The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
The Myth of Invincible Americans
by James Dunnigan
November 11, 2006
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
Taiwan's politicians still cannot agree on a major arms purchase from the United States. Originally, the $16 billion deal was to include lots of new anti-aircraft missiles. But that has been dropped, and now it's a $10 billion deal, mainly for eight diesel-electric submarines and 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft. The politicians opposing this do so for a variety of reasons. Some feel Taiwan cannot afford it, others want to spend the money on other things, some do not want to offend China, and some want to keep Taiwan weak enough so that the pro-independence movement in Taiwan will not be able to achieve their goal. There are also some politicians who want unification with China. Other believe the U.S. will protect Taiwan, so why spend all that money on defense? This coalition has blocked major arms purchases for over a decade. Meanwhile, China is building up its armed forces, with the intention of being able, in the next decade, to block American intervention against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Many Taiwanese simply do not believe that the Chinese military will ever be able to deal with the Americans. American and Taiwanese military planners are not so sure, but the concept of U.S. military invincibility is a popular one among Taiwanese politicians, and the public at large.
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