Two Theater War

[millefleur 5,047]

2 minutes ago, Mike E said:

same reason they are trying to fence the South China Sea.  
 

I don’t know why they are doing that either. 

They've already done that basically. They're dominating the SCS and nobody is standing in their way. I don't see it changing as who would have the wherewithal stand up to them over it? I guess we could start sanctioning China, since our government claims that worked so well against Russia. Attempting to attack or go to war with China pre-emptively is insane, so they dominate by just essentially quietly taking over without firing any shots by building those weirdo ghost military bases to expand their watery dominion. Japan is sworn to pacifism and Korea doesn't seem keen on conflict either, the other countries in the SCS are too "insignificant" militarily so it just sort of ends up with China getting away with it, for now. Maybe sanctions aren't a bad idea but for whatever reason the US seems pretty scared to stand up to China in any way, why is beyond me. Like you said, it's a two way street so we could use that to our advantage but it seems there's no will to do so.

 

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

But as long as NATO exists, the country paying the most for security gets a say in whether its allies are ceding sovereignty to the alliance’s chief adversary 

I do think Germany is trying to have it both ways. They want protection from the US via NATO and cheap gas from Russia. I mean, that's not a stupid thing to go after, playing both sides often works for the cunning in geopolitics and it can be a win/win if played correctly. The issue is the US won't stand to see a stronger Russia, so they're putting their foot down. I don't think Germany wants NATO so much as they view Russia as a threat as they really, really do not want to re-arm themselves or build up their own military because they're haunted by their past. An independently strong and militant Germany is a Germany no German today stands for. So, it kind of puts them between a rock and a hard place. A lot of Germans also clamor to return to nuclear energy to get out of the gas dependency altogether, but again the German government will not go down that path, for fear of a nuclear armed Germany. They say they are "committed to peace" so they dig themselves into the hole of natural gas dependency. I feel bad for Germany because it seems like whenever they try to do "the right thing" they end up somewhat limiting themselves. I think you are right that NATO will get the final say in the end. Germany also does not like to over exert itself by appearing "too powerful" on the world stage, so I think the fear of their own shadow will cause them to back down.

[Mike E 11,742]

The USN has the wherewithal to break the SCS.  Just sail through it continuously.  

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,378]

23 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Unfortunately our policies have driven Russia to ally with China. Instead we could have had another trading partner. Russia is far from perfect but like I said were better off with them as a friend rather than an enemy.

 

Obama drove out most of the good generals and Biden is finishing the job. Biden might talk tough (when he can talk at all) but he will let China and Russia walk all over him.

 

I don't know how true it is but I have read one strategic strike to three gorges dam would cripple China.

 

My fear is that in that type of war no one will win except the cockroaches that will rule the earth afterwords.

100%. If a nuclear super power starts losing its going to get ugly