Slashdot Mirror
Chinese Military Hacked Into Pentagon
iFrated informs us of a successful penetration of US Defense Department computers by the Chinese military last June. From the article: "The Pentagon acknowledged shutting down part of a computer system serving the office of Robert Gates, defense secretary, but declined to say who it believed was behind the attack. Current and former officials have told the Financial Times an internal investigation has revealed that the incursion came from the [Chinese] People's Liberation Army. One senior US official said the Pentagon had pinpointed the exact origins of the attack. Another person familiar with the event said there was a 'very high level of confidence... trending towards total certainty' that the PLA was responsible." The PLA is also accused of breaking into German government computers, including a network in the office of the Chancellor.
Having an IDS hooked up to some missile launchers is starting to look good around now. I don't see any real difference between online war and physical war, and this was an act of war.
Sanctions? You've GOT to be fucking kidding, man! The US economy is based largely on importing cheap Chinese goods. The US is at the mercy of the Chinese government, who could at any time start selling BILLIONS of their US dollars and driving the currency into the dirt. The US does NOT have the upper hand here.
The military option is even more laughable. The US can't even secure Afghanistan or Iraq, 2 countries crippled by DECADES of war and sanctions. There's no way in hell the US has any prospect of even sneezing in the general direction of Bejing without their prior consent.
What exactly do you have against China? Seriously, what have they done in the last 20 years against us? At all? Yes, they have an evil government, but this kind of thinking is what got us into Iraq.