Ghost of a flea: America's acupuncture points

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July 25, 2008

America's acupuncture points

The magnificently named Victor N. Corpus considers America's ~~Achilles' heel~~ acupuncture points in the event of a shooting war with Red China. Overwrought, and reading more like a confrontation with an axis of China, Russia and Iran than the PRC alone, I nevertheless enjoy this sort of gedankenexperiment if only for entertainment value. That said, the notion "diplomatic isolation" is a threat on par with the potential effects of EMP is just laughable; even an Obama administration could struggle on without the approval of the French.

China may not possess any of those expensive aircraft carriers of the superpower, but it can wipe out those carrier battle groups with a "single blow" of its assassin's mace or shashaujian –its major tool for conducting asymmetric warfare to defeat the US in a major confrontation over the Taiwan issue or other issues.

The US may possess the most powerful war machine in the world, but it can be defeated by an inferior force by avoiding the superpower's strength and exploiting its weaknesses. Again, an integral part of Chinese doctrine is: "Victory through inferiority over superiority." One famous Chinese strategist, Chang Mengxiong, compared asymmetric warfare to "a Chinese boxer with a keen knowledge of vital body points who can bring a stronger opponent to his knees with a minimum of movement".

All very well so far as it goes. But then sometimes Bambi's kung fu runs in to Godzilla's foot fu.

Related: India has accepted a landmark deal lifting its "rogue" status in the club of countries with nuclear weaponry. The Anglosphere and civilization itself are better for the news.

In 2006, George Bush offered Delhi a nuclear pact, which allows India to keep its nuclear bombs and access nuclear technology and material in return for separating its military and civilian reactors and accepting international inspections. It is an exceptional offer. Brazil and South Africa had to give up their nuclear weapons programmes before export controls were lifted.

"This is a big move. It signals India coming out of international isolation and that it can be part of the community of nations. This is important for a country that aspires to be on the G8," said K Subrahmanyam, a defence analyst.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at July 25, 2008 02:53 AM

Comments

Not a bad article but he overstates the effect of EMP on military infrastructure. Military planners have known for decades that EMP effects would disrupt C4ISR, that is why they blow a pile of money hardening satellites, airborne command centres, and ground-based command centres.

Civil society will certainly feel the effects, and they will be catastrophic, but for mil-infrastructure, it will be damaging but not fatal. It would certainly not render ICBMs inert in their silos; every western ICBM worth deploying is EMP-hardened already. So are the adversary's.

Posted by: Chris Taylor at July 25, 2008 01:37 PM