Is China doing to the US what the US did to the Soviet Union? Seems that the expense of military operations in Afghanistan cannot be sustained any longer because the US has no money. The US military expense will be $ 113 billion this year and $ 107 billion next year ( HT, June 01 ). Increasing government debt and increasing deficit means that it will be difficult to justify such huge spending in another country while cutting jobs and social spending at home. One senior official said," Where we're at right now is simply not sustainable." Another said, " Money is the new 800-pound gorilla. It shifts the debate from ' Is the strategy working?' to ' Can we afford this?' When you view it that way, the scope of the mission we have now is far, far less defensible." Shows how sliding economy is going to impact America's military might and global hegemony. China is quietly doing its bit to hasten the slide. By keeping its currency, the yuan, pegged against the dollar it is able to flood the US with cheap goods thus earning billions more than what it imports. China then uses this surplus to buy dollars which keeps interest rates low in the US thus encouraging people to buy more Chinese products. The US is helpless because any attempt to reduce the value of the dollar will increase prices and fuel inflation. China is buying up massive amounts of commodities such as oil, iron ore and coal from other countries pushing up commodity prices which impacts US business. China is also curtailing exports of rare earths and forcing foreign companies to produce in China which will increase employment and transfer of knowledge. Nothing the US can do except kow tow.