>>>>>Luckily everybody plays nice in the world.
>>>>>
>>>>>http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/20/railgun-laser-weapon-lose-senate-funding-face-uncertain-future/
>>>>>
>>>>>I guess if nothing else, the UN and NATO can protect us.
>>>>>
>>>>>Or we could buy advanced weapons from China after we give them the west coast to pay down some of our debt.
>>>>
>>>>I don't think many of us are against defense. There is just some resistance to giving the military and military contractors a blank check for progressively more exotic toys. Which countries exactly are these proposed new weapons supposed to defend us against? Can you name a single nation on earth that poses a credible military threat to us given the weaponry we already have?
>>>>
>>>>Everyone should stop worrying so much about China. They've got one foot in the modern world and one foot hundreds of years in the past. Check out their GDP, their literacy rate, the amount of basic infrastructure like plumbing outside the big cities.
>>>
>>>Tell that to Taiwan and the Philippines. They'll feel much better knowing that when they see the Chinese hardware arrayed against them.
>>
>>Here is a pop quiz. Which country do I care most about?
>>
>>A. Taiwan
>>B. Philippines
>>C. United States
>>
>>Nothing against Taiwan or the Philippines but IMO going out of our way to defend them is a luxury we can't afford. We've got problems of our own. We can't protect the whole world from Bad Things Happening. When China, or any other country, poses a realistic threat of hitting us, then I'll be concerned. We shouldn't be spending billions on yet another level of firepower when we can already obliterate them in about an hour.
>
>Yep. Kinda like 1939.
>
>And the level of firepower used to obliterate another large country is the kind that will cause WWIII - that is why we keep fighting with much lighter weaponry.

That is a real reach IMO. Germany's global ambitions and pugnacity were well known. They were in a desperate financial situation as a result of the first World War. They had a fascist lunatic in charge instead of some faceless bureaucrat. The German military was itching for action. As far as I can tell China's ambitions are economic, not military.

Charles could give you a far more erudite response. He's PO-ed at me these days but credit where credit is due. He knows more about history than most of the history professors I had.