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Subject: The China Syndrome & the British Navy
human7    7/10/2004 10:00:29 AM
If China launches an invasion of Taiwan, the United States would most certainly react. (This whole notion of ambiguity is American PR.) The question is would the United Kingdom would the stand idly by or would they help to repel the Chinks?
 
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jhaley    RE:The China Syndrome & the British Navy   7/3/2005 11:39:37 AM
The sad thing is that Generals don't make war, politicians wishing "peace in our time" do. The Sadams of the world will always be the school yard bully...To truely live in peace, according to Sun-Tzu, one must "hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting". A half dozen CBG off the Chinese coast would fit Sun-Tzy doctrine quite nicely!
 
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flamingknives    No heart for war.   7/3/2005 11:42:48 AM
It amuses me to see so many people subscribing to the idea that any country would just roll over in the face of a serious attack. It's not like it's proven in history, especially for the countries it's aimed at. 1940; German attack on British and French forces. Clearly the British had no stomach for this and gave up right away. Das ist warum mein Deutsch ist so gut. 1941, June; German attack on Russia, "kick down the door and the whole rotten structure will fall in". The Russian armies surrender in vast numbers and the Wehrmacht successfully takes Moscow. Adolf Hitler retires to his 10,000 acre ranch in the Ukraine in 1959. 1941, December; A surprise attack on the US base at Pearl Harbor causes the US to relinquish its interest in the Far East. Which is why we're holding this discussion about The Japanese Syndrome and the German Navy. 2001, September; A surprise terrorist attack levels the World Trade Centre, killing several thousand people. The US retreats from its policy of globalisation, impeaches GW Bush and elects John Kerry. These sudden, massive strikes have all failed as they do not undermine the people's will to fight. It p*sses them off. The loss of a ship, especially a capital ship, would be more likely to induce a furious response. The way to undermine moral is not a knockout blow, unless you can actually deliver that. Death by a thousand cuts is proven to work as it plays against the human psyche so much better. People cannot remain psyched up for that long, so a niggling war of attrition that never seems to get anywhere is far more effective at sapping a people's resolve. Witness Vietnam. Somaila was an outlier and the withdrawal, AIUI, was caused by other reasons.
 
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jhaley    RE:No heart for war.   7/3/2005 11:51:20 AM
Sun-Tzu: In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns
 
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Pseudonym    RE:No heart for war.   7/3/2005 3:21:48 PM
Lanton must never have met an American.
 
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Lanton    RE:No heart for war.   7/3/2005 10:05:08 PM
We're underestimating the Chinese and overestimating the abilities of the US military and the willingness of the American public to sacrifice it's sons and daughters in uniform to ensure Taiwan's sovereignty. China will be the next supremo, and the US will end up sitting on the sidelines looking in at China expanding it's spheres of economical and political influence in Asia and the Pacific. The American public has no apetite for any continued US military presence in Iraq (Bush's opinion polls are at an all time low), but some of you posters are telling me that the American public would be more willing to fight an all-out war with China?! Please get a reality check.
 
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EW3    RE:No heart for war. Landon   7/3/2005 10:35:10 PM
"The American public has no apetite for any continued US military presence in Iraq" President Bush just got re-elected. So polls take the place of votes in developing an understanding of what Americans think. This is the old media scam. Take a bunch of polls are release the ones you like. We also understand the question voting asks, do we know the questions on the poll? BTW - The American people also just voted President Bush the 6th Greatest American of All Time, just two places behind George Washington.
 
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Lanton    RE:No heart for war. Landon   7/3/2005 10:46:44 PM
Kerry's campaign had no substance, and neither did he, that's why Bush was re-elected. Look, i'm not bashing Bush, i was merely pointing out that if the American public can get so disillusioned over the state of play in Iraq, after just two years stuck there and 1700 American dead, then how could you expect the American public to put everything into an all-out war with China over Taiwan.
 
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EW3    RE:No heart for war. Landon   7/3/2005 10:51:27 PM
There was a poll I just saw about a week ago that showed that American's thought that leaving Iraq too early would be a mistake. Does that square with the Bush popularity poll? No. Reason, polls are based on a decision made by a respondent that is not one they have to live with. Votes are simple yes/no decisions of what the people want or don't want. I'll take elections any day over a poll.
 
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Lanton    RE:No heart for war. Landon   7/3/2005 10:55:40 PM
And what do elections show?! One could confidently make the argument that last November the American public voted for the lesser of two 'evils'. One could also make the argument that seeing as most punters vote with their pockets, Bush was bound to pull through with an economy in relatively good health.
 
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EW3    RE:No heart for war. Landon   7/3/2005 11:08:09 PM
"One could confidently make the argument that last November the American public voted for" I find it totally fascinating how some people can tell WHY people do things. Had a guy in the next office over respond to me one time when I mentioned I served to protect my country in VN. His response was no you didn't. Odd how this guy "knew why" I did something. It amounts to pontificating to annoint a reason to someone elses behavior. As I recall solipsism is a mental disorder.
 
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