The following is excerpted from “Washington Rules, America’s Path to Permanent War” by Andrew J. Bacevich:

“For some comparative perspective, consider this possibility:  In light of his country’s status as a rising power, China’s minister of defense announces plans to:

1) Increase Chinese military spending so that annual expenditures by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will henceforth e4xceed the combined defense budgets of Japan, South Korea, Russia, India, Germany, France and Great Britain;

2) Create a constellation of forward-depl9yed PLA garrisons in strategically sensitive areas around the world, including say, Latin America, expressing the global range of Chinese interests.

3) Negotiate access agreements and overflight rights with dozens of nations to facilitate humanitarian intervention and augment the PLSA’s ability to assist in maintaining global stability;

4) Partition Planet Earth into sprawling territorial commands, with one four-star Chinese general assigned responsibility for the Asia Pacific, another for Africa, a third for the Middle East, and so on – to include a Chinese North America Command, charged with monitoring conditions on that continent, and a Chinese Space Command responsible for the cosmos;

5) Institute a vigorous program of war games and exercises in countries around the world, to include the Western Hemisphere, while maintain in instant readiness the land, air, and naval forces need to convert such games and exercises into combat operations;

6) Form a PLA Long-Range Strike Force, capable on very short notice of conducting Intercontinental attacks, employing conventional or nuclear weapons or operating in cyberspace.”

Now ask yourself how the USA is perceived by other nations for doing the above?

How would our able young men and women react to such a Chinese hegemony?

Between making ourselves the world’s police force and squandering at least 5% of our Gross National Product on inferior health care, is there any wonder why the USA is sliding towards second world status?