And a senior Chinese military officer, who was actually recently in Washington, told a senior American, we don't think Americans are going to interfere with this campaign, because American leaders care more about Los Angeles than they do about Taiwan. Congress told President Clinton to send carriers down and he did it. Congress is not the Commander in Chief. The problem that occurred subsequently is the problem that I think Michael is getting at, and that is we start seeing in the absence of missile defenses on the United States, political results from the kinds of threats that are present or emerging as countries dictate, in effect, whether it's China or North Korea, terms to us. And in the absence of defenses I believe we're seeing at least under this administration, and I suspect in the future administrations, as well, accommodations being made.
China understands deterrents.
Some people may argue that rogue states don't understand deterrents. The one thing rogue states understand is their leaders understand how to hold onto power. And there is no doubt that if they launch a ballistic missile attack on the United States they are not going to be in power. They understand that. They're going to be dead.