United States is a threat to China's growth. The two are locked in a power-struggle that seems doomed only to escalate as the two approach each other's positions.

However, certain things can avoid this. For one, the United States has been doing economically and militarily poor for the past 6 years, and so since it's in a state of decline, it doesn't have the power to pose as much threat as before. China, meanwhile, is growing at a truely amazing pace, and so poses greater threat than one would expect. If the two have their threat-levels whiz past each other quick enough, than only small amounts of conflict will arise.

The US, of course, doesn't want China to romp up past it, since it likes being able to set world policy and control economies. So it will use economic and political pressures to subdue China.

The problem for them, however, is that a lot of people are tired with the way the United States does business, and many more countries would rather invest in a growing country than a declining one. This means that a lot of people "sign on" with China rather than the United States - the least of which being Russia, the Middle-Eastern powers, and scattered portions of the European Union. This tips things far more towards China.

In the end, I don't think any military campaigns against the US will come of it, but economic and diplomatic problems will persist for awhile.

China's performing all these operations to SCARE people, and scare countries that would stand against them. Through fear of force, rather than actual force itself, they're trying to avoid conflict with Taiwan. If the people of Taiwan are afraid of going to war with China, a war they know they'd lose, then the people of Taiwan will pressure their government to be peaceful and accept China.

It's all politics in the end. The real question is whether you understand the politics behind it. I try to do my best for that, but remember that just because almost all of it can be justified doesn't mean that all of it is all right.

Great response....I know what you are talking about when you mention real and percieved power. Percieved power is the same thing that the United States Law Enforcement use...they dont always have to use it but people simply knowing that they can and will deter(I use this word VERY lightly) some crime.

However...I am concerned more because we have a retarded horse riding chimpanzee in office...who has to have more juevos then his father. If we had another president who was maybe a lil more diplomatic and articulate and intellegent I dont think i would be as worried....but when the Chinese President/Chancellor/Emperor?/ came he grabbed the man by the arm and not to mention spent the Least time with him.

I mean I hope that you are right and that this remains diplomatic/economic/political...in fact I really dont mind the US losing the Hegemony I think it will do loads for the American people...I think that with the United States no longer setting World Policy the K-street companies and creeps will go to wherever policy is being shapped..giving us here a chance to rebuild our democracy.

Thanks for the thought provoking response