Kevin Brooks wrote:
"Henry J Cobb" wrote in message
...
Can you please list all of the air bases the US Air Force has within 600
miles of Taiwan that they can use without needing a permission slip from
a foreign government?

Trust Henry to jump in a day late, a dollar short, and with his skivvies on
fire. We do have one such base in Okinawa, looks to be close to the five to
six hundred mile range. Of course, the PI are a possibility, and they have
no great affection for the PRC, either.

See the bit above about permission slip.

What if we had a war and the US Air Force didn't show up because their
F/A-22s couldn't reach it?

While I sympathize with your position here (and indeed believe the USAF
fighters would likely be a minor contributor in this particular scenario),
you seem to have forgotten some platforms that do indeed have the range to
ensure that the "US Air Force shows up"--B-1, B-2, B-52, Global Hawk,
KC-135/10 (which your USN folks *do* appreciate when they can get them),
etc. And how far was it from the Gulf states to Afghanistan?

How is a B-2 going to keep the PLAAF away from Taiwan without bombing
China and turning a minor conflict into a general war?

Better yet, what if we didn't have a war because the US Navy deterred it?

But how, Henry? By your estimate, we'll only have 20 knot capable ships,
which will still be enroute after it is over...

Given the slow rate the Bush regime is building big deck carriers we may
well end up that way.

Pity we can't cancel those F/A-22s and put the money back in the Navy
where it can be put to some use.

-HJC