Russia is fighting a war that is quickly putting her into irreversable debt.

Russia better do something soon, or she won't be able to pay her debts, and should she default (yet again) on her loans, her credit with the world banks will be so shot she may never be able to come back from it (at least not in my lifetime).

-Skater

Chechen war is not cheap affair, but not too expensive, either. We are talking here about some 100,000 troops using basically free-of-charge ammo and weapons (Warsaw Pact and sometimes even WWII stocks). With low average salaries that's maybe 200-300 mln usd per month (cant look up the actual reported figure, but in that order of magnitude).

Sorry for my not so good english, but I'm danish, and btw, far far away from China, we don't even have nukes in Denmark (thank God), so it's easier for me as I'm not the guy targeted here, thank God again ;-)
And excuse me for my sarcasm.

What they (as far as I understand) did is to point out that they do not rule such an option out. Moreover, they will seriously consider it and probably be willing to accept the (undoubtably serious) consequences. That's what nuclear deterrence is all about - typical case.

Most of the discussion here predicates on an hypothetical scenario which implies that it is irrelevant whether or not China will "actually" use a nuclear warhead or that China even is contemplating such.

The question is what would/should a US reaction be *IF* China attacks a US battlegroup with nuclear warheads?

The most justified action is a retaliation in kind. That is, try and determine a regional concentration of Chinese forces and--provided these forces are critical for Chinese military action--nuke it. Nuclear warheads aren't even critical. Try extensive B-52 conventional bomb strikes. If there is no such concentration of Chinese forces, then a retaliatory nuclear strike is a waste.

Isn't it a very heavy subject??? Perhaps you lot play too much war games, cos you talked it just like during a dinner party Don't be a dump white assholes there. You will be crying your eyes out in the end if you use war against China.!! Look, Nato even couldn't win the war against Serbia recently by using the hi-tech. Yeah, you can wipe out whole China with your nukes, but this will not only be the end of China, also end of the world. You guys really want to see it??? you are totally mad!!!! Well, can't take too seriously with your guys, otherwise I will be completely insane. Sounds like your guy want another crusade to wipe off anyone with nonewhite skins!!! Oh my!!

No government, not even the Chinese, would ever be crazy enough to go nuclear unless the very existence of the state was threatened. That is, China itself would have to be invaded before the men in Beijing would authorize nukes, and even then, I suspect they'd engage in a limited strike to show their resolve first.

Be realistic: you don't ascend to high positions of power without aquiring a strong sense of self-preservation along the way. Soldiers, heck even some generals, may be brave enough to push the button but no politician ever would be. Politicians are inherently a cowardly and weak lot. This is a universal thing, not just a feature of American politicians.

Even Saddam Hussein, a supposedly unstable dictator, didn't have the guts to use chemical weapons against the US. I'm sure the Chinese are even more prudent than Hussein was.

The Chinese "new warfare" isn't just the use of military weapons, but the recruitment of "fighters" of all kinds. Two generals just wrote a book about exporting terrorism, both violent and non-violent. This means companies with ties to China might become part of their war effort(this means cyber-war, industrial espionage,etc) So we are faced with an enemy that is willing not only to waste the lives of tens of thousands of its own men(as displayed previously), but one that is willing to, in their words, "ignore conventions or legalities of warfare".

China may not be a nuclear threat, but considering that the Russians almost launched a couple years ago in response to a misidentified Norwegian rocket, I don't want to take the chance with Theater AND Global Missile Defense. We know we can't count on Clinton-Gore to build up the defense against nations like North Korea.