The Beginning of World War III - How'll it go down?

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
This thread is the beginning

News headlines "World War III erupts due to thread started on Anandtech"

The story:
"A user by the name of The Pentium Guy posted his thoughts in a world known as "ATOT' (AnandTech Off Topic) on the beginning of World War III. Little did he know that some Chinese communist officials were reading, and actively participating (" Blah, go get some Taco Bell. ") in his thread, secretely communicating with the CIA officials that were coincidently reading this thread.

Starting from a flamewar on the 13th largest forum on the world, Mao Zedong was infuriated by the lack of support from particular forum members. And so, he deployed all 1 of his nuke(s) against the US and accidently missed the target city of <Insert Big City>, but instead the missle backfired back into his own country. Infuriated, he beheaded all of his engineers and army officials. Eventually, he was the only standing soldier in the army.

And so the story unfolds...."

-The Pentium Guy

I think you should post this in P&N...verbatim.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: moomoo40moo
Do you guys think that China could succesfully attack and defeat the United States in a war?

only if they nuke us. they wouldn't get within 1000 miles of our coast thanks to the worlds greatest-ever navy.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

states will be in chaos and anarchy, dollar wont be worth **** (is already on the way)....

I have to agree on that bit. Our economy is weakening, whereas outsourced economies have seriously grown: take India for example, the economy has BOOMED in the last few years.

-TPG

 

[The Sauce]

"I don't know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with rocks and sticks."

- Albert Einstein

 

[cyclohexane]

it'll be Michael Jackson vs. R. Kelly.

 

[Ns1]

china invades taiwan
us says fawk j00

chaos ensues

 

[Gibsons]

1. China goes military on Taiwan, U.S. gets involved.

2. Something goes really bad in the middle east.

3. India and Pakistan go at it and someone else gets brought in, and it escalates from there.

4. NATO takes out France, Russia goes nuclear because they're jealous.

 

[m2kewl]

it's simple:

lil kim goes berserk, attacks SK, nuke Nippon
US response, lil kim ceases to exist
China interfes, parks nukes on US
China ceases to exist
nuclear fallout cleanses the rest of the gene pool
penquins start celebrating, realizing it's their time to rule middle earth

 

[EKKC]

1. Michael Jackson is acquitted of child molestation charges.
2. Tom Cruise marries Katie Holmes
3. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie adopts Ethiopian child
4. U.S. gets nuked by some unknown country that built up in a few months by Osama Bin Laden while all Americans are concentrated on entertainment news.
5. China loses Yao Ming, nukes Taiwan
6. Saudi Arabia loses biggest oil customer, invades Yemen
7. The leftover American soldiers in Europe and Japan bases nuke the following countries: France, North Korea, Mongolia, Iran, Syria, and Switzerland.
8. India outsourcing centers employees are all unemployed with America destroyed. Indian geeks and computer workforce builds a Hydrogen Bomb and release to Pakistan

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Our nukes are going bad, we need to use them on somebody while they still work

 

[ryanv12]

Alright, well as of right now, China is in no position to go to war with neither the Americans, nor invade Taiwan. China has no amphibious fleet to speak of, and Taiwan is no slouch. They have a more advanced military than the Chinese, but not the numbers. However, Taiwan is isolated, and you can only put as many troops against Taiwan as the capacity of your transport.

Now, this can definitely change in the future. China is modernizing faster than we could ever dream of, but there is a tremendous strain on maintaining so many citizens. However, I have no doubt in my mind that China will be the next superpower, and I pray it doesn't happen with a war against the United States. The United States also doesn't have the military to invade China either. Successes would come at great cost, and China would have the manpower and determination to wear down America. Think about when Germany invaded Russia in World War II; it would be a similar situation.

I forgot who said it on page 1, but I do agree that globalization will overcome nationalization, and world powers will be defined by the strength of their economy - another aspect of China that's rapidly growing.


Now, with Israel/Arab Countries - Israel has already proved in the past that they do not need direct American military help to route their opponents. Just look at all the "wars" and skirmishes they've fought in the past half century against bad odds. I do not see the U.S. getting militarily involved unless the unlikely happens and Israel gets overrun. The least that would happen in such an event is a sort of Lend-Lease like from WWII.

As for Pakistan/India - India is way too large to be invaded, and if you nuke them, you'll get nuked yourself. Mutually assured destruction prevented use of more atomic weapons beyond Hiroshima/Nagasaki throughout the Cold War.

 

[EKKC]

if i was china i'd just find a quick way to destroy taiwan before americans can mobilize their forces to the area from afghan-and-PAkistan and Iraq.

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: EKKC
if i was china i'd just find a quick way to destroy taiwan before americans can mobilize their forces to the area from afghan-and-PAkistan and Iraq.

but china doesn't want to destroy taiwan

 

[EKKC]

i doubt the guy who wrote this article without basis from any facts

http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/2005448.asp

but interesting still

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: moomoo40moo
Do you guys think that China could succesfully attack and defeat the United States in a war?

I don't think they will DEFEAT the US, but they will certainly pose a SERIOUS threat. I think if they wanted to Taiwan could be taken over if a full blown conflict did go on to prevent US from using Taiwan as a staging ground.

Moreover, I'm sure if you've read Tom Clancy's SSN that was just an exaggeration of the US' power. We won't be getting our fleets that close, and we will need a huge coalition (definitely Russia) to overcome this.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Don't think there will be one. I think democracy in the middle east will stabilize the region, and Pakistan and India are already more buddy/buddy these days.

China vs Taiwan is sticky, as that's a real problem. That would be the biggest possibility in my mind, but I don't think that will happen as China depends on the rest of the world for it's economy. All it would take is an embargo by Europe and the US, and they would go broke.

Weapons embargo already in place. Too bad it ain't working huh. China can be very self sufficient =). An embargo? The rest of the world would die without China =P

 

[EKKC]

remember how americans hated commies back in the days (before i was born)?
china is now all buddy buddy even though they pose a threat and are strengthening in terms of economy and military.

why? money. too much trade and money between the 2 countries to risk it over your stupid ego

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: EKKC
remember how americans hated commies back in the days (before i was born)?
china is now all buddy buddy even though they pose a threat and are strengthening in terms of economy and military.

why? money. too much trade and money between the 2 countries to risk it over your stupid ego

Now we hate terrorists. Soon enough we'll be buddy buddy with Osama and the enemy will be.... PENGUINS.

 

[EKKC]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: EKKC
remember how americans hated commies back in the days (before i was born)?
china is now all buddy buddy even though they pose a threat and are strengthening in terms of economy and military.

why? money. too much trade and money between the 2 countries to risk it over your stupid ego

Now we hate terrorists. Soon enough we'll be buddy buddy with Osama and the enemy will be.... PENGUINS.

First Linus Torvalds will be executed

 

[ryanv12]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: moomoo40moo
Do you guys think that China could succesfully attack and defeat the United States in a war?

I think if they wanted to Taiwan could be taken over if a full blown conflict did go on to prevent US from using Taiwan as a staging ground.

Well, assuming you mean invade and occupy Taiwan, there are 3 requirements:

1) You have to gain air superiorty: A modern air battle will be decided in a few days time - not enough for the U.S. to get involved. However, Taiwan has a very modern air force. China has a larger air force, but many planes are dated (Mig-21's, or I believe they call them the J-7's).

2) You have to gain naval superiority: This would also be decided within a matter of days, for the most part. However, if the US gets involved, there's absolutely no Navy that can match it in size, nor strength. If China can't maintain the high seas, then there's no way that they can land or supply a significant force in Taiwan.

3) You have to defeat and successfully occupy the country: Taiwan doesn't have a small military, and they're very well trained and disciplined as well. Defeating them would likely require millions of soldiers. D-Day in Normandy didn't land nearly that many soldiers. It was also a success, despite being outnumbered by the Germans, because the Germans were weakened by years of war (especially with Russia) and thinly stetched across 3 major fronts. Taiwan is much smaller than Europe. Saying you can do that, the United States involvement poses a serious threat of those troops being completely cut off should they lose naval superiority. From there, the US and Taiwanese soldiers could counterattack and destroy an invading force.


Militarily, I don't see China being able to reunite with Taiwan again. It's just not possible as long as the United States has the power and willingness to get involved.

 

I'm not sure, but I hope it happens soon.

 

[CrackRabbit]

This is how the world will end.

 

[ryanv12]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
This is how the world will end.

That NEVER gets old

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I'm not sure, but I hope it happens soon.

:shocked:
SampSon is the very incarnation of :evil:

 

[CMC79]

I'm often full of pessimism about China's rise. But let's remember that people were up in arms over the economic rise of Japan in the 1980's, and then suddenly, the Japanese economy stalled and the US economy roared back to life.

As for comments about "China does all the manufacturing now" that's just silly. China is becoming an industrialized country. The US economy is moving full speed into a post-industrial economy. A similar situation occured as Great Britain moved into industrialization--the previous economy model (agriculture) went into decline. We have less manufacturing because we need those workers not to be uneducated blue collar workers, but we need highly educated white collar workers. The US has the advantages for the new economy. Our legal system protects your ideas, where in China it's a Wild West of IP theft. Why come up with an idea if it's simply going to be stolen? Why think for yourself in a Communist dictatorship if that might get you in trouble, or even killed? Capitalism is a culture as much as anything, and the Chinese don't have the necessary banking, legal, and physical infrastructure to act as a superpower. They have tens of millions whose living conditions must be raised. This is the weakness of their government. People will tolerate it so long as it delivers the economic goods. But remember Stein's Law--if something can't go on, it won't. Chinese growth won't go on forever because it can't. And when the reality sets in, and Chinese economy cools, will the government there be able to resist the inevitable challenge?

Cliffs:
US is stronger than you think and has shown great resiliency.
US is moving post-industrial. China is becoming fully industrial.
China is not as strong as many think, and eventually its economy will cool
Chinese government may not handle a challenge when it doesn't provide jobs.