It is a dramatic scene, more closely resembling a Hollywood drama than any war that the United States has actually fought in the last half-century. It is nevertheless what many expect a war between the United States and communist China could look like this decade.

Both the United States and China are investing record-breaking sums in building up their military capabilities. Leadership on both sides increasingly appears to consider such a conflict as inevitable, despite rhetoric to the contrary.

The cause for that mutual enmity is the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) claim that democratic Taiwan belongs to China, and CCP leader Xi Jinping's desire to force that unification within a few years' time.

Xi has ordered the regime's military wing to prepare for war, and to be ready to launch an invasion of Taiwan by 2027.

Preparing for what would be history's most ambitious amphibious assault is not the same as actually launching it. But, should the worst occur, the Biden administration or its successor will have to decide either to join the fray, or to let Taiwan stand on its own and fight for its freedom.

Before U.S. leadership decides on that question, however, it must answer another, more foundational one: Can the United States win a war with China?