3 ms·

As an amateur military historian (specializing in WW2 in the Pacific), the salient things are: - WW2 was a contest to the death of ideologies that happened aft

As an amateur military historian (specializing in WW2 in the Pacific), the salient things are: - WW2 was a contest to the death of ideologies that happened after the USA became isolationist and weak (Dr. Hansen) - today, the USA is not overtly isolationist, however their loyalty to Taiwan, HK, etc. is suspect. The USA is weak on aircraft inventory - the F-22 fleet rounds off to zero, same with the F-35. Way to go, military procurement officers! - The CCP is brittle - they may go nuclear if facing a loss since they never back down or take no for an answer - Taiwan could plan to defend itself. It already has enough F-16s (unless surprise-striked), it just needs to give every citizen a MANPAD and a rifle. - Although CCP is building a navy to rival the USA, the USA is ready today and could blockade China and overwhlem the 9-dash islands with cruise missiles or ICBMs. - the one advantage of a war with China is that the USA would have a free pass to rain missiles on North Korea Interesting times!

speedplane 7y ago
While the U.S. may have been able to completely dominate another country in WW2, I don't see how that could happen today. Even assuming the U.S., with their military might, could take control of the Chinese government, I don't believe it would last. When the U.S. beat Japan, they were able to control the messaging and media for years, effectively training the newer generation that this was all in their best interest. With the internet and the pourus information walls, rebels could easily organize and be a never-ending challenge to any lasting dominance.
- OtterEcho 7y ago
  >>When the U.S. beat Japan, they were able to control the messaging and media for years "Look at what happened after the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person. So after 1946 he wasn't God anymore." - Haruki Murakami, in Kafka on the Shore
akban 7y ago
Re: Giving every Taiwanese citizen a MANPAD. Of what use are MANPADs against the Ballistic Missile salvos which China is guaranteed to use in crippling Taiwan's air bases and air defense units? or against the J-10s, J-11s, Su-30s, & Su-35s which would be used to leisurely destroy aircrafts parked at crippled air bases and every single high value target on the Island? Of what use will they be against the literally thousands of Short Range Ballistic Missiles pointed at Taiwan. Or against the ASBMs & ASCMs that China has diligently developed or acquired for the sole purpose of sinking or are at the very least, significantly damaging large warships far off its coasts. An Asia War will NOT be Afghanistan 2.0. It would be a war whose success would be determined almost entirely by the Air Force and the Navy, NOT by the Army. You are viewing a war with China, a neer-peer power, through the lens of the Afghanistan & Iraq conflicts. You forget that Aircraft Carriers would be useless, planes would be fighting in highly contested airspace, and our soldiers would be fighting for the first time in modern history, without guaranteed air cover (a terrifying notion if you've ever being on the receiving end of an aerial attack). Like they say, don't train your military to fight the last war. Cause the next major war will almost certainly not be like the last one, so fantasies of handing every Taiwanese a rifle, should remain completely speculative, save for the purpose of mounting an insurgency campaign against a possible occupying force. P.S. Forgive me if I sounded pissed, just that I'm tired of armchair war enthusiasts who are seemingly unaware of what it would take to fight, let alone win, a war with a major power, and the extraordinary costs in personnel and materiel that fighting such a war would entail. Heck if it ever came to that, we'd have a hard time defeating India, not to talk of China.

speedplane 7y ago

While the U.S. may have been able to completely dominate another country in WW2, I don't see how that could happen today. Even assuming the U.S., with their military might, could take control of the Chinese government, I don't believe it would last. When the U.S. beat Japan, they were able to control the messaging and media for years, effectively training the newer generation that this was all in their best interest. With the internet and the pourus information walls, rebels could easily organize and be a never-ending challenge to any lasting dominance.

OtterEcho 7y ago
>>When the U.S. beat Japan, they were able to control the messaging and media for years "Look at what happened after the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person. So after 1946 he wasn't God anymore." - Haruki Murakami, in Kafka on the Shore

akban 7y ago

Re: Giving every Taiwanese citizen a MANPAD. Of what use are MANPADs against the Ballistic Missile salvos which China is guaranteed to use in crippling Taiwan's air bases and air defense units? or against the J-10s, J-11s, Su-30s, & Su-35s which would be used to leisurely destroy aircrafts parked at crippled air bases and every single high value target on the Island? Of what use will they be against the literally thousands of Short Range Ballistic Missiles pointed at Taiwan. Or against the ASBMs & ASCMs that China has diligently developed or acquired for the sole purpose of sinking or are at the very least, significantly damaging large warships far off its coasts. An Asia War will NOT be Afghanistan 2.0. It would be a war whose success would be determined almost entirely by the Air Force and the Navy, NOT by the Army. You are viewing a war with China, a neer-peer power, through the lens of the Afghanistan & Iraq conflicts. You forget that Aircraft Carriers would be useless, planes would be fighting in highly contested airspace, and our soldiers would be fighting for the first time in modern history, without guaranteed air cover (a terrifying notion if you've ever being on the receiving end of an aerial attack). Like they say, don't train your military to fight the last war. Cause the next major war will almost certainly not be like the last one, so fantasies of handing every Taiwanese a rifle, should remain completely speculative, save for the purpose of mounting an insurgency campaign against a possible occupying force. P.S. Forgive me if I sounded pissed, just that I'm tired of armchair war enthusiasts who are seemingly unaware of what it would take to fight, let alone win, a war with a major power, and the extraordinary costs in personnel and materiel that fighting such a war would entail. Heck if it ever came to that, we'd have a hard time defeating India, not to talk of China.