Thursday, November 28, 2013

Pentagon Is Fortifying It`s Bases In The Pacific To Survive A Chinese Missile Attack


Pentagon Builds Forces In Pacific, Eyes China -- USA Today

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is fortifying bases in the Pacific and looking to revive World War II-era air bases as part of an effort to survive a Chinese missile attack that could wipe out critical installations on Okinawa and elsewhere, military records, interviews and congressional testimony show.

The strategy indicates the evolution of the administration's shift toward Asia, which includes the creation of a growing base in northern Australia. Chinese missiles have been a preoccupation of Pentagon planners who worry they could be used as a threat to deny access to the region by U.S. ships, planes and troops.

Chinese ballistic missiles — termed anti-access, area denial weapons — mean that virtually every U.S. base in the Pacific is under "heavy threat," said Michael Lostumbo, director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Study. A RAND report found that 90% of the bases were within 1,080 nautical miles of China, the distance it defined as being under heavy threat.

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My Comment: If such an attack should ever happen .... it would not only be U.S. bases in the Western Pacific that would be attack .... but also critical US naval facilities on Hawaii and the U.S. west coast.

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