Quick! How many aircraft carriers are currently deployed by all the world's navies?

[Kelvin Mace]

How many carriers does China have?

How about Russia?

France?

The UK?

The U.S.?

Actually how many countries even have aircraft carriers?

Don't peek. Write down you guesses




















Total number of carriers deployed: 31
Deployed by China: 1
Deployed by Russia: 1
Deployed by France: 1
Deployed by the U.K.: 2
Deployed by the U.S.: 20
Nations with aircraft carriers: 10



Carriers are the most powerful, and most expensive means of projecting military might into a region, and the U.S. has twice as many as the rest of the world combined, and ten times as many as our rivals.

Keep these numbers in mind when anyone brings up the canard that the U.S. Navy is somehow in decline.

[bulloney]

1. In Defiance, Ohio last night, Romney said he will increase U.S. military strength

to where nobody would even consider attacking us.

You've got to be kidding! The U.S. already spends as much on military as the rest of the world COMBINED.

But we can't have those nasty social programs. They're such a drain on the budget.

As somebody said in another post, 12,000 people supposedly turned out to see Romney in Defiance Thursday night (I have my doubts on that figure, given the size of the high school football stadium where it took place). This, to see and rally for the guy who said "Let GM go bankrupt." Defiance is home of a GM engine foundry that employs well over 1000 people. There are several other manufacturers in and near Defiance that are tied to the automotive industry.

If there's any doubt about the overall stupidity of the people of this country, you just need to look right here.

Un-freakin-believable!!

[avebury]

4. Doesn't Romney have any clue that a lot of what help to sink the USSR

was its inability to keep pace with US Military spending? Out of control military spending can factor a lot in the downfall of a government.

Massive military spending and fighting too many wars is not good for the economy.

[Scuba]

6. We didn't win the cold war, the Soviets just lost first.

[exboyfil]

2. Yes and they keep the sea lanes open

so we can run a $550B trade deficit (not the mention the cloak of protection we give to economies far larger than the ones we are protecting them against (ie North/South Korea) and (Russia/EU). We also protect Japan and South Korea from China, but the GDPs are about tied in that case.

By the way Russia's GDP is about the same as Canadas (another country we spend to protect).

We are out of our freaking minds.

[JohnnyRingo]

3. As I understand it, the US is the only country with a nuke carrier.

At more than four billion a copy, no other country wants to spend that much on one weapons system.

[progressoid]

5. USA USA USA

[marble falls]

7. Bring submarines into the equation or just FBMSs into discussion with MIRV warheads.

[Proud Public Servant]

8. And just to tie all the Mitt-memes together...

The annual cost of manning and supplying a single carrier group is greater than the annual budget of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.