This article tries to paint a picture of the current state of the U.S. economy and its military readiness. From the content you get quite a worrying picture of the situation.

Superpower? Really? – AustinChronicle.com: Liberals and conservatives habitually speak of the United States as a superpower. Neocons like Norman Podhoretz advise that our “only option” with Iran is “to go to war” – as though we can. A New York Times commentary on Iraq blithely states that, no matter the outcome, “the United States would still be the sole world power” – as though we are. Bush planners aim at establishing a “permanent” U.S. military presence in Iraq – as though we could. And presidential candidates of both parties speak as though we can accomplish anything if we’re well-led. Well, as Roky Erickson once said, “You can believe that story if you want to.”

Last year, when Treasury debt increased by $184 billion, almost half of that amount was provided by lenders in China. This country has become the largest source of funding for the United States government’s deficits. Without the present level of foreign investment, especially Chinese investment, America would be in very bad straits.

Colin Powell, has stated “The active Army is about broken”. Senior U.S. military and government officials acknowledge that it will take years for the Army and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately have called a ‘death spiral,’ in which the ever more rapid pace of war-zone rotations has consumed 40% of their total gear, wearied troops, and left no time to train. The U.S. military now lacks a large strategic reserve of ground troops ready to respond quickly and decisively to potential foreign crises. The vast majority its rated ‘not ready.’