Re: Flying the flag
"Waving firearms at the natives hasn't worked very well for quite a few years now..."
Indeed. All the more so as they begin to acquire silent diesel submarines and ship-killer missiles, all of which make living on a potentially hostile aircraft carrier rather scary.
The concept of shaking a big stick at the natives suffers slightly from the understanding that, should threats give way to actual fighting, the aircraft carrier will be sunk within the first 30 minutes.