Should we feel secure?

Paul Gilbert reports,

U.S. leaders have enabled China to fund the rise of its military while presiding over the decline of ours.

Can the U.S. military actually protect our country? We should all have serious doubts.

The United States developed and deployed the atomic bomb in Japan in 1945 to end World War II. Believing such weapons would be the ultimate deterrent, the United States ramped up its nuclear arsenal and enhanced its aircraft and missile delivery systems. After the Soviet Union’s collapse, the United States stood alone as the world’s superpower.

President Richard Nixon opened the door in 1971 to China, which began the latter’s policy of “state-run capitalism.” This set the stage for China’s slow evolution into a world power.

U.S. companies began taking advantage of the China Trade Bill and invested heavily in manufacturing operations there, resulting in disinvestment in the United States and eventually contributing to a trade imbalance favoring China that rose to more than $400 billion a year. Much of that surplus enabled China to build its military.

In an attempt to make up for sequestration, President Trump increased military spending annually by more than $200 billion; however, it may have been too little, too late. The greater funding did enable the U.S. military to play catch-up in some fundamental areas, like restoring munitions levels, maintaining and refurbishing aircraft and ships, and setting aside funds for updating the nuclear arsenal. Yet some tangible results would not be realized for a decade. Although subject to a great deal of criticism, Trump also had the foresight to propose, establish, and fund the Space Force to prepare the United States to compete with China in an emerging battleground.

While the U.S. military “brain trust” was making improvements to night-vision optics, armored personnel carriers, single-purpose jet fighters and bombers and “next generation” aircraft carriers that cannot reliably lift aircraft and armaments to the flight deck, launch the aircraft, or arrest aircraft upon landing, China developed a larger and better equipped standing army; a larger operational navy, including carriers that actually function; and an expanded infrastructure that increases its potential control of islands and countries abutting the South China Sea. Perhaps most ominous was China’s progress in hypersonic missile development and aircraft flown by artificial intelligence.

There are numerous reports that while the U.S.S. Gerald Ford won’t be fully operational until at least 2023, China has already developed hypersonic missiles that could destroy the Ford today, with little or no warning. While the United States has developed piloted, multiple specialty aircraft, war gaming indicates China’s comparable planes, flown by AI, will beat piloted aircraft every time.

China has strategically positioned itself for eventual control of the South China Sea with the ultimate prize of netting Taiwan, and the United States is in no position to capably defend Taiwan in any way that would not lead to an embarrassing defeat of our military. Published reports indicate the outcome of every gaming scenario has China prevailing.

Lastly, China has apparently developed its hypersonic missile program to the point that they are nuclear-capable and their paths can be controlled in a low-earth orbit to hit very close to their targets. Remarkably, the U.S. intelligence community admitted they “did not see this coming.”

Even worse, it was subsequently disclosed that a nuclear-equipped hypersonic missile exploding over the United States could create an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that would effectively destroy the nation’s electrical grid, which our “leaders” have failed to harden. Such an attack would immediately put us back into the mid-1800s, possibly causing more than 300 million Americans to eventually perish.

If Taiwan becomes “one” with China, China will control 70 percent of the world’s microchip production, 70 percent of the mining and 90 percent of the rare earth elements; and up to 90 percent of certain medications, many life-sustaining. That could make China the world’s superpower, and the United States its serf.

Read more here: https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/21/can-the-u-s-military-still-protect-americans/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=can-the-u-s-military-still-protect-americans&utm_term=2021-12-21