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[Kuros]

US's (conventional) strike threat catches China off-guard

[Ya-ta Boy]

[bacasper]

[Kuros]

[Kuros]

More American hyperpower: the anti-ballistic-missile laser

Comments on Star Wars

Today I'm proud to be American. Happy V-Day!

[Ya-ta Boy]

Here's a James Fallows bit on cyberwar:

Cyber Warriors

Next, the authorities stressed that Chinese organizations and individuals were a serious source of electronic threats�but far from the only one, or perhaps even the main one. You could take this as good news about U.S.-China relations, but it was usually meant as bad news about the problem as a whole. �The Chinese would be in the top three, maybe the top two, leading problems in cyberspace,� James Lewis, a former diplomat who worked on security and intelligence issues and is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington, told me. �They�re not close to being the primary problem, and there is debate about whether they�re even number two.� Number one in his analysis is Russia, through a combination of state, organized-criminal, and unorganized-individual activity. Number two is Israel�and there are more on the list. �The French are notorious for looking for economic advantage through their intelligence system,� I was told by Ed Giorgio, who has served as the chief code maker and chief code breaker for the National Security Agency. �The Israelis are notorious for looking for political advantage. We have seen Brazil emerge as a source of financial crime, to join Russia, which is guilty of all of the above.� Interestingly, no one suggested that international terrorist groups�as opposed to governments, corporations, or �normal� criminals�are making significant use of electronic networks to inflict damage on Western targets, although some groups rely on the Internet for recruitment, organization, and propagandizing.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201003/china-cyber-war

Here's another: In overall spending, the United States puts between five and 10 times as much money into the military per year as China does, depending on different estimates of China�s budget. Spending does not equal effectiveness, but it suggests the difference in scale.

If true, and I've seen other estimates that agree, then there's some money to be saved. Slow down this part of the military budget to say, twice, what the Chinese spend and we'd still be far ahead. Then in 20 years or so, if our finances are in better shape and we want to gear up again, then do so.