Army Chief of Staff Odierno says budget cuts have reduced readiness to a mere two brigades, which doesn't even amount to a whole division - okay, I know it's absurd and no doubt not gonna happen and so forth and so on, but this sad state of affairs hobbling America's military combined with fact now clearly evidenced that Obama's view of that military is ah, how should one put it, decidedly not inclined to see it as an indispensable force serving American interests in a dangerous world but rather tending towards a 'hey, imagine all the cool stuff I could fund if not for those bloody aircraft carriers' take on things - given that, the PLA really must be wondering on some level that this mess is presenting as an opportunity it'd be foolish not to exploit. I mean, last time America looked this weak and vulnerable was with Carter and he was followed by Reagan and ten years later the Soviet Union was no more - so, I mean, someone in China must be thinking about that and wondering 'Obama has opened a door, ten years from now are we gonna regret not walking through it?' - yes, let's not get hysterical here, sure - but there are moves China could make that do not necessarily risk or threaten 'hostilities' yet would still amount to being strategically significant if Obama chose not to respond. Just saying.
