Why all the fuss then? If the Chinese are as inept as Westerners make them out to be, then why all the anger about the their military buildup when it plays into the strategy of treating China like Reagan did with the Soviet Union? Why all the alarmists out there when every individual American is a Rambo capable of defeating China all by him or herselves? China isn’t going to go bankrupt not building a military that can’t catch-up with the US. And Americans seem to think if and when there’s a war with China, either it’s going to start in the next couple of minutes or in the future where China will be fighting with yesterday’s technology?

I wouldn’t go so far as to say inept, China inept? No. Is China trying to make second hand Soviet junk work right, Sure, It’s their money to waste. If China was more like Japan or Taiwan, China would be a valued Ally, Instead China is merely a trading partner with a confused government, It doesn’t know If It wants to be aligned with Captitalism or Communism. Is America an Empire? No as that would mean America has an Emperor and America doesn’t have that, Nor is America willing to tolerate that either, We have checks and balances to keep that from ever happening and the Military takes an Oath to uphold the Constitution and Laws of the USA(Not to be confused with the old sailing ship of the same name of course).
Anger? I think You confuse concern for anger, As that is all It is over here, Anger is an emotional response that has nothing to do with the cold hard facts. Reagan was Reagan, Times have changed, No one in the USA hates China, At least 99% or so don’t and the rest are too dumb to know better.
Rambo? I think You’ve been watching too many movies, Americans are not like Him, Some that are in the Military, May be slightly like Him physically, But that is as close as It would get. Rambo is a feel good Movie only and is a product of Hollywood and is in no way related to the US government at all, as Hollywood does what It wants within the Constitution and Laws in the USA(It’s also a way for an aging actor to make some more money too), Heck owning the M-60 Machine Gun or any machine gun over here is not legal at all and hasn’t been since around 1930 or so(Movie Studios can get a Federal permit though and It is strictly enforced). I doubt most Americans think that way as We view war as a last resort, But It’s not something to be avoided at all costs of course as there are limits(The Japanese Government and Nazi Germany in WWII thought America would roll over and Sue for Peace back in 1941, We didn’t). The Boys Scouts of America have a motto and It is “Be Prepared” and that philosophy is a good and prudent one.

I mean If You think movies are what Americans and America is all about then You are sadly mistaken, We like our freedom of course, Of course Freedom is not unlimited, Nor should It be, As reasonable limits are in place already and have been for longer than I have been alive. When changes needed to be made, Changes were made to happen by consensus(by an elected majority). We don’t like Bribery of officials of course as We don’t consider It honest, Tips for some non governmental professions are allowed though. The USA had to build the TVA back in the 30’s to improve the lives of the people of the Tennessee Valley area with a massive project, Some people were against It and It went through the courts and the courts ruled that people had to be compensated and moved at government expense and the US government did that. Would China do that? Would It establish an Independent Court and obey any decision It made, Even If that decision was not to the Communist Partys liking?

Oh and as to Rambo again, Are You sure on the “every individual American is a Rambo” remark?

As I’m currently disabled and receiving SSI, I could hardly at near 400lbs look anything like rambo, Much less scare anything bigger than a house cat.

In case anyone needs to ask, Google found this on AIP.:D
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/issue_13/propulsion.htm
http://www.google.com/search?q=air+independent+propulsion&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

De Gaulle President of France in 1954???!? I dont know where you got that from but you’re seriously mistaken. De Gaulle came back to power in 1958 (in 54, he was writing his memoirs) and France withdrew from NATO’s integrated military structure in 1966. It did so because it had a problem with the US, and certainly not with the Germans (i.e. NATO being a US controlled organisation, it challenged French sovereignty to an extent that the (touchy) De Gaulle could not stand).

Well, call me silly, but I dont understand why any country should assist the US if it is contrary to its own interests!!!

On a more substantive note, are there really some in the British MoD who argue that the CVFs do not need their own E-2s because British forces will always act in cooperation with US forces (at least in cases where AEW is really needed, not necessarily in lesser cases (such as for instance an intervention in Sierra Leone)??

Ok, sorry about that, I thought It was 1954 as I was under the impression that It had happened about then. Honest mistake.

Yeah from what I read about Him in WWII He was also a bit stubborn too. Of course He was better than those in France before they were defeated in WWII, Who were still fighting the last war of course(WWI).

I wonder can the French air to air heat seekers be fooled by tinfoil? Or is that just a movie idea? Sidewinders wouldn’t be that easy to fool I’d think.

As to being silly, That is up to You.;)

Well having a good E-2 of their own wouldn’t be a bad idea, What If they were operating on their own somewhere, Without one they’d be a bit near sighted as It can give a ship more distance and possibly time to react to a perceived threat, An air, sea or land launched cruise missle for example I think(If It’s big enough or detectable enough). If some MoD officials are saying that, Then maybe the officials don’t have much Navy experience with big Carriers as It’s a BIG expensive platform that needs to be protected, No idea here on the MoD officials(shrug), Nimitz type Carriers have about 5000 personnel onboard or so. Being prepared as much as possible is always a good idea to Me.

Considering the recent work on the Vary or whatever China names Her, She looks pretty ship shape now, It’s amazing what can happen in only 7 or 8 months, The Vary might be their Langley for all I know, Hey You have to start somewhere, they also bought an Aussie light carrier too, I haven’t seen one picture of Her as the HMAS Melbourne was supposedly studied and then scrapped and then there’s the Minsk, She is for the moment a tourist trap It looks like, Could She be made active? Possibly, But It won’t be right now as China’s shipyards look to be plenty busy and with the 2010 Olympics coming up It’ll just have to be one of those things that doesn’t get forgotten(speculation on My part about the Minsk really), If It does She could end up being refitted while everyones attention is diverted for all I know(Vietnam was a good lesson for the USA, Communists there said one thing at the peace talks in Paris France and then attacked in Vietnam). Some ships, So far subs and similar sized are the only real ones to be built under a roofed over drydock, But It could be done, The only reasons It wasn’t done to the Yamato and the Mushashi and of course the Shinden(Converted to an Aircraft Carrier later on and sank by a US Sub) was cause they didn’t need to as their were no satellites then and cause Cranes of the Time and possibly large structures weren’t too practical as Japan did have sisal Netting setup to keep anyone from Photographing them while being built(Top Secret project then), Today It would be practical, It would from the dock up look sort of like a hanger for a Dirigible airship, Only wider and maybe a little taller if needed(No It’s not a blimp, It isn’t the same as a Dirigible has a rigid frame or skeleton, A blimp does not). Afterall It only needs to keep prying cameras from orbit and near the ground from taking any detailed photos of It while It’s internal structure is being built.

Oh and as to an Aircraft Carrier being a support ship to a submarine, that’s ludicrous, A Carrier is today referred to a Capital ship as was the Battleship before It. Subs don’t assert Air Superiority over islands far away from land based planes, Only an Aircraft Carrier or a group of them can do that, Subs are best suited to one of several roles, anti-ship warfare(convoys, enemy warship interdiction[sorry no trucks]), Sea to ground combat(missles against land based targets), sabotaging vulnerable enemy shore installations and planting or picking up coast watchers(used against Japan in WWII, Not quite so useful today of course). Aircraft that are land based would have to fly across the straights to Taiwan and then have a limited amount of time to fly before returning to a friendly shore base or they’d drop into the sea, So an Aircraft Carrier is something is needed for any attack and conquest of Taiwan or any island far from land based planes, As without It any battle over Taiwan and the straights would just amount to another Battle of Britain possibly(We all know what happened then, Don’t we?). It also depends on If the Chinese have a working in flight refueling capacity for their landbased airplanes.

Well from what I’ve read, Something is going on in that one Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard, From what I’ve read It’s very suspicous no matter what as the last time a warship was built in a shipyard area that was designed to prevent any observation, this was the Nagasaki Shipyard, This was prior to WWII in Imperial Japan and this was not for a Carrier, This was for the most Famous pair of warships ever made in Asia at the time, The ships were the Yamoto class Super Battleships(Yamoto and Mushashi, 68,500tons design tonnage), They have the record for main armament of course 9-18.1″ main guns and for taking the most hits before being sunk.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/4770024002/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9852952-8272803#reader-page
I once built a 1/350th scale model of this monster ship.

While these reports persist, they appear to be based on rumor and speculation, which despite repeated efforts, have gone unverified. For instance, the multiple aircraft carriers that China is reported to be building, are all said to be under construction at the same time at a shipyard in Shanghai, which is also enclosed, to prevent observation.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/cv.htm

So something is going on there If It is indeed true.