POLL: Is the USA the most powerful country in the world??
tritium @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:17 pm
Is the USA the most powerful country in the world?? Militarily speaking, not economically.
There are many countries in the world that posses the nuclear bomb, and it wouldn't take very many to destroy the world as we know it.
China has a the largest military in the world by shear numbers, the EU has been creating a more advanced military than the United States.
So is the USA "still" the most powerful country in the world or have they lost that title some time ago.
Not to mention, if they are the most powerful country in the world, they still have not won the war in Iraq. 
SprCForr SprCForr:
I don't see how this test relegates the US into a 2nd rate category at all. I do find it to be indicative of the the amount of pull the Chinese Military has in the program (some, not a whole lot). If this was headed to an arms race, the development of ICBM's would be primary. The current models they are developing don't even give them parity.
Will this spur not an arms race, but another Space Race to say, Mars or farther out? That would be cool.
I agree with Avro, it's an emerging economy.
Will this spur not an arms race, but another Space Race to say, Mars or farther out? That would be cool.
I agree with Avro, it's an emerging economy.
Clogeroo @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:19 pm
Yes they are the most powerful country.
tritium @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:25 pm
Clogeroo Clogeroo:
Yes they are the most powerful country.
So if you have a nuke and I have a nuke, but I also have a few guns, I must be more powerful than you. Right?
Not to mention the most powerful country has been at war in Iraq since 2003 (4 years), and have lost 3022 U.S. Military Personnel and are still bogged down??
So Iraq must be pretty powerful too.
putz @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:30 pm
I think that the USA is gradually sliding from the most powerful nation status. The Chinese economy is going through the roof right now as is the military. They are modernizing their military at a pretty scary rate. I think within the next 30 years the only real superpower remaining will be China.
danikyvor @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:32 pm
I don't believe they are. They could be, if they handled the military differently...I don't know much about the structure of the US Military, so this is a bit of an uninformed opinion, but with all the money they've been ploughing into military operations in the Middle East...Iraq for instance, and they're no further on than when they started...there's something wrong with that picture!
fire_i @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:44 pm
Speaking of millitary, I do believe the US are still the strongest country in the world - however, with China's incredible economic growth and their newfound ability to invest massive amounts of cash in their army, they are likely to bypass the US' army in a matter of years only.
That's just a gut felling, but I'd say China will become the #1 millitary power the same year the US troops retire from Irak - let's see if that'll be the case, and when that'll happen.
Scape @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:52 pm
The most powerful? Yes. The biggest threat to the US is the US.
Proculation @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:57 pm
But what about Cyprus ?
dog77_1999 @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:08 pm
The US does have the strongest military in the world. The problem is that it is never used to its fullest extent. Some are wondering why we haven't won the war in Iraq. Very simple. There are political rules which the military must abide by, some of which are exclusive to the US(because we are held to a higher standard). Trust me, the US military could definatly start napalming Iraq if it really wanted too, along with a few neutron bombs.
And also being once of a very few countries(like Canada and Britain) with a logistical ability to wage war, it would be really hard to say any other nation beats it.
I would also have to disagree with the EU having the more advanced military. Take the Mirage vs. F-22 air battle. Which plane would you like to be in 
?
SprCForr @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:17 pm
Yes. The US is the most powerful country in the world. They are the sole superpower.
Iraq is a question of application and resolve. Simply that. Scape has it right. The worst enemy of the US is the US. If there had been WMD found and proven links to OBL and AQ, you would have seen that resolve in action, of that I have no doubt. Their (the US) power and capability are intact. Their ability to project that force anywhere in the world is still intact (it wasn't even threatened by the war in Iraq).
China won't be a superpower anytime soon. They still lack the necessary military capabilities. It isn't about nukes and guns or technology or economic strength, it's about being able to get those nukes and guns to a fight anywhere in the world while crossing a hostile ocean and beach. No one can do that but the US.
SprCForr @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:20 pm
Proculation Proculation:
But what about Cyprus ?
Crowded. Hot. Nice beaches though.
Serious now: Cyprus?
Schleihauf @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:45 pm
Yes the US is still #1 for military. China won't be the worlds main super power for a while yet, yes their economy is growing at a monstrous rate but they still have a lot of internal problems to deal with. I don't follow the war in Iraq so its a mystery to me why they aren't winning.
xerxes @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:49 pm
dog77_1999 dog77_1999:
The US does have the strongest military in the world. The problem is that it is never used to its fullest extent. Some are wondering why we haven't won the war in Iraq. Very simple. There are political rules which the military must abide by, some of which are exclusive to the US(because we are held to a higher standard). Trust me, the US military could definatly start napalming Iraq if it really wanted too, along with a few neutron bombs.
And also being once of a very few countries(like Canada and Britain) with a logistical ability to wage war, it would be really hard to say any other nation beats it.
I would also have to disagree with the EU having the more advanced military. Take the Mirage vs. F-22 air battle. Which plane would you like to be in ?
And also being once of a very few countries(like Canada and Britain) with a logistical ability to wage war, it would be really hard to say any other nation beats it.
I would also have to disagree with the EU having the more advanced military. Take the Mirage vs. F-22 air battle. Which plane would you like to be in
?Actually, the French use these now. The Dasault Rafale
Not a pure stealth fighter, but it also depends heavily on the pilot.
Clogeroo @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 4:11 pm
$1:
So if you have a nuke and I have a nuke, but I also have a few guns, I must be more powerful than you. Right?
Nuclear weapons are more of a deterrent if anything. Even if two nuclear states waged war they would probably both be reluctant to use them for it is mutual self-destruction. So does suicide make you the most powerful? Not really for a million times zero is still zero and a nuclear weapons arsenal vs. an opposing nuclear force really just leaves everyone with zero or nothing left.
Conventional weapons still count for something for that is what most wars are fought with. The United States has the largest air force and most technologically advanced in the world with a variety of tools at its disposal. It also has the largest navy in the world and is one of the most technologically advanced as well. These two branches alone allow the United States to project its force abroad and would be virtually unchallenged in any naval or air engagement with any other sovereign country. Not to mention the United States army consists of over a million personnel with a numerous amount of artillery, armour, and air support. Even being the third/fourth largest country by area and third by population with the largest economy in the world shows how powerful or capable of it is. Even with nuclear weapons aside I don’t believe any country could challenge the United States to a war or successfully invade it. With nuclear weapons the opposing force or forces would be annihilated as well.
China will not become a superpower either. Even if it managed to challenge the United States armed forces it is more economically dependent on the Americans than the United States is on China. Which puts China in a weaker position. The only reason why the Soviet Union was considered really a superpower is it was ideologically different and independent of United States capital, which strengthened it’s position against it.
tritium @ Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:44 pm
Clogeroo Clogeroo:
$1:
So if you have a nuke and I have a nuke, but I also have a few guns, I must be more powerful than you. Right?
Nuclear weapons are more of a deterrent if anything. Even if two nuclear states waged war they would probably both be reluctant to use them for it is mutual self-destruction. So does suicide make you the most powerful? Not really for a million times zero is still zero and a nuclear weapons arsenal vs. an opposing nuclear force really just leaves everyone with zero or nothing left.
Conventional weapons still count for something for that is what most wars are fought with. The United States has the largest air force and most technologically advanced in the world with a variety of tools at its disposal. It also has the largest navy in the world and is one of the most technologically advanced as well. These two branches alone allow the United States to project its force abroad and would be virtually unchallenged in any naval or air engagement with any other sovereign country. Not to mention the United States army consists of over a million personnel with a numerous amount of artillery, armour, and air support. Even being the third/fourth largest country by area and third by population with the largest economy in the world shows how powerful or capable of it is. Even with nuclear weapons aside I don’t believe any country could challenge the United States to a war or successfully invade it. With nuclear weapons the opposing force or forces would be annihilated as well.
China will not become a superpower either. Even if it managed to challenge the United States armed forces it is more economically dependent on the Americans than the United States is on China. Which puts China in a weaker position. The only reason why the Soviet Union was considered really a superpower is it was ideologically different and independent of United States capital, which strengthened it’s position against it.
Putin's Russia has been taking back ownership of about 30 percent of oil and gas resources that were formerly held privately - in part by seizing the assets of now-jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky - and there is growing state encroachment into the banking, aviation, telecommunications, and automobile industries. A report released this week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warns that the shift away from market reforms under Putin "bodes ill for Russia's growth prospects."
Russia has vast amounts of oil that it could sell to China, it still holds onto 1000's of nukes, as well as an advanced military.
Source CIA Factbook
THE ARMED FORCES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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