Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 16 June 2005

Finishing POD #1 today.

Meanwhile, I want to elicit insights from readers regarding how they see the current inside-the-Defense-Department debate on China unfolding, especially in reference to the Quadrennial Defense Review.

Email me at tom@thomaspmbarnett.com.

I'm hearing certain things from certain people, and I want to get my head on straight before committing something to text.

Initial reports on the QDR indicated China had slipped to an "emerging power" whose rise needed to be guided, but in the past few weeks the China-is-a-threat chorus has grown. Kaplan's piece in the Atlantic Monthly is one clear example (to include Pacific Command's clearly hard-line feed to him on the subject), Rumsfeld's recent speech in Singapore is another. There's the Taiwan scenario for the Navy, and the space fears for the Air Force.

How is this dynamic of debate currently playing out in the Pentagon? I have my own information and theories. If you have some particular insights, pass them along. They will be put to good use, with attribution as desired.