against aircraft and missiles or for bombarding shoretargets. If aimed at ships, the targets will most likely besmall, fast, patrol craft. These crafts deliver missile ortorpedo attacks in coastal waters.Sea power today includes many aspects of the navalstrength of a nation that did not exist in the last century.Sea power now encompasses maritime industry andmarine sciences. These industries and sciences add toour national economy by exploring new resources forfood, freshwater, minerals, and even living space.Figure 20-1 shows a Carrier Task Group, oneconcept of sea power today. Sea power is a uniqueresource that nations can use in the oceans. We use it toreach political, economic, and military goals in times ofpeace and war.The seas are our lifeline for survival. In addition tobeing a barrier between nations and a broad highway forships, the seas are an important source of food,minerals, and metals. We use oceangoing craft to get tothese riches. The development of these craft has resultedin the need to provide for their protection.A well-established theory for the economicadvantage of a nation is to produce goods and servicesand exchange them with other nations. Throughouthistory, nations that have traded this way and conducteda strong foreign trade have prospered and grown ineconomic and political strength. Those that have failedin commerce have also failed as world powers.Throughout history, no country has ever become aworld power without a strong foreign trade. Allcountries generally have raw materials, but they oftenhave limited quantities. Countries then trade with eachother to get needed materials. Modern nations withhighly complex economies need more raw materialsfrom other countries. We can often obtain manymanufactured goods cheaper from other countries thanwe can produce them locally. As a matter of economicreality, most nations must trade or decline in strength.Until recently, Americans believed that our rawmaterials would last forever and that we could livewithout help from any other nation. With our populationgrowth and the advanced technology of the UnitedStates, this concept has changed. Today we rely heavilyon trade with our world neighbors for raw materials. Weneed that kind of trade to keep our economy strong andour work force employed.20-2Student Notes:Figure 20-1.—U. S. naval sea power.
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