I honestly do not believe that I have ever read a bigger load of codswallop than in this post by Dan Blumenthal at The Hill:
Since the Cold War, the United States has divested itself of its strategic-level political warfare capabilities. It needs to rebuild those to prepare for an intensification of the “three warfares†should a conflict arise, push back now against the tenuous claims of China’s inevitable “rise,†and begin to target the regime with an information campaign that saps its morale and takes advantage of the Chinese population’s deep mistrust of Chinese political leaders. In other words, while Washington must reverse its military decline, it also has ways, as yet undeveloped, to counter China’s attempts to “win without fighting.â€
What we need to do is revitalize the American economy. As long as that’s strong we have nothing to worry about from China. Without that not only can’t we support our enormous military machine, it will be of no use to us.
U. S. geopolitical strength is based on economic strength. There is no substitute for it.
This is simple.
First, stop using the M-16 variants, and start using the Chinese AK-47. In addition to being cheaper, it uses 7.62 rounds. I am sure that the Chinese version of armaments and equipment is much cheaper, and if you cannot trust imported goods, what goods can you trust?
Second, stop hiring Americans. Undocumented workers will do what Americans will not do. The pay, housing, and chow could be reduced dramatically, and whereas Americans want body armor and helmets, undocumented workers will do the job without any frills.
I have no doubt that the Free-Trader and Open-Border advocates will endorse the plan 110%.
I would add that the Russians, Chinese, and Israelis all have substantially more expertise in cybersecurity than we do. We could outsource our efforts in that area to them and realize major savings.
Also, the Russians are the acknowledged masters of psyops. Just as one gauge on any given day you can open the newspaper and read a story that repeats Cold War era Soviet propaganda. As Sam Clemens put it a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its boots on. If China is your concern, we should get the Russians doing our psyops for us.
We could outsource our efforts in that area to them and realize major savings.
Congressional Democrats already did that. So did Hillary, for that matter. It worked out splendidly!