Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
Part of President Obama's platform when running for office was his anti-Iraq war stance, but what he seems to fail to recognize at this time is we're looking at an entirely new threat that has nothing to do with our former premise for invading Iraq (WMD). He seems to be trapped in the past. Action is clearly needed in Iraq, and while this may be an overused phrase, it isn't inappropriate. The terrorist organization(s) in Iraq are a "clear and present danger" not only to Iraq, but our interests in the region and to our homeland.

Don't count the U.S. out yet, I think you'll see a major change in our worldview and how we approach it when the next President assumes the office, regardless of whether that person is a democrat or republican.

Relative to China we do have a competitive advantage militarily, but I think a lot of China's economic might is built on a very flimsy foundation. The fact that we're clawing our way back from the economic crisis we went through, even with ineffective political leadership in the White House and Congress, demonstrates our system is pretty resilient. I doubt China could recover from a similar crisis of the scale we went through.
A few words.

1. I don't think anyone is counting on a super hegemon, those days are over. This is more like the World of Bismark & Gladstone - a very delicate balancing act.

2. China not only recovered from warlordism, it also recovered from a Japanese invasion and Mao's cultural revolution - all last century. China is a lot more resilient than we think.

3. I don't see China's economic foundation as flimsy; it's a lot more resilient than we give them credit for - and from Africa & Latin America - you can see a strategy for future economic growth - which the US simply does not have.

Chinese trade with Africa was $210 billion this year, US trade with Africa was $85 billion. While Chinese trade is on an upward swing, US trade is actually declining - the same applies to Latin America.

I haven't seen any glimmer of a Bismark in any major US politician - maybe you know more about them than I do.