Issue: Is America’s Military Preparing for a War With China?

Is America preparing for war with China?  You bet, says Amitai Etzioni, a professor of international relations a George Washington University. In a Huffington Post blog, he writes that since 2009 the Pentagon has been fleshing out an “operational concept, which prepares the United States, among other contingencies, for an all-out war with China.”

Air-Sea Battle, as it’s called, “is moving beyond the contingency phase to implementation, including force restructuring and significant budget allocations, changes that are difficult to reverse once they are set in motion,” Etzioni writes.

Last month, thousands of Japanese troops and sailors took part in the Dawn Blitz exercises at Camp Pendleton and with the Navy’s Third Fleet at San Clemente Island.

Were these war games just saber-rattling? Or were they a precursor to a China fight? If so, is this worrisome or a sign America is getting tough with its economic adversary? Share your thoughts in the comments.