And you didn't include Tomahawks launched from subs - another 300 - 400 day 1.

 

But I believe there is a problem with this line of thinking - China and the US have a MAD relationship - they hold $2,000,000,000,000 (damn, that's a lot of zeros) of our bonds which can severely disrupt the value of our currency or our entire economy.  And our consumption is responsible for a hundred million of their mfg jobs.  Their economy would also collapse if there was war.

 

Wait a minute - they have $2,000,000,000 with which to stimulate their economy and buy/produce weapons.

 

Sorry Taiwan, looks like you are on your own.

 

But enough about the politics.  Your point is that we are capable of raining death down upon anyone, anywhere, anytime is true.  And after the first night there ain't diddly-squat anyone can do about it - their C4, airbases and key military installations, fixed radar and other sites will be smoking holes. 

China is slowing down.

Is China Running Out of Steam?

August 14th, 2012

Last week, China’s General Administration of Customs released July trade data showing that China’s exports slowed to a 1% year-over-year growth, down from 11.3% in June, while July imports grew 4.7% as compared to 6.3% in June. Meanwhile, China’s trade surplus fell a whopping $6.6 billion, from $31.8 billion to $25.2 billion.

To put it into perspective, this drop in China’s trade surplus is similar in size to the JPMorgan Chase’s “whale” trading loss over the first and second quarters, and the $5.2 billion loss that the U.S. Postal Service announced for the third quarter.¹ But China’s trade data has perhaps validated some investors’ worries with regard to China’s outlook: the U.S. and European slowdown is taking its toll on China’s export growth engine. After 2009, when many investors felt that China saved the world by outgrowing widespread global economic malaise, this data has created some nervousness in the market by showing that China can’t come to the rescue this time.

 Do you mean China woudl give the U.S. 1 trillion in debt relief?

> Wait a minute - they have $2,000,000,000 with which to stimulate their economy and buy/produce weapons.

 

No, they don't.  They gave us $2 trillion; in exchange, we gave them a note promising to pay it back with interest.  That's what a bond is.  If we stop paying, they stop getting paid.  Between that and the fact that we represent by far their biggest consumer market, they have a lot more to lose in such an exchange than we do.

us $2 trillion; in exchange, we gave them a note promising to pay it back with interest.  That's what a bond is.  If we stop paying, they stop getting paid.  Between that and the fact that we represent by far their biggest consumer market, they have a lot more to lose in such an exchange than we do.

Well.. reneging on government bonds is not really a plausible scenario, it would up the cost of US borrowing by a huge factor, remember bonds are traded and reinvested, they're almost akin to cash in real terms, the effects of altering such a fundamental instrument of government financing would be more catastrophic than any devaluation of US currency caused by Chinese forex manipulation. It would also, as you say, have the effect of making Chinese exports LESS competitive to their largest market, and I agree with your general sentiment that their "house of cards" is far more vulnerable, they're already on the way towards a major recession and when the ponzi-like investments that have propped the whole system up start to unravel they will do so to greater effect, local and global, than the subprime crisis, imo.

 

R