Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 by Fatal Terrain (v1.1) Page B

Nationalists because it is in their
economic interests to side with. us.
But if we bombard Taiwan or Quemoy and imprison or kill theJMationalist
leadership, they will seek retribution from the American government and its
military forces. And as mighty as the People’s Liberation Army is, we cannot
long stand against a strong, determined, organized American military. It would
be a complete failure. My former commander of the South China Sea Fleet,
Admiral Yin Po Lun, acting on orders from General Chin, proved this.
                 “In
my opinion, the Nationalist forces on Quemoy can
easily withstand a blockade, bombardment, and even a full-scale invasion long
enough for the United States to organize a counterattack,” Sun went on.
“Meanwhile, our country would suffer the anger of world opinion. We would be
twice defeated.”
                 General
Chin looked as if he were about to explode; the other generals shifted
resdessly, offended but interested enough to want to hear more before they tore
off this insolent pup’s stars. What
nerve! Jiang thought. What courage! Sun could be dead in four hours—Chin could never allow Sun to remain on his
general staff after this blatant show of disrespect, and Jiang knew of Chins
henchmen that would work secretly and effectively to cause Sun to have an
untimely, unexplained “accident”—but Jiang admired him his youthful strength
and audacity. Chin thundered, “I order you to leave this chamber and report
to—! ”
                 Jiang
raised a hand. “I wish for the young admiral to continue,” he said, then turned
his hand palm upward, a signal to continue. Chin looked as if he had been
slapped—he even rubbed his face, as if still feeling the blow. Jiang said, “So,
Comrade Admiral, you think we cannot prevail against the Americans?”
                 “Not
in a direct engagement with an organized, determined, and bloodthirsty American
military force, sir,” Sun replied. “The American military—any large military force,
including our own —is like a large,
heavy sledgehammer. It is unwieldy and takes great strength to employ, but once
in action, it is highly effective. Hammer against hammer, army against army,
the American military is clearly superior, and Sun-tzu teaches us to evade a
superior opponent.
                 “But
the buzzing of a single mosquito, the hot rays of the sun, or a single bead of
sweat in the eyes can disrupt he who wields the hammer enough so that his blows
are less effective, or can even prevent him from swinging the hammer
altogether. Even more important, if the target of the hammers blow is small,
irregular, or moves too quickly, even the best smith can miss his mark. After
several ineffective blows, the strongest smith will tire, lose patience, make
mistakes, and eventually cease. He has lost. He has been defeated by a vastly
inferior force—and he has been defeated by himself.
                 “Sir,
I have studied the tao of the
American military, and I have examined our tao, and my studies conclude that the Americans have no desire for prolonged battle
in Asia . Asia in general and China in particular
have an aura of deadly mystery and foreboding for Westerners—they fear China’s
massive population, its history of violence and warfare, our homogeneous
society, and the knowledge we have gained over centuries of civilization.
Americans in particular are reluctant to have anything to do with us, fearing
to be drawn into another protracted Vietnam-like battle—they fear traveling far
from home, of being drawn into a dark tunnel of mystery and killed by punji
sticks and knives carried by billions of tiny yellow hands. And they are far
weaker than they appear. The American navy is three-fourths the size it was in
1991 after the Persian Gulf War; the American air force is almost half the
size. American forces in Japan , including Okinawa , have been cut in half since 1992. And