One of the biggest jokes on my blog is the US media's fascination with the Chinese military. The US spends more than the top ten or thirteen countries in the world -- combined -- on its military. And it has been in active combat for the last ten years. Yet you still see stone idiot news, lately on Chinese inventions, said to put us behind the eight ball.
There are many things that have put the United States behind the eight ball. Most of our own invention. Chinese military might isn't one of them.
So earlier this week, the never-ending tale of the Chinese super missile. Similar to stories about Soviet super missiles decades ago. It even looks like them.
A new "carrier killer" missile that has become a symbol of China's rising military might will not force the U.S. Navy to change the way it operates in the Pacific, a senior Navy commander told The Associated Press.
Defense analysts say the Dong Feng 21D missile could upend the balance of power in Asia, where U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups have ruled the waves since the end of World War II.
Like previous stories on the Chinese wonder-weapon, it's full-time blah-blah-blah and no action, immediately departing from reality on the ground in the US.
In our real world, Chinese kit -- all the stuff lining the shelves of American stores (and it literally is everything), from all garments to all electric guitars once invented here to all flatware -- is either really substandard, slightly substandard, or acceptable by necessity because no other products are available. Because we gave up all manufacturing of the same things for the sake of Wall Street and the immediate bottom line. And even if you didn't want to buy the stuff you have no choice because it would mean going naked, shoe-less and with no furniture or appliances in your apartment.
The only thing you'd have left would be the dry and canned food on your cupboard shelves. Because your refrigerator would be taken away, too.
And suddenly the same country is said to have a missile that puts the supercarrier fleet at risk in the Pacific Ocean. In the bigger picture, how does it even matter?
Here's a thought exercise.
Assume it's as perfectly omnipotent as claimed. The Chinese plink a US supercarrier in some imagined but not at all likely shooting confrontation off North Korea or Taiwan.
We still manufacture weapons. In fact, that's about all we make, other than hookers, the unemployed and beer, the latter of which is now all owned by Belgium.
You think the US military is going to sit around muttering "Woe is me" and not retaliate with more than a symbolic mussing of the hair?
Yep, just another example of news for the purpose of creating the impression the US military is behind in some way, and thereby needful of immunization against the sacrifice that's going to be shoved down everyone else's throats.
This post was initially published at Dick Destiny blog.
