Rethinking Air/Sea Battle Before It Is Too Late  Initially,
several of my colleagues and I speculated the Air/Sea Battle
concept was simply an avenue for the US Navy and Air Force to
gain budgetary primacy in an increasingly tight budgetary
environment. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down and
as the American economic travails continue, increasing pressure
to downsize the US military force mounts.  I am going to
simplify the Air/Sea Battle claim for the sake of brevity here
but it runs along these lines. China is increasing not only its
military capabilities but also its military reach. China has
become increasingly belligerent in Asia and outright
antagonistic toward US foreign policy goals. For example,
China’s threatened armed takeover of the Spratley Islands,
largely fueled by the speculation of large oil reserves in that
area, has provoked condemnation from neighbors with claims to
the Island chain (Vietnam and the Philippines in particular).
 However, no one in the region or in the internationa