From Information Dissemination:
Americans woke up to a different world the day after the attack. The war was over almost as soon as it had started. Outmaneuvered tactically and strategically, the United States suffered its greatest defeat at sea since Pearl Harbor. The incident—could it really be called a "war"?—had been preceded by a shallow diplomatic crisis between the two great powers. No one in the West expected the dispute to spiral out of control. George Washington was conducting routine patrols off the coast of China to send a signal of U.S. resolve. China responded with a signal of its own—sinking the massive ship. The ship broke in two and sank in twenty minutes. The Chinese medium-range ballistic missile had a penetrator warhead that drilled through all fourteen decks of the ship and punched a cavernous hole measuring twenty-feet wide from the flat-top landing deck through to the bottom of the hull. Ammunition stores ignited secondary explosions. Two million gallons of JP-5 jet fuel poured into the sea. The attack was calamitous and damage control was pointless.
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My Comment: I always love reading these "what if" stories.
I doubt that the U.S. would knuckle under an unprovoked Chinese attack against a U.S. carrier .... economic sanctions, financial retaliation, targeted attacks .... this .... and more .... would be the U.S. response. The other Asian powers .... from India to Japan .... would also immediately band together to not only voice their opposition to any Chinese aggression of this magnitude, but to join together politically and militarily to counter such an action. For the Chinese .... in the end .... it will be a lose-lose situation.
But the scenario does bring up some questions that need answers .... for example, are our aircraft carriers safe .... or are they that vulnerable to one missile attack. Are submarines the answer? Are smaller vessels more viable and acceptable in today's world? Should we focus our attention on other platforms?
Bloggers have been on the forefront in this discussion .... and I am sure that they will continue providing us the analysis and the discussion that is needed on this topic.