We Need to Pull Out of Iraq So We Can Focus On China

The conventional wisdom is that China is a non-expansionist power. They are, however, a militarized power. It is huge military with significant political power. What is more, they likely see the U.S. as an expansionist power, and not without reason.

Two more data points:
1. The Chinese have tested anti-satellite missiles. The U.S. relies on these satellites, relatively few in number, to be our eyes and ears both in peace-time reconnaissance and, more importantly, for wartime movement and coordination. We literally could not engage in a battle over mainland china if these were knocked out, regardless of how advanced our equipment. I am not saying we'd have to...but remember, they can also knock out our aging satellites over their allies, such as N. Korea and areas of a newly-bellicose Russia or the perennially-so middle east.

2. They have hacked the Pentagon. They are reaching out to disrupt our information networks -- this is extraterritorial warfare just like a mortar lobbed over the border. I am not calling this a declaration of war by any means, but it is an act of cold-war aggression and we should recognize it and respond as such.

Let's pull out of Iraq. It is very small potatoes compared to our next threat.