Is Asia beating the U.S. in the engineering race?

Recent news stories would indicate that China and India are graduating many more engineers than America is. Stories suggest that they will soon pass us by and turn us into a 3rd world economy. However, in a recent report in the Christian Science Monitor is discussed by Brian Schwarz of The American Thinker.

In The "engineering gap" we see that numbers as commonly reported are misleading. China includes 2 and 3 year degrees (it took me five) and also includes occupations, such as auto mechanics, that aren't even close to being considered engineering in the United States. My apologies to any mechanics reading this; my cars wouldn't run without you!

And in India, I've read several stories elsewhere (sorry, no links) that indicate that they are beginning to have a talent crunch of their own and that it won't be too many years before their salaries rival those in America. At that point talent and innovation (whoever's) will win out -- as it should in the free market.

For now, the U.S. is still the leading technology innovator in the world. And despite the disparities in the numbers, American born and trained engineers have that good ol' Yankee spirit of independence and innovation that should keep us out front for years to come.