JeffC,

While I enjoyed the paper, I thought it was inconclusive and I am not exactly sure what your point was. For example, China, and several other countries, are modernizing their military, and of course the U.S. Special Operations is seen as especially effective, so they'll adapt that model where it fits. As for UAVs, not only is China adapting them, so is Hezbollah, and I'm sure several other countries. Economic competition? France, Russia, UK, and a slew of others. My point is you could have selected a number of countries and have basically written the same paper with minor changes. I'm not arguing with your facts, but with your slant. China may be a looming menance to our national security, but this paper was not convincing. I think a serious counter argument could be made that China is very fragile on a number of levels, militarily, politically, and economically. I still enjoyed the paper though, thanks.