Posted on Oct 30, 2020
Brown: USAF’s Too Focused on Chinese Assets, Not Enough on Intent - Air Force Magazine
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Posted 4 y ago
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He's not wrong. For decades the USAF focus has been primarily on new tech and super whizz-bang weaponry. None of that is effective unless you understand the enemy's tactics and strategy. The US mentality has always been victory oriented. We play to win and that is our focus, much like the sporting events that drive our culture. The Chinese (indeed, the Asian) mentality has a culture that is goal driven. It would never occur to an American that losing a war is okay if you met your goals. This is precisely the type of conflict we would be engaging in with China. Much like our fight with Vietnam where we won all of the battles but lost the war, we could find ourselves in similar, lose-lose situation with China. We may beat the hell out of them but if they shrink their population by 100-200 million young men (a stated goal of the CCP) then they win in that. If they retain Taiwan and other seized territories as a result of a surrender or peace agreement, they win. I am constantly frustrated by my superiors and peers when we discuss potential scenarios with the Chinese and every situation is met with comments like, "That's impossible!" or "The Chinese don't have the capabilities!" or "That's never been done before!" Sun Tsu's "The Art of War" is required reading for Army officers. Perhaps the Air Force should invest in a few thousand copies? We underestimate our rivals at our own peril.
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