To compare the Internet with a ship or smoke signals requires a level of ignorance and cognitive dissonance that I simply cannot fathom.
But since you're framing the argument in terms of ignorance and such I think I'll bow out here.
Its about maintaining an empire, which i think is an important distinction.
I dont see the US waging war against anyone who is trying to dethrone them as a superpower. The ways that other countries are trying to dethrone the US are much more economic.
Economic war can be waged over the internet quite well, without any ships or smoke signals.