And those fears turned out to be completely justified, because the reaction from Bush and the American people was completely unhinged.
And that was over a little less than 3,000 deaths. What frightens me about the US trying to start shit with China is how Americans will respond to losing the entire Pacific Fleet in a matter of days; because all those fancy aircraft carriers that are the backbone the American military are just sitting ducks for hypersonic missles, et al. I worry that if that happens, Americans will demand that every city in China be nuked, even if that means nukes get fired back at them.