Right, Call On The Marines

Sometimes I am just embarrassed when Barack Obama opens his mouth and says things in behalf of my country.
I thought that he had reached a nadir with his claim that we were spending billions of dollars and hundreds of lives in Afghanistan in order to “deny the terrorists space in which to plan their attacks.”  Now he is explaining how our troop buildup in the Pacific will maintain peace, and specifically why we are stationing Marines in Australia.

Those 500 Marines “will help ensure the security of vital sea lanes, as the U.S. moves to blunt China’s expanding influence,”  he says.

So, first one has to assume that China is a threat to the sea lanes off the Australian coast. I’m not sure where his feverish little imagination got that particular concept from. Then one has to assume that if a Chinese fleet, which they don’t have, materialized and made threats to our shipping, which does not transit that area, that 500 Marines on shore would somehow be able to defend our shipping from that Chinese fleet.

I am a big admirer of the United States Marine Corps, and would be the last person to denigrate their abilities, but 500 shorebound Marines against a Chinese fleet…
I don’t think I would bet on the Marines.