Showdown: Why China Wants War with the United States (Hardcover)

~ Jed Babbin (Author), Edward Timperlake (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Will the U.S. go to war with China over Taiwan or oil? Yes--bestselling authors Jed Babbin and Ed Temperlake say Chinese aggression is virtually inevitable and in their new book, Showdown, they address the threat of mainland China and Bush's promise to defend Taiwan--at any cost. Showdown offers indispensable strategies and tactics for the U.S. to respond to the Chinese military threat in this ongoing battle for democracy and freedom.

From the Inside Flap

Are CHINA and the UNITED STATES headed for WAR?

Yes, say bestselling authors Jed Babbin (former deputy undersecretary of defense) and Edward Timperlake (veteran defense analyst) in this riveting new book that takes you from the latest developments in China’s quest to become a superpower to the possible battlefields of what might become World War III.

Babbin and Timperlake unveil China’s aggressive military buildup (more rapid than that of Nazi Germany before World War II) and expose how China is engaging in a new Cold War aimed at expanding its commercial and military reach at the expense of the United States. Babbin (a former Air Force JAG) and Timperlake (a former Marine fighter pilot) do more than offer expert analysis. In dramatic Clancy-esque style, they take you into the field with Navy SEALs and Air Force bomber pilots, invite you inside the war councils at the White House and the Pentagon, and peer within China’s own Politburo in an exciting—and all too likely—series of war scenarios.

In Showdown, Babbin and Timperlake reveal:

* The unholy alliance between Communist China and radical Islam—and a possible war over Middle Eastern oil
* How China is infiltrating Latin America—including oil-rich Venezuela—to create an anti-American axis
* How a Chinese attack on Taiwan could spark the biggest war in the Pacific since World War II
* The vulnerability of Japan and the United States to Chinese cyber-warfare
* The likelihood of a second Korean War . . . only this time, the madmen in North Korea have nuclear weapons

As Babbin and Timperlake make clear, China is the greatest—and most dangerously ignored—threat to America’s national security. If America does not deter China’s aggressive ambitions, the result could be global war. Provocative, thrilling, and must-reading, Showdown is a wake-up call for America.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc.; annotated edition edition (May 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596980052
• ISBN-13: 978-1596980051
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #608,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars China is a rising power in the world and they justly have a right to project power. We simply need to wake up!, June 4, 2006

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

China is growing in economic power and with that will come a greater desire to become more dominant in world politics and affairs. Along with this will come a greater emphasis on military might to not only protect its internal interests, but to project its power around the world. The United States cannot simply assume that its Superpower status will remain unchallenged. Certainly, other nations have already realigned to "balance" our interests. China has interests, goals, and purposes different from ours and from those of its neighbors. It will insist that its interests influence the course of future events just as we do. How those interests will play out remains to be seen. However, it would be foolish to assume that American interests will carry the day in the future as they have for the past century. China has every right to advance its own goals in the world and we ignore that reality to our disadvantage.

This book is a series of military scenarios that show how China's interests and how the military power they have been building in many areas could play out in key strategic areas such as Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and for oil in the Middle East. The authors show how not only standard military operations of submarines, surface ships, land forces, manned jets, and missiles might be used, but also the effect of cyber warfare including the paralysis that would follow the use of EMP weapons.

I do not believe the authors are trying to predict the future in this book. Nor do I personally believe that war with China is likely or inevitable. However, the stories do make clear the strategic and tactical considerations we must think about as China's power continues to rise. The authors also make clear that China does not have to "win" these conflicts with us in order to advance their purposes and China has shown a wiliness over its history to accept losses if the outcome advances their goals and enhances their future position. Patience is something they understand and apply as a tactic as well as a virtue.

The authors also show how a policy of half-measures and dithering while assuming a powerful competitor is "just like us" and simply wants to talk is a foolish policy for America to take. While we talk, they make off with the goods. The last forty-six pages reprint a government report on China's military growth that was written in 2005. This report is worth the whole book. Everyone should read it and take it seriously

Again, I am not saying China is our enemy and we need to prepare for imminent war. However, they are not our family or friend either. They are a rising power and will soon be a great power in the world. They are likely to have an economy as large as ours or even larger (still smaller per capita) in the decades to come. We simply need to wake up and take a strong approach to the strategic realities they represent in their competition for markets, resources, and influence. This is an interesting book to help the reader see that through stories of hypothetical military conflict.

49 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Send a Copy to Your Congressman, May 26, 2006

By	D. Buxman "A Seeker of Truth" (Pueblo, CO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is an eye opener of the first magnitude and so interesting that I finished it the day after it was delivered. The authors, Babbin and Timperlake, use a captivating mixture of fact reporting and fictionalization to produce a strong argument for being prepared for a future war against China. Contrary to some assertions, the facts speak for themselves.

The fact is that China and the United States have an insatiable need for finite oil supplies that, in the near future, will engender competition at best and conflict at worst.

The fact is that China is engaged in a military modernization and buildup program that is unrivaled since Nazi Germany.

The fact is that China has threatened the United States with war if we intervene in their planned annexation of Taiwan.

The fact is that China is developing a wide range of offensive weapons systems, including cyber-warfare and anti-satellite systems.

The fact is that our "allies," in Europe are willing to sell sophisticated weapons systems to the Chinese without regard to the dangers associated with doing so.

This book is well researched and sourced. It clearly distinguishes between the chapters that are non-fiction and those that represent fictionalized accounts of possible conflict scenarios. It is highly readable and enjoyable.

I would also like to point out that, as a former Reagan Republican, I've vehementently disagreed with many policies of the Bush Administration, but oddly enough, their China policy seems reasonably coherent. There is much, however, that remains to be done.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written book - very disappointing, June 3, 2006

By	Clovis Reader (Clovis, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I purchased this book and was anxious to read it but I must say I was very disappointed. The book contains an appendix which is just a report issued by the Pentagon to Congress regarding the Chinese military. The report is interesting - but anyone can download it for free from the DOD website. Wasted pages to make the book seem more substantial than it really is.

The various war scenarios with China are very poorly written and somewhat juvenile. Imagine a bad made-for-TV movie and you will get a good idea of what this book is like.

People can debate about whether or not China really wants war with the United States, but this book is not the one to start the discussion.

Don't waste your time on this one!