The conventional wisdom is that ASB is all about China, but let me offer you an alternative theory: China is what's on the PowerPoints, Libya is the real archetype.
China is a stalking horse, a boogeyman so it's good for getting funding
If you look at the procurement that ASB is being used to justify, however, it makes no sense for China.
Zumwalts? What, we're going to shell China?
VTOL F-35s? To support our land invasion of the Chinese mainland?
Even F-35s in general: a small force (due to gutted force structure for stealth) of planes carrying two bombs each . . . against China. And where are you going to base them that is going to survive for more than 20 minutes?
The LCS? Oh please . . .
New tactics? Look at the USAF's crowing about it's great new F-22 tactics to deploy a handful of fighters quickly . . . no one who is seriously thinking about China is thinking about a couple of anything.
. . . and the biggie: China picks when the war starts.
Think it through: there are no plans to fight China. What the USAF and the USN want is more Libya's: little wars of our choosing, where we have the initiative and crushing superiority in all areas and which, most importantly, don't involve the Army or Marines.
As with the F-35 and the LCS, don't look at the PowerPoints, look at what's actually being built. It's very small and very high tech, i.e. overwhelming in a small conflict but way too brittle and loss sensitive for any kind of big war.
