China is trying to develop nuclear capability

[rambone]

JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you view China as a potential military threat to the United States?

HERMAN CAIN: I do view China as a potential military threat to the United States... we already have superiority in terms of our military capability, and I plan to get away from making cutting our defense a priority and make investing in our military capability a priority, going back to my statement: peace through strength and clarity. So yes they're a military threat. They've indicated that they're trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.



GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain unaware China has nukes

Herman Cain is apparently unaware that China conducted its first test of a nuclear device on October 16th... 1964. Though China is estimated to have around 400 nuclear weapons stockpiled, including around 20 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of targeting the United States, they're a ratifier of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as one of the five "nuclear weapons states" which also obviously includes the United States.

 

[cobber]

That's reassuring in a presidential candidate.

He's imploding fast.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Did the report exploit that? Or did Cain possibly mean a reliable nuclear delivery system (which China current doesnt have)?

 

[PistolBob]

Did the report exploit that? Or did Cain possibly mean a reliable nuclear delivery system (which China current doesnt have)?

Define reliable delivery system. To where?

 

[jmiller676]

/\ There to here.

 

[mrjarrell]

Did the report exploit that? Or did Cain possibly mean a reliable nuclear delivery system (which China current doesnt have)?

They've been launching space vehicles for a few years now. ICBM's are something they've had for years. They could deliver a warhead here if they chose to.

 

[cobber]

Did the report exploit that? Or did Cain possibly mean a reliable nuclear delivery system (which China current doesnt have)?

It appears to be a verbatim quote, so presumably he meant what he said, unless he didn't. He didn't expand on it there, although just like some other matters, I'm sure he'll 'explain' it in coming days.


As to the aircraft carrier business, the Chinese have one decommissioned Ukrainian carrier configured for jump jets. It's not comparable to our carriers. Odds are they want to project force into the South China Sea, as they bolster their claim for the oil there. I don't see China going toe-to-toe with the 7th Fleet.

 

[chraland51]

Mr. Cain's advisors need to bring him up to speed in several areas to prevent him from looking bad like this in the future. Even I know that China has been a nuclear power for decades. They have taken our stealth technology and have likely improved upon it. They just unveiled a new generation of aircraft carrier. They have submarine technology that will allow them to pop up right next to our flagship during fairly recent maneuvers. If I know this, Mr. Cain should also know this for his own good. I do not really care if he made some manual gesture to some over-sensitive woman regarding how her height compared to the height of his wife. I might get some flack for this, but it just kinda reminds me of the smear campaign the Clarence Thomas got years ago from Anita Hill who is still sticking to her story. There might have been something to that too, but when it comes to a she-says, he-says situation, I try not to jump to conclusions. These women might have been just paid off to make it go away because of the damage and suspicion it would have caused. I just do not know. Mr. Cain could also be a serial sex offender. I just have not seen the evidence to prove it either way so I am going to reserve my opinion for now. I am more concerned about his ignorance of foreign affairs. He does know that Israel is our ally, however and that is a start. Just my two cents.

 

[badwolf.usmc]

/\ There to here.

China is able to knock a satellite out of orbit, which is harder than hitting a major US city with a nuke. I don't know if they have MIRV, but without a ballistic shield it wouldn't matter.

 

[Plinker]

Time for tnek to chime in.

 

[edporch]

Did the report exploit that? Or did Cain possibly mean a reliable nuclear delivery system (which China current doesnt have)?

It wasn't until President Clinton allowed LORAL, headed by Bernard Schwartz to sell staging and guidance technology to Red China that they gained the ability to build a workable ICBM.

Up until then, they may have had had nuclear capability, but no real means to project that capability much beyond their borders.

 

[jedi]

OK so he is a little off on his statement. But look at the underlying foundation he does see CHINA as a threat to US. Is that not true? Poke fun at his mis-statement if you will but I think he does see the real trouble with CHINA.

BTW I have no interest in cain 1 way or the other. Don't know him as a candiate since I have not spend anything really hearing what he has to say.

 

[KLB]

OK so he is a little off on his statement. But look at the underlying foundation he does see CHINA as a threat to US. Is that not true? Poke fun at his mis-statement if you will but I think he does see the real trouble with CHINA.

BTW I have no interest in cain 1 way or the other. Don't know him as a candiate since I have not spend anything really hearing what he has to say.

The real trouble that they are trying to become a military threat to us?

The real trouble is on the financial front. We are plummeting deeper and deeper into debt, and much of it is owned by China.

 

[badwolf.usmc]

The real trouble is on the financial front. We are plummeting deeper and deeper into debt, and much of it is owned by China.

China holds 16% of all Public debt.

United States public debt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[HeadlessRoland]

China has had nuclear weapons, verifiable nuclear weapons, since 1965.
So does the Sexually Smooth Godfather expect us to believe he's really capable to lead this nation? Someone's fifteen minutes are just about up.

On another note, it infuriates me to no end that people take this clown even half serious and dismiss Ron Paul out of hand.

 

[Zoub]

China has had nuclear weapons, verifiable nuclear weapons, since 1965.
So does the Sexually Smooth Godfather expect us to believe he's really capable to lead this nation? Someone's fifteen minutes are just about up.

On another note, it infuriates me to no end that people take this clown even half serious and dismiss Ron Paul out of hand.

Black is Beautiful baby. Ron Paul is just too butt ass ugly to get elected to a National office, that is a proven fact. However, if Cain wins, I am sure he will let Ol' Whitey have a seat at the table.

As for the second note, adjust your meds. You should not get furious over something that is not in your control. Seriously. Plus the only poll that matters is the one we vote in, otherwise Hillary would be President today. There is still hope for Paul.

(yeah right, that Mo Fo is just too.........UHG-LEE)

As for capability, I grew up around some of the original rocket scientists, Cain only follows in their footsteps BUT there are many definitions of capability. Cain knows the Chinese have nukes, he played in that arena.

Everyone knows or should know Clinton sold them all our technology. We made that threat real. The weakness of Communist in warfare is the lack of independent thought by soldiers. We need to find a way to make Russia an ally, in spite of the history with George Bush, not fixate on a word like Capability and how various people use it.

How would Ron Paul look with his shirt off and holding a rifle? OK, he is done.

 

[rambone]

I wonder if Herman Cain wants to surround China with warships over this purported risk of WMDs. That's his stated Iran policy. Surround them with warships and prepare for war.

 

[bingley]

China's political system, as oppressive as it is, usually produces people who are much more informed about the world than many presidential candidates in the US. Much of the election process is beginning to look like a popularity contest in a reality show. We don't value knowledge in this country. Herman Cain says something to the effect of, if a reporter asks me who the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-stan is, I'd say I don't know. Guess what, those clever Chinese officials know. They gotta, because they have been approving loans to the US so we can pay for and drop bombs in Ubeki-beki-beki-stan. Eventually all this differential in knowledge will add up to something. We can't vote for ignorance anymore.

Whether China is a military threat is besides the point. No partial credit for something like this.

Da Bing

 

[Zoub]

I wonder if Herman Cain wants to surround China with warships over this purported risk of WMDs. That's his stated Iran policy. Surround them with warships and prepare for war.

All battle plans only last until the first shot is fired. Do we really care what one man thinks today may be part of a solution? The President is one man among many and right now Obama is President.

The French proved a fixed posiion does not work. China will be next.

Cain wants to use a mobile technology and it goes a long way. It does not take much to "ring" anyone. Technology works, just ask those dead American traitors we offed in the desert. BAM, smoked, where did that come from? Scary. Lets go herd some goats and make a new plan.

The fight will come, it is the way of the animal known as Man. Do we die fighting or just lay down? The Chinese have subs, we track them but can we get them all? Do the chinese fear us? Yes. But if we go broke like Russia and fall into a state of unreadiness, not so much. Attack becomes more viable. Economy pays taxes and taxes pay for National Defense and the luxury of self determination.

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

 

[KLB]

China holds 16% of all Public debt.

United States public debt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Which is the #1 foreign creditor.